Hilton HHonors has a promotion for Delta SkyMiles offering double miles and 250 Medallion elite status qualifying miles (MQM) for every stay of two nights or longer from October 1 to December 11, 2011. There is no list of nonparticipating hotels so this appears to be a worldwide offer across the Hilton Worldwide chain.

HHonors-Delta Skymiles Registration is required here.

The best part is this offer may be combined with probably the most lucrative hotel loyalty promotion for this quarter with a free night at any Hilton Worldwide hotel after four stays or ten nights at any participating Hilton Worldwide hotel brand. There are over 200 hotels in the U.S. not participating so be sure to check the non-participating hotels list for the free night offer.

Hilton also has a promotion with United Mileage Plus for 1,000 bonus miles for two-night stays in same period (UA promo is redeemable miles only and not elite qualifying miles) that I posted yesterday. And this offer is combinable with HHonors Free Nights offer. You can only earn frequent flyer miles with one airline per hotel stay, so no UA bonus and DL bonus for same hotel stays.

Please leave a comment on this post if you see other Hilton HHonors airline partners offering a bonus during this same promotion period and I will share the information in a blog post.

HHonors Delta SkyMiles 250 MQM and Double miles Oct 1-Dec 11, 2011

What does Double SkyMiles mean with Hilton HHonors?

Hilton HHonors has a complicated system for miles earning that factors in hotel brand and HHonors member earning preference of Fixed Miles or Variable Miles.

Fixed Miles Earning (Regular earning rate = 500 miles per stay; double Skymiles = 1,000 miles per stay)

• Hilton
• DoubleTree
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hilton Grand Vacations
• Embassy Suites
• Conrad
• Waldorf Astoria Collection

Fixed Miles Earning (Regular earning rate = 250 miles per stay; double Skymiles = 500 miles per stay)

• Hampton Inn
• Homewood Suites
• Note: Home2 Suites only allows HHonors Points & Variable Miles earning.

Variable Miles Earning (1 mile per U.S. Dollar; Double Skymiles = 2 miles per dollar.)

• All Hilton Worldwide brands earn 1 mile per U.S. Dollar.
• Home2 Suites  has 100 miles per stay maximum limit; double Skymiles = 200 miles max.

Double SkyMiles MQM

• a two-night or longer stay at any Hilton brand from October 1 and December 11, 2011 after promotion registration earns 250 Medallion Qualifying Miles.

Bonus Skymiles and Medallion Qualifying Miles will be added after the end of the promotion. I assume these MQM will post and apply to 2011 MQM total for 2012 Medallion qualification.

Hilton HHonors released the highest value hotel loyalty promotion of all the major chains for a free night every 4 stays or 10 nights October 1 – December 31, 2011. There is no limit to the number of free night certificates a member may earn during the promotion period. Free night certificates are valid at any Hilton brand hotel worldwide. Free night certificates expire six months after issuance.

Members must choose between earning free nights or an alternate promotion earning double points. There are about 270 properties opting out of this promotion, almost all in the U.S.

HHonors Fast Ways to Free Stays promotion registration is required.

Free Nights or Double Points?

HHonors Fast Ways to Free Stays 2011-Q4 promotion offers the choice of double points or a free night every 4 stays or 10 nights.

Double points is only a better offer if you think you will not qualify for a free night during the promotion period or perhaps you are a really big spender. Considering a person needs to spend $5,000 to earn 50,000 bonus points with the double points offer, most HHonors members will likely have four stays or ten nights and earn a free night certificate long before spending $5,000.

HHonors ‘Fast Ways to Free Stays’ Basics

• Promotion period = October 1-December 31, 2011
• Promotion available for HHonors members worldwide
• About 270 hotels opted out promotion among 3,700 hotels worldwide. Almost all hotels opting out are located in U.S.
• List of non-participating Hilton Hotels.
• Member must select either double points or free nights version of promotion.
• No changing promotion preference from double points or free nights after member registers.
• Double points = 10 bonus points per $1 above regular earning rate for Points & Points or Points & Miles earners.
• Free Night certificate may be redeemed at any Hilton brand property worldwide (even the hotels that have opted out of the promotion for earning free nights.)
• Ten nights qualification does not need to be consecutive nights.
• HHonors members earn regular points and miles during this promotion.
• HHonors reward stays do not count for free night qualification.
• HHonors free night certificates expire 6 months after issuance. (Assuming all certificates are issued by January 31, 2012, this means that the latest date is likely July 2012 for redeeming free nights.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This is a 5-key promotion and the most lucrative offer for 2011-Q4 hotel stays.

