Hyatt Gold Passport - My first experience getting "walked" as a diamond.

Arrived at 2:00 am to the Hyatt Boston Harborside to be greeted by name by thenight manager as I walked in the front door and asked if we "could sit down"

He then explained that the hotel was fully committed and that they could either send me to the Courtyard Marriott or put me up in a conference room with a cot. I choose the cot.

They offered to not charge me for the stay and added 15k points as a kicker.

All in all, they did the best they could with a difficult situation.

I am not sure what the mandate is for being walked but their offer seemed very fair and I would imagine better than standard.

Arrived at 2:00 am to the Hyatt Boston Harborside to be greeted by name by thenight manager as I walked in the front door and asked if we "could sit down"

He then explained that the hotel was fully committed and that they could either send me to the Courtyard Marriott or put me up in a conference room with a cot. I choose the cot.

They offered to not charge me for the stay and added 15k points as a kicker.

All in all, they did the best they could with a difficult situation.

I am not sure what the mandate is for being walked but their offer seemed very fair and I would imagine better than standard.

IMHO, 15k is a good compensation. What a great job for the property in handling such problem

Was the room next to the kitchen and was their a dog show going on at the hotel? :D

While the manager is to be commended for not hiding behind a FDC being forced to sing and dance around the issue, I assume you had not checked in by phone or online earlier, (in which case I might think you would have had a right to be very upset)? Of course they shouldn't charge you for sleeping in a conference room (and its been tried), but I think stay credit is still in order.

They offered to not charge me for the stay and added 15k points as a kicker.


This sounds like a very fair compensation. What category is the Hyatt oston Harborside? SPG's guideline is for enough points for 1 night stay at the same category as the offending hotel.

Of course they can't charge you for sleeping in a conference room, but I think stay credit is still in order.

Yes, you should also receive credit for the stay, 1 stay and 1 night.

where'd you shower?

Sounds to me like the manager was implicitly admitting that a Courtyard was the equivalent of his hotel. So much for the great reviews here of Hyatt Harborside, which I've never thought was that spectacular a hotel.

Sounds to me like the manager was implicitly admitting that a Courtyard was the equivalent of his hotel. So much for the great reviews here of Hyatt Harborside, which I've never thought was that spectacular a hotel.

Same here. I did not give a good review of this hotel. Dirty rooms and poor service both times I tried it. I will take a makeover in management for me to want to try again.

Sounds to me like the manager was implicitly admitting that a Courtyard was the equivalent of his hotel. So much for the great reviews here of Hyatt Harborside, which I've never thought was that spectacular a hotel.

IMO OP's situation was handled very well.

Sounds to me like the manager was suggesting that a Courtyard was the equivalent if a cot in a conference room in his hotel. (about right IMO ;))

It's a solid HR and a great airport hotel where i always received good service but i don't expect any airport hotel to be "spectacular".

IMO OP's situation was handled very well.

Sounds to me like the manager was suggesting that a Courtyard was the equivalent if a cot in a conference room in his hotel. (about right IMO ;))

It's a solid HR and a great airport hotel where i always received good service but i don't expect any airport hotel to be "spectacular".

While I think this was handled well, I probably would have gone to the CY. Not a huge cot fan.

15K and stay credit, in addition to not paying would be the fairest compensation.

I would be happy to be walked for 15k points......unless it was my 16th night for the current promo. :)

I would be happy to be walked for 15k points......unless it was my 16th night for the current promo. :)

No kidding.

Same here. I did not give a good review of this hotel. Dirty rooms and poor service both times I tried it. I will take a makeover in management for me to want to try again.

Certainly not my experiance. I had a fantastic stay there last summer and I was treated quie well. I'll definitely com back.

I think they should have held your room for you and walked a non-Diamond.

I would be happy to be walked for 15k points......unless it was my 16th night for the current promo. :)

I agree, that's why they should give the stay credit as well:)

I think they should have held your room for you and walked a non-Diamond.

^

At some point in the night, they got down to a handful of rooms (let's say two or three) and one or two more than that number of reservations - at that point they should have walked the non-Diamond.

Unless the last 3-8 check ins were all Diamonds, the front desk staff blew it when they checked in that last non-Diamond.

Still, I agree, 15k and stay credit and no charge was not bad compensation - if you had somewhere to shower.

In regards to the stay credit, I had something happen this year at the HR San Antonio. I arrive at the hotel and the power is out for the whole block. I eventually get walked (well, free taxi ride) to the Grand Hyatt for the night, and the night is comped. I did not receive stay credit as I did not pay for a room. I even asked my Private Line rep and she said no: didn't stay at the HR so no stay there and didn't pay at the Grand so no stay there.

