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A current visit to the Groupon deals website brings up a number UK Hilton special offers.

Given that not many of us are going anywhere far at the moment, I thought it worth covering these deals. The purpose of this is to not only alert you to any potentially local value, but more generally consider the extent to which Groupon can discount Hilton stays more than Hilton themselves.

There are currently eight offers available on Groupon. For ease of reference and consistency, I have made a test booking in all cases for one night on Thursday 3 June, not least as this is a night when the Groupon offers are all available.

Like me, you may be a little surprised at the results.

Deal 1

King Hilton Guestroom for Two with Breakfast and Dinner at the DoubleTree Coventry

Groupon Price: £65

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £61 room only

Better rate? Groupon…. probably.

Deal 2

Double Room for Two with Breakfast at the DoubleTree York

Groupon Price: £79 or £99 with a main course dinner

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £97 room only

Better rate? Clearly Groupon, and I think the price match guarantee should apply to the £97 rate (see below).

Deal 3

Queen Guest Room for Two with Breakfast, Dinner and Late Check-Out at the Doubletree by Hilton London Excel

Groupon Price: £99

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £75 room only, £159 dinner and breakfast

Better rate? Probably just about the Groupon price compared to Hilton room only. Certainly Groupon compared to dinner and breakfast. If you can get the price match guarantee on the dinner and breakfast rate (see below), it’s a superb deal. 

Deal 4

Queen Guest Room for Two People with Breakfast and Two-Course Meal at the Doubletree by Hilton Strathclyde

Groupon Price: £85

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £84 room only

Better rate? Groupon

Deal 5

Double Room for Two People with Breakfast and Complimentary Parking at the Hampton by Hilton Birmingham Broad Street

Groupon Price: £59

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £78

Better rate? Groupon

Deal 6

Queen Guest Room for Two with Breakfast and Wine at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bristol North

Groupon Price: £78

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £70 room only

Better rate? Hilton, unless it’s a really fine wine…

Deal 7

Queen Guest Room for Two with Breakfast and VIP Discount Pass for Bluewater Shopping Centre

Groupon Price: £79

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £84 room only

Better rate? Groupon, although subject to my caveat below.

Deal 8

Queen Guest Room for Two at the Doubletree By Hilton Hotel Glasgow Central

Groupon Price: £75

Nearest Equivalent Hilton Price: £96

Better rate? Groupon, although subject to my caveat below.

The major Groupon downside – and an upside

One key value-reducer for the Groupon deals, is you are unlikely to earn Hilton Honors points or status benefits on your stay.

With the current Hilton points promotion, the average points earned on the stay would be anything up to around 5,000 – worth about £15.

Another factor in this is your Hilton status. If you don’t have any status, the above rates are fairly easy to compare. However, if you are Gold or above, you will get a free breakfast. Therefore, a Hilton-direct “room only” rate is more valuable, as it is in fact inclusive of a breakfast.

HOWEVER, it does appear that you’ll get 15% cashback on the Groupon rate with Quidco, which more or less equates to the value of the Hilton perks, so the points made in this paragraph probably balance each other out rather neatly.

Does the Hilton price match guarantee apply here?

In most of the cases above, possibly.

The Hilton price match guarantee not only price matches, but then reduces the matched price by 25% for the duration of the stay. In theory it is applicable, but it may not actually apply to many of the rates. There certainly seems to be no general or “red flag” Hilton prohibition on Groupon:

The Hilton price match guarantee does not apply where different amenities are offered. So, where the Groupon deal includes a dinner, you are unlikely to be able to get Hilton to price match unless there’s also a Hilton dinner rate. That’s why I suspect the London Excel £99 Groupon package could be a bit of a gem here – you would get that same rate with Hilton, less 25%. So £74 for dinner bed and breakfast, for two, at a London hotel.

Do not assume, however, that any price match guarantee will be straightforward.