Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

Hyatt Loses Tax Court Ruling With Huge Implications For Loyalty Programs, IRS Sought To Tax $250 Million

by Gary Leff on October 3, 2023

Oct 03 2023

The IRS audited Hyatt for the tax years 2009 – 2011 and found that it wasn’t paying tax on loyalty program revenue. It didn’t include the revenue received for what was then Gold Passport (now World of Hyatt) in income, and didn’t include payments from the program as expenses. It just ignored the program, even though it collected money and invested it earning a return.

The IRS wanted Hyatt to not only pay up for those years but to go all the way back to the beginning of the program in 1987, with a quarter of a billion dollars of income at issue and a tax deficiency of $65 million.

More Hyatt Hotels Are Ignoring Elite Breakfast Benefit Rules, And Getting Away With It

by Gary Leff on October 1, 2023

Oct 01 2023

A chain’s most valuable customers are its elite members, who deliver an outsized portion of room nights to hotels. To entice them, they’re promised benefits like upgrades and free breakfast.

Knowing that hotels are going to try to cheat, Hyatt spells out in its terms and conditions what the breakfast benefit is for Globalist members when no club lounge breakfast is offered.

Marriott Has A New EV Charging Solution For Hotels In U.S. And Canada

by Gary Leff on September 19, 2023

Sep 19 2023

The ultimate takeaway from Hilton’s announcement, and Marriott’s need to do something here, is that hotels see being prepared for EV’s – whether for road tripping guests or those renting the vehicles – as an important must-have in the future.

Hyatt Hotels Increasingly Getting Away With Not Cleaning Rooms

by Gary Leff on September 17, 2023

Sep 17 2023

Hotels are ignoring chain rules. Guests book properties assuming they’ll get what the brand promises, and then the individual property doesn’t deliver, choosing to cut costs instead. That devalues the brand, while helping the bottom line of the individual hotel.

This often manifests in properties skimping on or ignoring elite benefits like breakfast. But it also covers housekeeping. And it’s certainly not limited to the best-known offender, Marriott.

Amazing: Staff Abandoned Hotel So Guests Took Over Front Desk, Made Breakfast

by Gary Leff on September 16, 2023

Sep 16 2023

Three guests staying at a La Quinta in Nashville found themselves running the hotel when staff abandoned the front desk. They answered the phones and even set up the hotel’s free breakfast for the rest of the guests.

Guest Says Marriott Hotel Called Him A “Dumb Ass” For Booking Through Expedia

by Gary Leff on September 13, 2023

Sep 13 2023

Chatting through the Marriott app with the Residence Inn at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center, a guest says they requested a king bed but their reservation showed they were booked into a queen room.

Register Now For Hyatt’s New Promotion (Because You’ll Forget To Do It Later)

by Gary Leff on September 12, 2023

Sep 12 2023

Hyatt is out with their fall promotion and it’s for a very limited period of less than two months.

Hyatt’s CEO Says Experiences Now Matter, Not Points. He’s Missing… The Point

by Gary Leff on September 12, 2023

Sep 12 2023

Hyatt “is adjusting how it markets its loyalty program to reflect new realities” of reduced business travel and increased leisure travel. Hyatt’s CEO says that experiences now matter, with leisure, more than points. But that isn’t correct.

Have American Airlines Status? Hyatt Will Give You 90 Days Of Status Free (And Quick Path To Keep It)

by Gary Leff on September 12, 2023

Sep 12 2023

American Airlines AAdvantage status members can register for 90 days of elite status with Hyatt, with an expedited path towards keeping or increasing that status next year.

World’s Dumbest Hotel Manager Caught Stealing From Aria Las Vegas

by Gary Leff on September 8, 2023

Sep 08 2023

A manager at MGM’s Aria hotel in Las Vegas has been arrested and charged with generating $770,000 in reservation refunds – that he put on his own personal credit card.

The 10 year operations manager with MGM Resorts spent the money “at Louis Vuitton and Versace, flying on private jets, doing spa visits, going to shows and even purchasing a home.”

Hotels

Hyatt Loses Tax Court Ruling With Huge Implications For Loyalty Programs, IRS Sought To Tax $250 Million

More Hyatt Hotels Are Ignoring Elite Breakfast Benefit Rules, And Getting Away With It

Marriott Has A New EV Charging Solution For Hotels In U.S. And Canada

Hyatt Hotels Increasingly Getting Away With Not Cleaning Rooms

Amazing: Staff Abandoned Hotel So Guests Took Over Front Desk, Made Breakfast

Guest Says Marriott Hotel Called Him A “Dumb Ass” For Booking Through Expedia

Register Now For Hyatt’s New Promotion (Because You’ll Forget To Do It Later)

Hyatt’s CEO Says Experiences Now Matter, Not Points. He’s Missing… The Point

Have American Airlines Status? Hyatt Will Give You 90 Days Of Status Free (And Quick Path To Keep It)

World’s Dumbest Hotel Manager Caught Stealing From Aria Las Vegas

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