Hilton Honors and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) have just rolled out their exclusive new partnership. This is super exciting, as it gives Hilton Honors members the ability to earn and redeem points at nearly 400 additional boutique, luxury properties.
Within the past day, we’ve seen Hilton Honors open availability at a vast majority of SLH properties, and what we’re seeing so far is fantastic. I’d go so far as to say that this is a game changer when it comes to redeeming Hilton Honors points for luxury stays, in my opinion.
In this post:
The basics of redeeming Hilton points at SLH hotels
With nearly 400 SLH properties now partnering with Hilton Honors, it’s possible to earn and redeem points for stays at a majority of these properties. This potentially offers incredible value, though before we get into that, let’s cover the very basics:
- While SLH properties have dynamic pricing (like all other Hilton Honors properties), it does follow Hilton’s conventional pricing system, and properties shouldn’t cost more than 150,000 Honors points per night
- Much like for redemptions at Hilton managed properties, Hilton Honors elite members can receive a fifth night free on award bookings
- In addition to being able to redeem points, Hilton Honors members can also redeem free night awards at SLH properties
- Note that unlike at properties managed by Hilton, there are capacity controls at SLH properties, so it’s possible that a hotel has rooms for sale, but doesn’t have reasonably priced award nights
Before we look at the redemption opportunities, let me emphasize that personally I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each. For that matter, the program often sells points directly to consumers at that cost. I’m seeing lots of SLH redemptions that get you over a cent per point, so that’s pretty exciting.
There are amazing awards bookable through SLH
Now that it’s possible to redeem Hilton Honors points at SLH properties, it’s so fun to see all the possibilities. To start, you can visit this link to see all the SLH properties that are participating in the partnership.
For example, I’ve stayed at Canaves Epitome in Santorini, Greece. In peak season, the hotel goes for over €1,200 per night. You can book it for 140,000 Hilton Honors per night, or an average of 112,000 points per night with a fifth night free. That’s an incredible value.
While I haven’t stayed there, Cap Rocat in Mallorca, Spain, the hotel goes for over €1,500 per night. You can book it for 130,000 Hilton Honors per night, or an average of 104,000 points per night with a fifth night free.
Then there’s Sailrock South Caicos in Turks & Caicos, which is a popular Caribbean resort that often goes for over $1,300 per night when including taxes and fees. You can book it for 130,000 Hilton Honors per night, or an average of 104,000 points per night with a fifth night free.
That’s just a small selection of what’s available. Nick Reyes at Frequent Miler also has a post with some great redemption opportunities, so it’s nice to see what’s available.
I’ve gotta say, I’m pleasantly surprised that in many cases the award pricing is at least as attractive as it was when World of Hyatt had a partnership with SLH, when you factor in that I value one World of Hyatt point at three Hilton Honors points (and Hilton offers a fifth night free, while Hyatt doesn’t).
Bottom line
At long last, Hilton Honors has rolled out SLH redemptions in a meaningful way. The redemption rates are largely attractive, and it opens up some great new sweet spots for Hilton points. If you value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each (which is fair, since you can acquire them at that rate), then I’d say there are lots of opportunities to get outsized value.
What do you make of redeeming Hilton points at SLH properties? Any sweet spots you’ve noticed?
Just booked 5 for 4 at Nanuku Resort in Fiji, lowest room category being a suite, will see if we get an upgrade, but I think I'll be happy either way.
100k per night, so 400k for 5 nights, which would cost FJ$5,800/US$2,603 = US$0.0065 per point, which is excellent value for HH points.
Even without fourth. night free it would just about exceed the minimum cost for a HH point (although at that point...
Just booked 5 for 4 at Nanuku Resort in Fiji, lowest room category being a suite, will see if we get an upgrade, but I think I'll be happy either way.
100k per night, so 400k for 5 nights, which would cost FJ$5,800/US$2,603 = US$0.0065 per point, which is excellent value for HH points.
Even without fourth. night free it would just about exceed the minimum cost for a HH point (although at that point you need to consider the opportunity cost of points which would be earned on the cash stay and any Hilton bonus multipliers offered by various credit cards) Let's hope it sticks this way.
Cap Rocat is stunning. Great value redemption in peak season if you can get the availability. Would recommend
Thanks Lucky!
Just used free night awards to book two nights at TwentySeven Hotel in Amsterdam. Cash rate through Hilton €1700, and booking direct €1300. Best use of certs yet.
I agree with the readers here about DCS enraged verbal attack on Ben for no reason. Ben wrote nothing but nice things about Hilton. He even included a sentence about how Hilton offers a 5th night free while Hyatt doesn’t offer that.
