Poor value in USA

[Mick S]

I’ve recently spent some time in Chicago, Boston and New York – stopping in Hilton’s, Garden Inn’s, and Doubletree.
I am a Diamond member and when stopping in Hilton I was upgraded to “premier/deluxe” room as I had just picked the cheapest possible rooms for a points redemption.

I’m beginning to get really disappointed with the Hilton hotels in the USA right now. Broken showers, lights not working, loose taps etc.
Breakfast, wow – $18 credit. In New York, $26 + tax (plus tip) for a buffet breakfast. The executive lounges are still closed – the covid card is still being played. Absolutely ridiculous.

Garden Inn’s seem much better value – nice clean rooms, everything works. And the beverage credit almost covers the breakfast.

interested to know what others recent experiences have been like.

[Benilyn]

Sorry to hijack but any hotel/Hilton brand in Manhattan that you can recommend, I’m looking for value end. Thanks

[Richie]

I always complain in the US with an extra English accent when things are wrong, I get things resolved. Room problems you describe are unacceptable really.

[Richie]

Benilyn wrote:

Sorry to hijack but any hotel/Hilton brand in Manhattan that you can recommend, I’m looking for value end. Thanks

BTW there’s a New York thread on the Destination board.

[Aston100]

I wrote here somewhere about my Christmas stay at the Crapital Hilton.
There were so many minor issues. Couldn’t believe this was supposedly a Hilton.
Also, the $15 credit was laughably short (Omelettes alone for $25 plus mandatory 20%+ tip regardless of the indifferent customer service attitude from the waiting staff)

[NorthernLass]

We stayed at the Hilton BOS the night before our day flight home. It was $200 but I decided it was worth it for the shortish walk to the terminal at 4 am! The hotel was fine (though we didn’t get any kind of upgrade as gold); we obviously didn’t have breakfast so used the $18pp credit at the bar – 2 rum and cokes were $25 so at least we got some benefit out of the credit.

*I got 2 bonuses for this stay, the 2,500 Points Unlimited bonus and one labelled “Barclays First Stay Bonus” – no idea what that one was! But managed over 9k points for the one night which was decent.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 11 months ago by .

[Mick S]

NorthernLass wrote:

We stayed at the Hilton BOS the night before our day flight home. It was $200 but I decided it was worth it for the shortish walk to the terminal at 4 am! The hotel was fine (though we didn’t get any kind of upgrade as gold); we obviously didn’t have breakfast so used the $18pp credit at the bar – 2 rum and cokes were $25 so at least we got some benefit out of the credit.

*I got 2 bonuses for this stay, the 2,500 Points Unlimited bonus and one labelled “Barclays First Stay Bonus” – no idea what that one was! But managed over 9k points for the one night which was decent.

First stay bonus – I’m guessing you paid on your Hilton Barclaycard, for the first time?

I stopped at this hotel also. Hotel was ok, executive lounge permanently closed now apparently. just looking at my bill for this one, paid $36 for breakfast over the two nights, in addition to the credit.

[NorthernLass]

No – all hotel charges go on Amex! I don’t even carry the HH card around with me.

[Karl]

Tip at a buffet? Aren’t you serving yourself??

Hilton prices seem sky-high in the US at the moment. I’ll be in New England for a few days in August. Was looking at a sidetrip to Burlington, Vermont. HGI are asking almost £400 a night for an entry-level room! Not far off that in Newport, RI either. IHG points seem to be offering slightly more sensible prices.

[Mick S]

Karl wrote:

Tip at a buffet? Aren’t you serving yourself??

Hilton prices seem sky-high in the US at the moment. I’ll be in New England for a few days in August. Was looking at a sidetrip to Burlington, Vermont. HGI are asking almost £400 a night for an entry-level room! Not far off that in Newport, RI either. IHG points seem to be offering slightly more sensible prices.

Yep. They served you some coffee/water/fruit juice. The bill slip comes out for signing. Buffet x 2, plus tax, and empty line for tip. You’ll be escorted from the premises if you dont give a tip.