Hotel hopping for one-night stays means this offer is like getting 12,500 to 15,000 or even 20,000 bonus points per hotel stay when a free night certificate is redeemed for a category 7 HHonors hotel reward night or Waldorf-Astoria Collection where reward nights can be as high as 80,000 points per night.

I am definitely looking to take advantage of this HHonors ‘Fast Ways to Free Stays’ offer as my primary high value rebate for hotel stays over the next three months.

HHonors 2011-Q4 Fast Ways to Free Stays

Hilton HHonors Promotion non-participating hotels 

Hilton HHonors Q3 promotion offers double points or double miles for hotel stays from July 1 to September 30, 2011. There are about 250 hotels excluded for this promotion, with almost all the non-participating hotels located in the USA, so check the participating hotels link carefully.

• Register for “Double Your HHonors” promotion before your first stay.
• Choose earning preference of Points & Points to earn Double Points. Only 10 base points per $1 count for double points. Elite bonuses are not doubled.
• Choose either Points & Fixed Miles or Points & Variable Miles to earn Double Miles.
• Reservations may be booked before promotion registration.
• Promotion registration during an eligible stay will make the entire stay eligible for double points/miles if registered before checkout and entire stay is within promotion dates.
• Offer applies for up to two rooms per stay.
• Reward stays are only eligible for Double Points for incidental spend, except at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites. No double miles will be earned on reward stays.

Hilton HHonors Double Points or Double Miles Promotion July 1-Sep 30, 2011.

Earning with Hilton HHonors

HHonors Points & Points

Usually I favor HHonors Points & Points where a general non-elite HHonors member will earn 25 points per $1 with this double points promotion and a Diamond elite member can earn 30 points/$1.

Reward stays are eligible for double points on incidental spend which might be a consideration for choosing Double Points this summer if you are planning a high spend reward stay.

• Double Points = 25 points/$1 at most hotels (10 base points + 10 double points + 5 Points & Points preference).
• $200 hotel stay = 5,000 HHonors points.

HHonors Points & Miles

Points & Miles is a good value offer that may exceed the value of collecting only HHonors points if stays put you close to a frequent flyer award ticket or upgrade.

Double Miles with Points & Fixed Miles spending $200 at a Hilton Garden Inn and earning American Airlines:

• Points & Double Miles = 10 base points/$1 + 1,000 miles (double fixed miles).
• $200 hotel stay = 2,000 HHonors points + 1,000 AAdvantage miles.

Double Miles with Points & Variable Miles spending $200 at Hampton Inn and earning United Mileage Plus miles:

• Points & Double Miles = 10 base points/$1 + 400 miles (double variable miles = 2 miles/$1).
• $200 hotel stay = 2,000 HHonors points + 400 United Mileage Plus miles.

HHonors offers a comparatively low exchange rate for HHonors points-to-miles transfers compared with other hotel loyalty programs at 10,000 points = 1,000 miles for most airlines or 10,000 points = 1,500 miles for American and a select few airline partners.

1,000 miles is generally a $15 to $20 rebate value on a frequent flyer award ticket. 10,000 points will generally have more value when used for hotel stays.

Fixed or Variable Miles?

Choosing Points & Fixed Miles is generally the best option for low spend stays.

7 of the 10 Hilton hotel brands earn 500 miles per stay with most airline partners. Double miles are 1,000 frequent flyer miles per stay. Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites offer only 20% miles with most airline partners.

Points & Variable Miles earns more miles when spending more than $500 during a single hotel stay or more than $100 at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites where most airlines limit fixed earn miles to 100 miles per stay.

Highest HHonors Earning Airline Partners

The most favorable airlines for Points & Fixed Miles when staying at a Hampton Inn or Homewood Suites are bmi, FinnAir, Olympic and Southwest where there is no reduction in earning for these hotel brands.

