Hilton CEO Warns Hotel Service Cuts Are Permanent

I am a Hilton Honors member and have seen the brand go downhill drastically. Over the last year I have had rooms where the sheets were not changed and was handed sheets to change my own bed. One room had not been cleaned at all prior to check in. The manager stated that they hadn’t had any housekeeping at all that day and that it wasn’t his problem. I had to clean my own room after looking in hallways for spray bottles and carts of towels and sheets. I would have left but had checked in late after a long drive. In other cases the dusting hadn’t been done in weeks, the carpets were filthy, fingerprints on mirrors, etc. In another situation I stayed in a Hilton Garden Inn and asked for the usual water bottles and was told that “I didn’t have enough status for water” even though I had just been upgraded by the company. I recently married and changed my name and even with multiple tries through the website, on the phone and in person they still can’t get it changed. Lastly, I have been solicited by the Hilton Vacation Club as a VIP. No way! I’m done with this brand….regular, HGVC, all of it. Rude staff, dirty, poor value, indifferent management. This is a failing business. Goodbye Hilton.

Those of us in the hospitality industry would love to go back the the pre Covid environment. The $69 rate or less brings in the lowest of the low in people... Full hotels with lively chatter and events for staff would be wonderful right now. We would love for you to have real glasses and mugs in your rooms. We would give anything to provide you daily housekeeping service and fresh towels... All you have to do is ask anyway. We just love being barked at everyday by the uninformed traveler that his room was not cleaned even though there is documentation in the room explaining that housekeeping is provided upon request. Not to forget when the state, county or city closes your pool, bar and restaurant that poor 20 year old at the front desk has to take the wrath of that uninformed traveler blaming that front desk agent for the closures. Those of us in the hostility industry do it because we enjoy taking care of our guests and each other. We never want to say NO to anything... We know how great it is to tell the guest YES, my pleasure...

@Ray: "I don’t read it as a defensive comment at all. Or for that matter, an attempt at “selling” the comment/changes."

Taken purely at face value, it might appear that way; however, DCS' typical modus operandi is, when someone posts something even remotely negative about Hilton, is to defend Hilton at all costs or, if appropriate, attack the messenger.

As much as he wishes to protest otherwise, what he is doing here is nothing more than the same - these are nothing but rumors in his eyes (even if they came directly from the mouth of a Hilton executive), and the fact he'll defend the possibility of them happening, so long as everyone else does it too.

Spot on Ben. Like you I travel often and am actually top Elite with Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton for several years... (somehow still Diamond due to Corona extensions and night rollovers) actually stoped staying with Hilton a few years back due to straight up horrible service, never available suites and never available late checkouts... also b4 pandemic they have the least amount of hotels with lounges and when lounges aren’t available they upcharge breakfast if you want hot options (unlike Hyatt and Marriott). Hilton straight up needs to be boycotted! ps. Secretly been following you for years, you do good work.

@Ray -- You understood it exactly right, thanks. Good ol' Mike's reaction to anything that DCS writes is like that of the proverbial Pavlovian dog: no thinking, just reactions to cues.

There is absolutely nothing controversial in my comments, which if anyone thinks about make sense based on how the free market works. We've seen AA and UA imitate some of DL's worst practices and they became permanent. This is no different. It will depend on whether other hotel chains imitate Hilton.

The main focus is about remaining competitive. When occupancy is down you can't continue to spend what you dont bring in. This pandemic was a first in anyone's life that still breathes air, and to remain open in business there are some creative plans to deal with it. That's what smart business do and in the states it's what we do best.

I've been in hospitality for almost 20 years, and what will drive the hotels is meeting the guests expectations, and for owners or investors profits.

In between these groups are the operations that are actually the hotel.

The hotel, the guest and investors all have expectations. A certain percentage of say 10 percent have unreasonable expectations in what they should receive.

The work is done by people and the sacrifices are seldom appreciated by each sector within hospitality by the other.

While the protests I've read have s ok me real merit , in my limited understandings it's all about us, our cries of about ME.

We have CEOs for good reason. They are our visionary pilot who guides us into the unknown. They surround themselves with the best people they can find to chart the path.

This comes at a cost of course, and while the debate for what compensation should be, it's the hourly hotel employees that are the first to serve, first to hear, and last to be heard.

