Hilton HHonors published hotel award category changes July 2, 2014, effective next Wednesday, July 9 with a list of 24 hotels increasing category and 15 hotels decreasing category. Be sure to look over the lists and check rates by Tuesday, July 8 for potential bookings you want to make at lower category rates.
In addition, there are 56 new hotels opened since April 1, 2014 with their hotel award category assignment. That is an average of one new hotel nearly every other day for the quarter. In April 2014, Hilton HHonors announced it was going to drop its annual award category reassignment for periodic reassignment during the year. I think it is the new hotel openings providing the underlying motive for more frequent hotel award category reassignment than the annual list. This also coincides with their quarterly inventory of Hilton brand hotels for financial reports.
24 hotels increase HHonors Award Category on July 9, 2014.
15 hotels decrease HHonors Award Category on July 9, 2014.
56 new Hilton brand hotels added April 1 – June 30, 2014 and their HHonors Award Category.
Hilton HHonors added 56 new hotels opened in Q2-2014.
There are more new Hilton brand hotels with a new hotel award category assignment than there are existing Hilton brand hotels being reassigned in this July 2, 2014 announcement. In the previous HHonors award category reassignment announcement model, we would not have received any notice of new hotels and their award categories, except once in the first quarter of the calendar year. I think this is an improvement to get calendar year quarterly lists with new Hilton brand hotels and their award categories considering Hilton is on pace to open more than 200 newly branded hotels in 2014.
As an HHonors member, having a list of new hotels and their hotel award category assignment is useful information. While I was aware of the new Category 9 Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam opened May 1 through hotel industry media reports, I did not know until seeing this list today that a new category 6 Hampton Inn & Suites Salinas opened in May 23, 2014, some 25 miles from my home in Monterey.
HHonors Hotel Award Category Analysis
The important thing to remember is the HHonors award category does not by itself tell members how much a hotel room will cost in points on any specific date. With the exception of hotels in category 1 to 3 with fixed award rates, the HHonors award category only gives a range of possible award cost.
Members need to check the Hilton HHonors Standard Room Rewards Point Pricing Tool. However, my next post reveals that you can’t even trust the HHonors award pricing shown on the Point Pricing Tool for accurate pricing.
Loyalty Traveler – Warning: Do Not Trust HHonors Rewards Pricing Tool (July 3, 2014)
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam as a category 9 hotel might be 50,000 or 60,000 or 70,000 or 80,000 points per night. This property is 70,000 points per award night for every month from July 2014 to February 2015, except for September through November 2014 when it is 80,000 points per night. Staying at this hotel in August on a 5-night award stay is 280,000 points and rises to 320,000 points in September with HHonors VIP 5th night free.
In theory, that is how the award pricing should work for this hotel. My next post shows that members may not get the accurate pricing for award nights using the Hilton HHonors Standard Room Rewards Point Pricing Tool.
You may need to actually try and book the hotel award to get an accurate price for your dates.
Related Post: Loyalty Traveler – Warning: Do Not Trust HHonors Rewards Pricing Tool (July 3, 2014).
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Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. Check out current hotel loyalty program offers across all the major chains in Loyalty Traveler’s monthly hotel promotions guide.
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