Hyatt Gold Passport - Cost to GP for free night

I don't know how to search this topic- sorry.
I am at a resort today and the bill on my TV for the free night reported the bill to GP for the FFN: $172!

I just took a look at my folio for the Hotel Victor and the rate showed $271 for a FFN night.

I'm not sure where GP gets the funds to supply the hotel with money for the award nights. I'm guessing each hotel pays a % to GP for every guest that stays at that hotel on a paid stay, and then GP redistributes this to hotels that have people stay on award reservations?

This is up significantly from a few years ago - I remembered $60 ish for one of the more expensive US Hyatts - I haven't seen a folio in a while with the number on it.

This is up significantly from a few years ago - I remembered $60 ish for one of the more expensive US Hyatts - I haven't seen a folio in a while with the number on it.

This probably makes sense now since hotels have to open much larger inventory for award stays (all standard rooms). Imagine how the hotel management would feel if in the high season half of the hotel was booked on award stays bringing in only $$ when they could sell those rooms for $$$.

I just took a look at my folio for the Hotel Victor and the rate showed $271 for a FFN night.

It's all over the board. Was the hotel busy -- nearly fully booked -- when you were staying there?

PH Buenos Aires FFN billed for something like AR$295, c. US$78, during an off-peak day.

Not sure about how GP does it, but for HH & SPG, normally hotels are reimbursed a flat rate for each award night, the flat rate is determined by category. However, once the occupancy rate reaches a certain percentage (90 %?), hotel will be reimbursed at close to the prevailing rate.

I'm not sure where GP gets the funds to supply the hotel with money for the award nights. I'm guessing each hotel pays a % to GP for every guest that stays at that hotel on a paid stay, and then GP redistributes this to hotels that have people stay on award reservations?

It works something like that but it's more akin with some kind of offset from the management and/or booking fees that Hyatt collects or is due from the property.

Not sure about how GP does it, but for HH & SPG, normally hotels are reimbursed a flat rate for each award night, the flat rate is determined by category. However, once the occupancy rate reaches a certain percentage (90 %?), hotel will be reimbursed at close to the prevailing rate.

Yes, something like that is pretty much industry standard for the US-based players. Reimbursement for an award stay rarely involves a transfer of cash from Hyatt to the property because the hotel property owes Corporate for management and/or booking fees and other affiliation-related supplies.

It's all over the board. Was the hotel busy -- nearly fully booked -- when you were staying there?

Completely sold out - we were there for the same 3 nights also on FFNs.

Still don't understand the mechanics of two $71 stays at a Summerfield Suites geting you a free night at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome (well over $500). But mine not to reason why.....

Then again, I never understood how I could transfer 65,000 Starwood points to get 80,000 airline miles and a Business Class trip to Europe. Or more for a First Class ticket.

But apparently I'm just ignorant since they all do it and they certainly seem happy!

Completely sold out - we were there for the same 3 nights also on FFNs.

Like I was expecting. That's pretty much why the noted amount is so much higher than it would be if done on a hurricane season slow day.

I remember talking to a staff at an sheraton hotel, based on category, they get paid certain $ for each night. the category is derived based on average revenue per available room i think

My FFN stay at PH DC last year cost the hotel $71 per night (they sent me the wrong e-mail statement). From what I've been told, only when occupancy goes over like 90% then they are reimbursed the full value of the room, the $71 basically covers the housekeeping cost for the hotel.

I stayed at the PH Beaver Creek - and the TV folio showed a comp room rate line of $71 (and some change).

Considering the room goes for an average of $500 / night, I don't know how they could survive with many FFN guests.

I stayed at the PH Beaver Creek - and the TV folio showed a comp room rate line of $71 (and some change).

Considering the room goes for an average of $500 / night, I don't know how they could survive with many FFN guests.

