Are Hilton eStandby Upgrades worth it?

Book a stay at a Hilton, Conrad or DoubleTree hotel and as the date of your stay is approaching, you’ll probably receive an email inviting you to ‘upgrade your stay’ through a tempting set of offers.

This is the Hilton group’s eStandby Upgrade system at work. Anything from late checkouts to larger rooms or suites and executive lounge access can be served up.

In the case of room upgrades, they’ll carry a discounted rate compared to the asking price when you made your initial booking.

(This entirely automated process is managed by the Nor1 Hotel Upsell Solution from technology giant Oracle, which the company spruiks as allowing hoteliers “to maximise incremental revenue opportunities” by presenting “offers with the highest probability of conversion to guests.”)

You can also check what upgrades are available through the Hilton Honors app: click the Stays icon at the bottom of the screen, select any upcoming stay and tap the Request Upgrade icon to see what eStandby Upgrades are on the table.

Are Hilton eStandby upgrades worth it?

As a rule, the higher your Hilton Honors status the less you may feel the need to choose an eStandby Upgrade to a better room – you just might get that upgrade anyway as a perk of your Honors Gold or Diamond status.

Likewise, an ‘executive level’ room which comes with access to the executive lounge has less appeal to a Diamond who already has lounge access regardless of what floor their room is on.

However, if you really want one of those upgrades – and at the right eStandby Upgrade price, an oversized suite with a scenic view is hard to resist – then go ahead and lock it in, because eStandby Upgrades are prioritised over complimentary upgrades.