As for hearts being dedicated to hospitality they can't sustain their loyalty and calling when their wages and hours have remained stagnant for decades and steadily production
has steadily increased. That's profit.

Everyone has their part, and coming to terms with how to proceed forward into uncharted territories isnt what I am best at.

When you have complaints or suggestions dont reserve them for the employee that are not empowered to make change, and as the industry historically proves are the least considered.

Direct these comments or suggestion as high as possible, the lowest being the properties GM.
As a last resort boycott the brand. When the profit is being negatively affected it will not affect everyone equally, but it's never been about us , or we but ME all along.

@Mike: I don't take the quote from DCS the same way as you paint it. I read it to say that if competition follows that lead, Hilton will implement the changes. If competition returns to what has been offered, Hilton will follow them as well. I don't read it as a defensive comment at all. Or for that matter, an attempt at "selling" the comment/changes.

Just my opinion. I certainly don't know what DCS meant. But in fairness, most of the comments posted by him/her are actually fair in regards to Hilton. Like United Airlines, this blog seems to have a dislike for the two and comments seem to be over the top about the two when in fact they are both competitive in their fields and offer as good of product as their competitors. My feeling is people place too much emotion into these comments. The immediate jump to "I will never use them again" pops up every story.

The service cuts will not be implemented in a country like China, where the competition is really tough. Individual properties will override them unless the competition implements them too.

One example is that while most western WA hotels did not offer free breakfast at a time when it was still excluded as a Diamonds perk, I got great free breakfast at WA Shanghai and WA Beijing. The reason was that the Mandarin Oriental or Novotel down the street offered free breakfast to every guest...It made little sense for the WA's not to.

Like I said, the fate of the rumored Hilton service cuts will depend on the competition, as it should in a free market economy.

I don’t need room service, but I do like a good restaurant and bar for dinner and breakfast. As a Diamond member, that is how I select the Hilton Property I wish to stay in when I travel. Those with restaurants offering cooked to order dinner and breakfast will get my business, those offering brown bags, won’t. And if they don’t plan to clean my room daily, they need to at least provide clean towels for each person per day. If Hilton is cutting these services, I might as well look at VarBO or other chain.

One thing I like though is the discontinuation of minibars. Due to their nature, they never had enough of what I wanted. Having an empty fridge available for the stuff I actually like is much better. Some hotels I visited replaced minibars with free room delivery of drinks and snacks, which is a great solution in my opinion. Alternatively, operating a small convenience stores in a lobby is also an option.

Otherwise F&B tends to be the same as it always was in my location (Sweden). There is a government ban on dining inside restaurants after 20:30, so some hotels even improved their room service offer, e.g. waiving room service charges after that time, offered in-room cocktail solutions, or grab and go alcohol at the reception.

The only thing I actually hate about the way hotels operate here is lack of stationary. I never understood how the hell they decided a pen and a block of paper are the most dangerous items in the room and need to be removed. I also hate having to use room service and drink canned beer after 20:30, but that's down to government's decision, it's not hotels' fault (hospitality business is lobbying hard to get rid of that limit).

Luckily a lot of those US restrictions never became a thing in Europe - my hotel stays during the pandemic felt very normal. I wonder how will Hilton compete in EMEA market if they drop their service standards. Or will they be able to justify completely different service levels among the same brands, e.g. daily housekeeping in Europe but not in Americas?

Yup this is going to be interesting. Room rates and points redemption levels continue to go up. The most interesting thing I’m waiting to see what happens will be the infamous resort fees, or amenity fee, or whatever the hotels want to call them. So on top of a room rate you can have resort fees....or city fees (lol!) and you will basically get pretty much close to nothing! Especially properties like Virtuoso members. The huge delicious spreads are or will be gone, and you’ll get a breakfast in a box......might as well stay at a Hyatt Place and safe money.

Hilton has already removed daily replacement of bed sheets/ linens in several of their brands due to environmental concerns and changes them every 3rd day of your stay or when you checkout. How much more can be cut?

Room service now is basically make up the bed, replenish towels, and empty the trash.. Maybe everytfew days the room would be vacuumed.

