Hyatt Gold Passport - Horrible Customer Service, even for Diamond members (HP Oversold - No Room)

I am a diamond member with Hyatt and used to stay every week with them. I must say i enjoyed much of my stays with Hyatt until recently when I booked Hyatt Place Chantilly with my Gold Passport points. GP sent me a confirmation that my room was confirmed. When I reached at the hotel at around midnight, to my surprise the guy on the reception told me cold face that they have given my room to somebody else. They were trying to book me at a hotel which was 10 miles away and I was already tired after travelling.

So there I was, stranded in the middle of the night and left with no option but to travel more or cancel and book in some nearby hotel. So I cancelled the reservation altogether. I called customer service and they were not able to give me a satisfactory explanation as to why it was done. Rep gave me extra 8K points which at all doesnt make up for the lousy service.

To add injury to the insult, I found that my CC was charged $21 by Hyatt Place Chantilly. So I emailed customer care and no replies even after a week. I called up GP customer care, the cold hearted rep said she cannot do anything. I called up hotel's accounting deptt and rep there started asking me questions that why did they give my room to somebody else as if I knew why did they do it.

I went through lot of hoops and still nobody at Hyatt know why did they give my room to some other guest and why did they charge my credit even after they kicked me out of the hotel.

Welcome to the club, brother.

I started noticing this a few years ago with Hyatt Place. The nature of my travel often requires very late arrivals, mostly after midnight, and I started getting "No-showed" a lot. So much so, that I now call the front desk at least 2 times, late at night on the day of my arrival, to make sure that I bridge any shift changes to to make sure that whoever is on duty knows that I WILL be arriving and to not give my room away or no-show me.

I have also had them "close-out" the day on the computer and no-show me without giving the room away, and then, check-in can be a real hassle because they really don't have an easy way to give you a revenue room at that point--i.e. easy from a software/room and revenue management perspective. I have had to wait 20-30 minutes to check-in sometimes under this scenario.

The last time this happened to me, the excellent general manager at the offending HP location gave me 5,000 points and a sincere apology. She actually chalked-up that situation to front desk laziness in wanting to close-out the RM system so the night manager could leave early.

Welcome to FT! Sounds like you should just call your credit card company and dispute it. Sounds like a mistake was made. Did you give the front desk person your reservation number? Did they pay for your other room? (walk you)? I would definitely call your credit card company to dispute the charge and email Hyatt about this as well.

Thanks guys.. think calling CC company would be a good option at this time. I am still wondering why does customer has to go through all these pains and that for a denied service.

I had an issue at the HP Dulles East a few weeks ago. I made a reservation on the phone using points before flying SFO-BWI. I got to the hotel after 2 am, and I was told that they were sold out.

In my case, the reservation agent accidently made my reservation for the date in 2013 as opposed to 2012. The guy at the front desk gave me someone else's room (who did not show up). In the end, it was kind of aggravating for the mistake to occur.

Hyatt Place continues to be a thorn/ bad step child brand with customer service/ guest assurance.
And I like the brand despite an awful breakfast and nothing typically exciting in the way of Diamond recognition
They do have their select properties that get it really right too.

Am beating the drums that Hyatt puts serious guidelines in place for all Hyatt Place properties as I feel are reasonably there in place for full service Hyatt properties
I too have been walked by the same Hyatt Place twice and suffered the most awful management in another location that remains in the top 5 Hall of Shame of all time.
Garden City,New York

Hyatt Consumer Affairs recently handled my first case in over one year and I have to say they exceeded my expectation in every way ^
Following up with my concerns in just a matter of hours :cool:
I hope this is the kind of outstanding customer care we can all look forward too.
What I can say is that Consumer Affairs also did well during my Hyatt Place walk when they gave my room away to some friends of the ownership and who walked a bunch of us for their private party. The hotel tried to put us up in Days Inn calling it an equivalent property :D

I insisted on the Grand Hyatt DFW and went back to the airport for a night in a Grand bed.They refused until Gold Passport stepped in
Consumer Affairs was closed at the hour I called in
The hotel wasted many hours of my time knowing they wouldn't honor my reservation in advance yet they allowed my to arrive anyway
Hyatt covered the night in DFW
and the point credit equivalent to a free night taken at a Hyatt Place
IN my thousands of room nights its still isolated stuff in the big world
and I still appreciate my relationship with Hyatt.
Especially the full service properties.

Folks, calm down.

Hotels overbook, that is part of their business model and Hyatt is no exception...