Note to self, next time I'm walked and offered a free night, force a room reservation rate of $1 or $10 if possible, for getting a night credit :)

Harborside comped my room one time, and stay credit was an issue for me. they said I would still get stay credit and I did.

-David

I think they should have held your room for you and walked a non-Diamond.

^

At some point in the night, they got down to a handful of rooms (let's say two or three) and one or two more than that number of reservations - at that point they should have walked the non-Diamond.

Unless the last 3-8 check ins were all Diamonds, the front desk staff blew it when they checked in that last non-Diamond.

Still, I agree, 15k and stay credit and no charge was not bad compensation - if you had somewhere to shower.

OP arrived at 2 AM. Let's say by 1 AM there is 1 room left, and 2 outstanding reservations. What do you do when 1 person shows up at 1 AM? Walk them or give them the room?

Both posters above advocate holding the room for the diamond member.

What if, by your virtue of running the back office, you know that of those reservations that do not check by 1AM, 90% of them end up as complete no-shows? Do you still incur an actual hard cost (paying money to another property) to walk a guest at 1AM, for the 10% chance that your diamond member will still show up?

My bet is that properties with actual knowledge of the above numbers are simply making the proper business decision to avoid sending someone to a competing property after 1AM when there are still available rooms in their own property.

The cost of one occurrence 15K GP points/free night/whatever else is almost surely less than sending someone to a competing property 9 other times.

OP arrived at 2 AM. Let's say by 1 AM there is 1 room left, and 2 outstanding reservations. What do you do when 1 person shows up at 1 AM? Walk them or give them the room?

Both posters above advocate holding the room for the diamond member.

What if, by your virtue of running the back office, you know that of those reservations that do not check by 1AM, 90% of them end up as complete no-shows? Do you still incur an actual hard cost (paying money to another property) to walk a guest at 1AM, for the 10% chance that your diamond member will still show up?

My bet is that properties with actual knowledge of the above numbers are simply making the proper business decision to avoid sending someone to a competing property after 1AM when there are still available rooms in their own property.

The cost of one occurrence 15K GP points/free night/whatever else is almost surely less than sending someone to a competing property 9 other times.

Let's say he never showed up. Would he have been charged as a "no show" because he did not cancel his reservation?

OP arrived at 2 AM. Let's say by 1 AM there is 1 room left, and 2 outstanding reservations. What do you do when 1 person shows up at 1 AM? Walk them or give them the room?

Both posters above advocate holding the room for the diamond member.

What if, by your virtue of running the back office, you know that of those reservations that do not check by 1AM, 90% of them end up as complete no-shows? Do you still incur an actual hard cost (paying money to another property) to walk a guest at 1AM, for the 10% chance that your diamond member will still show up?

My bet is that properties with actual knowledge of the above numbers are simply making the proper business decision to avoid sending someone to a competing property after 1AM when there are still available rooms in their own property.

The cost of one occurrence 15K GP points/free night/whatever else is almost surely less than sending someone to a competing property 9 other times.

This is a decision that the manager must make. I'd be surprised if this didn't happen all of the time. ... one of the reasons why I call after 9PM if I'm going to be late.

Let's say he never showed up. Would he have been charged as a "no show" because he did not cancel his reservation?

Yes. But you already knew that.

This is a decision that the manager must make. I'd be surprised if this didn't happen all of the time. ... one of the reasons why I call after 9PM if I'm going to be late.



Yes. But you already knew that.

Exactly why I believe the room should have been there waiting on him.

- I usually click the late check in option when I make my reservations to be safe.

Let's say he never showed up. Would he have been charged as a "no show" because he did not cancel his reservation?

Yes, assuming there are 2 reservations and only 1 room, both reservations will be charged per the cancellation policy. Let's assume for the purposes of this discussion that the cancellation policy for both is 6PM on day of arrival (the most generous cancellation policy I am aware of). By 6PM, the manager knows that he will be collecting revenue for both reservations. When the non elite shows up at 1AM, the manager has a choice:

- assign the customer who is present the room that is vacant (cost: effectively $0)
- walk the customer who is present to a nearby property (cost: prevailing or negotiated rate, example $100)

If nine times out of ten, the oversold second person does not arrive, that is 9 x $100 = $900 lost that could have been saved simply by assigning the early customer the room that was available. There are very few managers in their right minds that would allow that kind of behavior. It's not good business to lose money just to avoid a rare inconveniencing of a guest, Diamond or otherwise.

