Hilton Honors has just made a major change to elite perks for members in the United States. I’m undecided as to whether this is a fair and positive change in light of circumstances, or bad news with long term implications.
New Hilton Honors elite credit in place of breakfast
Hilton Honors Gold and Hilton Honors Diamond members receive complimentary continental breakfast as an elite benefit at all hotel brands that don’t offer it for free, which is one of the primary benefits of having hotel elite status (note that many hotels go above and beyond, and offer a full hot breakfast).
Starting in early July and through the end of 2021, Hilton Honors will offer a food & beverage credit in place of breakfast at properties in the United States. We don’t yet know all of the details, but here’s what we do know:
- The credit will be per person, up to two registered guests per room
- The amount of the credit will vary depending on the brand and location, and in the coming weeks we should learn more details
- Hilton Honors claims that members have “asked for flexibility,” and this is in response to that
Here’s how Hilton Honors describes this change in an email to members:
Food & Beverage Credit for Gold & Diamond Members. You asked for flexibility, and we’ve got it. Whether you look forward to breakfast or would rather skip it in favor of a refreshing beverage and afternoon snack, the choice is yours. In early July, we’ll begin offering a daily Food & Beverage Credit that will continue through the end of 2021. You can use this credit at the hotel brands where you currently receive a complimentary continental breakfast as your elite benefit of your membership. You’ll now be able to dine when and how you want. We will share more details in the coming weeks.
Hilton Honors elite members will receive a flexible food & beverage credit
I’m conflicted about this change…
Obviously we’ll have to reserve final judgment until we find out more details about how big the credits are, though unfortunately I’m not very optimistic.
In an ideal world hotels would offer a credit big enough to cover breakfast for two people with flexibility to use it elsewhere, but I’d be willing to bet just about anything that the benefit won’t work that way.
Beyond that, though, whether or not this is good news really depends on which hotel you’re staying at and what your travel habits are:
- There’s huge variance in terms of the quality of breakfast — at some properties you get a full breakfast, at other properties you get coffee and a croissant
- As a morning person I always have breakfast, while I know plenty of people who don’t even wake up in time for breakfast, and therefore find the breakfast benefit to be useless
- Many hotels aren’t even offering a proper breakfast right now due to the pandemic, so for those properties this is probably good news
For those who eat breakfast, this is probably a negative change
Is this breakfast change really only permanent?
My bigger concern is that I expect this could be part of a lounger term change, with the goal of cutting costs. Hilton’s CEO has made it clear that many hotel service cuts are permanent, and that hotels will become higher margin businesses. I have a hard time imagining that the two things aren’t connected.
That’s especially true when you consider how Hilton is justifying this — Hilton isn’t claiming that these breakfast changes are due to many hotels offering limited service, but rather claims that it’s due to members asking “for flexibility.” I would imagine that Hilton Honors members also enjoyed flexibility (in theory) pre-pandemic, and will also enjoy flexibility post-pandemic. 😉
Furthermore, the timing of this is curious — this is coming at a time when we’re actually seeing many hotels reopen restaurants and other services, as more people are traveling.
Could this Hilton breakfast change eventually be rolled out globally?
Bottom line
Starting in early July 2021 and through the end of the year, Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members will receive a food & beverage credit in place of free breakfast at properties in the United States. The credit will vary by brand, and it remains to be seen how big of a credit we should expect.
Ultimately this is probably a fair short term solution, given that many hotels are offering limited service and aren’t offering the usual breakfast selection. I think the bigger concern is that this change could be permanent, which would be a devaluation in the long run (at least for most people).
What do you make of this change to Hilton Honors’ elite breakfast policy?
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May 21, 2021 at 12:53AM
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Hilton Honors Adds Elite Food & Beverage Credit - One Mile at a Time
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