The Hilton at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. (Image: Hilton)
Hilton Worldwide is trying to sweeten the pot for its HHonors loyalty members – and to steer them away from third-party online booking sites – by unveiling a new exclusive discount program for them when they book directly with Hilton.
The company said the room rate discount “that can’t be found anywhere else” will be available at more than 4,500 Hilton-branded hotels worldwide for HHonors members who book through Hilton’s websites, its HHonors mobile app, or through “preferred corporate travel partners and approved travel agents.”
Hilton is kicking off a big new marketing campaign to get the word about the discount out to its loyal customers, and to remind them of the other benefits of direct booking for HHonors members – i.e., they earn HHonors points that they wouldn’t get for third-party bookings, and they also get free Wi-Fi, digital check-in and room selection, and a Digital Key to open their guest room door via the HHonors mobile app.
The theme of the new campaign is “Stop Clicking Around.”
A Hilton spokesperson tells TravelSkills that the HHonors discount will be 3 percent for Sunday through Thursday stays and 10 percent for Fridays and Saturdays on direct bookings made 15 days or more in advance. The discount is 2 percent for direct bookings made less than 15 days in advance. The discounts apply across all Hilton brands.
“There is a huge misconception that third parties always offer lower prices for our hotel rooms, which is simply not true,” said Mark Weinstein, Hilton Worldwide’s head of Customer Engagement, Loyalty and Partnerships. Hilton says the new loyalty discount will give HHonors members the lowest rate available anywhere online.
He said Hilton estimates that guests who booked through third-party sites in 2015 left 57 billion HHonors points uncollected, worth 1.6 million free nights.
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