Which is why a hotel should pay a significant penalty for walking a diamond, and 15,000 points just isn't enough. When I get to a hotel dead tired at 2am, I am not one of those people who would view it as a victory if they threw 15,000 points at me. If I am sufficiently loyal to a hotel chain to give them 1/7th of my nights each year, I would expect to have a room waiting -- and not just any room, the quality of room I was entitled to.

As has been pointed out in other threads, that is what Marriott has accomplished by increasing the penalty imposed on a hotel significantly if they walk a highest tier elite. Hyatt needs to have a similar policy.

I was very surprised to be walked a year or so ago from the Hyatt Place Albuquerque and learn that Hyatt had no walk policy.

I realized the next day that I booked the IBM rate of $88.

If I am the front desk agent and I have to comp a night I would look to comp the cheaper of the two travelers.

I had another stay there two nights later and they put me in their Presidential Suite and comped my parking.

I am satisfied with the outcome, I was leaving early the next morning and was travelling alone so just needed a place to crash and clean up.

Had I been with my family or entertaining it would have been an entirely different story.

I was very surprised to be walked a year or so ago from the Hyatt Place Albuquerque and learn that Hyatt had no walk policy.

More generally, Hyatt Place has no customer service policy. HP was added to the chain to make them large enough to go public so they could resolve the Pritzker family lawsuits. It's the child locked in the basement that they don't want to admit to.

Kudos to the OP for his follow up with 2nd post. Taking all into account, I think compensation was fair...but more importantly, OP thought it was fair.

And although I agree that this hotel is not spectacular, I think it far above most airport hotels.

I realized the next day that I booked the IBM rate of $88.

If I am the front desk agent and I have to comp a night I would look to comp the cheaper of the two travelers.

I had another stay there two nights later and they put me in their Presidential Suite and comped my parking.

I am satisfied with the outcome, I was leaving early the next morning and was travelling alone so just needed a place to crash and clean up.

Had I been with my family or entertaining it would have been an entirely different story.

Were you on the IBM rate on the return visit?

Were you on the IBM rate on the return visit?

OP was using a code he wasn't eligible for.

See:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17376097-post499.html

It boils down to if one wants to roll the dice and use a code that they are not entitled to than they should be prepared to accept the slight chance that they may be called on it.

I certainly won't tell anyone to use the codes and don't expect anyone to tell me not to.

I, for one, am not all that interested if some posters approve of my morals or not, hopefully this is not annoying to you.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15802628-post347.html

You can choose to use or not use these codes as you see fit.

If it will save me money with little downside, I will more often than not roll the dice.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17330071-post481.html

Whew...

I have the codes on my iPhone, but it would still be a shame to have a few weenies shut down this thread.

Most likely descendants of prohibitionists

OP was using a code he wasn't eligible for.

See:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17376097-post499.html



http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15802628-post347.html



http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17330071-post481.html

Oh I realized that, no biggie...

Apparently the OP eas not called on it at all. Luck of the draw he got walked... Maybe the rate influenced the decision, but the staff did not "call' them on it. They accommodated him.

Just curious if the OP was on the same code when he got the cool u/g.

where'd you shower?a question I had as well

Well, after ~1500 hotel nights in the last decade, I finally got walked for the first time.
I'm a Hyatt Diamond and made last minute reservations at the Houston Intercontinental Hyatt Place. Since it was 1AM, I hopped a taxi to the Hyatt Place.
When I got to the hotel, I was told that they had several rooms flooded out this last week and were unusable. Unfortunately, reservations had accepted reservations for me and one other person.

The FDC stated that there would be no charge for the room (obviously) and they would pay for my room at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston along with the cab fare down there. While I was very tired, I was OK with this - especially knowing that Hyatt doesn't have a formal policy for Diamonds that are walked.

The Hyatt Regency gave me free breakfast so I charged a bottle of water to my room. The FDC wanted to comp me the water but I insisted on paying for it, as that should generate a stay credit - I'll let everyone know whether or not that worked.

Given that all of the hotels near the airport were sold out (I called at least 10 hotels including the Hyatt North Houston, before calling the Hyatt Place), I thought that this was handled fairly well. In the morning at breakfast, I must say that I noticed quite a few United food vouchers on tables.

But boy, I sure wish that Hyatt had a formal policy of what to expect when an elite's walked.

The conference room would have most certainly been quieter than the room I had the last time I stayed here (which I found odd as the time before, I didn't recall having considerable noise issues).