New Breakfast enhancement

[Danger]

I think the suggestion is that all elite guests will partake of breakfast in the exec lounge. I doubt that means that all golds will get exec lounge access for canapés though.

Lounge access for breakfast but no lounge access for canapes sounds totally wrong. What if you decide to stay in lounge all day and evening?

I agree, JohnK. If Hilton Sydney is bringing this change about because 'that's what the rules are', well then the rules are very clear about lounge access: you either have access to the lounge or you do not. There is no 'you can have lounge access from 6am until 10am but that's it'. Show me that in the rules.

If Golds are being relegated to the lounge for breakfast then it is crystal clear they get access at every other hour of the day too.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Show me that in the rules.If Golds are being relegated to the lounge for breakfast then it is crystal clear they get access at every other hour of the day too.

Where is that "crystal clear" interpretation described? The T&Cs say they will give gold HH members 1000 points or continental breakfast depending upon the members pre-chosen preference. They do not state where the breakfast will be served or even in fact what constitutes a "continental" breakfast. Full lounge access is only a benefit to a gold HH member if they happen to be upgraded to an exec room (or the hotel feels generous).

I don't like the decision by H-SYD any more than anyone else, but I'd be very wary of making demands according to a (mis?)interpretation of the T&Cs.......you might find yourself with a $5 coffee and scone coupon.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Where is that "crystal clear" interpretation described? The T&Cs say they will give gold HH members 1000 points or continental breakfast depending upon the members pre-chosen preference. They do not state where the breakfast will be served or even in fact what constitutes a "continental" breakfast. Full lounge access is only a benefit to a gold HH member if they happen to be upgraded to an exec room (or the hotel feels generous).

I don't like the decision by H-SYD any more than anyone else, but I'd be very wary of making demands according to a (mis?)interpretation of the T&Cs.......you might find yourself with a $5 coffee and scone coupon.

Absolutely correct. I'm pretty sure there are properties in Hilton Worldwide which do open the Exec Lounge for Gold breakfast without extending Exec Lounge access as such to all Golds on property.

 

[blackgoose]

Was chatting to a member of H-Syd staff yesterday and the directive came from HHonors. Apparently not an internal decision. Another enhancement since my last stay is all Foxtel channels have been culled. Strange.

 

[kyle]

Was chatting to a member of H-Syd staff yesterday and the directive came from HHonors. Apparently not an internal decision. Another enhancement since my last stay is all Foxtel channels have been culled. Strange.

Which then begs the question, what about the other Hiltons that offer full breakfast?

 

[woodborer]

Which then begs the question, what about the other Hiltons that offer full breakfast?

If enough people go on about consistency, they will all be brought down to the 'requirements'!

 

[DC3]

........ Another enhancement since my last stay is all Foxtel channels have been culled. Strange.

What, only free to air now? Maybe FOXTEL was on the blink that night?

 

[blackgoose]

Indeed. I'm not saying I necessarily believed them, and the disappearance of Foxtel does maybe suggest some err budgetary repositioning..

Foxtel permanently on the blink, asked separate staffer tonight..

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Which then begs the question, what about the other Hiltons that offer full breakfast?

From memory, there are very few Hilton owned properties in Australia. Sydney is one of them, so I guess Hilton does have the right to dictate the offering, whereas other properties may be more up to the individual GM (perhaps). Also, perhaps H-SYD was billing HH more than their agreement and HH may have pulled them up on it. I have no idea how the HH system works, but I'm pretty sure it's run as a separate business and we do see plenty of Hilton properties opt out of HH promos so it's pretty evident that the relationship between HH and at least some properties can be somewhat strained from time to time.

 

[Denali]

Darwin Hilton(old Crowne Plaza) .. Diamonds still get full breakfast in the restaurant (and free coffee!!). Notice in lounge that hot/full breakfast downstairs $10 charge. Front desk/managers/lounge staff all very definite/keen to let us know that it was free for diamonds.. really good experience overall. Lounge staff were excellent - stubby/glass never actually got empty. the selection of dumplings and other canapés were very good. not sure about lounge breakfast as we ate downstairs every morning...coffee was really good too. Cairns next weekend - will be interesting to see what happens there

Good to know as I was going to make some Darwin bookings this week.

 

[dfcatch]

1/ Breakfast downstairs has always been a "property-specific" benefit, and in recent times, Hilton SYD has been at pains to point this out in the welcome letter.
Breakfast in Glass is not a HH requirement.

2/ Sydney is the only Hilton owned/managed property in AU and therefore all HH policy directives come out of SYD - Eg. The coffee tax.

3/ Loyalty programs seem to be run by absolute morons who don't have a f$&7ing clue about the real world or what their loyal customers actually want.

4/ Considering I recently met most of these types in ATL, they are normal smart people.

5/ The knowledge and smartness above doesn't seem to apply to Australian loyalty management teams, which appear to me to be made up of "agency chick" type guys and girls who don't actually know the first thing about "loyalty".

 

[DeKa]

From memory, there are very few Hilton owned properties in Australia. Sydney is one of them, so I guess Hilton does have the right to dictate the offering, whereas other properties may be more up to the individual GM (perhaps). Also, perhaps H-SYD was billing HH more than their agreement and HH may have pulled them up on it. I have no idea how the HH system works, but I'm pretty sure it's run as a separate business and we do see plenty of Hilton properties opt out of HH promos so it's pretty evident that the relationship between HH and at least some properties can be somewhat strained from time to time.

