Hyatt lacked a presence in Las Vegas. Then, for a decade, they essentially codeshared with MGM’s hotels. They lost that partnership to Marriott, but they do have a new presence in the renovated Rio off the strip.
The hotel is often cheap ($50 per night) and renovated rooms are nice enough, but the public spaces less so and it’s a property filled with exactly who you’d expect at the price point. In my view this is a hotel you check into for a cheap elite night credit, while actually staying somewhere else.
What’s concerning is how they’re working every angle to dishonor the World of Hyatt program. In Las Vegas, gamblers are king, and traditional loyalty benefits don’t pair well. For instance, at $50 room rates, the hotel’s $40 resort fee makes up a significant part of their (deceptive) revenue. But that’s waived for Globalists even on paid stays. The hotel recoups half the amount from Hyatt.
The Hyatt-MGM partnership did not include a breakfast benefit. The Rio has to provide Globalists with breakfast. And they do not like it one bit.
- When they opened, the honored the benefit. There was no buffet, so Globalists could order off the menu at the Hash House a Go Go restaurant.
World of #Hyatt Globalist members staying at @RioVegas get daily comp breakfast for two at @HashHouseAGoGo
(veggie cobb salad and mushroom veggie hash & campfire smores mocha and caramel all over mocha)#travel #milesandpoints #pointsandmiles #food #vegas #lasvegas pic.twitter.com/VOcogXXWjm
— Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast (@HGTravelPodcast) April 30, 2024
- Then they published a very limited menu for Globalists to order off of.
Looks like Hyatt nerfed the Rio LV breakfast benefit pic.twitter.com/NyCJppqdil
— Shane (@wanderingshane) May 9, 2024
- Hyatt responded, saying this was not within their rules and would be fixed. The hotel ignored this directive and simply shortened the time window where they honor th breakfast benefit (ending at 10 a.m. instead of 11 a.m., which is early for Vegas)
- Now they’ve cracked down even more.
It’s been suggested that the hotel is planning to offer a dedicated buffet in a separate seating area for Globalists, to reduce costs and avoid having to let elite members order off of a menu.
In the meantime, they’ve set up the separate Globalist seating area in the restaurant and Globalist free breakfast is only served there. As Loyalty Lobby reports, Globalists wait in line for restaurant breakfast while non-elites are seated.
I arrived at the restaurant at 9:30a to make the 10a required time limit. There was a long line of Globalists waiting to be seated in the new seating area (half of the dining room to the right of the entrance). I waited a full 40 minutes! Meanwhile other guests were seated immediately, no waiting!
Credit: Loyalty Lobby
Do we really need a weekly update on this?
The hotel is going to war with loyalty members? Why not simply join Bonvoy to feel at home in doing that?
This one amazes me. People mainly stay there for the easy elite night, then complain about a crappy breakfast… at a crappy hotel. I’m a road warrior and stay at Hyatts a lot. But golly, this “tragedy” is making the rounds on various globalist sites.
It’s sad because Vegas has some awesome hotels. Why stay at the Rio????
Ridiculous, but Vegas is Vegas. I recently stayed at the Conrad at Resorts World, and the hotel is basically a Hilton in name-only. For example, they’ve restricted the Hilton dining (breakfast) credit to their worst eatery (the Dawg House).
BTW, I assume the Rio doesn’t have in-room coffee? That’s another annoying Vegas hotel thing. Vegas is about the only place in the world where I really WANT in-room coffee (because there’s none waiting downstairs for free self-service), and it’s about the only place where they don’t put a coffeemaker in your room.
I go past Rio and Palms at least once per Vegas strip (to get to El Pollo Loco, my favorite fast food joint from my LA decade). The surrounding neighborhood turns sketch as soon aftet you cross over the 15 going west. Enough that even the Palms seems undesirable.
We need to roger the message that this Hyatt hotel is playing customer-unfriendly games by being hostile toward Globalists. And the news must make the rounds until Hyatt and the hotel fix the situation for the benefit of Hyatt Globalist status members.
Rio is the opposite of Ventana Big Sur in virtually every way. They don’t belong in the same loyalty program.
I will say that MGM treated me well last year despite the ransomware attack. No nickel and diming.
Hotel chains have unified hotel loyalty programs in order to capture a bigger variety of business from frequent customers, and so it makes sense for the hotel chain to have a loyalty program that covers hotels from the likes of Ventana Big Sur to the Rio.
Hyatt has hotels which have rates as low as around $38 while some other Hyatt hotels have rates that can go over even a $1000 per room night.
Shame on Hyatt for allowing this. Hyatt’s creditability is on the line.