DCS wasn't attacking Ben. In fact, the only comment directed at Ben was the first sentence.
Instead, he's hijacking OMAT to rant about Gary Leff - those quotes are from Gary's July 9th post and were taken almost entirely out of context. Clearly inappropriate to do this here.
Okay. Thanks for the clarification. But, nonetheless I concur with you about the inappropriateness of DCS commenting about it here and I did also wonder if it was indeed taken out of context though.
Such bullshit. They straighten you out for jumping to the wrong conclusion about my comment, and you turn around and try to decide what is or is not appropriate for me to comment about in a public forum?! In fact, my comment was very...
Such bullshit. They straighten you out for jumping to the wrong conclusion about my comment, and you turn around and try to decide what is or is not appropriate for me to comment about in a public forum?! In fact, my comment was very much on topic because it simply contrasted what @Ben wrote vs. what another blogger wrote on the same subject (though, in retrospect, I should have provided a link to the latter).
It is you who are out of order!
Actually DCS, I was just being nice to Jon. When I initially wrote my comment, it was before you wrote your explanation. And no matter others also thought you were on a rant before you explained yourself in a later post because you inaccurately assumed that everyone would know which blogger you were talking about.
Yeah, right.You could've fooled me:
You were clearly clueless, so please just give it a rest. what my comments that you characterize as my "rant" did was to point out unhinged claims that a blogger who calls himself a "thought leader in travel" made in response to Hilton getting a...
Yeah, right.You could've fooled me:
You were clearly clueless, so please just give it a rest. what my comments that you characterize as my "rant" did was to point out unhinged claims that a blogger who calls himself a "thought leader in travel" made in response to Hilton getting a great deal out of the partnership with SLH that @Ben and most commenters here rightly saw as benefiting Honors members. However, Hilton getting the better deal with SLH than Hyatt with Mr & Mrs Smith was too much for the "thought leader" so it unhinged him.
It's as simple as that, so give it a rest, or better yet: use you head or stop addressing me.
Yeah you could have fooled me too. I stand by what I said. I commented on your rant against Gary before you explained yourself. Look at the time stamps. You wrote the comment on the 10th of July at 4:38 p.m. I wrote my comment on the 10th of July at 9:28 p.m. Jon wrote his comment on the 10th of July at 10:32 p.m.
The only self appointed travel guru is you, DCS. You...
Yeah you could have fooled me too. I stand by what I said. I commented on your rant against Gary before you explained yourself. Look at the time stamps. You wrote the comment on the 10th of July at 4:38 p.m. I wrote my comment on the 10th of July at 9:28 p.m. Jon wrote his comment on the 10th of July at 10:32 p.m.
The only self appointed travel guru is you, DCS. You appointed yourself with that. You cannot stand other people’s comments and you just criticize them. You have a right to your comment then so do I. I remember when Tiffany made a comment about Hilton Singapore and I simply agreed with her. You lost your marbles and started verbally abusing people. Tiffany had to tell you to calm down and be nice to others.
Now, will you stop trolling and spamming and just go away because you have no point and are clearly...
Now, will you stop trolling and spamming and just go away because you have no point and are clearly getting unhinged by the minute as a result?!
Either that or the soapbox is yours. Knock yourself out...
Will we be able to use Aspire resort credits at SLH properties?
If any are added to the resorts list then yes, although that may take awhile if any do join.
I booked The Wentworth Mansion for 40,000 Hyatt points per night. My first and last SLH redemption. No way I can accumulate the Hilton points required.
You booked The Wentworth Mansion for the equivalent of 120,000 Hilton points, which is about what the Wentworth would cost now, but 120K HH points would be a lot easier to earn or cheaper to buy than 40,000 WoH points.
Okay, @CJH, we have actual numbers to compare. I just searched for awards at The Wentworth Mansion for some random dates next month, and here's what standard awards would cost for a 5-night stay:
August 7, 2024 .........................................99,000 Points
August 8, 2024........................................100,000 Points
August 9, 2024........................................100,000 Points
August 10, 2024......................................100,000 Points
11 Aug 2024 Every fifth night of your stay at this rate is free5th Night Free!
August 11, 2024........................................0...
Okay, @CJH, we have actual numbers to compare. I just searched for awards at The Wentworth Mansion for some random dates next month, and here's what standard awards would cost for a 5-night stay:
August 7, 2024 .........................................99,000 Points
August 8, 2024........................................100,000 Points
August 9, 2024........................................100,000 Points
August 10, 2024......................................100,000 Points
11 Aug 2024 Every fifth night of your stay at this rate is free5th Night Free!
August 11, 2024........................................0 Points
Total Points...............................................399,000 Points
As you can see, every night goes for less than 120K HH (i.e., less than 40K WoH points), meaning that the Wentworth is cheaper under Hilton than it was under Hyatt, at least for the dates I selected.