While traveling on vacation and staying in a hotel whether for a few days or a week, I like coming back to a room with the bed made, having the garbage emptied, clean towels, etc. That`s part of being on vacation is not having to make the bed, empty the garbage,etc.

I don't want to stay in a hotel where the hallways are lined with dirty towels and stinky garbage. I don't have that at home why would I pay to stay somewhere with those conditions?

If Hilton wants to save some money, instead of having the option to choose points or the check in perks for tiered members (water, snacks, etc.) just give the bonus points.

Hilton is usually the first brand I check when searching for a hotel. If the other major brands don't follow them on this they will become the last - I value the daily housekeeping. If the major brands do all go this way without reducing prices it should offer a lot of opportunity to independents and smaller chains to take a bigger share of the market. One concern I do have is whether this is a step towards unbundled hotel service, similar to what is happening in the airline industry.

I know that during these tough times that some things are being changed and for the better, however, I really don't think it's necessary to eliminate daily housekeeping as well as eliminate full food and beverage choices because many people don't want grab-and-go breakfast every day as it would get old after a while and for the buffets perhaps putting a shield how to keep guess from coughing into the food and leave the contaminated might be a better option than having to eliminate it altogether and try to disinfect the dining room daily.

Stayed at a couple Hilton's in Australia (Sydney and Gold Coast) recently and can say they definitely are back at normal pre-covid service levels all around. Lounges are open and having happy hour with buffet food and drinks, buffet breakfast and all. Daily housekeeping is the norm. Only cutbacks I noticed were at Marriott properties interestingly enough where buffet was replaced with choose a main and drink from limited menu and anything else came at a fee. Also housekeeping was on request. As much here has returned to normal I gather Marriott's cutbacks in this space may be permanent.

After reading all of your comments I find it very surprising just how uninformed people really are. Things are changing because the labor market has diminished to the point of not being able to clean all of the check outs on some days. With the stimulus and unemployment people refuse to return to work. Hotels have been struggling to keep the doors open. This is not about saving the bottom line. It is about trying to provide a decent place to stay for travelers. Chris Nasetta represents Conrad Hilton. It is our goal to spread the light and warmth of hospitality. We need a workforce with hospitality in their heart to do that. There is no workforce!

I doubt the CEO is right... I stayed at a Hilton in Australia recently that still had a full minibar, daily housekeeping, normal room service, and even a full buffet breakfast that you serve yourself.

We're basically back to normal and once the world goes back to normal people will expect the previous level of service again like they now are in Australia. If a different property or chain does it slightly better (like retaining a lounge or room service) then people will move to them which might make Hilton re-think this.

I won't name the property (some may be able to figure it out) but they were back to a normal breakfast buffet and housekeeping in July last year and this is the level people expect.

I don’t get the comparison to AirBnBs. Much of the time they are less expensive, but you don’t get any level of consistency. Much of the time you end up somewhere that has the cheapest stuff possible and it’s often a hassle to get in and out of the property. I hate the weird fluffy throws that usually have picked up some smell, uncomfortable beds, and having to carefully consider things that I would take for granted at a hotel.

I stay at chain hotels precisely because of brand standards. I don’t need someone changing out my towels and sheets everyday, but I do care a lot about being able to click a few buttons and get into a room that probably has few surprises without interacting with anyone.

I stay at a mix of limited to full service properties, so I have a pack with my favorite instant coffee and an immersion heater for that as well. I like grab and go as an amenity, but I will usually keep a few snacks in my bag in case I get in late.

The things I do care about: Windows that open, bathtubs (for my spouse), a good hotel lounge or (even better) vouchers for made-to-order meal in the hotel restaurant. For longer stays, I like a place to eat in the room and a full-size fridge.

Side Note: Minibars don’t make hotels money. They are expensive to manage because someone has to take frequent inventory and the automatic ones are often wrong. They only exist because it’s expected.

I only travel a few times a year with family. Just did a week in Orlando at Homewood Inn & Suites. The problem I had was them not telling you there wasn't daily service. We came back after a day at the park to the same wet towels left on the floor. We called the desk, she *apologized* and had some sent up in about 10 minutes. The next day after another day in the park, we walk in to wet towels where we left them again. This front desk person tells us to leave the wet towels outside the door when we leave. They need to be more transparent up front. If towels (and garbage bags & bath tissue) need to be requested every day then at least say that upon check-in.