Not anymore: http://m.smh.com.au/business/proper...stor-westin-next-in-line-20150505-ggu7te.html

Maybe this is what's caused the changes to breakfasts.

 

[dfcatch]

Yes but it's still Hilton managed.

 

[Danger]

Where is that "crystal clear" interpretation described? The T&Cs say they will give gold HH members 1000 points or continental breakfast depending upon the members pre-chosen preference. They do not state where the breakfast will be served or even in fact what constitutes a "continental" breakfast. Full lounge access is only a benefit to a gold HH member if they happen to be upgraded to an exec room (or the hotel feels generous).

I don't like the decision by H-SYD any more than anyone else, but I'd be very wary of making demands according to a (mis?)interpretation of the T&Cs.......you might find yourself with a $5 coffee and scone coupon.

Fair point. I now agree with you that it's not crystal clear. However, I still think it's clear.

Absolutely correct. I'm pretty sure there are properties in Hilton Worldwide which do open the Exec Lounge for Gold breakfast without extending Exec Lounge access as such to all Golds on property.

The T&Cs for Gold members with respect to executive lounge access state:

[SUP]7[/SUP]Executive Floor Lounge Access Policy: The following policy applies at all Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton™ hotels with Executive Floor Lounges. Executive Floor Lounges are available only at select properties.

• If you are an HHonors guest with Gold status, you and up to one additional registered guest in the same room will be granted complimentary access to the Executive Floor Lounge only if you receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor or an upgrade to a room type that confers Executive Floor Lounge access benefits.

Now I preface my comment by saying that I don't think we actually know yet what is happening with Golds at Sydney. But the fair guess seems to be that they'll have breakfast in the lounge and may or may not have full executive lounge access. If this is the case then it's contrary to the above T&Cs which state, clearly, a Gold member will only get access to the executive lounge if they receive an upgrade to the executive floor. So a Gold member who is being told they must have breakfast in the lounge then, by definition, should have not only received an upgrade but have full access. Period. The T&Cs state you're only in the lounge if you've been upgraded so if Sydney decides to give lounge access only for breakfast, they are operating outside the T&Cs.

On the other hand if Sydney decided to set up some card tables and a few bean bags with a continental spread out at the porte cochere and send Golds there, then fine. Golds aren't being given access to the executive lounge at any time (unless otherwise upgraded) so Sydney is within the T&Cs.

And finally I also don't have a problem with Sydney's decision as it is indeed within the T&Cs. I'm disappointed as the breakfast in Glass has got to be one of the best hotel restaurant breakfasts out there. But by doing so they are not acting outside of the T&Cs, unless they go down the path I've outlined above.

As for a voucher for a coffee and a muffin, I'm aware that some US properties (probably more than a few) try to pass that off as meeting the T&Cs. It in no way does and, in such a circumstance, I would be very unimpressed.

 

[beardoc]

I do wonder if the sale of the hotel was related to this - it coincides, and it could have come with agreements that the Hotel's bottom line be improved - and the cost of breakfast in Glass for all Gold/Diamond members could have been looked at.

However, it's going to be an absolute battle in the Executive Lounge for breakfast in the mornings now.

I worry this will start to become the norm across Australia now. And it will impact my stays with Hilton. The full breakfast included was a big drawcard for me.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

if Sydney decided to set up some card tables and a few bean bags with a continental spread out at the porte cochere and send Golds there, then fine.

I see your point with the word "only" used in the T&Cs, but H-SYD doesn't have to set up a spread for golds in the porte cochere. There is already a precedence with some Hilton US properties just giving a voucher for a coffee and Danish. H-SYD could probably very easily arrange that with the coffee shop in the foyer. I think a continental lounge breakie would be the preferable option.

 

[tuapekastar]

HH T&Cs and compliance with said T&Cs, worldwide, are all over the place like the proverbial madwoman's. I don't think I'm enlightening anyone here with that statement. QF is so utterly consistent compared to HH.

Anyway, a recent stay in May at Doubletree Bangkok saw me (HH Gold) get full complimentary breakfast in the restaurant - and a good one at that - (there is no EL anyway), along with complimentary drinks (from a list - several beers, wines, spirits and a couple of other drinks, for HH Diamond and Gold) at the poolside Mosaic Bar from 5 to 7 (or 6 to 8, sorry, can't recall which) daily.

 

[woodborer]

HH T&Cs and compliance with said T&Cs, worldwide, are all over the place like the proverbial madwoman's. I don't think I'm enlightening anyone here with that statement. QF is so utterly consistent compared to HH.

True. But it scares me when people start asking for consistency. It just brings the over and above properties back down to the minimum.....

 

[JohnK]

That's an interesting comment. I haven't actually thought about a comparison between Hilton, IHG and Accor by way of point earn/burn. I've always compared with the emphasis being squarely on sundry benefits, with which I believe Hilton still wins.

Sundry benefits are nice but wasted on me as I am out of the room most times.

Accor has some cheap hotels in Thailand and with latest promotions they are paying me to stay. It's worth a shot as I got nowhere with Hilton and sitting on > 500,000 IHG points with no Pointsbreaks in sight.

 

[drross]

hilton Cairns - full breakfast downstairs still free for Diamonds. off caffeine at the moment so not sure if coffee charged extra.sorry