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I am looking to book Hilton Kuala Lumpur or Doubletree Kuala Lumpur for a trip to Malaysia in January 2024. I am currently Hilton Gold status but this expires on 31 March 2023. If I book an Advance Purchase reservation today will I be classified as Gold Status for my stay in January 2024 (and therefore receive Gold benefits, e.g. free breakfast) or is status at the date of stay the determinant (when I will not be Gold).
It’s your status as of the date you stay.
Depending upon how you value the status and how long your stay is, you can always try to reobtain gold by getting a Platinum card. Get it nearer the time and you may well also get access to some lounges for your flights and then once you have extracted value from it, decide whether or not you want to keep it long term.
If it helps with you decision, the breakfast at the Hilton KL is phenomenal and well worth that months Platinum fee.
There may also be other options open to you nearer the time if Hilton are running any status challenges.
Thanks. That is what I expected but thought it best to check. I am flying CW so lounge access already sorted but thanks for Platinum suggestion, I will keep that in mind.
Many years ago, my Hilton status expired a month before a USA road trip where I had multiple Hilton stays booked, on the premise of a free breakfast.
I wrote a slightly groveling email to hilton honors saying how I only booked these hotels because the ‘Benefits’ shown when I booked indicated free breakfast, and I had not realised the impact of 31st March downgrade timing.
I asked if there was anything that could be done, highlighting that it was really the breakfast that was important to me.
… Honors forwarded the mail on to all of the hotels I had booked asking them to see what they could do, and each properly independently chose to upgrade me to Executive rooms with lounge access at all properties (and therefore breakfast) – some of them quite insanely OTT upgrades (sq.ft. bigger than my house, hot tub…).
Being downgraded turned out infinitely better than keeping status that year!
Many years ago, my Hilton status expired a month before a USA road trip where I had multiple Hilton stays booked, on the premise of a free breakfast.
I wrote a slightly groveling email to hilton honors saying how I only booked these hotels because the ‘Benefits’ shown when I booked indicated free breakfast, and I had not realised the impact of 31st March downgrade timing.
I asked if there was anything that could be done, highlighting that it was really the breakfast that was important to me.
… Honors forwarded the mail on to all of the hotels I had booked asking them to see what they could do, and each properly independently chose to upgrade me to Executive rooms with lounge access at all properties (and therefore breakfast) – some of them quite insanely OTT upgrades (sq.ft. bigger than my house, hot tub…).
Being downgraded turned out infinitely better than keeping status that year!
What a result, well done.
Are CS people still empowered to make these sort of arrangements (emailing specific hotels on your behalf)? My interactions with pretty much all CS departments in the past few years has given me the opinion that things aren’t like they used to be. Customer Service has gotten so bad, with clueless inexperienced people manning the phones or mailboxes. So frustrating having to explain things over and over and they still misunderstand.Hilton are top performers here.
Empowered hotel managers. Powerful central oversight.
If you read the franchise agreement, it is clear why the central guest assistance team are powerful. After a stay, any time central guest assistance have to get involved – it costs the hotel. If guest assistance decide you are due a refund, the hotel pay out. They are not a toothless/useless call centre like IHG.
It certainly felt like the hotel managers sit up and do what they can when central guest assistance get in touch!
However – the individual GM’s also have a lot of autonomy. On long term stays, myself and colleagues have emailed Hilton hotels directly and negotiated a rate directly with the hotel manager.
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