Category Archives for Hotels.
According to Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian, “If a group is primarily focused on disparaging a group by virtue of their identity…that’s really where we need to draw the line. We’re going to apply our values to making these decisions along the way.”
There have been issues with inventory with certain hotels not bookable on points, others withholding most of their inventory from award redemption. Some General Managers at legacy Starwood properties have been upset by Marriott’s award availability policies and pricing — and have pushed back.
However the ability for hotels to play games with inventory is on the way out. And there will be at least a 3 week period before award prices go up next year when availability should be at its best.
I stayed 100 nights with Starwood in 2016 and was assigned an Ambassador for 2017. My Ambassador was excellent.
However members certainly have had varied experiences. Different Ambassadors provide different levels of service. Each person has different skills. The program itself provides guidelines but some go above and beyond. And workload matters. Now that the program is scaling to support top elites at Marriott too, Marriott’s metrics are being put into place.
Last week Marriott launched its first big promotion since launching their new program on August 18.
Nowhere does this offer say that it is targeted. In order to be eligible you just have to be a loyalty program member. Except not all members are allowed to register.
Hyatt used to be super generous with elite status matches. If you had a pulse they’d give you 90 days of Diamond status including confirmed suite upgrades, and an expedited path to keep that status.
No doubt they brought over a lot of great members with the offer, but they also picked up plenty of people who just wanted to have that one special trip (honeymoon, anniversary) but transferring in Chase points, booking a cash and points redemption, and applying a suite upgrade to it. Probably at the Andaz Maui or Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris.
Airlines have an easier time delivering consistent benefits than hotel chains do. Occasionally gate agents do not do their jobs correctly but for the most part airlines are able to follow their own rules for delivering elite benefits.
Hotel chains rarely own the hotels themselves any longer. And in some cases they do not even manage the hotels.
Hotels want you to re-use towels, not have your sheets changed, and even decline housekeeping entirely. They tell you it’s for the environment, but their primary interest is saving costs.
Housekeeping staff complain about the programs. More guests opting out means fewer rooms to clean and less work. But they have to do more cleaning after a guest has gone without for several days. And they say work scheduling becomes more erratic.
When I wrote that Hyatt points have remained a remarkably steady source of value for the last 5 years since they devalued their points, that even when they announced those changes in late 2013 they weren’t that bad, and since then even the modest shifts in award categories we’ve seen for hotels have been balanced my point was to re-assure about Hyatt points not to cause consternation.
However I received several comments along the lines of why are you pointing out to them it’s time to devalue? Hyatt is already aware of the economics of their program and when they last made changes.
It’s been five years since Hyatt last devalued, introducing a new category 7 and raising the price of many awards. The best hotels became more expensive, suite redemptions became more expensive, but overall the weighted average of free night award prices went up just 4%.
Since that time there have been remarkably few changes to the earn and burn side of the Hyatt program. Even the total revamp and introduction of ‘World of Hyatt’ nearly two years ago was a change only to the elite program.
Marriott’s fall and early winter promotion is out: .
The idea is that this is the first promotion that is run across all of Marriott’s participating 29 brands. Of course prior to combining programs August 18th they had largely aligned their efforts already, but this is one promotion for the new program.
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 »
