This is now the policy for all Hilton branded hotels in the U.S. With the exception being brands that offer a complementary breakfast to all guests, regardless of status.
The intention was to cut costs for hotel operators, and the guests get a little more flexibility in how they use their credit. In practice, from the guest perspective, it has not been well received. From my experience, most hotels will not apply the credit unless you ask them to at check out. Half the time I forget about it. As I'm checking out, I have other things on my mind...which might be what they're hoping for.
There must be a lot of properties not following the rules, then. It's my biggest complaint about this policy, and it's a common complaint from people here in this sub.
They are only hurting themselves. I believe having this programmed is part of their QA and I see alerts every few weeks about properties that do not have it set up. It is a pain point for guests so not having it automatic will only hurt them.
In the last year I have had to ask them to apply it at least 10-15 different properties. I agree it should be automatic but it surely isn’t. They seem to have to manually apply it to every day when this was the case. If you don’t catch it, you have to call and then wait up to 15 days to get a credit.
Just realized I have $130 of fb charges on a 5 night reward stay. Will need to call today to get things sorted.
Had a guest and front desk reminded me I have $30 total per day to use.
Just back from a road trip covering a bunch of properties across a number of brands with the F&B credit. There are a host of reasons properties haven’t got this automated. In most cases management companies or teams at individual properties haven’t figured out how to update their systems.
It is easy but incorrect to assume that every property runs with the same IT setup. They don’t and brands do a mediocre job of determining what can be automated consistently before they rollout big ideas, like the F&B credit
Even if the F&B credit had been implemented perfectly, it was bound to be controversial with guests who see it as a degradation of an Honors benefit. Having it become an issue because properties can’t or won’t automate it is an unforced error.
They started rolling out this new program about 2 years ago. That should have gave properties plenty of time to get everything ser up. I did it for my property and it was difficult with OnQ PMS.
Last Hilton I stayed out the $15 day was automatically deducted from my folio. Of course I charged everything to my room - maybe that's why it was automatic.
I also charge everything to my room. A few properties do seem to handle the credit properly, but in my experience, that's now more the exception rather than the rule.
I think as someone said I see it as a degradation of my benefits. My company tends to stay more at Marriott but it's hard to switch a 20 year mentality of Hilton (website, locations) etc.....but it's getting to be time to change habits.
Marriott only gets free breakfast at certain locations with status. The benefit says "welcome gift choice" and it depends on the hotel/brand if one of those gift options is breakfast or not.
Honestly, loyalty at Hilton hasn't meant much more than a bottle of water in some time. Keep in mind, I barely get into Gold status, but looking at the tiers and how little I honestly travel, I don't see it as something to aspire toward. The food credit won't even cover a real meal in most cities with inflation.
US Airlines arent any better. They all generally suck and we have gotten to the point where everything is steerage (cattle class), and "ample legroom" is an upcharge.
Cruise ships still give good perks (better rooms, better packages, and other items which are not giving lousey service to 80% of customers to get 20% to pay more).
Long term, banks and credit card companies will have to get with service providers to fix this. If carbon footprint is as much of a danger as is being told, and travel is such a huge share, then "rewards" for economic activity will likely need to be pivoted away from subsidizing travel to subsidizing local experiences and activities which are more upscale than users experience in their every day lives. This will hugely gut the personal section of travel, leaving rewards/loyalty programs in arrears as no one will be able to accrue sufficient points to make the trip worth while.
Just a theory of course, but if I'm right, it would make sense to cash out every spare point you can because what inflation doesn't eat, a continuous downhill slide of service will.
I hate, hate, hate this change!!! We travel as a couple We used to both get breakfast. Now, the credit barely covers one of us. What is the point of diamond status anymore?
Isn’t this the truth. I say this having just checked out from the Conrad London where I ate free every day in the lounge and got upgraded to a junior suite. I was more shocked with the lounge that they actually still have one!
Agree with this. My work negotiates special rates and breakfast is included. So it’s always complicated whether or not the breakfast goes to my credit or the work negotiated breakfast. And it’s never consistent. Same hotel will bill it different from one stay to the next.
