In 1991, Robert Annenberg paid $150 for life membership in Senior HHonors Gold VIP program. Last year, Hilton terminated his membership without warning. Is Annenberg’s elite status gone?
My initial response — and one I’ve repeated to several Hilton guests with the identical problem — is that he’s probably lost his HHonors status for good. The lawyerly terms and conditions for Hilton’s loyalty program is crystal clear that it can basically change its contract any time, for any reason.
But the more I thought about it, the more I thought how wrong that was. The terms are irrelevant — lifetime means for the rest of my life.
Right?
Annenberg picks up the story:
All was fine until Hilton Hotels was purchased by new owners sometime in 2007 or 2008. In any case, I suddenly found myself the recipient of a mailing from Hilton in 2008 that said they were terminating the Senior HHonors program. We would be relegated to the lowest level of HHonors status (at no charge) after one year unless we had enough stays to earn the Gold VIP level.
Note: Most of Hilton’s Senior HHonors Gold VIP members don’t have enough room nights to maintain elite status under the regular rules, since they’re retired, so this conciliatory gesture was largely meaningless.
Since I had paid for the Senior HHonors Gold VIP status for a lifetime, I felt this was highly unfair. Therefore, I contacted Adam Burke (Adam_Burke@Hilton.com), the head of the HHonors program to complain. Mr. Burke had assisted me in the past with matters pertaining to my HHonors points status since I had earned almost 1 1/2 million HHonors points through transferring miles from an airline promotion.
Mr. Burke responded by saying that (small print apparently) provisions of the Senior HHonors program allowed Hilton to cancel the program at any time, but they were kind enough to extend the Gold VIP privileges for one year.
When unable to get anywhere with Mr. Burke, I wrote a letter to the CEO of Hilton. In turn, Mr. Burke contacted me in reply. After discussions back and forth, he finally agreed to extend my Gold VIP level until April of 2011. I found myself without any choice, but to accept this offer. I even suggested that the fact that I had had well over one million points accumulated in their HHonors program at one given time, that alone should see me through life benefits for Gold VIP level. No such luck!
To this day, the more I think about it, the more frustrated and angry I get at the poor traveler who invested money for a program that said “lifetime” to again be handed the short end of the stick without any recourse.
Chris, if you feel that this is a legitimate gripe and can do anything to assist me in getting back my Lifetime Gold VIP status, I would be most grateful, thinking of you every time I used my benefits for what can’t be to much longer since I am now close to 80 years of age.
Apart from the fact that canceling a life membership is wrong, I have to wonder why Hilton wouldn’t keep its word for the senior citizens who had paid to belong to this program. What harm could possibly come from treating a few seniors well during their hotel visit? How much money could Hilton possibly lose by maintaining these guest’s elite status?
I asked Hilton. A few weeks later, I heard directly from Annenberg:
Christopher – you’ve done it again! In today’s mail I just received a new HHonors Gold VIP card from Hilton Hotels showing a tier expiration date of “Lifetime.”
Thank you for your efforts. Obviously, the efforts proved worthwhile and I certainly do appreciate your help!
I’m happy that Hilton changed its mind about its Senior HHonors Gold VIP program, and I hope this sets a precedent for other seniors who have lost their status.
(Photo: FrankZoe/Flickr Creative Commons)
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
yay for a happy ending!!. I just have to mention that it sure is a sad day and age when it takes the media to make a company do the right thing. And i’m not just talking about travel companies. its so many companies now adays who are so wound up in they’re profits, that they completely forget about the poeple who gave them those profits.
I hope that companies such as Hilton will start to do right by they’re costomers before it gets to the point where you, or other travel troubleshooters have to get involved and make a blog on it.
I hate to say that the powers of persuasion get the boat rocking, but it looks like Chris does it again. It’s sad to say, but much of Chris’s advice is good, but companies tend to blow us off even when it’s followed. On the other hand, Chris seems to know the right people to speak with in order to resolve a problem. Good work and I am sure this 80 year old senior will be spending his days happy in comfort once again talking about his great times at the Hilton.
Between Chris’ site and consumerist.com I learn so much about how to deal with companies. It really is a sad day when what used to be normal now gets tagged with a ‘above-and-beyond’ label when a company actually does what they were supposed to do.
You are good, Chris.
Is there anything more despicable than taking advantage of a senior citizen? It seems like they sold them ‘lifetime’ membership and then canceled them when these people had the nerve to live more than a few years into the contract. Did they think that these people were “too old” to do anything about it? Do they kick puppies and steal candy from babies on the way into work, too?
Way to go Chris. I only wish the rest of us were important enough to demand companies follow through on their word.
Another reason why HHONORS sux
The customer ’service’ industry almost everywhere has forgotten the meaning of the second word. It’s gone from ‘How may we help you’ to a ‘How can we get more of your money’.
My view is that you should treat everyone the same way you’d like your grandmother to be looked after. It’s a respect thing.
