You’ve worked hard to get status and its freebies and/or upgrades. As a thank you for your loyalty, companies also hope you’ll continue spending more with them (classic dangling the carrot on a stick). But some of these elite benefits aren’t honored consistently. This post outlines my experience with Hilton.

Loyalty Programs

Brands across the board have come up with loyalty programs in the hopes that customers maintain their loyalty. Hotels honor loyal guests with free breakfasts and gifts, airlines give free checked bags or First class upgrades, and car rental companies may upgrade to the next class up. By most estimates, the loyalty programs are worth more than the brand itself. Wendover made a fascinating video to describe this phenomenon with airlines and their loyalty programs.

While trying to use these elite benefits, airlines are by far the most consistent. You will always automatically be added to a standby list for upgrades, get your free checked bag allowance, and earn miles at your respective tier. With car rentals, your status is automatically recognized locations. Some brands (like Hertz or National) let you just walk straight outside and pick a car. The rules are consistent across the board. But at the bottom of the totem pole are hotel loyalty elite benefits.

My experience with at the Doubletree by Hilton Schonbrunn

This isn’t going to be a review of the hotel. There wasn’t much special about this hotel, especially compared to the InterContinental. But I will say the hotel did need a little extra love and care, in my opinion.

I arrived at the hotel after a long travel day and went upstairs without thinking much. They did give me an upgraded deluxe room (which we’ll come back to later) and the signature Doubletree cookie (not an elite benefit – the cookie is free for everyone), which I will NEVER turn down.

The Breakfast Debacle

Hilton Gold status grants you a continental breakfast outside the US as a MyWay elite benefit. This must be selected in your app and should automatically be added to your account on check in. Unfortunately, when I went for breakfast the next morning, they did not have my room number recorded. I inquired at the front desk, and they insisted my room did not include breakfast. When I showed them the MyWay benefits chart, they said “you need to request this specifically at check-in”. I showed them my Hilton App which clearly shows my selection of breakfast at DoubleTree.

Hotels are, for the most part, individually owned and operated. The brands of hotels (Marriot, Hilton, IHG, etc) are just a set of standards that the owner/operator must abide by. They must acknowledge the status and elite benefits as outlined. This is why some hotels treat elites great (because they go above and beyond the listed benefits) while others do the bare minimum. However, they all use the same system.

The bottom line is, you need to know what you deserve and the benefits you should be receiving. If anything is off or amiss, you should bring it up and not just assume that you had it wrong. If I didn’t know all the details about MyWay, I likely would have given up when they told me my room didn’t have breakfast.

The Surprise Bill

There’s always some story about a vacation ending and something’s ALWAYS wrong with the bill. I normally have no surprises when it comes time to settle the bills, with one exception.

Every stay I get an upgrade with Hilton, my nightly room rate also changes along with it. It picks up the nightly rate for the upgraded room at the time of upgrade, and applies it to the account. Normally this populates on the Hilton app and I mention it to the front desk before I leave. It’s a very quick change and they never question it. This time, I didn’t notice until I left the hotel.

One time, I was staying at a Conrad hotel and upgraded to a King suite. Gold status technically excludes suites, but it’s totally up to each individual hotel (see note above). When checking out, my credit card was charged an extra $1400 for a two-night stay! I initially paid just $280 A quick trip to the front desk and it was all sorted and refunded.

I’ve never run into this problem at Marriott or Hyatt hotels, only at Hilton. The system doesn’t account for “complimentary” upgrades and just hopes the customer doesn’t notice.

Final Thoughts

It helps to know the full list of benefits you should be entitled to. Oftentimes, hotels, airlines, car rentals, and other travel brands forget, or they’re just unfamiliar with the rules. New hotels are especially vulnerable to this. Be firm but polite, have proof ready, and escalate to Customer Care if needed. But also don’t complain to get an upgrade beyond what you already deserve 🙂