Since Thursday, July 1, 2021, members of Hilton Honors who have earned elite status receive the benefit of a daily credit for food and beverages at hotel and resort properties in the United States and Canada instead of a complimentary breakfast that was included in the room rate, with the amounts of that credit revealed as of Monday, June 28, 2021 and those amounts then increased effective as of Tuesday, February 1, 2022. Part of the latest Hilton daily food and beverage credit information 2024 is that although no changes are officially being planned at this time, the current iteration of the daily food and beverage credit is not permanent, either.
Hilton Daily Food and Beverage Credit Information 2024
The executives at Hilton are well aware of the comments and opinions of their customers pertaining to the daily food and beverage credit — especially those that have been voiced by members of FlyerTalk. Earlier today, Thursday, April 18, 2024, I had the opportunity to discuss the daily food and beverage credit in Nashville where I met with them in person — during breakfast, ironically.
Even though the current food and beverage credit benefit for elite members in the United States and Canada has been in effect for almost three years, it is officially not permanent, as they are continuously evaluating the food and beverage credit benefit to ensure that as many of the wide variety of elite members as possible are happy…
…but equally important is ensuring that the owners and operators of hotel and resort properties are happy as well. Hilton franchises and manages its portfolio of greater than 7,500 hotel and resort properties but owns virtually none of them. If owning a hotel or resort property is not profitable enough within the Hilton portfolio of brands, less of an incentive exists for owners and operators to remain with Hilton. That leaves the multinational lodging company the onerous task of delicately balancing the needs of the owners and operators of hotel and resort properties with the needs of the guests. If money can be saved on giving guests a daily food and beverage credit instead of an automatic complimentary breakfast, that is a compromise which straddles the overall needs of everyone involved.
Executives at Hilton have also been mindful about the cost of food exceeding the credits. One example during the discussion was having a bagel cost more than the daily food and beverage credit, which can irritate a guest. Efforts have supposedly been implemented to have occurrences such as that example happen less often.
The possibility of the current food and beverage credit benefit spreading to other hotel and resort properties elsewhere around the world is also under continuous evaluation — but I was told that that likely will not happen anytime soon partially due to cultural norms in a number of countries, of which Hilton is sensitive not to disrupt. Complimentary breakfast will still be offered at hotel and resort properties outside of the United States and Canada to guests who currently have elite status for the foreseeable future.
Guests have proposed the idea of simply offering a choice of benefit to guests who currently have elite status: either a food and beverage credit or a complimentary breakfast. Although that choice has been considered, the problem with that idea is that implementing it would be complicated logistically — especially as the food and beverage credit benefit can be used at any time of the day versus a complimentary breakfast, which is only available in the morning.
Moreover, some members of FlyerTalk complained in the aforementioned discussion that management at some hotel and resort properties are confused about the policies associated with the food and beverage credit benefit. For example, a hotel property might not allow a guest who checked in that day to use the credit until the next day; but one of the important points of that benefit is its flexibility of when and how to use it, according to this article that is published at Stories from Hilton. A benefit which is not implemented correctly can tend to frustrate guests.
Final Boarding Call
The bottom line is that the executives are constantly striving to reach as close to the perfect balance of what guests need versus what owners and operators of hotel and resort properties need. The food and beverage credit benefit is an attempt towards striking that balance — which is why no official announcement was released with regard to the current food and beverage credit benefit becoming permanent. The executives admit that although they are closer now than a few years ago, that balance has yet to be reached; and they are constantly and continuously evaluating what can be done to get even closer to that perfect balance…
…which is where you come in, as they do read the articles that are posted at The Gate With Brian Cohen. Remembering that Hilton is a for-profit company that just cannot simply give everything away, what are your thoughts as to what they can do to promote loyalty with regard to the food and beverage credit benefit?
All photographs ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