"Let’s be clear, the focus here isn’t on offering better value. That’s to say that hotels aren’t looking to cut costs and lower rates, but rather they’re looking to charge the same but offer less."

This is true, maximizing profit is the point; with that said, lower break even points give them more room to offer promotions, etc. if the competitive landscape shows people complain about the rooms not being kept to pre-pandemic conditions (that some peers go back to offering).

An interesting thought. Ben says a 30% occupancy can be break even.

In countries such as USA, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, Singapore,domestic tourism is quite popular. People enjoy getting out and about. Probably Hilton hotels in these places are enjoying good occupancy rates and no need to discount rates. There are enough local middle class people with money to spend. They don't rely on international visitors.

It might be that same applies to other chain hotel in those countries.

Maybe we will see the chain hotels re-envisioning their business structure to sell off hotels in countries where continual lockdown restrictions cause low or zero occupancy.

Could you imagine trying to run a hotel business in London, Paris or Frankfurt where locals can't have a staycation for the fun of it, but would prefer to travel away? And hotels there rely on international tourists who can't or won't come. And no-one has an idea when this will change.

The Hilton chain in a few years time might look a lot different to what it does now.

I wonder if we will start seeing some of these amenities be part of the loyalty tiers. For frequent business travelers that can and will accumulate points for compensation that may be an expected perk. Or at least the option for one. Daily cleaning for leisure or off-loyalty guests could be a small fee. I stayed for a week once in a Hyatt House that had a kitchen dishwasher dishware basically like I was at home. Housekeeping was weekly except for towels by request. I semi lived in ate in the restaurant for breakfast but purchased groceries. Practically I think most could adjust and the hotels may give the option for daily turndown as a perk or for a fee for those that desire it. The market will take care of pricing over time. As the article states, the break even yield has been lowered by double digits in most cases below 50% occupancy. A lot will depend on how much business travel resumes as we emerge from Covid. Even at full opening without masks and herd immunity I think businesses have rationalized a portion of their activities that will simply be gone going forward. I do feel though some things may eventually come back.

I already reject daily room cleaning. I don't need, or want anyone in my room when I'm not there. I don't need new towels daily, nor do I need someone to make my bed, like I'm an infant. And if they take out the overpriced drinks from the fridge, that leaves more space for my own stuff (without being worried about tripping some auto-billing sensor). I do appreciate late night room service, especially if there aren't restaurants or shops nearby, but otherwise I can live without most of these services. If it brings the cost of the room down, even better. Though I did like getting extra points for cancelling daily service with SPG Green Choice. Sadly, Marriott's mostly killed that bonus.

If Hilton permanently pursues this path, I think there is a real risk there that their limited services brands may start to cannabalize their full-service offerings. Travel is coming back and people will not want to pay full-service hotel prices for limited service offerings. While some people do not want their rooms cleaned every day or use room service, some people do want these things and full service hotels should offer these services as options for those who want them. If all hotels will have limited service, why not just stay at the Hampton Inn?

Our local Hilton in a capital city in Australia used to have an executive lounge the size of 4 normal rooms, and employed 2full time and a part time staff. There used to be a buffet dinner, free flow of drinks. All day tea coffee and snacks and a buffet breakfast. That's all gone. One of the staff who used to be employed there is now just a room boy, presumably at a lower salary. Eventually the lounge will probably be remodelled and returned to hotel room stock. 4extra rooms possible. Each bringing in money.
Guests who used to use the lounge now are given vouchers to get drinks at the lobby bar and a side plate of appetisers. Typically a person might stay here half an hour before going to a restaurant. And spend money. People used to settle into the lounge for the evening and not spend.

Breakfast is from a separate section of the restaurant and only very basic. Sparkling wine disappeared as did plates of cold meat and cheese.

The pool and gym are still as normal and not (yet) monetised.
The little shopping mall though is a ghost town to walk through to get to the toilets. That mall needs thought how to monetise it.
However the typical room charge has increased on the hilton website by about 40% since covid19. If I book the cheapest room, I will receive an extra email telling me of e-upgrade bid possibly. Then I can get an executive suite at a cheaper price than before covid19. The hotel manager tells me to always ask the cost of an upgrade when checking in, just in case something special is available.
Typically I noticed for points redemptions I would need to pay 30000 points off peak. It used to be 19000 points.
The hotel is frequently full. Whilst we Australians can't travel internationally, we very much embrace domestic tourism. And still travel a lot.
Thankyou Ben for confirming that these changes are here to stay.

