Nov 19, 2013, 11:01 am
Last edit by: Stewie Mac
FAQ
Do points+cash bookings count toward earning elite status?
Yes. This includes "Diamond Trials" (in which customers with status at another hotel chain attempt to earn a match with Hyatt).
Does the cash portion of points+cash bookings earn points?
Yes, in the same manner as for paid stays.
Do points+cash bookings count toward current Hyatt promotions?
Yes, P+C stays will be treated as paid stays for purposes of bonus promotions.
Can confirmed suite upgrade certificates be used on points+cash bookings?
Yes. Now confirmed by Gold Passport Concierge here
Will points+cash bookings be exempt from resort fees & taxes?
No. P+C bookings will require the member to pay any applicable fees/taxes, just as with paid stays.
Do points+cash bookings count toward earning elite status?
Yes. This includes "Diamond Trials" (in which customers with status at another hotel chain attempt to earn a match with Hyatt).
Does the cash portion of points+cash bookings earn points?
Yes, in the same manner as for paid stays.
Do points+cash bookings count toward current Hyatt promotions?
Yes, P+C stays will be treated as paid stays for purposes of bonus promotions.
Can confirmed suite upgrade certificates be used on points+cash bookings?
Yes. Now confirmed by Gold Passport Concierge here
Will points+cash bookings be exempt from resort fees & taxes?
No. P+C bookings will require the member to pay any applicable fees/taxes, just as with paid stays.
New Hyatt Gold Passport Features Launching in January 2014
Nov 21, 2013, 8:17 am
#152
No longer used by Hyatt; use World of Hyatt Concierge
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 1,628
Nov 21, 2013, 11:51 am
#153
Join Date: Jul 2001
Programs: Marriott LT Tit; Hyatt Explorist; Hilton CC Gold; IHG CC Plt; Hertz (MR) 5 star
Posts: 5,536
Is there any hotel chain that has not increased the number of points required for a free night over the last few years?
Hotel Scribe goes for a smidgen over Euro 250 at the moment, the Stendhal Place just around the corner from Place Vendome is available below Euro 200 
Even the W Opera plays in the Euro 300 range quite often. LM Etoile is in another category, but you get 5 nights at the LME for the price of one night at the PH Vendome.
Place Vendome used to be special in the early to mid 2000's, but the competition has upped the ante.
And 15000 Points (especially from a European perspective, if you know what I mean
) plus $300 ( even at an exchange rate close to 1.40) is simply not getting you enough value for money.
Even the W Opera plays in the Euro 300 range quite often. LM Etoile is in another category, but you get 5 nights at the LME for the price of one night at the PH Vendome.
Place Vendome used to be special in the early to mid 2000's, but the competition has upped the ante.
And 15000 Points (especially from a European perspective, if you know what I mean
) plus $300 ( even at an exchange rate close to 1.40) is simply not getting you enough value for money.Stendhal Place - not a comparable property. Might as well add Best Western properties to your list if you're going to do an apples to oranges comparison.
W Opera - again, lesser property. 340 EUR is the lowest I can find - but only 2 nights in the next month. Technically in the 300 EUR range. I notice how you use EUR instead of USD. 340EUR ~ $460USD.
Le Meridian Etoile - again lesser property. 5 nights there vs 1 night at PH Vendome. Over the next two weeks, I can find rooms at PH Vendome for 641-860EUR/night. You can find one 5 night stretch (30 Nov-5 Dec) over the next two weeks where a Hot Escapes will get you 5 nights for 798EUR. The highest advance purchase rate at the PH Vendome during that time is 785.5EUR, but there are nights as low as 641 EUR.
You have a way of taking great liberties with the facts. This significantly weakens your arguments.
Nov 21, 2013, 3:26 pm
#154
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
The more that customers accept these devaluations and believe the spin of "postive" changes, the more and more frequent the devaluations will be.
Nov 21, 2013, 4:53 pm
#155
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: MEL
Programs: VAG
Posts: 1,865
If you're no longer happy with the level of enticement you're getting from Hyatt then feel free to go to a more enticing chain. Otherwise, deal with it.
Nov 21, 2013, 5:23 pm
#156
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: LAX
Posts: 10,908
but people seem to live in the past and measure current benefits against some reference points from old days rather than what competition offers today..
Nov 21, 2013, 5:50 pm
#157
Join Date: Jul 2001
Programs: Marriott LT Tit; Hyatt Explorist; Hilton CC Gold; IHG CC Plt; Hertz (MR) 5 star
Posts: 5,536
I'm not happy about some getting Diamond just for having the credit card, but I'm not going to stop getting Hyatt Diamond yearly because of it.
Nov 21, 2013, 7:55 pm
#158
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
Why do people think they have some right to free nights? Hyatt doesn't owe you anything except the room you pay cash for. Anything on top of that is a bonus designed to entice you to preference them over other chains. Hyatt would be well within their rights to tear up the whole Gold Passport program tomorrow, if they thought they'd make more money that way.
