Hilton Honors loyalty program Hilton Hotels Worldwide

Home2 Suites by Hilton is moving guests beyond points

I noticed today Home2 Suites is the only Hilton Worldwide hotel brand to earn just 5 base points/$1 and on room rate only. All other nine Hilton brands earn 10 points per dollar, even Homewood Suites, Hilton’s other extended-stay brand.

Hilton and Wyndham (Hawthorn Suites) offered 10 points per dollar for all hotel brands, even their extended-stay brands until just this past year. Wyndham dropped the earn rate of Hawthorn Suites to 5 points per dollar or 50% of the earn rate for all their other brands a few months ago. Now Hilton HHonors has a reduced points earn rate for its Home2 Suites extended-stay brand.

This is a disappointing development with the  Hilton HHonors program change.

I wonder if Homewood Suites will drop to 5 points per dollar sometime this year as the only other HHonors extended-stay hotel brand?

 

Home2 Suites also charts new ground on the miles earning front. 

HHonors Points + Fixed Miles is not an option with Home2 Suites. 

HHonors + Variable miles is capped at 100 miles per stay with Home2 Suites.

Home2 Suites Earn Rates

Points and Points  = 7.5 points/$1 on room rate only or

Points and Variable Miles = 5 points/$1 + 1 mile per $1 (maximum 100 miles per Home2 Suites hotel stay).

Points and Fixed Miles = not an available option

Now, I think I get the real meaning of the new $25 million ‘Beyond Points” Hilton Worldwide marketing campaign.

Hip and Humble Hilton Home2

I have been saying “Home 2 Suites” in my head all along since reading the many press releases on Hilton’s new 10th brand. Home2 Suites recently launched in Fayetteville, North Carolina when it opened February 3, 2011. The second Home2 Suites property opened March 10 in Layton, outside Salt Lake City, Utah. After watching the Home2 Suites video tour I now want to abbreviate the spoken brand name as just “Home2”. I so want to be hip.

Home2 Suites webpage Google descriptor:

Home2 Suites by Hilton is a hip extended stay hotel experience. We offer great deals and cheap rates plus spacious & contemporary suites for extended stays…

Three reviews of Home2 Suites.

1.  There is only one hotel review of Home2 Suites Fayetteville, NC on TripAdvisor and it is from March 19, 2011. The reviewer was pleased with the hotel. Here is a review from MilePoint.com by Tommy777 with much better photo imagery than I found on the Home2 Suites website.

2.  Hotel News Now – Jeff Higley, Home2 Suites: Is it extended-stay?

Jeff visits the Fayetteville, North Carolina property for the official media grand opening last week. Jeff points out the absence of a stove top in these rooms. No stove top is a big deal for me in an extended-stay hotel since I like more options than a microwave and I prefer to cook my food on a stove.

According to Jeff, there is an induction burner available at the desk. What’s an induction burner?

The internet tells me it is some kind of portable glass ceramic top burner that plugs into a regular outlet and can hold steady and even high temperature for a couple of hours. Apparently a popular item with the RV crowd. I looked at one with a price tag of $175. It looked nice.

Any guest reading this at a Home2 Suites? Any Home2 Suites insiders reading this?

What kind of induction burner does the Home2Suites have where you are?

3.  Hotel Check-in/USA Today – Barbara DeLollis, Hilton opens second Home2Suites location near Salt Lake City.

The website already shows 60 Home2 Suites hotel locations which I assume means a contract is in place for branding the property a Home2 Suites and a hotel will likely open in the next two years or sooner.  

Home2 Suites Video Tour

The Home2 Suites by Hilton Tour Video. I think I finally get the Home2 name concept now. I can’t say though that I am sold on the “Free to be You” Home2 tagline . 

Balance life on the road with these on-site amenities

  • Complimentary continental breakfast
  • Market pantry
  • Swimming pool
  • Fitness center
  • Walking track

Studio Suite photos from Home2 Suites website. 

I’ll leave you with the simple message that I see Home2 trying to market to the masses.

Hilton’s hip and humble Home 2 – you may not remember you are in a hotel.

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15 Comments

  • Hotels Tacloban March 21, 2011

    you could have posted some pics

  • Oliver March 22, 2011

    Never quite understood the need for a second brand of extended stay properties in the same families. Especially one with such an awkward, eh, hip name.

  • Ric Garrido March 22, 2011

    I do not have any pictures to post.

    The Home2 Suites website pictures are not as good as the photos you can see from Tommy777’s stay at the Fayetteville, NC Home2 Suites.

  • ptahcha March 22, 2011

    I guess this is a similar move as Marriott Rewards, where they only give 5 points for TownePlace Suites and Residence Inn, but 10 points for SpringHill Suites.

  • Avi March 23, 2011

    I had a stay @ Home 2 Suites in Layton from Mar 14 – Mar 17. The front desk told me that the hotel opened Mar 10. I did not take too many pic had I known but I am staying in a Hotel nearby and if you want, I can walk over, take some pictures and email them.
    Oh and I did ask them about the points. The front desk staff had no clue. They even did not know about the Hilton promotion and just left saying “We are still figuring things out”
    Thanks

  • Ric Garrido March 23, 2011

    @Avi I’d love some photos of Home2 Suites. The hotel must have opened before March 17 if you were there before then. Sometimes it is difficult to tell from web articles when a hotel actually opened.

    I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in 2008 on its Grand Opening Celebration night. I think the hotel had been receiving guests for three months by that date. I still love the fact that I got complimentary beer.

  • Explore March 23, 2011

    Thanks, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

  • ROB April 16, 2011

    RIC —

    JUST NOTICED THAT THE H2S IN BALTIMORE IS ONLY 7,500 HHONORS POINTS PER NIGHT AS A REDEMPTION OPTION.

    PERHAPS THE OTHERS WILL BE SIMILARLY SITUATED AND THEREFORE, ALTHOUGH YOU MAY NOT EARN ALOT OF POINTS, THEY MAY BE GOOD FOR POINT REDEMPTONS.

  • Ric Garrido April 16, 2011

    That is great to see Hilton actually assigning some new hotels to the pretty vacant category 1 rewards.

  • Nick June 27, 2011

    I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the brand – shoot me an email (author) if you’re interested.

  • HELP Sheet #12 – Current Hotel LoyaltySphere - Loyalty Traveler November 10, 2011

    […] Home2Suites opens first hotel of Hilton’s new extended stay brand in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Unfortunately this new hotel brand becomes the first HHonors brand with a lower earn rate for points and miles. Loyalty Traveler post March 21. […]

  • fayetteville social media November 27, 2011

    Wow, superb blog format! How long have you been running a blog for? you make running a blog look easy. The total look of your web site is magnificent, as smartly as the content material!

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