Loyal guests of Hilton hotels will now be able to choose a room with a view.
Hilton Worldwide is now integrating Google Maps into its HHonors app for its loyalty club members.
HHonors members who book directly with Hilton hotels rather than through an online travel agency like Expedia.com can already choose the location of their rooms within a property.
But now, they can see exactly where the room will be in relation to the building’s surroundings.
“One bit of feedback we got from them when they were picking their rooms is that they really wanted to understand exactly where that room was in the hotel, and things like ‘Is my room going to be facing Lake Michigan or is it going to be facing the street?” says Joshua Sloser, vice president of digital product innovation at Hilton Worldwide. “So what we decided to do is to put together our great floor plans that we have with Google Maps.”
Since introducing room selection on the HHonors mobile app two years ago, guests have used it more than 13 million times, Sloser says.
So far, guests booking at 2,500 hotels will be able to use the Google Maps function when they check in via the mobile app. Sloser says that will expand to all properties by this summer. Hilton Worldwide has more than 4,660 properties and 13 brands worldwide, including DoubleTree, Embassy Suites and Waldorf Astoria.
"Google Maps want to make it as easy as possible for people to get the information they need in a simple and intuitive way," says Megan Boundey, Google Maps Product Manager. "Together (with Hilton) we were able to enhance the guest experience by changing the way travelers plan and prepare for their hotel stay."
The new digital floor plans included in the app show exactly where the room is in relation to streets, public transportation, parks, bodies of water, and other geographical markers. Soon, Hilton and Google Maps will integrate points of interest such as landmarks and attractions.
The feature works like this: Hilton HHonors members can sign into their account via their mobile device, tablet or computer starting at 6 a.m. the day before they are scheduled to arrive at the hotel.
When they select their arrival time, they are shown a floor plan of the hotel with a green circle labeling available rooms. They can view photos and details of their hotel room. During digital check-in, they can request a digital key at participating hotels and go straight to their room using their smartphone as their key.
The new feature is another way that Hilton is rewarding guests who book directly with their properties via their brand websites, mobile app, reservation call centers, or designated corporate travel partners.
Major hotel companies are increasingly throwing perks at consumers who favor their direct booking channels vs. the online travel agencies. Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and, as of this week, Choice Hotels, are now offering discounted rates to consumers who go straight to them versus the likes of Expedia and Booking.com.
“For us having that direct relationship enables us to know who you are, offer benefits like this,” Sloser says. “We’ll start to understand when you stay at a hotel what rooms you love, you favor these rooms and having that relationship allows us to remember that. We’ll know that you love that room because you told us, and we’ve made it available again. It’s definitely a part of that direct relationship.”
The feature is now available on the Hilton HHonors iOS and Android apps and will be available on Hilton's brand websites this summer.