Bloody tipping mad – went for a game of 10 pin bowling in Boston – you are escorted to your lane by a “server”, who instantly gives you a glass of water and a food menu. I declined both, told the guy I was just there for a couple of games. Just after more tips.

[Aston100]

What surprised me most about the tipping culture is that it didn’t seem to generate a better customer service ethos from the waiting staff in hotels or restaurants.
I guess this is what happens when you are expected to tip regardless – leads to an indifferent attitude from staff as they will still be getting a mandatory 20%+ tip from you whether they provide a minimal service or if they go out of their way to be nice.
So why bother putting on extra effort if the customer is going to tip you 20% or more no matter what?

[dougzz99]

Aston100 is bang on, the tipping is no longer about generating customer service, it’s straight up paying the salary of (often) lower paid workers. There are many examples of self-serve places where when paying you’re asked to tip, the same with places where you pay first, how do you tip for service you’ve not yet experienced. That alone exposes the myth that you’re rewarding service.

In terms of the original point about hotels I think it’s a general issue right now. They’ve slashed costs, and things are not being fixed or serviced. I’ve stayed in 5 places on this trip to California, and by a country mile the Hyatt Regency was the worst. Most places don’t service most days, they offer service on request, or service every other day.

[Karl]

Blimey. You’d think that paying £400/night for a 3-star hotel would include someone fetching you a coffee at breakfast. Expecting to fork out $10.40 (presuming the 20% is taken from the pre-tax tariff) is a bit of a p-take, especially when my other half doesn’t even drink coffee nor juice!

[NorthernLass]

Some places now work out the tip for you and give you the options for 15,18 and 20%. There’s also the infuriating practice of automatically adding a “service charge” AND leaving a blank line for a tip! Though this has long been the case in GCM where restaurants are legally allowed to charge up to 16% service charge and also often expect a tip on top of what is usually a very expensive meal!

[dougzz99]

NY Times article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/dining/tipping-gratuity-restaurants.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DJDm8TiOgUBYmG9ADRZLJ7Zt08mjuBTcNcMaM-AeZ_1fNWIlZkTRWz5JuYnZBPawMElbWOZEJklZTcQeJ_tjbwcmiyLOo4neTv40LWb2D1XKze1mkmcwdjvcNicA2133FYkqzEF7EkiNEqzu5hUs4hPUoIZCaMvvHpDhV5KY_GOkmasl9qLrkfDTLDntec6KYCdRFSDT_FSHB_4GU86LBMKY9dffa_f1N7Jp2I0fhGAXdoLYypG5Q2W4PT8r1turXPohePo9Gk3TuK2LKonbnIBxhtNbZyIQ&smid=url-share

May be of interest. Think it should be readable without a sub.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 11 months ago by .

[dougzz99]

NorthernLass wrote:

Some places now work out the tip for you and give you the options for 15,18 and 20%. There’s also the infuriating practice of automatically adding a “service charge” AND leaving a blank line for a tip! Though this has long been the case in GCM where restaurants are legally allowed to charge up to 16% service charge and also often expect a tip on top of what is usually a very expensive meal!

Those are low, in California I’m seeing 20% as the base amount. I don’t think this is the recipients, the structure is completely flawed. The staff are often so desperate for you to tip the service aspect is lost completely, their focus is entirely on what you’ll tip.

[yorkshireRich]

Quite funny you mention it. I wrote in the chat thread last week the minute I arrived into the room after I checked into the Hilton garden inn at Washington DC. I am only gold, but I was extremely disappointed about the whole thing. The receptionist literally saw me as an inconvenience and couldn’t wait to get rid of me. He couldn’t give me a late checkout, he certainly couldn’t do an upgrade, and tbh, he couldn’t heaven make eye contact with me.
It was that bad of an experience, I just wanted to get a refund and check in a different hotel tbh.

I then went to the bar in the evening and I am chilled as they come, and this lady quite blatantly pushed in front of me and she had obviously got a rapport going with the barman at this time. I just smiled whilst she ordered her 6 cocktails, and 5 minutes later the bar man said “what do you want then”.

The morning after I went down to reception to explain that although I appreciate each Hilton is different and it’s different in various parts of the world, this was not what I expect. I got late check out at least, and co-incidentally, staff were extremely pleasant the day after.

