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: S.)
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.
Hyatt must reward their non US members better as we can’t earn points other than thru stays cos we cannot get the Hyatt affiliated credit card nor transfer/convert points from other credit cards. Unless Hyatt wants to split recognition of elite members thru stays Vs thru credit card points, international members will always feel like 2nd class. We’re jealous to see how much points one may get thru credit card spend alone.
A level above globalist would t be good for lifetime globalist. At first it could be a similar status, but over time they could reduce globalist benefits and it would be an inferior status.
Sure, gotta have at least as many status levels for people as they do for rooms. It’s funny that the leftist Pritzkers chose their top level as globalist, since that’s exactly their ideology. How about call the next level socialist, and the very top communist?
Gut your program then offer a carrot to get back what you took away, if you spend more of course. yeah maybe would have worked 5 years ago, but all trust is now broken, I’m done, play all the retard games you want, I’m out.
I can’t believe how quickly Hyatt is destroying their brand loyalty–especially with elites. They’re honestly going to blow up Globalist within only about six months of completely ruining their award chart? If the points become worthless and status perks become less valuable, why the hell not become a free agent with Marriott, Hilton or IHG? Thank god I kept most of my points with Chase and only transferred to Hyatt when needed.
Even Marriott waited over a year after taking over SPG before they Bonvoyed everything.
@Wayne T: Maybe Hyatt doesn’t have a lot of non-US elites. I say that because they don’t have worldwide, 24/7/365 Concierge service coverage for globalists unlike with Marriott, which has multiple Ambassador service centers on different continents.
Maybe a little too much politics here, Mantis.
Me, I have somehow managed to get my 60 nights each of the last seven years or so. Yes, I’ve put considerable spend on my Hyatt Business Card for a couple of them to make it to 60 (or higher, to top off some award like suite upgrades, when I had made it beyond 60 with nights). But it’s a struggle. I can’t conceive of 100, and I’ll be furious if they cut the Globalist benefits to add some Super-GLobalist level. Approaching retirement after 40 years of business travel, I really appreciate Hyatt maintaining their program while all others ruined theirs. I just wish that as I travel more for leisure and less for business I could still count on Hyatt. I fear that with upped target nights and reduced benefits in the next “enhancement” I will just have to forsake Hyatt now, too, like Marriott and Hilton, and simply pick the best hotel for my location. Gee: Loyalty program = disloyalty. Is this what they’re really trying to cause?
Including next week’s stays, I’ll be at 30 Hyatt nights in a couple weeks. I guess I’ll power through to 60 this year and see what’s what for next year.
Hyatt seems to be copying Hilton. But they have to realize they have a much smaller footprint. Its very difficult when you do not have even one location in places like Warsaw or Helsinki.
It just seems Hyatt is hell bent on losing our business. I did 150 plus nights last year, 77 in Hyatt and 73 in others. I could easily shift all my spending to Hilton, have more property options and get the Diamond Reserve status. Why even bother with diminishing returns. The only reason i stuck with Hyatt is complimentary suite upgrades, which i will get with Hilton Reserve anyways.
These are surveys so I’m not too worked up. But…are we live watching Hyatt cook its golden goose? While I don’t think a full bonvoy is likely, a Hiltonesque suffocation of points valu seems probable. At least Marriott points xfer to airlines….
I received this survey and you had to sign what amounted to an NDA to take the survey. So, how are you allowed to post this information? Seems like you took the survey to glean all the data and then broke the NDA.
@ Gary — We’ve decided that we are gonna burn and dump Hyatt. Their US hotels generally suck, and continuing to maintain Globalist for a few great international stays per year just isn’t worth it after the ripoff point redemption increases.
@ Sean — Keep dreaming dude. I suspect one of the primary motivations for creating a level above Globalist is to pull the rug out from under all of LT Globalists. You don’t really believe that they value your business, do you?
@ Beachfan — Of course they won’t be cut. They will just be diluted. “Look, our miles never expire!”
In tandem with the recent horrific changes this is simply the quintessential Bad Idea. Hyatt badly needed to make some changes such as realigning FNC’s to category 1-5 but these changes are stunningly customer-unfriendly. Alienating your most loyal customers must’ve been a course I slept through in college but Hyatt seems all on board.
@SST you must be new here. Let me introduce you to @retard. You’ll figure out who it is.
Hyatt is getting rid of the masses it wants to charge and does 1000 or more a night for a hotel in Hawaii.They are gutting the award chart and getting rid of the riff raff
The program wants premium high revenue customers and shed the bottom feeders looking for good value.They are bent on firing the low return guests and giving less to their premium customers .GREED at its finest moment
It was once a great company but they are quickly imploding imo
Anyway I’m out they can replace me.Bad enough they are overpriced but now the closed clubs or diminished offerings they are fooling only the inexperienced young travelers
There is zero value in Hyatt beyond elite perks.
Take that away and all you have left is below average and faux luxury hotels with a limited worldwide footprint.
@Garett Chadney – I did not take the survey or agree to any sort of NDA
We completely stopped using Hyatt as a result of the recent deterioration of their program.
Here’s a cleaned-up version with grammar fixes and math verified:
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One problem with linking loyalty program status to dollars spent is international pricing. Hotels are cheaper in Asia and the Middle East—the very markets where Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, and others are expanding. It’s legitimately difficult to spend $23,000 a year and qualify for Marriott Ambassador status if you’re based entirely outside North America or Western Europe. Likewise, domestically, Hyatt doesn’t have the footprint to generate $20,000+ a year from elites seeking top-tier status.
Let’s look at a typical road warrior in a white-collar job—consulting, business development, and so on. Assume they take one week of vacation at a luxury property: $700 per night for seven nights, or $4,900. They then stay another 40 nights at Hyatt Place or Hyatt House properties at an average rate of $170, totaling $6,800. (Hyatt’s systemwide average daily rate is around $200–$204, but that includes Park Hyatt and other higher-end brands.) Add 10 nights at a Hyatt Regency at $200 per night, or $2,000.
At this point, we’re at 57 nights and $13,700 in spending.
Now add another five nights at a Grand Hyatt for an annual business meeting or trade show at $300 per night, or $1,500. That brings the yearly total to 62 actual, butt-in-bed nights and $15,200 in spending.
Marriott can extract $23,000 from Ambassador members because it has far more Sheraton, Westin, Renaissance, Marriott, and JW Marriott properties than Hyatt has Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt. Hyatt’s growth over the past five years has been almost entirely limited to all-inclusives, resorts and limited-service brands, like Hyatt Place and Hyatt House. It simply doesn’t have enough full-service, business-oriented four-star hotels to support that kind of spending threshold.
Mantis nailed it. That was a dagger of hard, unvarnished truth.
I worked hard to accumulate 1+ million Hyatt points. Looks like it’s time to burn them. The good times did not last forever. Shame.
More dumb ideas from the Hyatt loyalty suite. Agree with many of the sentiments here that this is a ‘lite’ version of Marriott Bonvoy approach… Hyatt still has a weaker footprint – but they are acting like they are a top-tier coverage hotel chain. The value of Hyatt points is fast diminishing and further changes/devaluations to the Hyatt elite program are designed to save money – not increase loyalty. I’ve been a Hyatt loyalist for years and love the Chase/Hyatt card – but I’ve switched programs before and I’ll switch again with all of these bone-headed changes.