Virgin Atlantic = 1,000 miles per stay is normal earn rate with 2,000 miles per stay for double fixed miles for all brands except Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites.

British Midland International (bmi) = 1,000 miles per night (up to 3 nights) at any brand, except Home2 Suites is 1,000 miles per stay. Double miles mean 2,000 miles per night or up to 6,000 miles per 3-night stay at Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites when earning bmi miles.

FinnAir = 500 points per night regularly (up to 5 nights) at any brand, except Home2Suites earns 500 points per stay. Double miles mean 1000 points per night, up to 5,000 points per stay at all brands except Home2 Suites.

Southwest Airlines is one of the best airlines for HHonors miles earning since Rapid Rewards points are earned at the same rate regardless of Hilton hotel brand, except for Home2 Suites stays are not eligible for Rapid Rewards points. It is hard to be a Hilton HHonors frequent guest and avoid Hampton Inn. Either HHonors points or Southwest Rapid Rewards points are good earner options for Hampton Inn stays for the person who prefers to collect airline miles since 100 miles per stay (200 miles during double miles) for Points & Fixed Miles earners is a low value rebate when collecting miles in another program.

Loyalty Traveler Note: It is disappointing to see Hilton HHonors launch its new 10^th hotel brand Home2 Suites in 2011 with diminished Hilton HHonors benefits for the HHonors member.

Changing Your HHonors Earning Preference:

You can change your preferred HHonors airline partner for earning airline miles between HHonors hotel stays to maximize the best airline earning option for each hotel stay.

The FAQ state you can’t register for both double miles and double points.

The option you choose during promotion registration is set for the duration of this promotion, so choosing miles mean all your hotel stays will be for double miles and you will not be able to earn double points, even if your earning preference is changed to points over the summer.

Personally I advise going for the high value free night offers this summer from Starwood Preferred Guest (to July 31: 3 stays = 1 resort night), Marriott Rewards (to August 31: 2 stays = 1 free night) and Best Western Rewards (to Aug 14: 3 stays = 1 free night) for the best value hotel stay rebates. This is a decent offer from Hilton HHonors, but there are better promotions available.

The Great Getaway offer is advertised as up to 40% off Hilton brand hotel rates this summer. My searches for U.S. hotels indicate 15% or 20% off is most prevalent and even those discounts at several brands are based on the Bed & Breakfast rate.

Keep in mind these are prepaid room rates that do not allow changes or refunds. Also, keep in mind that AAA rates generally offer at least 10% off and tend to be flexible with no penalty for cancellation until just before arrival date.

The Great Getaway Hilton Terms

• Book May 13 to August 22
• Stay May 27 to September 5
• Hotels worldwide participating
• Must book at least 14 days before arrival
• Rates are prepaid at time of booking and nonrefundable
• Discounts are 15% to 40%.

This offer might be a good savings if you are not HHonors elite with breakfast privileges and breakfast is a valued component for your stay. Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn, where breakfast is complimentary for all guests, look to have better rates where the discount is tied to the Best Available Rate rather than the higher Bed & Breakfast rate for a Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton or Doubletree. The rates tend to be 15% discount for Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn in the U.S. and 20% for Hilton, HGI and Doubletree.

London rates actually look like a decent value discount with 40% off Bed & Breakfast rates at several hotels. London did not even make the Trivago list of top 10 cities for most expensive 5-star hotel rooms. That honor goes to New York.

Hilton Great Getaway 2011

Hotel Brands: Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Home2Suites. 

* Hilton HHonors Triple Miles with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for stays April 1-June 30. This is a 4-key promotion allowing 3,000 miles per Hilton brand hotel stay. LT post March 29.

** Hilton HHonors has triple bonus miles offers with 8 airlines for stays April 1 – June 30. My blog post has promotion registration links for  Alitalia, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways, Emirates, Miles & More, Olympic, Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. LT post April 28.

* Hilton HHonors 2011-Q2 promotion for 1,000 bonus points per night April 1-June 30.  Registration is required. All  Hilton brand hotels worldwide participate. 2-key promotion.  Loyalty Traveler post March 25.

