Automatic upgrades for all Hilton Diamond and Gold members
The news was in the air and we had already mentioned it in one of our reviews as well. Today Hilton announced the activation of the [...]
The news was in the air and We had already talked about it also in one of our reviews. Today Hilton announced the activation of "Global Automated Upgrades": all elite status holders in the Hilton Honors Program, from now on, will enjoy the assurance of receiving a free upgrade for all future bookings.
In this article:
How Global Automated Upgrades Works.
Eligible members will receive an email and push notification from the Hilton Honors app notifying them of their free room upgrade. Reservations must have been made at least 3 days prior to arrival, so last minute reservations are excluded from this new feature.
Once you receive the upgrade, if the hotel offers digital check-in, you can easily choose the location of your superior room via the app 36 hours before arrival.
All stays of less than seven nights are eligible to this early confirmation. In the coming months, it will be available at all Hilton brands globally where upgrades are currently offered, including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Signia by Hilton, and Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
Who is eligible for the upgrade
It will be up to the hotel to decide how many rooms to make available for upgrade and, more importantly, at what levels to release a particular room type.
Highest priority will be given to Diamond status holders for life, that is, customers who have maintained the Diamond level for 10 years and stayed at least 1,000 nights in the group's hotels. It will then be the turn of Diamond customers to close with Gold users.
What changes with the current situation
The change is small, but momentous. Until now, the upgrade was only communicated at check-in: however, if through the app you had already chosen the room and/or requested the digital key, you could not get any upgrade. Instead, from now on the whole procedure will be automatic and thus easier both for customers, who will find out sooner if they have been promoted to a better room level, and for hotels, since doing so is likely to make everyone start using digital check-in via app. This will reduce cash usage and time at the hotel front desk.
The Gold level, what Gives away free breakfast at all group hotels outside the United States, it is a benefit included in the annual fee for American Express Platinum. With the addition of this new feature, this benefit becomes even richer since an upgrade can mean saving hundreds on every reservation at Hilton hotels.
Good news for Italian customers
For once this is certainly positive news for Italian clients who travel frequently to Italy to these facilities. In the Italian market, customers holding Diamond and Diamond for life levels have become so almost exclusively in the field and are certainly many fewer than in other markets, where, on the other hand, thanks to Hilton credit cards Diamond status is given to a great many users. This means that in Italy, and in many European countries, it will be very likely for a "only" Gold customer to get an upgrade. Conversely, if you travel to the U.S., it will be complicated even for a Diamond to get a suite for the price of a single on the ground floor.
In conclusion
I am writing this news as I find myself in one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever visited and where, not surprisingly, I received an upgrade thanks to my Diamond level. I had noticed the upgrade just as I was about to check in via APP, but nothing compared to when I opened the door to room 316.
On the one hand, expectation is missed, but on the other hand, one can raise a glass to an upgrade even earlier and prepare for a better experience than one had planned, especially without spending a euro more.
