A World of Hyatt member shared with me that they’re being charged $3,690 for cancelling a two-night stay using a free night award. This took them totally by surprise. They didn’t realize when they booked it several months ahead of time that the rate was non-cancellable. And when they learned that, they assumed it would mean that they’d lose their points. But that’s not what’s happening.
I reserved 2 night with 58,000 Hyatt points at the Thompson Hotel Central Park NYC for this coming July. I then needed to cancel the reservation this past May. Unknowingly, I was trapped by Hyatt’s terms and conditions into paying a $3690.00 cancellation fee for this “free” night.
- Hyatt’s policy is to return the points (or free night award) and charge a cash forfeiture amount when cancelling an award stay past any cancellation deadline.
- This booking was made six months in advance, and was non-cancellable from day one.
- Customers are never told how much they’ll owe if they don’t make it to check-in or if they cancel too late. (Here, even ‘immediatley’ would have been too late.)
The policy even applies where you can’t make it to the hotel because your flight is cancelled. And then you’re out cash that’s far in excess of the value of the points. I’ve cancelled rooms when I’ve been sick and decided it wasn’t a good idea to fly, and hotels have waived the charge. But that’s at their discretion, not something you can count on. Here, the hotel refuses.
The guest cancelled the room a couple of months before the stay. The points were returned. Then three weeks later they “received an invoice for $3690.00 cancellation fee for this reservation.” The hotel says their rates for the two nights are $1,795 and $1,895. However I pulled up a reservation for those nights and I’m being quoted $896.
The hotel isn’t losing two nights of revenue that they could have sold to someone else with this cancellation two months in advance. But even if they were, they’re not charging $3,690 for someone who would book the stay. They’re charging less than half that. And in any case,
- Guests are never quoted a cancellation amount in advance to agree to. There’s simply notice that there will be a charge, but not how much it is.
- Who would guess $1,800 per night for a Thompson property? That amount is insane.
- The hotel appears to charge whatever they wish.
- Hyatt has known about this issue for years and allows it to continue.
I reached out to Hyatt about this. I’ve asked about situations like this in years past, and Hyatt has said they’d look at the policy and actually helped the guest. This time despite two weeks and multiple prompts, they’ve chosen not to respond. That’s troubling.
Back in 2019, I helped a reader get a surprise $7,000 back on an award cancellation at Andaz Papagayo.
At the time, seven years ago, they said ““We continuously evaluate the program, cancellation policies and disclosure practices – and will continue to do so. We also appreciate receiving guest feedback that may help us improve our processes” The executives running the program then had come from Starwood, which had a friendlier policy – the guest could choose whether to forfeit the points or cash.
In 2022, I wrote about asking my Hyatt concierge to make a booking for me. They did but did not tell me the reservation would have a 30-day cancellation policy. The e-mail confirmation I received said the penalty would be “50 PCT OF STAY” and of course the ‘stay’ cost was 90,000 points, not thousands of dollars, so it seems dishonest to claim a cash rather than points amount. I had to cancel the booking because I was ill. I told said that I would travel anyway and sit in the lobby and tell other guests that the hotel required me to be there and expose them if they wanted?
Here’s a case where Hyatt charged a member $5,500 to cancel an award stay when their father died.
In 2023, I helped a guest who was charged $11,212 after cancelling an award stay 58 days in advance at at Hyatt’s Montaneros in Vail, Destination Residence. The hotel had a 60 day cancel policy. At the time Hyatt said,
Please know this is not the experience we want for our guests and valued World of Hyatt members and take feedback like this very seriously. We have communicated with this guest and the property will be processing a full refund. We are also examining the cancellation policy terms and conditions language for Destination Residences properties.
And yet I’m honestly afraid whenever I redeem Hyatt points that a flight cancellation could mean I don’t make it to the start of a hotel stay, and I’m on the hook for an undisclosed cash forfeiture amount. I don’t even know how much they’d charge me if that happened.
I wanted to book the Hyatt Regency DFW last week rather than the much better Grand Hyatt DFW because I could use a category 1-4 free night certificate. However I simply did not dare, in case something happens and my plans changed. I’m fine losing my points in a situation like that, but I am not fine losing thousands of dollars and not even knowing in advance how much they’ll decide to bill me, claiming I had somehow agreed to the payment.
It’s a policy like this, which is shared by Marriott, that makes me worry about using hotel points. Loyaly guests shouldn’t have to second mortgage their home or sell prized possessions if something happens and they can’t reach the hotel by check-in time.
On the bright side, with the recently exploded award chart, the points prices and cash prices are much better aligned. If given the option to pay the penalty in points, you might still choose to pay it in cash!
I had never heard of inability to cancel for full redeposit of points more than 14 days before your stay. That’s draconian. It’s worse than redeeming for Basic on JetBlue (50% haircut on cancellation).
did he use a SUA and the hotel is quoting the paid standard suite rate?
I will say… Hilton is much better in this regard. I had it happen to me once. I was fortunate they only charged me the first night cash and refunded all the points. It often takes getting a manager.