Q.E.D.
Free night certs will be usable on the SLH properties. Even purchasing the HH points during a 100% bonus sale can offer a decent discount over cash price.
If Hilton points are worth around 0.5 cents and Hyatt points are worth around 1.5 cents as you’ve said in the past, it would be interesting to know what some of these hotels your saying are a good value under HH cost under Hyatt. That would be a better indicator of if HH is indeed a good deal or not.
Okay, here's such an example.
Under Hyatt: The Wentworth Mansion SLH cost 40K WoH...
Okay, here's such an example.
Under Hyatt: The Wentworth Mansion SLH cost 40K WoH points per night for a standard room with a cash rate of $495. That is $495/40,000 = 1.2cpp, for one or 5 nights. Not so good.
Under Hilton: The Wentworth Mansion SLH costs 100K HH points per night for a standard room with a cash rate of $495. That is $495/100,000 = 0.5cpp for one night (better than WoH). For 5 nights with 5th night free: ($495 * 5)/(100,000 * 4) = 0.6cpp. Much better than WoH.
@DCS are you ok? @Ben wrote a post that says nothing but nice things about Hilton and you’ve gone on the attack. You’re even quoting things that I don’t see in the article. Really, this looks like proof that you have a problem with anyone who I’d not you having an opinion about Hilton even when they say nice things.
Really, are you ok?
Who would have thought that a simple, positive review of hotel point redemption options could produce such a hyper-reaction? Wow. Just wow. Stay clear, folks. It’s getting dangerous out there in Points Land.
@AD -- My fault.
Let me help:
My statement that:
@AD -- My fault.
Let me help:
My statement that:
What’s up with that post by “DCS” is that a Hilton rep or something?
I wouldn't really call a hotel that used to cost 40,000 Hyatt points and is now 120,000 Hilton points a great deal. It's awful for anyone transferring from Ultimate Rewards.
This an honest and balanced take on Hilton's veritable "coup" getting the partnership with SLH.
By contrast, if one is to take self-anointed "thought leader" seriously (a huge mistake to), this coup by Hilton in snatching the SLH deal...
The bolded gratuitous, if not surprising, dig at Hilton is, of course, total nonsense because it...
This an honest and balanced take on Hilton's veritable "coup" getting the partnership with SLH.
By contrast, if one is to take self-anointed "thought leader" seriously (a huge mistake to), this coup by Hilton in snatching the SLH deal...
The bolded gratuitous, if not surprising, dig at Hilton is, of course, total nonsense because it does not take a genius to figure out that the redemption values of Hilton points at nearly all SLH properties go through the roof, especially with the 5th award night free, which one never got when SLH partnered with Hyatt. Do the simple math and you will see that you get truly outsized values for your Hilton points, remembering that 0.5cent/Hilton point "buys" you or is "worth" exactly the same as 1.5cents/Hyatt point.
The "thought leader" is, of course, pissed because Hilton got SLH while Hyatt ended up with Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which he readily admitted:
But he won't leave it at that. He would trot out his canonical list of Honors' shortcomings that make this veritable "coup" by Hilton less than it could have been:
Can you just taste the "sour grapes"?!
In the meantime, I can't wait to "venture outside of Hilton brands to SHL properties" (maybe Sailrock South Caicos in Turks & Caicos) where as a LT Diamond I have little doubt that I will be treated very well, while I enjoy the luxurious properties and outsized redemption values ;-)
Like I said, take self-anointed "thought leader" seriously at your own detriment because you'd be giving up a lot of benefits in this game if you did take him seriously.
G'day!
Whew, take a breath dude. You'll be okay, I promise.
What the hell are you blabbering about ? If you have something intelligent to say then let's hear it. Otherwise, just can it. You'll sound smarter being quiet. Guaranteed.
I guess you couldn't get enough of your own thoughts in Gary's comment section, so you had to ... with no prompt from anyone.. argue against him here.
Just wow.
Go back to your fake "boycott" of OMAAT. We're all better off when you do.
Well, he's back.
I can do whatever I wish, including commenting on any topic of interest to me or "unboycotting" a site that I boycotted. Of course, you are also perfectly free to simply ignore my comments, as I have urged you to ad nauseam.
Com'n Hyatt, get with the program on those Mr and Mrs Smith properties! This was a BIG loss for Hyatt
Wow. Game changer for Hilton. And hopefully take some pressure off of WAPedregal.
Wow. Wasn’t expecting that at all. Could certainly make for a nice use of those free night certificates, like you say.