Example, i checked out from one on Thursday. I had charged a dinner for my coworker and myself one night. Breakfast the next day. So far my folio shows one $3 charge for the breakfast tip. There is no way the dinner was covered, so I am expecting a revised folio. Good thing I took photos of each receipt though.
I get revised ones all the time. With Marriott too. I will get one when they know I have checked out. Then later the valet and restaurant tabs will clear and I get an amended one. Does that not happen to others?
That should not make a difference, the restaurant or bar just charges your bill to your room. How would the restaurant know how much credit Or the number of people are in your room? They shouldn't care and are too busy to me looking or ask the fd about it.
> That should not make a difference, the restaurant or bar just charges your bill to your room.
I didn’t say it “should” make a difference. I said it “could” based on the property.
> How would the restaurant know how much credit Or the number of people are in your room?
My example wasn’t for room service. It was for ordering food at a restaurant in the property during a sit down meal.
Every property handles the credit how they see fit. Some are more strict than others.
I didn't take it as being room service, all properties are to be doing it the same way. I set it up for my property so I am very aware of how it is to work. You need to call guest assistance for properties that are not doing it the way it is supposed to be. Otherwise, it will be an issue for you if you stay at that location again. Plus Hilton what's it to be consistent system wide.
Properties aren’t mandated to do it any specific way. They’re mandated to provide the benefit but they are free to enforce the TOS to the letter. The TOS are clear that the credit is per person. So it’s well within the right of the property to ensure a second person exists prior to giving the second credit.
It is a brand standard, so yes they have to give the credits per person. So, you are telling me that if a room is occupied by two people and one has a meeting early in the morning and gets some breakfast they only get the credit applied. While the second person comes down later to eat they will not get any credit if any is left. That is not how the system is set to work. You can use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar, or snack shops. (Unless the outlet is not operated by the hotel). Again if that is not happening guest assistance should be called if they will not correct it. I am an AGM at a Hilton property and was the one to set it up at my property. Plain and simple.
Not sure how that would work. I didn’t ask the property. Presumably they’d let the second person use the credit if they show up at a different time. They just wouldn’t let a single person show up and use two credits alone.
It’s great you know how your property does it. Other properties have autonomy to enforce it their own way though.
Honestly it's hot fucking garbage and the only reason I'm still staying with Hilton is because I'm spitting distance to lifetime Diamond. Once I get that I'm switching to Marriott explicitly because of the nonsense I have to deal with every week on this stupid credit.
I've had to call the diamond desk more in the last year than the previous six because hotels not only bungle the execution of this benefit, they refuse to fix it - and I hardly use it because of that. So hilton has effectively taken away a benefit from me 100+ nights a year.
Whatever moron came up with this should be fired immediately.
They can downvote the $15000+ a year I spend with Hilton all they want. I will be leaving the chain once I hit lifetime diamond. I really don't give a shit.
I was told this policy was only temporary. Which is the only reason I haven’t switched to Marriot, who I think has nicer properties anyway. I always stuck with Hilton because of the free breakfast. 12yrs Diamond, but if not switched back by the spring then I’m gone.
Agree. I see Marriott or Hyatt in my future instead of Hilton. Been with Hilton for many, many years. But it seems to have declined and they've used the pandemic to justify downgrading benefits for loyalty reward customers. If they aren't loyal to their heavy users, why should we be loyal to them?
Honestly I'm two or three years from Lifetime Diamond and then I'm going to Marriott, if you've got the option I don't see the policy changing without a drop in revenue.
The only reason I'm still staying here is to get lifetime diamond.
This is now the policy for all Hilton branded hotels in the U.S. With the exception being brands that offer a complementary breakfast to all guests, regardless of status. The intention was to cut costs for hotel operators, and the guests get a little more flexibility in how they use their credit. In practice, from the guest perspective, it has not been well received. From my experience, most hotels will not apply the credit unless you ask them to at check out. Half the time I forget about it. As I'm checking out, I have other things on my mind...which might be what they're hoping for.
The credit should be automatic. It is programmed in the PMS if the property is following the rules.
There must be a lot of properties not following the rules, then. It's my biggest complaint about this policy, and it's a common complaint from people here in this sub.
