A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question if Hilton has already ended the Honors member Global Automated Upgrades that were rolled out last year.
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Question From A Reader:
Have these Hilton Global Automated Upgrades (already) been discontinued ? I don’t seem to be receiving them any more (used to be systematic).
Hilton started trialing Global Automated Upgrades in August last year and made the program official in November 2021.
We have covered the program from the trial stage:
The upgrades are processed 72 hours before scheduled check-in time, and Honors members will receive an email from Hilton, like the one below that I received yesterday:
I just went through the emails that I have received from Hilton and compared them to my stays with the chain in the past few months:
Several stays were booked for more than 72 hours, and no emails were received:
- Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street
- Hilton Nagasaki
- Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk
- Hilton Hiroshima
- Conrad Tokyo
I did, however, receive proper upgrades at all these hotels. Also, I was upgraded further at many of the hotels for which I received an email at the check-in or during the overnight shift when room allocations are usually processed.
So, back to the reader’s question. The Global Automated Upgrades are still around, but perhaps they have stayed in hotels or markets where this is not correctly turned on or at hotels that have not allocated an adequate inventory for this program.
Conclusion
This is a great program feature from Hilton Honors if hotels allocate proper inventory and don’t try to opt-out.
The only downside is that part of the upgrade inventory is swept at the 72-hour mark when many business travelers book at the last moment and may be disadvantaged.
Since the program launch, have you seen a change in these automated upgrades at Hilton-affiliated hotels?
