Hilton starts “test phase” with SLH partnership, adds three hotels

Hilton has begun a “test phase” of its partnership with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) by adding three properties that are now available for booking and that will offer Hilton Honors elite benefits.

The newly-added hotels are Teranka Formentera (one of the Balearic Islands); Nobu Hotel Marbella in Spain; and the Flemings Mayfair in London. Because this is a test phase, there are only limited dates that are available for booking, the first available that we know of for Nobu Marbella and Flemings Mayfair are in January, 2025. Teranka doesn’t seem to have any availability until next May.

Overall, each property seems to offer decent-excellent value as a points redemption. Flemings and Nobu Marbella are right around our reasonable redemption rate for Hilton Honors points of 0.48 cents each. Cash prices at Teranka start at around $1,600/night, making it an excellent award value at only 110,000 Hilton Honors points (or a free night certificate).

What’s Happened

• Hilton Honors has added htree Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) properties that can be booked with cash or Hilton points:
  • Teranka Formentera (one of the Balearic Islands)
  • Nobu Hotel Marbella in Spain
  • Flemings Mayfair in London
• There doesn’t appear to be any dates available until January, 2025 (May for Teranka)

Direct Link to Hilton/SLH Landing Page

Hilton Honors elite benefits at included SLH properties

• Member: Free Wi-Fi, Late Checkout, Free Bottled Water/Hydration, No Resort Fees on Reward Stays
• Silver: Member benefits + 20% earning bonus, fifth night free on award bookings
• Gold: Member benefits + 80% earning bonus, complimentary breakfast for two, upgrades based on availability, fifth night free on award bookings
• Diamond: Member benefits + 100% earning bonus, complimentary breakfast for two, upgrades based on availability, fifth night free on award bookings

Quick Thoughts

Back in April, Greg had a conversation with Hilton’s Chief Marketing Officer, from whom he learned some encouraging news about the Hilton/SLH partnership:

• SLH properties will be bookable with points and will follow a similar pricing structure to Hilton’s own brands, with standard room award nights that top out at 150,000 points per night.
• SLH properties will be bookable with the 5th night free benefit (for elite members) and free night certificates.
• Elite benefits will be similar to those you’d receive at hotels within Hilton’s portfolio.

These first hotels confirm all of that information, as tiered elite benefits are essentially the same as with Hilton’s own properties and the fifth night benefit is applying to award bookings. I’m especially encouraged to see that even a basic member will have resort fees waived on points bookings (something that IHG and Marriott don’t even do for top-tier elites…at their own properties). My sense is that not many SLH properties actually have resort fees, but I imagine some do. It’s nice to see that a “free” stay is actually a free stay.

Probably the best news is that these properties fall into normal Hilton points rates, with Nobu and Flemings topping out at 78K and 80K per night, respectively. The value isn’t stellar, but we’re also seeing cash rates for January. If those points prices remain the same in high season, there will be significant value there.

Speaking of significant value, I’m also thrilled to see that Teranka, a lovely, small beachfront property on Formentera, is topping out at 110K per night, despite it’s $1600+ nightly rates. In addition, there are actually two different bookable room types, including a deluxe room that’s priced at over $2,700/night:

That deluxe room may very well be a glitch and won’t be available long-term. Still, getting over 1.6 cents per Hilton point is incredible value. The fact that Hilton’s not selling that room at 150K makes me very optimistic for the rates we’ll on future additions.

All-in-all, this first little drab of SLH ability seems to be good news overall. We’re supposed to have around 100 properties live by mid-Summer. Based on what we’re seeing here, stay tuned.

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