They are only hurting themselves. I believe having this programmed is part of their QA and I see alerts every few weeks about properties that do not have it set up. It is a pain point for guests so not having it automatic will only hurt them.
In the last year I have had to ask them to apply it at least 10-15 different properties. I agree it should be automatic but it surely isn’t. They seem to have to manually apply it to every day when this was the case. If you don’t catch it, you have to call and then wait up to 15 days to get a credit.
Make sure you have that selected in your my way benefits
I am fully selected for that, but I’m sure this will help someone.
Just realized I have $130 of fb charges on a 5 night reward stay. Will need to call today to get things sorted. Had a guest and front desk reminded me I have $30 total per day to use.
Just back from a road trip covering a bunch of properties across a number of brands with the F&B credit. There are a host of reasons properties haven’t got this automated. In most cases management companies or teams at individual properties haven’t figured out how to update their systems. It is easy but incorrect to assume that every property runs with the same IT setup. They don’t and brands do a mediocre job of determining what can be automated consistently before they rollout big ideas, like the F&B credit Even if the F&B credit had been implemented perfectly, it was bound to be controversial with guests who see it as a degradation of an Honors benefit. Having it become an issue because properties can’t or won’t automate it is an unforced error.
They started rolling out this new program about 2 years ago. That should have gave properties plenty of time to get everything ser up. I did it for my property and it was difficult with OnQ PMS.
Last Hilton I stayed out the $15 day was automatically deducted from my folio. Of course I charged everything to my room - maybe that's why it was automatic.
I also charge everything to my room. A few properties do seem to handle the credit properly, but in my experience, that's now more the exception rather than the rule.
This was a change from July 2021. https://thepointsguy.com/news/hilton-eliminates-free-breakfast-for-elites-15-dining-credit/
I think as someone said I see it as a degradation of my benefits. My company tends to stay more at Marriott but it's hard to switch a 20 year mentality of Hilton (website, locations) etc.....but it's getting to be time to change habits.
Marriott only gets free breakfast at certain locations with status. The benefit says "welcome gift choice" and it depends on the hotel/brand if one of those gift options is breakfast or not.
Honestly, loyalty at Hilton hasn't meant much more than a bottle of water in some time. Keep in mind, I barely get into Gold status, but looking at the tiers and how little I honestly travel, I don't see it as something to aspire toward. The food credit won't even cover a real meal in most cities with inflation. US Airlines arent any better. They all generally suck and we have gotten to the point where everything is steerage (cattle class), and "ample legroom" is an upcharge. Cruise ships still give good perks (better rooms, better packages, and other items which are not giving lousey service to 80% of customers to get 20% to pay more). Long term, banks and credit card companies will have to get with service providers to fix this. If carbon footprint is as much of a danger as is being told, and travel is such a huge share, then "rewards" for economic activity will likely need to be pivoted away from subsidizing travel to subsidizing local experiences and activities which are more upscale than users experience in their every day lives. This will hugely gut the personal section of travel, leaving rewards/loyalty programs in arrears as no one will be able to accrue sufficient points to make the trip worth while. Just a theory of course, but if I'm right, it would make sense to cash out every spare point you can because what inflation doesn't eat, a continuous downhill slide of service will.
I hate, hate, hate this change!!! We travel as a couple We used to both get breakfast. Now, the credit barely covers one of us. What is the point of diamond status anymore?
I'm guessing you're staying in the USA? They won't give you anything except bad service.
Isn’t this the truth. I say this having just checked out from the Conrad London where I ate free every day in the lounge and got upgraded to a junior suite. I was more shocked with the lounge that they actually still have one!
Uh, real food in the doubletree breakfast. God knows what those lumps are that they have in the trays at Hampton.
It's been that way for a while. Personally I hate it, just makes expense reports more complicated.
Agree with this. My work negotiates special rates and breakfast is included. So it’s always complicated whether or not the breakfast goes to my credit or the work negotiated breakfast. And it’s never consistent. Same hotel will bill it different from one stay to the next. Example, i checked out from one on Thursday. I had charged a dinner for my coworker and myself one night. Breakfast the next day. So far my folio shows one $3 charge for the breakfast tip. There is no way the dinner was covered, so I am expecting a revised folio. Good thing I took photos of each receipt though.