When anyone pays for ‘lifetime’ status in a travel or other loyalty program, the company has just amended the terms of the program. The company has been paid for a certain lifetime status thereby circumscribing their ability to unilaterally amend or eliminate the life time status at the level paid for. This is law student quality analysis. Therefore, ANYONE to whom this has happened needs to contact Hilton to be reinstated – if they – give me a holler – we’ll make it work.
Joe
The terms and conditions undoubtedly state that lifetime status is for the lifetime of the program not the member. They also generally give the program the right to unilaterally amend or terminate the program upon a certain notice period. How to you plan on overcoming those two hurdles?
Just because something is written into a contract does not make it absolute or legally enforceable. You might be surprised just what hurdles you can overcome, even when the terms and conditions seem to indicate otherwise.
@Carver
I’d say go to the the judge with some sort of plain meaning defense. Not a lawyer by any means, but I would guess if I called something a “Million Dollar Giveway”, then, after you won, told you that $999,999 went to admin fees (legalese be d***ed) the judge would award you your winnings in “the interest of justice” – as it well should be.
@Carver – if they advertise ‘Elite Status for Life” and you sign up for that- and pay a small fee or stay requisite # of nights or spend points – then they have agreed to provide you with that status for life. Period, End of Story.
The legal argument is that there was consideration paid for a certain status and benefits that derive from that status thereon circumscribing the ability of the program to change your STATUS for your life unless they discontinue the program in its entirety. Now – they can change the benefits that you get from and as a member in that status, but they cannot change the status.
They can have gold and platinum and add ‘tin’ status between gold and platinum and move the real benefits from Gold to ‘Tin,’ but they did not do that. I would argue that the type and nature of perquisites cannot be changed either by subterfuge or trick – which is adding a tin level and putting the real benefits in that level either.
Practically speaking the ‘any change we want at any time’ is modified by someone paying for something. Its how contract law has been interpreted for 300 years.
Once again, how incredibly aggravating that a corporation repeatedly stonewalls a loyal customer, but ‘rolls over’ when the media makes inquiry. Just THINK of how many people ‘get the short end of the stick’ every single day in this country but don’t know how to ‘work the system,’ so the ‘big guys’ win.
Put on your Superman Cape, Chris, and see if it helps you cover more territory!
Whatever happened to United’s Silver Wings Plus? I paid into this when I age qualified for a lifetime membership.
Whenever you get something with a ‘lifetime’ guarantee or expiration, you need to check with the company giving the guarantee or expiration about what exactly ‘lifetime’ entails. It sounds like Hilton’s ‘lifetime’ was for the lifetime of the program, which it discontinued – and from what I got from the story; it had a right to do so. I do agree with Chris’ reasoning that the company would not have lost money by honoring this program for the seniors, though.
It seems that it takes a member of the press to get companies to do the right thing these days. It’s too bad that each one of us does not have a press card so that we may also be treated fairly all of the time.
This is another classic example of an individual against an institution!! Companies too often hide behind convoluted T&C’s and random change in terms thinking that an average customer has the time and the bandwidth to “comply” with all the fine print.
Why can the compaines not send out advance notices of any changes in fine print? There should be laws stating that there can not be an implicit assumption that you have read and agreed to any changes made to a contract – be it for a credit card or for loyalty programs.
I have falled victim to a similar scam by Hilton where all of my 162000+ points have been forfeited due to no activity on my HHONORS card for the past 12 months!!! I was seriously shocked when the customer service rep. told me of such during the process of me trying to avail these points for an upcoming trip! Note the amount of money we are talking here is no small potatoes – if I were to purchase these points from hilton it would cost me over $2000!!!!
What recourse do I have?!? Do I just relegate myself to a corner and sulk over it or try to seek help from industry stalwart like Chris. I know if I were to talk to the various levels of chain at Hilton, I would get a scripted answer (which I did and got the same).
These are the kind of issues one reads in harvard business cases and strategies are created to avoid such situations, but I guess theories are so far removed from the realities of the business that no matter what we think is the “right” thing to do for a customer and the business – people invariably continue making stupid decisions in board rooms and then blame on external factors for their downfall.
Is there a pattern to Hilton’s Modus Operandi? First all of these trivial pain and suffering caused to its MOST LOYAL customers (I was a diamond vip member for over 2 years in a row)!, secondly all the unethical practices adopted by its senior leadership around new business development of the “Denizen” brand of hotels. If the entire management chain’s philosophy is to suck the customers then an average consumer/patron like me has little to no hope in getting any reprieve from such an institution…..
For a person who not only travels frequently but also an avid vacationer, I pay attention when I hear stories such as this. When I book flights or hotel stays, or consider buying vacation ownership, I always check travel sites and blogs to find out the reputation of the entity I’m doling out my dollars to. If a company doesn’t treat its customers fairly and courteously, then I choose not to do business with them. Conversely, when companies go out of their way to accommodate consumers, then I remember that when I make my travel plans.