For a long time Hyatt ‘Stay Certificates’ were a great way to buy Hyatt stays at a discount.
For many hotels, Hyatt would let you make a reservation with what’s effectively a gift certificate that they would sell for less than the price of the room on the Hyatt website. Then, once you had a reservation in hand, you could buy the gift certificate.
These stays wouldn’t earn points or elite credit, and weren’t always available, but could get you room nights in some very nice hotels at substantial savings.
Back in January they fiddled with the pricing a bit, but overall these certificates remains ‘one for the arsenal’ at least.
I did know they were re-evaluating their gift card (buy a card that serves as cash to pay for your stay) and stay certificate programs. Marriott got out of the stay certificate business entirely (though still sells gift cards). Hyatt put a new person in charge of their program.
And in September Hyatt made changes to the program such that it was really not much of a good individual savings strategy anymore. At the time they explained that wasn’t its purpose, it was really a product for the corporate incentive market.
At least that’s how they’re conceiving of it now, and they’re in fact ending the stay certificate program as we know it.
Instead they will offer ‘night certificates’ that aren’t capacity controlled (they book into the same inventory as room night awards) and that will be available only to approved businesses for bulk purchase.
As of January 8, 2014, Hyatt Stay Certificates will be replaced by Hyatt Nights Certificates, which are available for bulk purchase by registered businesses only. Hyatt Nights certificates are not available to the general public and are intended for use as corporate incentives, employee engagement, consumer loyalty, credit card redemption programs and auction packages. Hyatt will continue to honor Hyatt Stay Certificates through the expiration date printed on each certificate and subject to all terms and conditions applicable to such certificates.
They will stop selling Hyatt Weekend Certificates and Spa Certificates on January 7 as well.
The only remaining direct-to-consumer products will be Hyatt Gift Cards, Hyatt Check Certificates (paper version of the gift cards, usable internationally) and Hyatt eGift Cards.
This great deal really came to an end in September with their pricing changes, but now it’s officially dead with Hyatt having re-evaluated its product line and business model.
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Nice meeting you in the Centurion Lounge in Dallas 2 weeks ago. Do you know if the Hyatt gift cards able to be used in Mexico or the Caribbean or is it only the check certificates?
That will keep the riff raff out
Good riddance they destroyed the stay certificate product valuation anyway.Useless
I’m done with Hyatt and will use Priceline
Problem solved.I don’t need Hyatt at all
@Bruce – as it happens I’m there again now… (ugh)
Hyatt gift cards are valid in U.S., Canada and the Caribbean but not Mexico.
Using the Hyatt Gift Cards through the 10% discount from Milepoint Premium membership regularly. Never bothered to investigate the stay certificates much I’m afraid. The Gift Cards work, though you tend to want to go get breakfast while the agent applies them. They seem to be a bit complicated for them to use, or they simply don’t know how… at least that’s my experience. Always works out in the end though.