Gold Passport Concierge

Dear FlyerTalkers,

We wanted to make you aware of some upcoming changes to the Hyatt Gold Passport program.

We are excited to introduce new Diamond membership benefits which we truly hope our Diamond members will enjoy at any of our 450 hotels around the world.

Effective July 28th, Diamond members can experience the following enhancements:

• Extend your stay until 4:00 p.m. Because early flights aren’t always available, meetings don’t always end in the early afternoon and sometimes you just want to relax a little bit longer, we invite our Diamond members to stay later. (Subject to availability at Hyatt resorts and casino hotels.)

• Receive a nightly room refresh. To ensure your stay is as comfortable and luxurious as possible, Diamond members will receive a nightly room refresh, including light housekeeping and bedroom turndown service.

• Experience a new welcome amenity. Based on member feedback, Diamond members can now enjoy a USD$5 credit in the Guest Market at Hyatt Summerfield Suites or a complimentary beverage at Hyatt Place. Or, continue to choose 500 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points for stays at either brand.

Effective September 1st, Award Chart adjustments will be implemented:

On September 1, 2011, 18 hotels will move to a lower award category and 25 hotels will move to a higher award category. Please visit this link to see the chart changes: http://www.hyattpressroom.com/conten...rd%20Chart.pdf

Rest assured, we will continue to make free night award redemption as easy as possible with no blackout dates. If we have a standard room available, you’re more than welcome to reserve it with your Hyatt Gold Passport points.

Between now and September 1, 2011, all award bookings can be made using the current award chart. Existing reservations for stays subsequent to September 1, 2011, will receive a refund for the point difference if the hotel moved to a lower category.

These Award Chart changes will be communicated and listed on hyatt.com on August 4th, 2011.

As always, we appreciate your loyalty and look forward to welcoming you back to Hyatt soon.

Warmest regards,

Brock S.

nnn

Love the late checkout! Thanks.

holtju2

Guaranteed 4PM check out is useful benefit.

Nightly turndown service? Isn't that standard at full service hotels?

crystak

Great news about the late check out (will look forward to using it at GH Kauai in early September)! I guess these were the new benefits Jeff was referring to in the other thread.

Shame about the award chart adjustments though.

EDIT: I love Hyatt marketing, they even make the award changes sound good !

TrojanHorse

4PM checkout is good if its guaranteed
Does it include resorts, as thats where I need it most .. edited to add upon re-reading.. subject to availability.. ahhh that favorite phrase of mine

time to start looking to burn those points for next year.. 35 days and counting
edit number two, make that 28 days to figure it out since we won't know what the increases are until 8/4

kenbo

4pm late checkout is nice.

So if we choose the credit/beverage, then we forfeit the points? Am I reading that correctly?

holtju2

Good luck as:

(Subject to availability at Hyatt resorts and casino hotels.)

DJMeatBall

and, according to the e-mail I just received, base Gold members no longer can request a potential 2:00 p.m. late checkout.

baliktad

I'm mystified about nightly room refresh, as I thought this was already a feature of full-service hotels. I usually inquire at checkin if turndown service is available, and they usually ask me what time I would like it at. Admittedly, turndown service sometimes has mixed meaning: at some properties, this includes emptying waste bins and replacing towels and toiletries; at others it's simply turning down the bedspread and closing the curtains. I won't complain, but I would like to know exactly what Diamond members are getting that isn't already or normally offered to any guest upon request. (Perhaps this means an evening refresh is available only to Diamond members at limited-service properties like HP and SS? I didn't think there were housekeeping staff past 5PM at those locations though.)

The HP/HSS welcome amenity was previously 500 points or "fruit and water." Changing to a $5 credit or beverage option is a slight improvement, but not really significant in my mind, especially given the mixed results in elite recognition at these brands. I'll probably just keep the points.

The 4PM checkout is GREAT. I have long felt that this was Hyatt's weak spot, especially compared to Starwood, who has always made it easy to obtain 4PM checkout. I noticed Hyatt has really stepped it up in proactively offering 2PM checkout to elites in the last year or so, so I'm optimistic about rolling out the change to 4PM. Plus, the way this announcement is worded, 4PM is guaranteed at non-resort/casino properties?

TerryK

This is copy of Starwood policy. Looks like 4PM guaranteed except for resorts and casinos. ^

GH Kauai is a resort and not covered by this.

oc2005

That's the way I read it too.

While the 4pm checkout is nice and catches Hyatt up to SPG, I can't help but being a bit underwhelmed by these enhancements overall. I hate to complain about new benefits, but between all the talk in May about program changes in July that would replace the G-bonuses and all the enticing options in all the surveys that went out earlier this year, I'm hoping this isn't it!

baliktad

To be fair, Gold membership is free so a benefit to Gold is really a benefit to everyone. A frequent guest program is really defined by the benefits available to frequent guests, not those handed out simply for signing up on a website.

If late checkout is important, Plat is a very achievable tier (5 stays/15 nights), in addition to being handed out to anyone willing to spend $75 for the Hyatt Visa.

DJMeatBall

The (current, about to change) rules for base Hyatt Gold members say 2:00 p.m. late checkout is only a possibility on request and availability. It's not guaranteed. And it definitely helps on the noon rush of guests queuing up at the front desk at departure time.

It was just a nice (super tiny) perk to have available for base members.

Oh, and the 4 p.m. checkout for Starwood Golds & Plats is not guaranteed, either. It lists "4 p.m. checkout as available" in their rules.

pvd2mco

• Experience a new welcome amenity. Based on member feedback, Diamond members can now enjoy a USD$5 credit in the Guest Market at Hyatt Summerfield Suites or a complimentary beverage at Hyatt Place. Or, continue to choose 500 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points for stays at either brand.

This will actually be a downgrade for me. Right now I get whatever food and drink I want at Summerfield Suites, without anyone keeping track of the price. I strongly suspect that it usually exceeds $5, so this new welcome amenity is unwelcome.

baliktad

I'm highly suspicious it's not guaranteed at Hyatt either, since the announcement doesn't include that word. Regardless, 4PM is still significantly better than 2PM. When I need late checkout, those extra hours mean a lot.

Ugh. Just realized the conspicuous absence of G-bonuses in this announcement. If they were ever coming back, there would have been mention of them in this announcement. Given the huge devaluation that's imminent, Hyatt wants to surround the negative news with as much positive news as possible, and there wasn't a whisper here. Farewell, G bonuses. You were warm and cuddly, and sometimes I had to call to make sure you were applied properly, but evidently you've been replaced by empty wastepaper baskets and new shampoo bottles.