Category Archives for Hotels.
A reader was checking into the Hyatt Union Square and asked prior to arrival about possible suite upgrades. They were told a standard suite was available, it would be provided if they wanted to use a confirmed suite upgrade, but they would not honor a complimentary elite upgrade to a suite.
The guest reports that hotel’s direct phone number was disconnected. After about ten minutes, someone emerged from the open front door stating that the hotel was closed and that canceling the reservation—even late—would incur no charge. How could it possibly incur a charge? Eventually they found a room at a Residence Inn in Port Arthur, stuck with a rate of $300 per night.
The Hyatt Centric brand can be expected to deliver inferior stays. It’s for hotels that don’t want to conform to brand standards, so there aren’t many standards. That’s the sine qua non of cheap owners.
Still, it seems to me that there’s an increasing sense in which Hyatt hotels are not abiding by program terms, or rather Hyatt’s rules seem to have changed for some hotels and customers just aren’t being informed.
A Marriott employee recently warned on social media that Bonvoy has been pushing hotels to report guests who try to share loyalty accounts. If your spouse is staying under your account to use your benefits, and let you earn the points, this could get you audited.
However, he adds not to be a jerk to the front desk – the reservation might not be honored, but they probably won’t waste their time reporting you.
This isn’t a function of lower room rates earning fewer points. That’s already built into the model where points-earning is based on the amount of money spent at the hotel. The lower earning rate per dollar is reflective of Marriott pushing down what they charge owners.
The ‘number of members’ is really just ‘records in the database.’ The more rooms you have, the more people are booking them, the more sign up for a program usually just to avoid paying extra. A large marketing file is valuable! But it says little about the value of the program. Far more interesting is which programs outperform the size of the chain.
President Trump shared a vision of peace in the Mideast that’s jarring for some but that has a rich diplomatic history and makes a great deal of sense: a resort casino in Gaza. Issues with it are actually mostly about the presentation, not the substance. But the presentation is… truly something.
Hyatt is keeping an award chart, and they’re not changing the points prices of that chart. That’s the good news, I suppose. But their annual category changes are out – going into effect in one month on March 25 – and they’re heavily biased towards price increases.
Long check-in lines are de rigueur in Las Vegas. People go to Vegas for a break, and the start of their trip is a queue – probably first for the ride from the airport to their hotel, and then to get into their room. What could be more of a mass experience, and what could make an upscale hotel feel more like Circus Circus than this?
Marriott responds that it is not a brand-wide change, but it is a change at this hotel, “This test is being run by the St. Regis Macao and not as part of a broader program change.”
This suggests that (1) Marriott is ok with the change, (2) Despite it violating the program’s terms and conditions. And it’s unclear what the result of this test will be – a permanent change at one property, or a test of a broader St. Regis change (aligning the brand closer to Ritz-Carlton)?
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 »