I never knew this was possible. I had no idea a points rate can turn into a cash cancellation. I know have canceled some in the past with zero issues.
The fact that Hyatt didn’t reply to you is telling. This is the second or third time they haven’t responded to you.
Hyatt’s downward spiral is sad but predictable given they can get away with it since IHG and Marriott are worse.
This is out and out fraud. This is the hill to die on. Suggest using your voice and notoriety to take this to Hoplamazian or whoever is running Gold Passport at present.
(Yes, it will always be Gold Passport. WOH and “Globalist” are ridiculous)
Sometimes a shady Marriott will send an email directly to the guest warning about massive no show fees more expensive than if you checked in and left. So if you show up for the stay it mignt be $500 a night. But if you don’t show up = thousands of no show fees.
1 star review it is!
The Bonvoyification of Hyatt continues…
@Gary – You should really look into an annual travel insurance policy.
This is one reason I always check the cancellation policy when booking award stays. I’m Globalist but still never assume anything outside of the norm will be done. Most are 48 hours prior to stay so this policy is very limited, usually at resorts but wouldn’t consider a NYC Thompson to be one.
I just had a situation where I didn’t check and was locked into a stay. Booked a Mr and Mrs Smith through Hyatt for Porto in September. I booked 3 nights paying cash since, as all on here know, the M/M Smith awards rarely make sense. Well my flight to Barcelona leaves at 7 AM so will need to be up around 4 and go to airport. I looked at the reservation to see about changing to 2 nights with 3rd night staying around airport to make it easier. Well the cancellation policy on this M/M Smith was “cancellations made later than 1 hour after booking will incur a 1 night” so decided not to change it and will just find a cab in the middle of the night. Also, M/M Smith really doesn’t include any Globalist benefits. This was simply to punch that brand off the list and also all the Porto Hyatt properties are M/M Smith.
Gary, what is the options to dispute. It seems like they would still of the $8xx per night, but less than they charged.
Small claims would have to be in NY or could it be brought in a different venue against Hyatt.
@Beachfan – if you agreed to the terms when you booked the reservation there frankly is little room for a court case of any type (or a CC chargeback). Sorry but something people need to be on the lookout for, even if they couldn’t imagine this would ever be the case. There are numerous examples of similar such fees across numerous hotel chains. Again, mainly in higher demand resort locations but I try to take a minute and read the cancellation terms before I book any reservations (missed one as documented above but I’ll live with it).
I would simply throw the invoice in the trash. (The CC dispute if charged would be easy as there was never authorization to book an amount that was never disclosed for a service not provided.) Good luck pursuing payment of that invoice.
This is a garbage hotel. As a globalist, I cehcked in and asked about breakfast or an upgrades. I was told the hotel “does not particiapte in upgrades or breakfast benefits” for WoH gloablists. They put me on a higher floor. The hotel had suites available for sale and their restaurant was open.
NOT RECOMMENDED.
@Gary: Doesn’t a personal practice of “always buy a refundable room” solve this (where refundable means cancellation within 24 hourscof arrival time)?
Why anybody would try to use hotel points is a fool. Starting with Marriott and now IHG and Hyatt its a waste of time. Pick your hotels for convenience and price. The awards programs are worthless.
I must have missed the big news? When did Hertz announce they had acquired Hyatt?
Are hotel points worth the trouble anymore? We’re to the point that we don’t care about our status level is because it’s not honored well over half the time. Cards that get us cash are less hassle and not worth the penalties/disappointments with hotel stays.
@Retired Gambler
The terms say the cost of a night stay (or 2 nights). But they aren’t allowed to make up any number. I would characterize it is an overcharge .
They could charge $50k per night if that’s true.
Here’s what I would do… Don’t cancel the reservation and either just not show up or let someone else use it.
This is about the only situation where I buy travel insurance.
Isn’t this the hotel that under a previous brand was caught defrauding the chain it used to be flagged under?
What a surprise.
Turns out the owner is Gencom. Here are there other hotels: https://gencomgrp.com/portfolio/
Gencom also owns Pyramid Global Hospitality,
Some of their other properties, including the St. Regis Chicago, Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia and the Jacquard, Autograph Collection in Denver, are known for cheating point-redemption guests and outright denying benefits guaranteed by virtue of loyalty program status.
This’ll be a good policy to quote when I cancel my Hyatt card later this year.
Seth
Not just Hyatt. Marriott does this at the St. Regis in Aspen, Colorado. It’s a farce. Book with points; at the very least lose those points. Period.
This is why we need better baseline sensible regulations and consumer protections in the corporate pseudo-currency and loyalty program space.
@Sam Broeksmit — Better include “Cancel for Any Reason,” otherwise you’ll need a covered reason, and for that nonrefundable accommodation to qualify even if the caveat of it originally being booked using points. Just sayin, it gets complicated fast. Travel insurance is often a good idea, but it is usually not a panacea.