One pays less at a HP, consequently one should not expect world class customer service...

Just recently it took me 20 minutes to check in at a Hh, simply because the agent could not locate my reservation and wanted to send me to the sister property downtown.

Does that happen in countries where front desk managers receive a 3 year long traineeship and are trained to perfection, when it comes to their craft.

No, but again, no HP yet in Europe, we'll see how AMS works out...

Receiving compensation equalling one free night at the property in question is also standard practice, so nothing to complain...

There is this old saying...if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys...

So I guess we have to live with the quality provided by HP and simply vote with our wallet and try to find a extended stay place where the grass is greener...

I am actually quite happy with HP & Hh, but I also do not expect a lot ( also in terms of upgrades & breakfast )

If Hyatt should run such chains, which are built on mediocre services is another question, but again, rightsize your expectations ( especially in the US ) and you should be fine and actually quite happy, if you stay at the few truly great Hyatt properties on US soil.

By the way, another thing that I have been doing with HP recently is calling-up and checking-in on the phone before midnight. This has worked well for me on recent stays. OLCI would work to, but I am usually driving-in to my destination and don't believe in PDAs/Smartphones, so I don't have this option when I am driving--and it's not safe anyway!

Folks, calm down.

Hotels overbook, that is part of their business model and Hyatt is no exception...


I think the point highlighted by the OP is that Hyatt needs a walk policy for Diamonds. You should not be walking your best customers. Marriott Platinums have very defined benefits (and costly for the properties) they give if they walk there best customers. Marriott's is almost too good and therefore platinums almost never get walked.

Cheers.

If you know you're going to be showing up extremely late to a hotel, why on earth wouldn't you call them to let them know you aren't a no-show? As someone who travels quite a bit (as it takes a bit of traveling to get diamond), the OP should have known that such a late checkin could easily have oversold problems.

It always amazes me when seasoned travelers fly off the handle as if its somehow out of the norm that flights get canceled/delayed, rooms get canceled, reservations get misplaced, etc. It happens to every company out there.

If you know you're going to be showing up extremely late to a hotel, why on earth wouldn't you call them to let them know you aren't a no-show? As someone who travels quite a bit (as it takes a bit of traveling to get diamond), the OP should have known that such a late checkin could easily have oversold problems.

It always amazes me when seasoned travelers fly off the handle as if its somehow out of the norm that flights get canceled/delayed, rooms get canceled, reservations get misplaced, etc. It happens to every company out there.

Exactly. There must be a reason why there is a "Late Check in" Box when you reserve a room in the system.

What I can say is that Consumer Affairs also did well during my Hyatt Place walk when they gave my room away to some friends of the ownership and who walked a bunch of us for their private party.

Where?

Just another reason to avoid HP!

Most of the desk clerk/barmaid/waitress that are on duty at night not only don't treat elites well, they don't even know what an elite is.

I have found that Hilton Garden Inn (which I guess is roughly at the same level) has much better trained staff. It's not just a matter of these properties being cheaper, it's that Hyatt corporate management doesn't really care. Maybe that's good, it means they do care about the Hyatts that I spend most all of my time at!

Folks, calm down.

Hotels overbook, that is part of their business model and Hyatt is no exception...

One pays less at a HP, consequently one should not expect world class customer service...

Just recently it took me 20 minutes to check in at a Hh, simply because the agent could not locate my reservation and wanted to send me to the sister property downtown.

Does that happen in countries where front desk managers receive a 3 year long traineeship and are trained to perfection, when it comes to their craft.

No, but again, no HP yet in Europe, we'll see how AMS works out...

Receiving compensation equalling one free night at the property in question is also standard practice, so nothing to complain...

There is this old saying...if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys...

So I guess we have to live with the quality provided by HP and simply vote with our wallet and try to find a extended stay place where the grass is greener...

I am actually quite happy with HP & Hh, but I also do not expect a lot ( also in terms of upgrades & breakfast )

If Hyatt should run such chains, which are built on mediocre services is another question, but again, rightsize your expectations ( especially in the US ) and you should be fine and actually quite happy, if you stay at the few truly great Hyatt properties on US soil.

