Still makes no sense. If the hotel is full they get ADR.
And when it's not full, there's no way that it's better having a empty room than whatever Hilton pays for a non-full points stay.
Dan, true if the hotel is 96% they get the hotel adr, if not they get about $60 from Hilton, but two things one during peak nights it will always be more profitable to get a high bar rate than taking a points reservation. Most hotels have a significant portion of lower rated business to serve as a base, which causes the adr to be significantly lower than bar.
If they have numerous no shows, on peak nights, causing occ to drop below 96% they will only be getting the $60 on a busy night.
Tons and tons of point stays( remember after about 2,500 Hilton reimburses the adr regardless of occupancy.
Cost per occupied hotel room is not just the bar of soap and shampoo. After you add in things like labor, franchise fees, travel agency commissions, etc, could easily be over $60