Could these policies be related to the way Hyatt compensates on award stays? (See earlier story on Hilton creating fake guests.) The customer might be OK that a cancellation/no-show means they’ve lost the points, just like some prepaid cash reservations. But, Hyatt won’t give the hotel the cash for the customer’s points in such a case (true?). Thus, the customer has to get points back. And, of course, if the cancellation/no-show ends up with an empty room that might have been sold, the hotel is, indeed, out of pocket here. And, if the cancellation/no-show results in an occupancy drop below 95%, or whatever the threshold is, the hotel gets less for points used those nights. Might it also be an issue that some properties see a lot of award bookings that eventually get canceled? I can see why it would be a problem if a hotel has 30% award, 70% revenue reservations 45 days out, only to have 2/3rds of the award reservations eventually cancel. Ultimately these policies, for whatever reason that causes them, are draconian. There has to be a fix.
Two points.
First as Retired Gambler says you can solve the problem of not knowing what the cancellation policy is by asking. That shouldn’t be necessary but at least you can get the answer.
Second binding agreement without a meeting of the minds so when Hyatt, or anyone else, fails to disclose meaningful information such as the cancellation policy a contract does not exist and the cancellation policy is unenforceable.
Since in the end its up to a judge to decide the latter its a lot safer and less time consuming to go with the first option even if it means making the reservation by phone so you can confirm the cancellation policy before making the booking just in case the cancellation window is zero.
Shame on Hyatt for not disclosing the full terms and conditions up front but other than checking the policy for every reservation beforehand the best we can hope for is that some state’s attorney general gets bit by this and decides to make an issue of it.
I would at least be inclined to allege that the bill presented is spurious given the “actual” rates being listed for that night. Apparently trying to charge $3600 when the nights are around $1800 makes it seem like the hotel is just making up numbers, and that seems reasonable to kick back. If anything that suggests that the /hotel/ is breaching the contract (by essentially double-charging).
Thought I posted this but don’t see it.
Travel insurance – at least the 4 common policies I’ve looked at- will only cover prepaid hotel costs, deposits or paid in advance stays. It doesn’t cover cancellation penalties that are paid post cancellation. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a covered cause.
If anyone else can find travel insurance policy terms that cover it, please let us know.
I am speechless. I would be shocked if that happened to me! Once again, it shows how badly things have become with these programs. GREED on the part of hotel, airline and car rental programs mean WE will have NO allegiance in the future. They have ruined a good thing. My husband and I bypass hotels more and more for platforms such as Airbnb and other home share type vehicles. We used to always stay in only Marriotts or Hiltons. Now we do so less and less and less. We no longer care about points or miles. They have become less and less worthwhile.
The people running these programs are crooks. It would be so much easier to simply quote the exact price of the cancellation upfront. Then, the guest would have a better understanding of the consequences of missing their reservation. I’m not entirely sure what you can do to protect yourself other than buying travel insurance, which other than medical/evacuation, I have never considered. Maybe I should upgrade my annual coverage to cover more perils, or study the credit card-provided beneifts more thoroughly so I can make better decisions about which card to use for what booking.
“I will say… Hilton is much better in this regard. I had it happen to me once.” Nope. Happened ‘once’ is purely anecdotal. I’ve been fortunate to get cancellation fees waived at Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott, but it’s always – always been goodwill from an individual property, rather than a chain-wide policy.
I simply don’t book non-cancellable or barely cancellable stays, no matter how much I like the property.
@Andy Shuman – Great to see you’re still around and involved!
“Why anybody would try to use hotel points is a fool. Starting with Marriott and now IHG and Hyatt its a waste of time. Pick your hotels for convenience and price. The awards programs are worthless.”
How about a less extreme approach? Pick your hotels for convenience and price as if the awards programs are worthless. Collect whatever points they give you. At some point you find a hotel with convenience and a zero or reduced price from points, use them. Then you can say to anybody who says, “[w]hy anybody would try to use hotel points is a fool,” you can laugh at them.
@This comes to mind — How about a more extreme approach… Ohio.
Customers are never told how much they’ll owe ?
I would think this is highly illegal?
How can you agree to terms at time of booking, when the terms are not clear?
Not an attorney, so I’ll let the VFTW wing experts weigh in.
I gave up on Hyatt many years ago
Yes, this hotel was tossed from its previous chain incarnation for cheating on their loyalty program. All very interesting reading, and it brings up the rule “The leopard does not change his spots”. Obviously still crooks in charge at the hotel.
I have stayed here a couple times in the past. Never received any recognition or upgrade which would let me credit them with some goodwill. Given the documented historical record and this post, I have stayed my very last night here— forever. Just no. But I also will cancel my habit of visiting the property’s hospitality venues when I stay at the nearby Park Hyatt, which has been frequent. I just will not provide any support for this type of racket. A hard boycott, effective immediately. I encourage others to discontinue any support for them. Plenty of other Hyatts around NY. Also, please pass this article and your thoughts on to other frequent NYC travelers you know. And the hotel. And Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, 150 N. Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606
Seems like several hotel chains are now doing this. But if I remember correctly, Hyatt was the first I remember to do it. It’s got to the point where I book a hotel while I’m on the flight to the destination and just hope it is still available.
Yikes. Buyer beware, always.