Hilton HHonors takes double dipping to a new level this quarter with combinable promotions for triple miles per stay and 1,000 bonus points per night. I have written about British Airways 5,000 bonus miles and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club’s 3,000 miles per stay in previous posts over the past month.

Here are 6 other airlines offering triple miles through June 30. You must set your HHonors earning preference to Points and Fixed Miles (1,500 miles per stay for most airlines and brands) or Points & Variable Miles (3 miles per $1 for most airlines and brands) for these bonus miles offers.

Alitalia (Skyteam) 600 base miles + 1,200 bonus miles. Hampton Inn = 120 base miles + 240 bonus miles. Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for Alitalia miles. Alitalia only allows Points & Fixed Miles. Registration page in Italian.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue (Skyteam) (1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands)

British Airways (oneworld) – earn up to 5,000 bonus miles (1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands). 1,000 bonus miles per stay allows bonus on 5 stays.

Emirates Skywards – 1,500 miles per stay or 3 miles per $1 for most brands. Homewood Suites earn 100 base miles and 200 bonus miles for Fixed Miles. Hampton Inn stays are not eligible for earning Emirates miles.

Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish – Star Alliance) – 1,500 miles per stay. Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for miles. Miles & More only allows Points & Fixed Miles. Registration page in German.

Olympic Air  – Registration page is in Greek.

Turkish Airlines – (Star Alliance) – 1,500 miles per stay for most brands. Hampton Inn earns 300 miles per stay. Homewood Suites stays are ineligible for miles. Miles & Smiles only allows Points & Fixed Miles.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club  – 3,000 miles or 6 miles/$1 per stay for most brands. Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites earn 600 fixed miles or 6 miles/$1 per stay.

Earn 250 Hilton HHonors bonus points when you “Like” the Hilton Garden Inn Facebook page. This also enters you in a sweepstakes for 10,000 bonus points going to five winners who enter by May 3, 2011. This bonus points offer is open to 80,000 entries and the Facebook page for HGI only has 30,037 fans at the time of this post.

1. Go to Hilton Garden Inn Facebook page.
2. “Like” HGI.
3. Look for the “Like us for Points” link on left side of page.
4. Enter Sweepstakes with email address, name and HHonors membership number.
5. Receive 250 HHonors bonus points.

Homewood Suites 2-night stay Sweepstakes

While you are visiting Facebook pages there is another opportunity to win a daily prize and 2-night stay at Homewood Suites through their Facebook sweepstakes. This is actually the last three days of a month-long sweepstakes for Hilton’s extended stay brand that began March 22 and ends April 22.

Enter the Homewood Suites Facebook sweepstakes here.

Hilton HHonors 2011 first quarter promotion is “More Nights, More Points” offering bonus points for stays of two nights or more. Earn double points on two-night stays, triple points for three-night stays and quadruple points for stays of four or more nights between January 3 and March 31, 2011.

Promotion registration is required before stays count for this offer.

Hilton brands include Hilton Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites, Conrad Hotels and Waldorf Astoria Collection.

There is no earning limit on bonus points for this promotion, although there is a 100,000 base points earning limit for any single stay. So if you are planning $10,000 in eligible hotel spend, then plan to stay at least four nights at the hotel to earn the extra 300,000 bonus points along with your Diamond elite.

Hilton HHonors "More Nights, More Points" 2011 Q-1 promotion

Hilton HHonors Promotion Analysis

Double, triple and quadruple points are calculated as a multiple of 10 base points per dollar earn rate for Hilton eligible spend.

HHonors Points & Points Earning Preference

• Double Points = 25 points/$1 for two-night stays
• Triple Points = 35 points/$1 for three-night stays
• Quadruple Points = 45 points/$1 for four-night or longer stays

HHonors Points & Miles Earning Preference

• Double Points = 20 points/$1 for two-night stays
• Triple Points = 30 points/$1 for three-night stays
• Quadruple Points = 40 points/$1 for four-night or longer stays

Calculating HHonors Promotion Points

Double Points

Assume $100 per night room rate on a 2-night stay = $200 = double points.

