Featured Reviews
Featured Insights
I’m often asked about the limits of “extending” hotel elite status to friends and family. This question most commonly comes in one of two forms:
I get where the question comes from, since many people view this as a win-win situation — their friends & family can get more perks than they’d get directly, while the member can get help toward elite qualification.
So let me address this question, for anyone who may be wondering a similar thing. Let me note that if you’re booking multiple rooms and you’re staying, there are other strategies to maximize hotel elite perks. This is more intended for booking hotel stays for others when you’re not staying.
Officially the member has to stay to earn points & get elite perks
In this post:
As you might expect, according to the terms & conditions of virtually all hotel loyalty programs, the member has to be the one staying in order to earn points and take advantage of elite perks. Program terms make it clear that the member must stay in one of the reserved guest rooms, and must pay for the guest room, in order to earn points and take advantage of elite perks.
In other words, you can’t make a booking for someone else and then earn points and extend your elite benefits to them.
Best route to go if you want to chance it
The above are the official rules, which I always want to share, because I think they’re worth following. It’s not worth playing games and jeopardizing your membership with a loyalty program. That being said, there are a couple of techniques that are probably worth being aware of, for those who want to chance things.
If you book a room for two guests, you can generally add a second guest to the reservation. Some hotels let you add this online during the booking process, while others require you to call in to add the second name.
The whole point of adding a second guest to a reservation is that they should be able to check-in without issue. Ford and I sometimes arrive places on different flights, so sometimes he’ll check-in before me. Here’s my experience with that:
Admittedly the above is a “legitimate” use of this feature, though this might get trickier if you’re trying to use your status for others, and there are multiple people staying. In other words, let’s say Person A (elite member) makes a reservation and lists Person B as the second guest, when in reality Person B and Person C are staying. In those instances I would recommend that the second guest staying not go to check-in and kind of “hang out” outside to avoid any further issues.
After all, if the room is booked for two people and two people show up (neither being the elite member), that’s what would raise a red flag.
Checking someone else in
There’s another scenario that people often ask about. Say you have family or friends visiting the area, but they’re not staying with you, but rather are staying in a hotel. Can you book the hotel in your name, check-in, give them the keys, and have them enjoy your elite perks?
Officially the answer is still no, which is because the terms of major hotel programs say you have to actually be staying in the room in order to use elite perks and earn points.
Realistically speaking, this is something that most hotel groups will be unable to police, since you could be the one checking in, etc.
I suppose this might get tricky if you have a personal relationship with the hotel and they know you, and are confused when someone enters the club lounge from your room number, but it’s not you. But in a vast majority of situations, hotels don’t provide such personalized service.
Redeem hotel points for others
On a different note, most hotel programs will let you redeem your points for others. The catch is that you won’t earn points or elite credits for these stays, and the person staying typically won’t receive your elite benefits.
The only exception that I want to mention is that if you’re a World of Hyatt Globalist member, you can make Guest of Honor bookings for others with your points. This allows you to extend your elite benefits to them, but you wouldn’t earn points or elite nights.
Bottom line
Hotel elite status is generally non-transferable, which is to say that the member must be the primary guest on a reservation and staying in the room in order to earn points and take advantage of elite perks. There are some tricks that some people try that may work, but just be aware that they can also backfire.
If you’ve ever made a booking for someone else using your elite status, what was your experience?
(function (d, s, n) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
js = d.createElement(s);
js.className = n;
js.src = “//player.ex.co/player/23271d62-c1c8-4817-9fa4-8afdbda97892”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘exco-player’));
body.adhesion .pbs[data-pbs-position=”sticky”] .pbs__player { bottom: 125px !important; } @media (max-width: 767px) { body.adhesion .pbs[data-pbs-position=”sticky”] .pbs__player { bottom: 120px !important; } }
document.getElementById( “ak_js” ).setAttribute( “value”, ( new Date() ).getTime() );
Conveniently, the eldest Doubt child shares my first name.
Never an issue with him.
I have been in the position whereby my husband, complete with his elite status, was unable to travel at the very last moment and a certain Park Hyatt was more than accommodating in allowing me to stay using ‘his’ amenities and perks. I suspect this is a usual course of action as long as it is not abused.
@Lucky
There is still one situation that you haven’t covered yet.
What if the elite member is the 2nd guest and does use the room?
The adding second guest name trick most likely will work in US, but I am pretty sure near 99% of chance won’t work in Asia. Unless the card member checkin prior and let the second guest stay. In this case will be receive all elite member benefits since elite member did the checkin. Otherwise most likely no benefit at all, or even won’t let you (second guest) checkin. The only exception will be HYATT GOH.
At Hilton Hotels I‘m usually staying on my Dads Account. It’s mostly about collecting elite nights and getting the lounge access as well as free breakfast.
When asked at Checkin I’m always stating, that it’s only me and not my dad staying. Once I was (in a fun way) asked if it’s about elite nights, no issue at all.
If it would ever become an issue I could earn Hilton Gold on my own, currently just to lazy to create an own account 😉
Your feedback is important in helping us keep our community safe.
The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser’s responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.
Conveniently, the eldest Doubt child shares my first name. Never an issue with him.
I have been in the position whereby my husband, complete with his elite status, was unable to travel at the very last moment and a certain Park Hyatt was more than accommodating in allowing me to stay using 'his' amenities and perks. I suspect this is a usual course of action as long as it is not abused.
@Lucky There is still one situation that you haven't covered yet. What if the elite member is the 2nd guest and does use the room?
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
Stay connected with the latest travel, aviation, and credit card news.
Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.
Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. See more about our ethics policies here.
© 2022 – OMAAT | All rights reserved