Tag Archives for hyatt.
Hyatt’s dedicated concierge program is much easier to qualify for than Marriott’s. Yet there will likely be far fewer members qualifying for a concierge in 2022. That’s the perfect time to amp up the service in ways it was originally envisioned, and the current Hyatt leadership is well-positioned to drive this.
At Hyatt’s Motif hotel your room rate does not include the coffeemaker, TV, alarm clock, iron, mirror, of bath products.
For $20 per night you get unlimited local calls if you’ve somehow forgotten your cell phone; access to an electric vehicle charging station (Hertz gives me those all the time!); and an in-room Alexa that will let Jeff Bezos listen in while you’re doing you-know-what.
Hyatt has a partnership with SLH Hotels that lets you earn points and status at those properties (when booking paid rates through Hyatt) and redeem points at these same properties, though not all of the hotels are part of this arrangement.
Today Hyatt announced another 20 joining the partnership although for one of these no points redemptions are permitted. But then it’s not a hotel it’s a ‘sustainable sea expedition of Ecuador.’ Ok…
Hyatt and American Airlines have new offers to fast track towards elite status for current elite members of the other program. Hyatt even gives free temporary status while you work on your challenge. They aren’t super easy, or with American necessarily the best way to achieve status we’ve seen in the market, however.
Your travel reservations are never guaranteed, if the travel provider can sell your trip to someone else for (enough) more money. I wrote recently about Hilton cancelling all summer reservations at a Hawaiian hotel property, leaving guests with few options when the hotel had a chance to sell out to a single group booking. Now a similar situation has happened with Hyatt, though unsurprisingly Hyatt did more for the guests that were bumped.
A customer booked at Alila Ventana Big Sur in September on points for their 25th anniversary found that their reservation was being cancelled by the hotel because the property got a better deal from a group booking.
Hyatt has a partnership with SLH Hotels that lets you earn points and status at those properties (when booking paid rates through Hyatt) and redeem points at these same properties, though not all of the hotels are part of this arrangement.
Shortly before the pandemic the partnership had grown to include about half of the SLH hotels. We hadn’t seen any additions since then, which isn’t surprising since many hotels would have wanted to pause investment in integration during the pandemic.
The new Bilt Rewards program lets members earn points through their rental apartment, and even earn points for paying rent to any landlord. It has a credit card, and points transfer 1:1 into a variety of loyalty currencies.
At first blush it seemed surprising to see Hyatt as the only hotel points transfer partner. It makes sense for Bilt, it’s the only hotel program where a 1:1 points transfer offers value to members. But we haven’t seen Hyatt offer that many partnerships. Why add Bilt?
Hyatt is out with its new summer promotion offering triple points on all stays of two nights or more, and they’ve announced they’re delaying the ‘high and low season redemption’ award chart devaluation by about three and a half more months. They’re also extending the pause on points expiration.
The Last Hotel in St Louis abruptly left Hyatt on Monday. Customers with reservations were notified that future award reservations would not be honored. This is not unusual.
Earlier this month I stayed at the Thompson Washington DC Hotel. It’s in a neighborhood where I haven’t spent much time before, and my first experience with the brand that Hyatt acquired when it acquired Two Roads Hospitality.
I didn’t have a fantastic stay at the property. I am not longing to return. But I’d absolutely stay here – for instance this would be my go-to pick if I had a meeting at the Department of Transportation, or for a leisure stay if I were going to a Nationals ballgame and wanted to use points.
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 »
