Assigning Hotel Rooms - Isn't Status Supposed to Mean Something?

[MarkD]

We just returned from a miserable Hilton stay over the weekend. We paid with points for a two night stay and were given a room on the 1st floor right next to an entrance that was attached to three very large air conditioner blowers on one wall. When the blowers were on (which was 99% of the night), the room would literally vibrate. We arrived late (about 10:00 PM) and the room seemed to be pre-assigned and my interaction with the front desk person was short and pleasant.

We ended up being moved to another room at 2:30 in the morning when we had a 6:00 AM wake up call. The room we were moved to on the 7th floor was perfectly quiet.

To make matters worse, we previously stayed at this hotel and had an issue with a king suite room next to an elevator and ice machine which we were compensated for. The manager was very apologetic and accommodating. The room bothered my wife (I didn't think it was that bad) and she filled out a survey and we were given 40K points for our troubles.

We are Hilton Gold - maybe everyone is Gold with Hilton??? When hotels assign rooms, aren't they taking hotel status or previous issues into account? Or is this hotel just incompetent? We don't want to get a reputation as complainers but it just blows me away that they would give us that crappy room.

 

[Matt]

We just returned from a miserable Hilton stay over the weekend. We paid with points for a two night stay and were given a room on the 1st floor right next to an entrance that was attached to three very large air conditioner blowers on one wall. When the blowers were on (which was 99% of the night), the room would literally vibrate. We arrived late (about 10:00 PM) and the room seemed to be pre-assigned and my interaction with the front desk person was short and pleasant.

We ended up being moved to another room at 2:30 in the morning when we had a 6:00 AM wake up call. The room we were moved to on the 7th floor was perfectly quiet.

To make matters worse, we previously stayed at this hotel and had an issue with a king suite room next to an elevator and ice machine which we were compensated for. The manager was very apologetic and accommodating. The room bothered my wife (I didn't think it was that bad) and she filled out a survey and we were given 40K points for our troubles.

We are Hilton Gold - maybe everyone is Gold with Hilton??? When hotels assign rooms, aren't they taking hotel status or previous issues into account? Or is this hotel just incompetent? We don't want to get a reputation as complainers but it just blows me away that they would give us that crappy room.

IMO status means nothing from a company that sells it. It's now all just a process:

I bought HH Gold for $95 annual fee, or higher with spend.
I expect X for $95
If you give me less that X give me points.

Complain, get some free points, move on.

That's all I expect from chain hotels these days, they don't care about loyalty or status...


Oh, and don't pay them any real money!

 

[smittytabb]

We just returned from a miserable Hilton stay over the weekend. We paid with points for a two night stay and were given a room on the 1st floor right next to an entrance that was attached to three very large air conditioner blowers on one wall. When the blowers were on (which was 99% of the night), the room would literally vibrate. We arrived late (about 10:00 PM) and the room seemed to be pre-assigned and my interaction with the front desk person was short and pleasant.

We ended up being moved to another room at 2:30 in the morning when we had a 6:00 AM wake up call. The room we were moved to on the 7th floor was perfectly quiet.

To make matters worse, we previously stayed at this hotel and had an issue with a king suite room next to an elevator and ice machine which we were compensated for. The manager was very apologetic and accommodating. The room bothered my wife (I didn't think it was that bad) and she filled out a survey and we were given 40K points for our troubles.

We are Hilton Gold - maybe everyone is Gold with Hilton??? When hotels assign rooms, aren't they taking hotel status or previous issues into account? Or is this hotel just incompetent? We don't want to get a reputation as complainers but it just blows me away that they would give us that crappy room.

I don't have a lot of experience with Hilton. I am Gold and have had no especially good or bad experiences as a result. I have however had many amazing experiences with both Marriott and Hyatt based upon my status. I am currently staying in a Grand Suite at a Grand Hyatt. The stay is a combination of a one night award stay where I booked a standard room, and a two night stay from Travel Pony that was a deeply discounted standard room. They put me in the Grand Suite for the first night and I asked at check in if they could combine the reservations and keep us in the suite and they did. They also have recognized my Diamond status with free breakfast all three mornings plus points and all the other usual benefits. I have had the same experience with Marriott where I have been upgraded for point stays at every Ritz Carlton I have stayed at, once to a junior suite. I am Platinum with Marriott. I think it depends on the chain and the property, but I can say that I have had a lot of good experiences where my status did matter. I do think that if you have one of the highest statuses it stands out more than mid-tier.

 

[Mountain Trader]

I find status rarely gets you much without stating a preference at check-in and putting up a stink if needed after inspecting room. Among our disappointments: Intercontinental in London (next to maids supply room, with constant door opening closing), Andaz Amsterdam (inetrior room with no windows) and several Hiltons. All where we held low status.

It almost seems like award nights are being treated like Hotwire and Priceline, where they have a segregated group of rooms for award nights regardless of status.

 

[John B]

I would agree that Gold Status is not what it used to be with Hilton. I had it for a little bit before it became a CC perk. It did seem to mean a little more then. That being said, as a Diamond Member (Spend not Stays), I do see a genuine difference in service and perks. I don't think I've missed an upgrade in my last 3 stays (1x Waldorf Astoria, 1x Hilton DC,1x Beijing) and I've gotten plenty of late checkouts and other assorted perks without even paying for the rooms since I used points or certificates. I've also enjoyed being able to bump up experiences for non-status colleagues when traveling on business by requesting rooms on executive floors with me (executive floor benefits usually come with). Bottom Line, status does matter, but I agree with Matt, Gold isn't what it used to be.

 

[smittytabb]

I find status rarely gets you much without stating a preference at check-in and putting up a stink if needed after inspecting room. Among our disappointments: Intercontinental in London (next to maids supply room, with constant door opening closing), Andaz Amsterdam (inetrior room with no windows) and several Hiltons. All where we held low status.

It almost seems like award nights are being treated like Hotwire and Priceline, where they have a segregated group of rooms for award nights regardless of status.

I think there is a social engineering component to this whole thing. I never raise a stink, ever. I have gotten so many upgrades, suites, compensation with $ and points, I would have to sit down and sort it out there are so many. I have high status with two major chains and some status with everyone else. Status matters, but so does how you deal with front desk staff.

 

[John B]

Status matters, but so does how you deal with front desk staff.

Wisdom to be inspired by.