Hyatt is surveying a potential revamp to Globalist status. Members taking the survey receive 500 points, and get to express their opinion on a number of potential changes that could include an elite level above Globalist.
Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris
Some of the ideas under consideration included:
- Premium suite upgrade awards. Hyatt is the only major chain that lets you confirm a standard suite at the time of booking (‘suite upgrade awards’). They also offer awards with points for premium suites, but elites don’t earn the ability to book into these premium suites the way they can with standard suites. I’ve long wanted the option to redeem two suite upgrade awards for a premium suite. Hyatt does appear to be considering a path to upgrade into these ‘special’ suites.
Georgetown Suite, Park Hyatt DC - An award to avoid peak pricing on redemptions. With Hyatt revamping its award charts to offer five price levels per category including prices that are up to 67% higher than today, it sounds like they’re at least considering an award that would let members earn the ability to cap the damage occasionally.
Seabird Resort - An award to force standard room availability if booked at least six months in advance, which is ideal for booking free night awards at the most in-demand hotels at peak times like New Years in the Caribbean or Hawaii.
Hyatt Regency Aruba - An elite tier above Globalist although the benefits offered reportedly seemed remarkably similar to current Globalist benefits, so might amount to an increased qualification requirement.
- Cutting benefits by turning them into Milestone Rewards that you would redeem for a single stay, rather than being able to use on all stays. This includes how Globalists currently receive free parking on awards and waived resort fees on paid stays. That would be much less expensive to offer, as Hyatt provides compensation to hotels for providing these benefits.
Alila Marea - Other Milestone Rewards like a buy one get one night at Thompson hotels, $20 off a spa treatment, and other ‘coupon book’-style options plus elite qualifying nights as a choice.
- Preferred Parking for elites at Hyatt Place properties.
- Playing catch-up with IT upgrades to points pooling and bringing points transfers online, which are both things Hyatt previewed as planned when they announced their award chart devaluation last month. It also mentioned topping off category 1-4 free night certificates with additional points to be used on more expensive stays (this is a second-best to actually maintaining the value of the certificates, that are mostly earned via their Chase credit card partnership).
- New partner-earning Hyatt offers surprisingly few ways to earn points beyond hotel stays and credit card. The survey raised the possibility of earning Hyatt points at Costco, gas stations and Uber.
Hyatt’s elite program is the best in hotel loyalty. With a smaller footprint, they’ve had to try harder because it takes effort for a guest to stay loyal. And since their properties tend to skew more premium, there’s margin in the room rates where it can make sense to make that benefits investment.
Today, Hyatt has the strongest suite upgrade benefit and the strongest breakfast benefit (which isn’t just ‘continental’ and actually spells out what counts as a breakfast). They’re weak on elite points bonuses for spend during a hotel stay. And while experiences with Hyatt concierges is mixed (at best) it’s a benefit that has been earned after 60 nights, rather than 100 nights and $23,000 spend as at Marriott.
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Globalist Room Service Breakfast
Park Hyatt London Globalist Room Service Breakfast
Since Hyatt does treat me better as a Globalist, their points devaluation won’t really change my stay behavior although it is changing my credit card spend behavior.
The tenor of these contemplated changes appears to mix some good ideas – like prmeium suite upgrades – with real costs cuts, at the same time they may start asking more of customers to get the same or watered-down benefits.
Of course, many surveyed ideas never come to pass. But it’s nonetheless interesting the direction that some ideas are being considered.
(HT: Scott G.)
The value of Hyatt points is fast diminishing, and the Hyatt elite status benefits are slated to be cut to try to boost the company’s margins and profitability and appeal to cheap property owners — all at the expense of the loyalty program customers.
I am likely going to chalk up the Hyatt program to being too much of a shadow of its former self, and thus earning 60+ qualifying nights a year in the program will no longer be a priority — and probably not pursued — by me.
Any thought on whether lifetime globalist benefits would be cut? I made it last year.
Did they use the buzzword “overindexed”? Because I’m now overindexed on Hyatt points and therefore on Chase points. I’m shifting to Capital One points and dollars. You can never be overindexed on dollars!
The Globalist concierge is a farce. It takes 2-3 days to get a response. There’s no real 24/7/365 coverage either, unlike Marriott’s ambassador. I think we’re most likely to see a revenue requirement for whatever the top tier of published status is. Hyatt already tracks eligible spending. They just don’t have it tied to anything. I think that changes since it is in keeping with industry-wide loyalty program trends. I really wish Hyatt would focus on improving tangible benefits for globalist or whatever the top tier is called. Specifically at Hyatt Place and Hyatt House properties where two bottles of water a day just doesn’t cut it.
I’m amazingly done with Hyatt after 10 years Globalist. All I’m looking for is pure rebate percentage. And there are many better rebates these days.
I don’t see how Hyatt could require 100 nights for top-tier status because their foot print is still challenging. Maybe 60 actual butt-in-bed nights for globalist or 75.
How about improving hotel operations? Club lounges are supposed to be brand standards at Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt. And yet even Hyatt corporate-operated properties don’t have lounges.
If they aren’t going to require a lounge anymore then they need to provide something to globalists more than just a restaurant breakfast. Especially at the Hyatt Regencies that only offer a pathetic breakfast buffet, like the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center and Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment.
@Beachfan – I would assume it is just like lifetime Hilton Diamond when the new Diamond Reserve category was added. If so you would still be a lifetime Globalist but you wouldn’t be at the top of the food chain and also if Globalist benefits are cut that would apply to you.
Hopefully the award chart changes result in a lot fewer globalists and help fix their cost problems for these status benefits.