HHonors Points & Points earns:

10 base points + 10 bonus points (2x promotion bonus) + 5 bonus points (P&P bonus) = 25 points per $1.

$200 x 25 points per dollar = 5,000 total points for this 2-night stay.

Triple Points

Assume $100 per night room rate for a 3-night stay = $300 = triple points.

HHonors Points & Points earns:

10 base points + 20 bonus points (3x promotion bonus) + 5 bonus points(P&P) = 35 points per $1

$300 x 35 points per dollar = 10,500 total points for this 3-night stay.

Quadruple Points

Assume $100 per night room rate for a 4-night stay = $400 = quadruple points.

HHonors Points & Points earns:

10 base points + 30 bonus points (3x promotion bonus) + 5 bonus points(P&P) = 45 points per $1

$400 x 45 points per dollar = 18,000 total points for this 4-night stay.

Look at HHonors “More Nights, More Points” offer in this way where the nightly rate is the same at $100 and the HHonors bonus points increase is clearly apparent for a four night stay.  Two stays at 2-nights each earn 10,000 total points compared to one stay of four nights that earns 18,000 points for the same $400 level of hotel spend.

Extended stays earn many more points although less stay credit with this offer.

Nonparticipating Hotels

Nearly 350 hotels are not participating in this Q-1 2011 promotion and most of these non-participating hotels are in the USA. The promotion page is a bit misleading when it states “Book at any of the 3,600 hotels in 82 countries (unless Hilton has grown by 350 hotels  in the past year).

http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/landing/excluded_hotels_q1/index.do

Hilton sure does not make it easy to locate nonparticipating hotels. The list of hotels is ordered by brand and hotel name with no geographic information. There is no information on the Hilton webpage for the city, state or country of the nonparticipating hotels for the member when trying to figure out if a hotel participates in this promotion.

Hilton Garden Inn Solomons.

Where the hell is that?

I figure this hotel is not in the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific since it is a Hilton Garden Inn, but I have no idea where this hotel might be located in the United States. I can see the hotels are ordered geographically by state, but is it really too much to ask that a geographically labeled list of excluded hotels be provided by HHonors when 10% of their global properties are excluded from this promotion offer?

And am I really going to remember to check the promotion list sorted by hotel brand and hotel name and notice the HGI Solomons before I book a promotion ineligible four-night hotel stay in Dowell, Maryland?

“The Hilton Garden Inn Solomons hotel is located on Dowell Road in historic Solomons, Maryland and 2.5 miles from the Patuxent Naval Air Station (Pax River), headquarters for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), the Navy Test Pilot School and over 150 technology firms that support Pax River. Nearby our Solomons, MD hotel are some of the finest nature and water oriented recreational activities on the East Coast. Access to the world famous Chesapeake Bay is minutes away by boat.”

Conclusion

This is a good value Hilton HHonors promotion for the member who needs extended hotel stays and typically qualifies for elite by nights. This promotion has no bonus value for the one-night stay Hilton HHonors member.  

Loyalty Traveler Promotion Key Rank =

Hilton HHonors triple and quadruple bonus points is 4 out of 5 keys on three and four night stays;

3 keys for two night stays; and  

1 key for one night stays (no promotion bonus).

Save up to 50% Any Weekend Anywhere is accurate at some hotels, though hardly representative of the 20% savings for the vast majority of hotels in the U.S.A. Stays at Doubletree hotels get you 30% off in U.S. A.

International promotion link

Prepayment and full nonrefundable terms.  Use it just as you booked it or lose it. No changes allowed.

Booking Any Weekend Anywhere Offer

• Book December 6 through January 31, 2011 for weekend hotel stays through the entire 2011 year.
• Hotel stays are allowed between December 17, 2010 and December 31, 2011.
• Must book at least 7 days in advance.

Any Weekend Discount is 20% to 50% BAR depending on region

Europe, Middle East and Africa – EMEA looks to be the primary promotion region and best value based on up to a 50% discount for Best Available Rate (BAR) or Breakfast Rate with no hotel brand limitations. Hampton Inn normally includes breakfast, so rate is discount on BAR only.

Asia-Pacific up to 25% discount on Best Available Rate (BAR) and Breakfast Rate with no brand limitations.