That $71 sounds like the charge for that property when it is not nearly fully-booked. $71 covers most or all of the variable costs the property would have for the use of a room night that would otherwise go unused. [Hotel room nights are a perishable item -- either they are used before "expiration" time/date or they have no residual positive value whatsoever.] A FFN also may result in additional paid hotel services being used, thus generating additional revenue for the hotel.

Free night arrangements are not really a bad deal for the hotel property itself -- they are actually a pretty good deal for the hotel properties -- but they are a tougher deal for Corporate to swallow under some circumstances, which is why there are award capacity controls of some sort or another.

$500 per night is not the rate that are the result of block bookings and negotiated rates at the PH Beaver Creek, so apparently even the hotel property finds it to its advantage to ask for far less than $500 per night under a variety of circumstances. A lower rate would be a better comparison to the $71 per night.

Besides all of the above, these promotions do bring in additional guests to hotels on regular paid rates. The value of that is obviously significant or Hyatt would not be running these promotions for so many years now.

So again, if the PH DC gets even $71, how does Hyatt make it work on two $70 stays at Hyatt Place getting a free night? What could Hyatt's cut on the Hyatt Place nights (the $70) be, at most?

Of course, none of us are complaining:)

So again, if the PH DC gets even $71, how does Hyatt make it work on two $70 stays at Hyatt Place getting a free night? What could Hyatt's cut on the Hyatt Place nights (the $70) be, at most?

Of course, none of us are complaining:)


Then again, I believe the majority of Hyatt's customers don't do mattress runs.

Not every stay during the FFN promotion is at a sub-$100 rate, and most non-FT customers will not go hotel hopping in breaking up a multi-day stay into one night stays at different properties. Also, not every FFN earned is redeemed. There is some breakage, but Hyatt keeps the fees collected from stays that produced the unredeemed FFNs.

Of course this time there is an option to choose bonus points, but in the past, you had a lot of breakage from people who could not use their FFNs in the promo period.

So again, if the PH DC gets even $71, how does Hyatt make it work on two $70 stays at Hyatt Place getting a free night? What could Hyatt's cut on the Hyatt Place nights (the $70) be, at most?

Of course, none of us are complaining:)

I really don't know the mechanics of "payments" for the FFN earned. Perhaps the property that you have the paid stay at pays "something" to Hyatt for the FFN credit much like the points? In the past, the associated credit card (usually Mastercard) contributed something to the cost.

FWIW, $70 is a really good rate for mattress runs - mine are a little more than that on average.

It's all over the board. Was the hotel busy -- nearly fully booked -- when you were staying there?

PH Buenos Aires FFN billed for something like AR$295, c. US$78, during an off-peak day.

Yes, it was completely sold out when I was there. MLK Day weekend.

Oops, just noticed that peteropny answered your question above. I was pretty surprised to see such a high rate on my folio and even more surprised to see the result on my GP balance...

While back at a Hyatt--do not remember which one--they told me $40.

So again, if the PH DC gets even $71, how does Hyatt make it work on two $70 stays at Hyatt Place getting a free night? What could Hyatt's cut on the Hyatt Place nights (the $70) be, at most?

Of course, none of us are complaining:)

Well, I would dare say you are not an accountant (but I am). It's pretty simple, actually.

The profit from a promotion like FFN takes into account the additional revenue gained from selling more rooms (that would otherwise be empty) on an aggregate basis measured against the cost involved for aggregate redemptions. If the aggregate revenues exceed the aggregate costs, the promotion is profitable for the company. The fact that some guests' individual strategy (mattress runs) will result in a loss is irrelevant as long as there is an overall profit.

The best way to understand this is to look at a casino operation. Some gamblers win big and this results in a loss to the casino, but the majority of gamblers lose money and the result is a profit to the casino.

Two night FFN stay Jan12, online PDF receipt show 37.01 room rate. Nothing on the receipt from check-out.

And the backdrop is that the earning and redemption periods are occupancy nadirs of the year, sometimes abject nadirs. Market share. Ancillary revenue.