I agree with a number of your points including getting monkeys handed to some :D
However Hyatt Place in Scottsdale was $250 per night and Hyatt Place in New York Suburban area are 20% more than the Hyatt full service property in that region and other area properties......
Guess it really depends what market you are staying.
A bargain Hyatt Place was in North Carolina and it was better than most of the HP I stayed in at 3x the cost
So cost isn’t always a factor in what one receives
Team training is more of an issue at Hyatt Places no question

I am not a fan of dry tasteless powdered eggs and bacon prepared in a microwave. Even my young family members beg me to leave the hotel and go eat breakfast outside the hotel which we typically do.
As I cooked professionally many years ago my expectations are also higher. I can deal with the breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn a lot better as much as like the Hyatt Place experience more overall
I'm excited to have Hyatt Place and Andaz coming to AMS ^
Cheers

Where?

Hyatt Place Dallas/North Arlington/Grand Prairie

I think the point highlighted by the OP is that Hyatt needs a walk policy for Diamonds. You should not be walking your best customers. Marriott Platinums have very defined benefits (and costly for the properties) they give if they walk there best customers. Marriott's is almost too good and therefore platinums almost never get walked.

Cheers.

It’s a great thought and suggestion Hyatt has achieved so much in recent years with Regency Club and bed guarantees through Gold Passport assurances
Regretfully Hyatt has avoided brand standard policies for the limited service properties and iron clad policy for walked guests
Having said that usually Hyatt measures up matching the corporate policy of their competitors when the issues arise or if pressed to do so for their best customers
A walk policy transparent to the guest before during or after would be helpful and reassuring to all Hyatt customers

Welcome to the club, brother.


I have also had them "close-out" the day on the computer and no-show me without giving the room away, and then, check-in can be a real hassle because they really don't have an easy way to give you a revenue room at that point--i.e. easy from a software/room and revenue management perspective. I have had to wait 20-30 minutes to check-in sometimes under this scenario.

.

I have had exactly the same experience at HPs. Whenever I am able, I always call the properties to confirm a late arrival, but if I arrive after the Night Audit has run, the stay is always treated as a no-show and never posts without customer service intervention regardless of what I ask of the property at checkin or at check out the next morning. Odd, because I don't have that problem at FS Hyatts; I always assumed they were running on the same PM platform, but perhaps not and maybe that is the cause. Worse yet, several times I have tried to check in while the Night Audit was running and the FD was unable to generate room keycards, they had to walk me to my room and let me in using their pass key.

There are a number of HP locations that work really well for me, and I actually kind of like the room layouts. Just wish the stay and points posting would be smoother.

Just another reason to avoid HP!

Most of the desk clerk/barmaid/waitress that are on duty at night not only don't treat elites well, they don't even know what an elite is.

I have found that Hilton Garden Inn (which I guess is roughly at the same level) has much better trained staff. It's not just a matter of these properties being cheaper, it's that Hyatt corporate management doesn't really care. Maybe that's good, it means they do care about the Hyatts that I spend most all of my time at!

There is a simple reason that Hilton Garden Inn has a higher team and quality standard than Hyatt Place typically There are strict guidelines at all Hilton Garden Inn properties. There are clear well communicated rules book at the front desk to follow for everything.
Management has clear financial incentives to get good guest staisfaction guest respect scores. More importantly for the guest if the property fails to satisfy the guest for any reason there is 100% satisfaction guarantee in place like Hampton Inn
That means the guest simply calls Guest Assistance opens a case and Hilton decides to do one of the following within 48- 72 hours.
Refund form of original payment by CC or check if cash
Return guest points
Offer a free night voucher good in any property worldwide good for one year.

Most properties will go to any extreme to satisfy a guest rather than end up with a negative service score and the loss of revenue
There is no incentive for Hyatt Place properties to perform well though many do. If the stay is good great if not tough luck better luck next time
every property will perform very differently based on the ownership management and very business culture of the property.

At Hyatt in recent years past it was a case by case basis and from the overall guest feedback I heard when cases were handled through Hyatt Consumer Affairs it was all below industry average standards.
I'm out of the loop if this has improved at all over the past year

I've never been walked at a Hyatt or had a really bad experience at a HP (*knock on wood*). I usually make an effort to include my airline information on the reservation (helps to carry a laptop) and keep it updated and/or call the front desk when i'm checking-in late (or stuck at the airport cause of an 8 hour delay).

However, I agree that there aren't many special perks for Diamonds at HP though and they should address this as well as their walking policy for Diamonds.

Despite this, I love their consumer affairs group! They've promptly addressed the few real issues i've had (not at a HP) and treated me as if I were their #1 guest. I wasn't even a Diamond at that time either! That really impressed me.