@Chopsticks – I think it was the Madison Hotel in Washington DC that didn’t have a coffeemaker in the room, but you could go down to the lobby convenience store/cafe, present your key card, and get a free cup of coffee – as many times as you wanted. While a little inconvenient, it worked for my fix.
Quite franky, the only Globalists that would stay at this place are the mattress runners. A long line of Globalists waiting for breakfast at the Rio? I am a Globalist and you wouldn’t catch me dead there
I would argue that it’s the Globalists that would go searching for cheap points — because WoH isn’t providing any — in what sounds like a real dumb who “dishonor” themselves and the program…
DCS’s post seems to have one or more typos that make DCS’s post more or less unintelligible.
@GUWonder — “dumb”…. “dump”, just make the adjustment! Or is it simply that you cannot read and comprehend the English language, as there are very few comments in this space that are typo-free, yours especially…
The types of people who spend their whole lives chasing “status” in silly corporate loyalty programs with silly currencies (points, miles, nights, etc)….it’s a bit pathetic. It causes odd behavior like a Hyatt “Globalist” (sound the trumpets!) waiting 40 minutes for a free breakfast at the Rio!!??
DCS’s brain is melting in the heat wave.
Expecting white glove service at a 50 dollar hotel
Expecting a hotel to comply with the terms of the program under which it signed up to operate.
These Globalists are just asking to be seated and fed like other guests and as they are entitled to based on rules set by Hyatt.
If the general manager of Rio cannot fix this, then he should be civilly liable, having taken money and not delivered on the agreed terms.
Maybe they should hire Vasu and create a Basic Globalist for rooms that are so cheap. No breakfast served.
It sounds like the hotel is stuck in a probable money losing proposition. That isn’t the fault of people wanting what the stated benefits offer but there’s quite a delta between a $1000 night and a $49 night.
The person staying at the hotel is not the customer. They are the product.
Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.
I dunno. Maybe entitled, whiny elites paying $50 a night for a room and demanding a $50 breakfast a night all while not gambling and attending shows elsewhere on the Strip don’t really deserve the five star service they are demanding? Gary, you should be objective here – ignore the Hyatt part of this. Rio ownership is on the hook and had to pay the wages and other costs to service these nuisance customers. What is really in it for them?
Gary, please, for the love of god, please stop feeding the FT idiots.
This is a Vegas thing
Vegas is a different animal
I stayed at the Rio several weekends ago (in town for another event, not there for Penn & Teller or Chippendales). The rates were nowhere near $50, much closer to $200.
The Hash House a go-go was not honoring the usu Globalist benefit, and the limited menu was in effect.
The front of the house was not negative, but they weren’t welcoming.
The Hash House is not exactly Jean-Georges or Nobu, and the regular menu items couldn’t have cost more than $10 of raw food cost.
The Rio is kind of sad, like what you’d expect in Reno. The pool is nice enough. The ‘renovated rooms’ are fresh-y. There is a VIP checkin for Globalists. The whole experience was weird.
The stand-off between Hyatt and Rio/Las Vegas should end. Or Hyatt should drop their ‘asset-light’ strategy for this destination and just put up a marquee property like a Thompson or Andaz and make it so Gary doesn’t have to cover this story.
Be sure to ask for the Globalist menu as this was a significant change from a few months ago when we stayed here. This is the text of the card handed to me upon check-in on 6/18/24.
Welcome World of Hyatt Globalist
Daily Breakfast for up to Two Adults and Two Children
Location: Hash House A Go Go Breakfast
Redemption Hours: 7 AM-11 AM
Simply charge the breakfast to your guest room, and provide this card to the server for gratuity of 18%.
Valid for one breakfast check per day. May not be combined with previous days or sittings.
To the various people who complain about cheap “globalists” wanting everything…
I somewhat agree.
That said, I have so far this year spent 64 in bed in Rio nights.so far since Feb 15th of this year
I work in Las Vegas uch more than I would like to
Staff are pleasant, and yes it is a pain in the ass with all the various reno going on.
Breakfast at Hash House is nothing to envy or desire its 3x the food any person needs in the morning. I have been 4 times out of 64
The food waste has got to be insane. It is also of poor quality, greasy highly caloric.
Even the vaguely healthy – Cobb Salad so lage my teenager couldn’t eat half
The renovated rooms are “fine” come with a personal fridge
A bit of separation even a pony wall between the “bed area” and the sofa area would be welcome.
Also, while I know doing bathrooms are expensive the toilets sinks and counters are all seemingly original to year built, which leads to its own issues.