[RonnieB]

NorthernLass wrote:

Some places now work out the tip for you and give you the options for 15,18 and 20%. There’s also the infuriating practice of automatically adding a “service charge” AND leaving a blank line for a tip! Though this has long been the case in GCM where restaurants are legally allowed to charge up to 16% service charge and also often expect a tip on top of what is usually a very expensive meal!

No different in a lot of places in London

[NorthernLass]

yorkshireRich wrote:

Quite funny you mention it. I wrote in the chat thread last week the minute I arrived into the room after I checked into the Hilton garden inn at Washington DC. I am only gold, but I was extremely disappointed about the whole thing. The receptionist literally saw me as an inconvenience and couldn’t wait to get rid of me. He couldn’t give me a late checkout, he certainly couldn’t do an upgrade, and tbh, he couldn’t heaven make eye contact with me.
It was that bad of an experience, I just wanted to get a refund and check in a different hotel tbh.

I then went to the bar in the evening and I am chilled as they come, and this lady quite blatantly pushed in front of me and she had obviously got a rapport going with the barman at this time. I just smiled whilst she ordered her 6 cocktails, and 5 minutes later the bar man said “what do you want then”.

The morning after I went down to reception to explain that although I appreciate each Hilton is different and it’s different in various parts of the world, this was not what I expect. I got late check out at least, and co-incidentally, staff were extremely pleasant the day after.

I don’t think HGI’s do upgrades as one of the benefits? I stayed at the one next to DCA a few years ago and the receptionist basically harangued us about us having booked one of the nights via a 3rd party and made us feel like we being done a favour keeping the same room for both nights. At (buffet) breakfast (free as gold for the night I booked direct) we got a bill for the tip for 3 breakfasts for getting a pot of coffee plonked on the table!

[NorthernLass]

@RonnieB – well, that London, what do you expect? 😂 Tbh, some of the more upscale restaurants in the north do this now, though it doesn’t go down well and even if it doesn’t get crossed out they probably won’t get a tip on top!

[dougzz99]

RonnieB wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

Some places now work out the tip for you and give you the options for 15,18 and 20%. There’s also the infuriating practice of automatically adding a “service charge” AND leaving a blank line for a tip! Though this has long been the case in GCM where restaurants are legally allowed to charge up to 16% service charge and also often expect a tip on top of what is usually a very expensive meal!

No different in a lot of places in London

Which is a scam. Restaurants are required to pay minimum wage in the UK. In the USA they can pay less than minimum wage as they’re allowed to make assumptions about earnings from tips increasing the wage. I hate (the concept of) tipping, but in US you’re paying the staff so their employer doesn’t have to. My issue is with places where you self serve or pay prior to eating. No one’s tips in McDonalds but the service is often better. The trouble with the expansion of tipping is that it’s become completely detached from service.

[The Savage Squirrel]

To be fair, it was in London rather than USA for our worst ever tip-squeeze (Royal Horseguards since you ask, terrible hotel for multiple reasons, never going back). The guy showing us to our room (without being asked) then came in and felt he had to show us how to turn on various room appliances before hovering for a ridiculously long time for a tip (not given). How to work the TV was sort of funny, how to turn on the kettle was the finisher.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 11 months ago by .

[Aston100]

How much was the kettle worth?

[The Savage Squirrel]

Aston100 wrote:

How much was the kettle worth?

🤣

[The Savage Squirrel]

Mick S wrote:

Karl wrote:

Bloody tipping mad – went for a game of 10 pin bowling in Boston – you are escorted to your lane by a “server”, who instantly gives you a glass of water and a food menu. I declined both, told the guy I was just there for a couple of games. Just after more tips.

To be fair, it was in London rather than USA for our worst ever tip-squeeze (Royal Horseguards since you ask, sh1t hotel for multiple reasons, never going back). The guy showing us to our room (without being asked) then came in and felt he had to show us how to turn on various room appliances before hovering for a ridiculously lng time for a tip (not given). How to work the TV was sort of funny, how to turn on the kettle was the finisher.