Someone please explain why in room dining needs to be in "to go" bags? If they want to reduce hotel interaction, ring the doorbell and leave the meal on a tray at the door. I recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Palm Springs for a few days. I received my breakfast, "like in the picture" above, with all the trimmings, but I felt like some cheap sleazy customer in a fleabag motel. One of the reasons many of us enjoy room service is because someone else is doing the cooking and presenting our meal on plates and glasses with mini salt and pepper shakers and so on. Sometimes even with a flower on the tray. It makes you feel special. I had a work colleague who relished her time away from her family in hotels on the road where she could pamper herself with room service meals where she did not do the cooking. One of my sister's top priorities when she goes on vacations is having room service. And not in paper bags like you might get from Subway. When you are a guest in someone's house, they do not toss you a paper bag with a hamburger in it. They place it on plates at a table. It is no different being a guest in a "full service" hotel. You are their guest. Full service. Otherwise like everyone says, rent a house from AIrBNB.

Australian here. I have stayed at cheap motels to high end hotels. All have daily room service including the cheap motels. At the height of the pandemic in Australia I moved house and stayed at the park Hyatt in Melbourne. All restaurants were shut, as a globalist I was given a paper menu (disposable) from which to order breakfast. Honestly it was much better than heading to a buffet. I have no idea about the mini bar as never used it. Cheap motels in the middle of nowhere always have an empty mini bar fridge which I love as I would store water.
During holiday I don’t care about daily service but when I’m at the office from 7am to 10pm, I want my room serviced. Given I am often in India (pre pandemic), I also want in room dining as an option.
Right now I am in Perth. They have had 1 case in the community in 12 months so not a mask in sight. I spent 2 nights at Como where you were asked if you wanted nightly turn down service. I’m now at the Ritz Carlton which is heavily booked (Easter is a 4 day weekend in Australia). Everything is the same as pre pandemic.
Am yet to stay at a Hilton in Australia.

This isn't a great idea for hotels long term. As a former Marriott front desk agent, there were multiple times we kicked guests out during daily house keeping services for basically destroying their rooms the first night of their stay. If you leave those types of guests in the rooms for 5 nights, you may have to take that room out of inventory for a day or two to clean it up properly. That means you may have to relocate guests and buy them rooms elsewhere if you're sold out. It's also going to mean that heavy guest departure days will require the already overworked housekeeping staff to either work overtime or cut corners cleaning. I'm guessing most will cut corners cleaning because most hotels won't pay housekeepers overtime. Overall, these changes sound great for Airbnb.

Honestly, I'm okay with no more daily service. If you need new towels, you can still call or go to the front desk and request new ones. If you insist on having your bed made when staying at the Days Inn, I'm sure you can do it yourself.

Everyone talks about this as a "win" for Airbnbs, but most of the time those end up being the same price or more expensive once you factor in service and cleaning fees. They're only really helpful for long stays or areas without many hotels, so I would still rather stay in a hotel most of the time.

Pre-COVID, some hotels offered extra points or a dining credit if you turned down the daily service. I actually think this might be a happy medium here in the long term if they were to expand that. I'd be happy to take a couple hundred Hilton points or $5 towards the in-hotel bar instead of having a stranger come into my room in the middle of my stay.

Towels will have to be changed daily and I suspect that will continue especially at higher end properties. Daily full service cleaning and bed making may not continue (and I am not sure I necessarily need it) if I am staying for multiple days. If I am the only person coming into the room during my 3 day stay the room isn't going to be any more risky for me to be in there than it was the moment I walked in. With that being said, I think many people will rationalize their expectations as they already have. Breakfasts will likely return because that was a positive benefit and something that probably drove some business at some properties. Just like we saw after deregulation with the airlines, only the truly serious travelers that take an interest in such things and the rest will adjust accordingly. With the rise of online booking aggregate sites the broader market will be chasing price, while there will be a secondary market for the hard core travelers that will be loyal to brands/chase rewards, and business travelers with arrangements.