All showers have been re-done to varying result
Many of the rooms I have been in have double sided tape hooks on the in room safes, in replacement of the originals.
In the same vein, a multitude of electrical issues exist. Use the magnifying mirror and next you go to the “dressing area” you have no power or lights
They do play games with Suite Upgrades, even attempting to use an upgrade certificate… took 7 different interactions with my Globalist Rep.
I asked originally in March when I booked for late July.
Finally had to push back hard and they made a “one time exception” (BS).
I am kind to staff, turn down housekeeping 3 days of a 5 day stay (Sun – Thur) Tip generously.
I eat at various venues across property and room charge. (Kang’s Korean very good and I live in a Korea Town)
So it has got to be the boorish behavior of the Globalists I have met in the property.
The only thing I would really like from the Rio with be a cross between my gaming and Hyatt.
I wasn’t one of those “cheap” Globalists MGM’ing – I stayed in a freaking Hyatt Place 62 of 75 nights last year
I went to Vegas once. Same types as I encountered in New Orleans and a Carnival Cruise.
I just stayed from June 2nd to June 19 ( today ) minus Friday to sundays had conventions in other states
There is hardly a wait .. only 1 day I had to wait 15 minutes ( it was packed and understood why the wait ) and another day 5nminutes
Only 1 day did they say the times were going from 11 to 10 but after talking with the manager who was really friendly said that was a miss understanding and it’s 11 am
I’ve had 3 different menu’s ….1st one was 8×10 laminated menu and a week later they handed out a small 4×6 menu and then this week the menu is on the table
They added avocado, toast with bacon, which is really good to their menu this week …humm maybe late last week but either way they offer a choice of eggs or omelet and they are big portions … along with other choices
Your choice of coffee tea and a nice size glass of orange juice
Rooms were upgraded not like the old Rio but still 580 sq ft
This is a update from today
Is this really why we achieve globalist status? To have a free ghetto american junk breakfast at a 50 dollar vegas mattress run hotel? Or is it to get a suite upgrade, room service breakfast, and access to the spa facilities in properties like PH Tokyo?? Seriously people. Spend your time on more important things than discussing wait times at cheap hotel breakfasts, that if you had a brain you’d be skipping in the first place.
Globalist isn’t easy to get unlike diamond or platinum so we should be entitled to whine. Not looking for a cheap elite night just wanted something that’s not the Hyatt place which is rundown and pretty meh. Somewhere I could gamble maybe walk around when I’m done with work. Been staying at the crockfords last several years due to the Tesla loop. I hope the rio is not this bad when I arrive next month. I’m really going out of my way to be loyal. I get meh breakfast at the crockfords so another meh breakfast at the rio is fine. But it’s a far trek to the convention center. Suite upgrade would be nice but honestly don’t care because I’m just traveling by myself. As long as it is clean and quite that would do.
stayed several times over the last 3 months…………resident of vegas so this is a good option now that the mgm partnership is over……….paid no more than 25 per night……….already have dates booked for 2025…….food is below par…………updated rooms are nice……..fun to have breakfast and globalist watch especially the ones that get the food to go……….employees seem annoyed at the whole deal………keeping globalist as we all know huge……..stayed park Hyatt Auckland last week in a sweet suite………..bb
All this foolish banter. If you’re staying at the Rio which is a dump of a hotel, and complaining about a breakfast designed for a trailer dweller, you’re obviously not a sophisticated traveler or an individual that any hotel chain is going to give a rat’s @ss about. The real problem is when loyalty programs screw customers who play by the rules out of perks that actually matter. This has become far too common these days and Hyatt is clearly one of the offenders. As a Lifetime Globalist myself, I am far more disturbed at the devaluation of reward points, the loss of Small Luxury Hotels and the overall indifference that many properties have towards their best and loyal customers. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a total joke. So go cry somewhere else about the crappy breakfast at a fleabag hotel (aka the Rio) and how about you discuss the real assault on the customers who show loyalty and spend their hard earned $$’s only to have hotel corporations fail to live up to their end of the bargain
@Roger. You know you could have saved a lot of time by doing something other than posting to bitch about this topic appearing again. And, as always, such a comment of lack of interest is followed by numerous posts suggesting others are interested.
Folks, maybe if the post doesn’t interest you, maybe just move on?
With the dirt cheap room rates they are getting over run with Vegas locals who are known to really aggressively press the weak spots of local property programs. Kind of like the Fountainbleau thing but with an incentive to do it 20 or 30 times a year.
Don’t chase status, folks. The journey’s not worth the prize. Much like sex, it’’s fulfilling only if it happens naturally lol.