Americas 20% off Best Available Rate (BAR) for all brands, except Doubletree with 30% discount. Brands where breakfast is not complimentary also offer same percentage discount on Breakfast Rate: Doubletree, Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Conrad, Waldorf-Astoria.

Arrival Requirements for Hilton Any Weekend Anywhere Offer

These are important terms when planning travel for this offer.

Arrival Requirements for Participating Hotels:

Middle East and Egypt: Must arrive on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Wednesday arrivals are allowed with a two (2) night minimal length of stay. 

Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific region: Must arrive on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Thursday arrivals are allowed with a two (2) night minimal length of stay. 

North and South America: Must arrive on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Thursday arrivals are allowed with a two (2) night minimal length of stay. Embassy Suites provides this exemption: Arrivals on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are allowed at participating Embassy Suites hotels with a four (4) night minimal length of stay.

Other Restrictions:

Hilton Grand Vacations: Participating hotels require a three (3) night minimal length of stay regardless the day of arrival. “Breakfast included” offer applies to all participating hotels except Hilton Grand Vacations hotels.

Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites: Maximum length of stay is four (4) nights.

Double Base Points looks like an afterthought to this analyst. The only reference to double base points comes at the end of the Hilton offer Terms & Conditions page.

There is no reference to Double Base Points in the images for the promotion as the three image slideshow for this offer opens with London hotels as the default page.

The Americas tab has a different image and also does not mention double base points.

Promotion image for Hilton’s USA webpage for Any Weekend Anywhere

Loyalty Traveler opinion:

Prepaid, full nonrefundable travel deals are gambling on life events with a bet that everything goes as planned. I have lost a couple of thousand dollars on those bets.  

Consider trip insurance if investing more than a few hundred dollars on a single trip just in case you have to cancel due to circumstances like illness, injury, death, disasters and strikes.

Promotion Rate Sample:

Hilton Sorrento Palace, Sorrento, Italy (May 13-15, 2011)

High category room

• King Executive Top Floor (includes breakfast buffet)  
• BAR = 419 EUR/night
• Any Weekend Anywhere Rate = 209.50 EUR/night (US$278/night)

Budget category room (includes breakfast buffet)

• Quadruple Family Room for 2 adults and 2 kids with King Bed and two twins.
• BAR = 284 EUR/night
• Any Weekend Anywhere Rate = 142 EUR/night (US$189/night)

Hilton Sorrento Palace Hotel Webpage

The “quadruple family room” is actually a good size room for a family at nearly 500 square feet and a rate under $200 per night.  This category 6 hotel at a desirable Hilton location in Italy is 80,000 points for a two night stay reward. This Any Weekend Anywhere 50% BAR promotional rate with breakfast may be a better value than spending points.

HHonors Point Stretcher rewards reduce the nightly cost in points for a hotel reward by 40%. The new list of hotels has been posted for dates through May 2011. This is the most hotels and dates I recall seeing in several years. HHonors is stepping up their game.

But then again, this is Hilton HHonors so just ignore the message that states “No Point Stretcher Dates available for Hilton Family Hotels” when you click the Point Stretchers link and select a hotel brand to actually see the hotels and dates for Point Stretcher Rewards.

There are even four Conrad Hotels listed. Although Belgium in February may not be the best weather, the Conrad Brussels will give you a fine place to stay in from the cold.

Hilton Scotts Valley/Santa Cruz is about ten miles from the beach in redwood country above Monterey Bay, but at least there is a good chance of getting a 75-degree beach day at some point during December and January when this hotel is available for 24,000 points per night booking a Point Stretcher reward, rather than the normal 40,000 points as an HHonors Category 6 reward.

The Drake Hotel and Palmer House in Chicago have Point Stretcher dates this winter reducing these 50,000 point Category 7 hotels down to 30,000 points per night.  I posted my impressions of these hotels on Loyalty Traveler blog a couple of weeks ago.

Drake Hotel and Palmer House Chicago Points Stretcher Reward Dates-January 2011

Hilton settled with the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act for accessible hotels. The settlement includes a $50,000 civil penalty and Hilton is ordered to bring hotels built after January 26, 1993 in compliance with ADA requirements for accessible facilities and rooms.