What I can say is that Consumer Affairs also did well during my Hyatt Place walk when they gave my room away to some friends of the ownership and who walked a bunch of us for their private party. The hotel tried to put us up in Days Inn calling it an equivalent property :D


Days Inn?!?!?! Oh lordy!!!!

I've never been walked at a Hyatt or had a really bad experience at a HP (*knock on wood*). I usually make an effort to include my airline information on the reservation (helps to carry a laptop) and keep it updated and/or call the front desk when i'm checking-in late (or stuck at the airport cause of an 8 hour delay).

However, I agree that there aren't many special perks for Diamonds at HP though and they should address this as well as their walking policy for Diamonds.

Despite this, I love their consumer affairs group! They've promptly addressed the few real issues i've had (not at a HP) and treated me as if I were their #1 guest. I wasn't even a Diamond at that time either! That really impressed me.



Days Inn?!?!?! Oh lordy!!!!

Thanks for the thoughtful post and suggestion regarding a future walk policy
I actually track and record some information over the years about Hyatt Consumer Affairs interactions from guests around the world and consider that of my own past experiences.
It’s been a see saw mixed bag of experiences over the years with caring and not caring with some vast recent improvements that I can't say are going to be the norm.
I'd be curious about how long ago your positive experiences were?
Feel free to PM me if you would like to keep details more private

My recent experience was so outstanding I almost dropped the phone thinking I had called the wrong hotel company.
Consumer Affairs not only seemed concerned but had a response within hours and a solution ^

My only disappointment was there was no follow-up in any way about how they could make it better in the future and if there were any plans to improve the quality issues/ take corrective action at one of my favorite properties.
As a guest I felt my feedback was valued and appreciated otherwise.

Just another reason to avoid HP!

Most of the desk clerk/barmaid/waitress that are on duty at night not only don't treat elites well, they don't even know what an elite is.

I have found that Hilton Garden Inn (which I guess is roughly at the same level) has much better trained staff. It's not just a matter of these properties being cheaper, it's that Hyatt corporate management doesn't really care. Maybe that's good, it means they do care about the Hyatts that I spend most all of my time at!

I agree completely with you Richard.
I have never been no-showed at any Hilton property, even a Hampton Inn, and I stay with Hilton more than Hyatt, around 75 nts/yr.
You are absolutely correct that this is a training issue with the night staff, and thus a serious management shortcoming that seems to be unique to HP.
For instance, I stay the the Hyatt Regency Irvine 10 times a year and often arrive at after 2 AM, yet I never have had to call them and tell them that I will be very late, and they never switch my room, no matter how late I get there.

I have also noticed that most of the HP night staff have no idea what a Diamond is--it is comical sometimes because they'll get some sort of screen prompt and then they will mumble something about thanking me for my loyalty while stuttering through the programmed text. I actually had one night clerk ask me to explain what a Diamond was. By contrast, I have stayed at HPs like the HP Denver Airport where the night staff is outstanding and well-trained.

Only about 30% of the time do I get a Diamond amenity at HP, but I really don't care there, anyway--although I should be asking for the 500 points because it does add up.

Thanks for the thoughtful post and suggestion regarding a future walk policy
I actually track and record some information over the years about Hyatt Consumer Affairs interactions from guests around the world and consider that of my own past experiences.
It’s been a see saw mixed bag of experiences over the years with caring and not caring with some vast recent improvements that I can't say are going to be the norm.
I'd be curious about how long ago your positive experiences were?
Feel free to PM me if you would like to keep details more private

My recent experience was so outstanding I almost dropped the phone thinking I had called the wrong hotel company.
Consumer Affairs not only seemed concerned but had a response within hours and a solution ^

My only disappointment was there was no follow-up in any way about how they could make it better in the future and if there were any plans to improve the quality issues/ take corrective action at one of my favorite properties.
As a guest I felt my feedback was valued and appreciated otherwise.

The experiences were all from last year (2010 and before then, I only stayed at SPG properties). It is one of the reasons I switched to Hyatt.

In each of the cases, they said my issue was properly noted by the GM and further action were taken. They didn't outline the details so I guess they really didn't follow-up either. However, they immediately responded to any e-mails I sent (and tried to call me several times, but I was working), was sincere and apologetic to my situation, and offered me compensation that I was overly satisfied with.

If you know you're going to be showing up extremely late to a hotel, why on earth wouldn't you call them to let them know you aren't a no-show? As someone who travels quite a bit (as it takes a bit of traveling to get diamond), the OP should have known that such a late checkin could easily have oversold problems.