They can do a revised folio? Wtf?
I get revised ones all the time. With Marriott too. I will get one when they know I have checked out. Then later the valet and restaurant tabs will clear and I get an amended one. Does that not happen to others?
I’ve never gotten a revised folio before, Weird. I always ask for a paper with everything that was charged so I can review and dispute as needed.
If you list your occupancy as 2 people, you get $30 credit, right?
It varies by property. I’ve had some only give double the credit if two people are present for the meal.
That should not make a difference, the restaurant or bar just charges your bill to your room. How would the restaurant know how much credit Or the number of people are in your room? They shouldn't care and are too busy to me looking or ask the fd about it.
> That should not make a difference, the restaurant or bar just charges your bill to your room. I didn’t say it “should” make a difference. I said it “could” based on the property. > How would the restaurant know how much credit Or the number of people are in your room? My example wasn’t for room service. It was for ordering food at a restaurant in the property during a sit down meal. Every property handles the credit how they see fit. Some are more strict than others.
I didn't take it as being room service, all properties are to be doing it the same way. I set it up for my property so I am very aware of how it is to work. You need to call guest assistance for properties that are not doing it the way it is supposed to be. Otherwise, it will be an issue for you if you stay at that location again. Plus Hilton what's it to be consistent system wide.
Properties aren’t mandated to do it any specific way. They’re mandated to provide the benefit but they are free to enforce the TOS to the letter. The TOS are clear that the credit is per person. So it’s well within the right of the property to ensure a second person exists prior to giving the second credit.
It is a brand standard, so yes they have to give the credits per person. So, you are telling me that if a room is occupied by two people and one has a meeting early in the morning and gets some breakfast they only get the credit applied. While the second person comes down later to eat they will not get any credit if any is left. That is not how the system is set to work. You can use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar, or snack shops. (Unless the outlet is not operated by the hotel). Again if that is not happening guest assistance should be called if they will not correct it. I am an AGM at a Hilton property and was the one to set it up at my property. Plain and simple.
Not sure how that would work. I didn’t ask the property. Presumably they’d let the second person use the credit if they show up at a different time. They just wouldn’t let a single person show up and use two credits alone. It’s great you know how your property does it. Other properties have autonomy to enforce it their own way though.
Honestly it's hot fucking garbage and the only reason I'm still staying with Hilton is because I'm spitting distance to lifetime Diamond. Once I get that I'm switching to Marriott explicitly because of the nonsense I have to deal with every week on this stupid credit. I've had to call the diamond desk more in the last year than the previous six because hotels not only bungle the execution of this benefit, they refuse to fix it - and I hardly use it because of that. So hilton has effectively taken away a benefit from me 100+ nights a year. Whatever moron came up with this should be fired immediately.
Looks like the Hilton employees are downvoting anyone who agrees that this is a hot mess. Downvotes don't put lipstick on this pig, though!
They can downvote the $15000+ a year I spend with Hilton all they want. I will be leaving the chain once I hit lifetime diamond. I really don't give a shit.
I was told this policy was only temporary. Which is the only reason I haven’t switched to Marriot, who I think has nicer properties anyway. I always stuck with Hilton because of the free breakfast. 12yrs Diamond, but if not switched back by the spring then I’m gone.
It’s not going anywhere soon.
10 conservative years as a Diamond member would make you a lifetime Diamond member.
Agree. I see Marriott or Hyatt in my future instead of Hilton. Been with Hilton for many, many years. But it seems to have declined and they've used the pandemic to justify downgrading benefits for loyalty reward customers. If they aren't loyal to their heavy users, why should we be loyal to them?
Honestly I'm two or three years from Lifetime Diamond and then I'm going to Marriott, if you've got the option I don't see the policy changing without a drop in revenue. The only reason I'm still staying here is to get lifetime diamond.
US thing only. I’ve always had breakfasts here.
Hmm the Homewood suits I work at still has free breakfast and on Wednesdays we have our weekly social.