The lawsuit stemmed from Hilton failing to provide accessible rooms with roll-in showers and tubs to people with disabilities and not having a sufficient supply of rooms at its hotels. The difficulty of reserving an accessible room was also mentioned.

Hilton is required to ensure franchise properties are in compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act to remain branded with Hilton.

Here is the full U.S. Department of Justice statement from November 9, 2010.

Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Hilton Worldwide Inc. Over ADA Violations at Hilton Hotels and Major Hotel Chains Owned by Hilton

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department and Hilton Worldwide Inc. today announced a comprehensive, precedent-setting agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that will make state-of-the-art accessibility changes to approximately 900 hotels nationwide. The agreement is in the form of a proposed consent decree filed today in federal court to resolve a simultaneously filed lawsuit under the ADA.

The department’s complaint alleges that Hilton’s hotels designed and constructed after Jan. 26, 1993, fail to comply with the ADA and Department of Justice regulations. Hilton operates a system of hotels throughout the United States under the trade and service names of “Hilton,” “Conrad Hotels & Resorts,” “Doubletree,” “Embassy Suites,” “Hampton Inn,” “Hilton Garden Inn,” “Hilton Grand Vacations,” “Homewood Suites,” “the Waldorf Astoria” and “Home2Suites.” Hilton Worldwide Inc. (HWI), owns, operates, or has entered into and maintains franchise license agreements for each hotel in the HWI system.

“The ADA protects the right of people with disabilities to stay in accessible hotel rooms, and to reserve those hotel rooms through the same convenient systems as everyone else,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “Persons with disabilities who travel for pleasure or business must be able to count on getting the accessible room they reserved, and the hotel must provide the choice of amenities that everyone comes to expect from a major national hotel chain like Hilton.”

The agreement is the result of a lengthy investigation and negotiation. Hilton officials cooperated with the department throughout the process. Allegations in the department’s complaint include failure to provide the required number of accessible rooms, failure to disperse accessible rooms among the various categories of available accommodations, failure to provide individuals with disabilities the ability to reserve accessible rooms through Hilton’s central reservations system on-line or by telephone, and failure to provide individuals with disabilities with the accessible sleeping accommodations that they reserved.

Today’s settlement represents the first time the Department of Justice has required a franchisor to require all franchised or managed hotels that enter into a new franchise or management agreement, experience a change in ownership, or renew or extend a franchise agreement, to conduct a survey of its facilities and to certify that the hotel complies with the ADA. It is also the first time that an agreement under the ADA has specifically detailed how a hotel reservations system should be made accessible. The agreement also represents the first time that a hotel chain has been required to make its online reservations system accessible and to provide on its website current data about accessible features in guest rooms throughout the chain.

Under the agreement:

• All owned and joint venture hotels built after Jan. 26, 1993 will be surveyed and brought into compliance with Department of Justice ADA title III regulations, including dispersing accessible rooms among the various classes of available accommodations, providing accessible rooms with roll-in showers and tub seats, and providing accessible rooms for guests with hearing impairments;
• For franchised and managed hotels built after Jan. 26, 1993, where Hilton enters into a new franchise or management agreement, renews or extends an agreement for more than six months, or agrees to a change of ownership, Hilton will require the owners to survey their hotels for compliance with specified provisions of the ADA, and where necessary, bring their hotels into compliance;
• Hotels constructed in the future will be required to comply with the ADA;
• Specific ADA training will be provided for staff;
• Hilton’s reservations system will be improved so individuals with disabilities can reserve accessible rooms with specific available options and amenities, and have the same opportunity to guarantee a reservation for an accessible room as that offered for any other reservation;
• Hilton will improve the accessibility of its websites;
• Hilton will appoint a national ADA compliance officer responsible for Hilton’s compliance with the ADA and the consent decree;
• Hilton will appoint ADA on-site contact persons at each hotel responsible for resolving ADA-related complaints at the local level; and
• Hilton will pay a civil penalty of $50,000 to the United States.

People interested in finding out more about the ADA or this consent decree can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/November/10-crt-1268.html

Accessible Bathroom in Suite at Westin Market Street San Francisco