Category Archives for Hotels.
Hyatt is quietly surveying some of the biggest changes elites have seen in 10 years, including the idea of a new elite tier above Globalist and turning some current perks into one-stay rewards instead of benefits you enjoy on each stay. The survey also raises the possibility of premium suite upgrades even as they pursue cost cuts in the program.
A dad sprinting from lounger to lounger to claim pool chairs for his family has become a kind of folk hero of the resort vacation — because too many hotels now make “relaxation” feel like a competitive sport. At some properties, guests line up before dawn, race to the pool when gates open, or even sleep overnight on beach chairs just to secure a spot for the day. That is exactly why I try to avoid what I think of as ‘resort factories.’ Once a vacation requires early alarms, towel strategy, and a run for scarce lounge chairs, the hotel has already failed at the basic job of making guests feel at ease. If you have to get down to the beach or pool before 8 a.m. to have any hope of getting a chair,…
Hotel breakfast is supposed to be a perk for paying guests, but in many properties it appears to be operating on little more than the honor system. Social media videos showing people walking into hotels, grabbing the free breakfast, and leaving without ever checking in are getting millions of views.
Marriott just made its free night certificates easier to use by letting Bonvoy members add up to 25,000 points instead of 15,000. That sounds like a win — and it is more flexible — but it also says something less flattering: hotel redemption prices have climbed so much that you now need extra points to book many of the same stays these certificates used to cover on their own.
Grand Hyatt DFW rooms have a small screen on the door that shows the hallway through a camera, replacing the old-school peephole. It’s a genuinely better setup—wider view, easier for guests who can’t lean into a peephole, and it eliminates peephole “reversing”—but it’s also why most hotels skip it: batteries, upkeep, and one more piece of hardware that can fail.
Marriott’s long-running embarrassment in St. Croix — the Carambola Beach Resort, stripped of its Renaissance flag and notorious for filthy conditions — may finally be heading for a shutdown. A government-backed, roughly $50 million redevelopment plan is moving through the U.S. Virgin Islands legislature, even as the hotel remains bookable and the deal still isn’t fully final.
A viral check-in video from a Sheraton in suburban Atlanta shows a manager refusing to honor a guest’s reservation because she arrived with a dog she says is a service animal. When police arrive, the hotel keeps repeating “no pets,” and the officer has to explain the basic point: service animals aren’t pets under disability law, and a blanket no-pets policy doesn’t end the conversation.
Hyatt Place properties are usually boring but functional — not this one where a recent guest review describes widespread black mold, broken basics, and a hotel that won’t even let you charge purchases to your room—then reports that a front desk employee explained the incidental deposit is “in case you poop on the floor or rub poop on the walls.”
Hyatt’s latest points devaluation means fewer outsized redemptions at top properties—here’s precisely how I’ll shift my strategy to keep getting the best possible value.
A Hyatt hotel is telling top-tier guests that the elite breakfast at its beachfront food truck is reserved exclusively for Jewish customers—sparking confusion, hilarious jokes, and comparisons to a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
