Tag Archives for hyatt.
A reader spotted the Hyatt Place Phoenix Mesa rolling out housekeeping carts stocked with bulk toiletries poured into plastic condiment bottles — with a toilet brush sitting right next to the clean towels. It’s the latest in a string of Hyatts where the branding on the bottles doesn’t match what’s supposed to be used
Hyatt has quietly gone live on Rakuten, letting members earn 12× points or 12% back on stays while still receiving full Hyatt points, elite-night credit, and elite benefits. It’s one of the richest stacking opportunities Hyatt has ever had—and it pairs with Rakuten’s ability to convert earnings into Amex or Bilt points.
Hyatt’s internal owner documents reveal something surprising: Hyatt Place hotels rely heavily on World of Hyatt members—who generate roughly half of their total revenue—but franchise incentives still don’t fully align with elite-member interests. Hotels clearly see what your loyalty is worth, but short-term cost pressures and weak territory protections help explain why elite treatment can often fall short of what members expect.
A reader who stayed at a Hyatt property reports finding DRIFT bulk soap on housekeeping carts while the bottles mounted in their guest room displayed Jonathan Adler branding. The hotel advertises Jonathan Adler as its standard amenity, raising questions about whether the in-room bottles are being refilled with a different product.
Chase and Hyatt have renewed their partnership, adding new benefits for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. Starting in 2026, top spenders will earn Hyatt Explorist status, more Hyatt brands will join The Edit by Chase Travel, and cardholders will gain expanded credits for luxury hotel stays — a clear win for frequent travelers.
Hyatt’s China joint venture was selling phantom stays so that guests could earn Globalist status, confirm upgrades to suites, get free breakfsat and guarantee late checkout. Hyatt blamed the customers and nuked their accounts. Now Chinese courts have gotten involved.
The value is sometimes obscured by Hyatt’s website which doesn’t show the best deal, or makes the deal look initially more expensive than it actually is on first display. You shouldn’t necessarily sleep on Hyatt’s premium suite upgrade awards.
One part of the partnership that continues is that annual offer to Hyatt elites to try American status and vice versa.
The hotel became part of Marriott when Starwood was acquired, and then moved over to Hyatt in early 2023. That was a boon to elite members, because the breakfast benefit was upgraded to Hyatt standard and suites became confirmable at the time of booking. Late checkout is proactively offered, not just honored.
Hyatt now offers live award availability – not just the price a hotel would cost if it’s available – in calendar format.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