Honestly, the only reason that I know to call for a late arrival is reading here on FT the many reports that a hotel has given away a late-arriving guests room! If I've guaranteed the reservation with my credit card, then I would assume that the hotel gets paid whether I show up or not, so there's no reason for a hotel to give my room away until the next day.

It's beyond greedy for a hotel to charge one guest a now-show fee, give his room away to another guest, then get paid twice for the same room. And then play dumb when the original guest shows up for his reservation.

I'm not a fan of Marriott, but it sounds like Marriott has this one right: The cost for walking an elite guest should be so high, that it simply doesn't happen.

Honestly, the only reason that I know to call for a late arrival is reading here on FT the many reports that a hotel has given away a late-arriving guests room! If I've guaranteed the reservation with my credit card, then I would assume that the hotel gets paid whether I show up or not, so there's no reason for a hotel to give my room away until the next day.

It's beyond greedy for a hotel to charge one guest a now-show fee, give his room away to another guest, then get paid twice for the same room. And then play dumb when the original guest shows up for his reservation.

I'm not a fan of Marriott, but it sounds like Marriott has this one right: The cost for walking an elite guest should be so high, that it simply doesn't happen.

However, this is quite common practice across the hotel industry.

It's beyond greedy for a hotel to charge one guest a now-show fee, give his room away to another guest, then get paid twice for the same room. And then play dumb when the original guest shows up for his reservation.

I'm not a fan of Marriott, but it sounds like Marriott has this one right: The cost for walking an elite guest should be so high, that it simply doesn't happen.

Like the airlines, hotels do oversell on a nightly basis. Most of the corporate rates allow up to 6PM cancellation, some might have used prepaid rates that noncancelable and just throw the stay away, there could be misconnects etc. Hotels maximize their revenue by doing this.


If you have large enough property, you can be quite certain about the number of no-shows on a nightly basis.

What I don't understand, however, is the fact that Hyatt doesn't have any formal procedure for NOT walking Diamond members. The Marriott's Platinum walk guarantee is the best in the industry. For a Hyatt property it doesn't make a difference, whether they walk a Priceline reservation or a Diamond member staying on a rack rate.

I have only walked once in my life and that happened last year at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead. It is pretty amazing considering that I have had 300+ stays every year since 2004. This was my FIRST ever walk.

I must say that after decades and many thousands of room nights across the globe both elite and non elite its very rare
Its happened 3 times to me
2 @ Hyatt Place lol
and one at the Sheraton JFK :td:
A property that barely qualifies for a Sheraton 4 Points with the worlds most dangerous parking lot

I was actually facinated when it finally happened at Hyatt Place as I called from DFW and they knew then they had no rooms yet
let me come anyway for my personal pleasure of traveling there for no reason :rolleyes:

And the second time just days later at the same Hyatt Place 2:30 PM with an empty parking lot they refused check in saying they were
having a private catered party for the hotels owners (and I repeat) :rolleyes:

Mind you I respect their reason to deny a Diamond member their booking as hotel owners have a right to refuse all Hyatt guests before arrival
What I'll never understand for the life of me is why take the booking and not call the guest in advance so they can make alternative plans when you know they are going to walk Diamonds and everyone else previously booked?

That's why an iron clad policy is essential at Hyatt Place and elsewhere to give the incentive to act responsibly to all guests....

One should not forget that HP properties operate as a limited service AAA 3 Diamond hotel and most of them are located in a country that believes in cross-training everybody within a matter of weeks..., which is good, because it is cheap and results in low rates most of the time.

There are hotel chains out there, which put their trainess through marketing courses with more than 500 contact hours and quite a chunk of the total hours is dedicated to the consumer behaviour, expectation management and conflict management.

So again, if you only pay peanuts ( referring to HP night managers, who are critized fairly often on this board ) you should not expect Four Seasons service from Asia.

Hyatt properties normally do not charge me, when I miss a cancellation notice, especially in Germany, so I give them the benefit of the doubt should they decide to overbook under certain circumstances, e.g. two years ago, when the volcano in Island erupted and they worked hard to manage capacity in Mainz.

It was very difficult for them to predict who will show after all and it is also difficult to kick $ 600.000 - 800.000 per annum accounts like certain airlines out of the hotel. Most of them have signed contracts anyway that guarantees accomodation under certain circumstances ( Act of God etc. )

As highlighted numerous times already, one should never overestimate its importance, only because one stays 25 times a year at a Hyatt, especially in comparison to certain accounts and people, who also stay at airport hotels ( which are proon to overbooking ) frequently...