Hilton Monetises Late Checkout for Elites: Beginning of the End for Hotel Loyalty?

Hotel loyalty programs have traditionally offered late check-out as a highly valued benefit for elite members with status. But lately, Hilton Honors has quietly removed all references to late check-out from its list of published elite member benefits.

Separately, Hilton is also in the process of rolling out late check-out as a paid add-on that hotels can offer that guests – rather than giving it away for free. You can probably see where this is going…

Is this just a trivial one-off, or could it be the beginning of the end for hotel loyalty benefits?

Hotel guests value late check-out

Almost all hotel loyalty programs offer late check-out to their top-tier members. Some, like IHG One Rewards, even give it to their base-level members as a reward for booking direct and being part of the loyalty program.

Sometimes it’s subject to availability, and sometimes it’s a guaranteed benefit of the loyalty program. But it’s always complimentary.

In theory, this doesn’t cost hotels too much to provide as they have to clean some rooms later anyway, and it’s only really a problem if lots of people want both late check-out and early check-in on the same day. By restricting it to elite members, it’s easy enough to manage… and it’s something that those elite members really value.

Personally, I often choose to book a hotel with a chain that I have status with in order to get a late check-out. Unless I have an early flight or need to be somewhere in the morning, I’ll often check out at exactly 2pm (the usual time that hotels offer late check-out until).

I’m sure many other hotel guests similarly value this benefit enough for it to affect their hotel booking choices.

Does Hilton really think it can nickle-and-dime its most valuable customers?

The monetisation of Hilton’s late check-out benefit is annoying for customers. But I fear that this may be the start of a trend – and not one that benefits guests.

Hilton has already taken away free breakfast for its Gold and Diamond members staying at US hotels. It replaced this with a food & beverage credit that doesn’t usually cover the full cost of breakfast at a given hotel.

Thankfully, this hasn’t spread (yet) to Australia or New Zealand. But many Hilton hotels here no longer include barista coffee with breakfast – instead charging extra for this. When the Hilton Hotel in Sydney first introduced this “coffee tax” in 2013, the change was about as popular as someone who just farted in a crowded hotel lift. Travellers still hate having to pay extra for coffee, and some have even moved their loyalty to different hotel chains as a result of it.

Now, Hilton is quietly taking away late check-out as well. If Hilton feels like it can get away with this, I wonder what other current benefits Hilton might also start charging its elite members for?

Could this give ideas to other hotel chains?

I also wonder, if Hilton is successful in extracting more money from its highest-spending guests by charging them for late check-out, whether other hotel loyalty programs might follow.

On the other hand, if other hotel chains don’t follow, this could leave Hilton Honors in a position where its loyalty program just isn’t that competitive. In this case, I wonder if Hilton might even be forced to eventually reverse its stance?

This change might make hotels a bit of extra cash in the short term. But I can’t imagine a Hilton Diamond member appreciating being told they have to pay USD60 (~AU$92) for something they used to get for free. This move could really backfire for Hilton.

Many people choose to be loyal to a particular hotel chain – often booking hotels that are more expensive and less convenient than other options – to maintain and use their loyalty benefits. But when the benefits of being loyal no longer outweigh the costs, why should people remain loyal?

In my opinion, the benefits of Hilton status are already somewhat diluted compared to other programs, given how relatively easy it is to earn Gold or Diamond status. These kinds of changes could push Hilton’s most valuable customers into the arms of competitors which protect their elite status tiers better – and therefore can also afford to treat top-tier members better.

The early and late check-out benefits offered by hotel loyalty programs

For easy comparison, here’s an overview of the published early and late check-out benefits of other hotel loyalty programs:

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.