If you're no longer happy with the level of enticement you're getting from Hyatt then feel free to go to a more enticing chain. Otherwise, deal with it.
If you're no longer happy with the level of enticement you're getting from Hyatt then feel free to go to a more enticing chain. Otherwise, deal with it.
Sorry, for me and many others, it's not about entitlement, but FT we discuss program changes and updates. Why limit the discussion to only positive comments? Negative (especially constructive) also add value in the discussion.
(I even mention in my posts that Hyatt wins my business versus its competition for Diamond service/product, ignoring HGP).
Nov 21, 2013, 9:04 pm
#159
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Fairmont Platinum, Aeroplan Diamond, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 18,686
The Diamond benefits are only good, when staying at a Hyatt. The more you stay, the more benefits reaped. That's the way I see it.
Those saying that the few cardholders who receive Diamond through cc benefits has achieved Lifetime Diamond is erroneous. First, you must be a credit card holder to be a Diamond, paying the annual fee. Lifetime Diamond offers a higher level of service and recognition. Those holding onto the credit card for status will likely not spend enough to reach Lifetime Diamond. If a member is spending enough to become Lifetime Diamond, the member won't see any value for which the status the credit card offers, because they are going to be a Diamond long term anyways.
Nov 21, 2013, 11:52 pm
#160
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Between AMS and BRU
Posts: 8,852
And yes, I know what the T&C say.....
Nov 22, 2013, 3:27 am
#161
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: UK - the nearest airport is named after a motorway !
Posts: 4,234
This is the kicker for me - if C&P availability is good, ie = or similar to award availability, then this is a very very nice addition, not so much at the top end (all this talk of PHV is wasted on me!) but there will be some really nice sweet spots mid-range. HR Mainz for 6k points + $75, or Berlin for 7.5k + $100, could give you value of 3-4 cpp, plus stay credit.
Nov 22, 2013, 12:09 pm
#162
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: Everything is refundable
Posts: 3,727
A search for the word 'REVPAR' using the restriction 'find posts from a week ago and newer' comes up with one time you mentioned REVPAR and one time that I mentioned REVPAR. Twice is technically multiple times. But just barely.
Is there any hotel chain that has not increased the number of points required for a free night over the last few years?
Lowest price for Hotel Scribe is 264EUR over the next month. Offered three times; all Sunday nights. Plus 35EUR for breakfast; Club Accor doesn't give free breakfast to even their top elite tier.
Stendhal Place - not a comparable property. Might as well add Best Western properties to your list if you're going to do an apples to oranges comparison.
W Opera - again, lesser property. 340 EUR is the lowest I can find - but only 2 nights in the next month. Technically in the 300 EUR range. I notice how you use EUR instead of USD. 340EUR ~ $460USD.
Le Meridian Etoile - again lesser property. 5 nights there vs 1 night at PH Vendome. Over the next two weeks, I can find rooms at PH Vendome for 641-860EUR/night. You can find one 5 night stretch (30 Nov-5 Dec) over the next two weeks where a Hot Escapes will get you 5 nights for 798EUR. The highest advance purchase rate at the PH Vendome during that time is 785.5EUR, but there are nights as low as 641 EUR.
You have a way of taking great liberties with the facts. This significantly weakens your arguments.
Is there any hotel chain that has not increased the number of points required for a free night over the last few years?
Lowest price for Hotel Scribe is 264EUR over the next month. Offered three times; all Sunday nights. Plus 35EUR for breakfast; Club Accor doesn't give free breakfast to even their top elite tier.
Stendhal Place - not a comparable property. Might as well add Best Western properties to your list if you're going to do an apples to oranges comparison.
W Opera - again, lesser property. 340 EUR is the lowest I can find - but only 2 nights in the next month. Technically in the 300 EUR range. I notice how you use EUR instead of USD. 340EUR ~ $460USD.
Le Meridian Etoile - again lesser property. 5 nights there vs 1 night at PH Vendome. Over the next two weeks, I can find rooms at PH Vendome for 641-860EUR/night. You can find one 5 night stretch (30 Nov-5 Dec) over the next two weeks where a Hot Escapes will get you 5 nights for 798EUR. The highest advance purchase rate at the PH Vendome during that time is 785.5EUR, but there are nights as low as 641 EUR.
You have a way of taking great liberties with the facts. This significantly weakens your arguments.
And only because you find one night at a lower rate on one day and only because you consider the W Opera to be a lesser property makes your arguments right.
And taking the discussion into different territories does not make too much sense either.
Therefore, I fear that I have to repeat myself again.
Just judging from a REVPAR prespective, there is hardly any argument at all for such increases. Many many markets will still have a lower or comparable REVPAR in 2013 in comparison to pre Financial Crisis years...
Not relevant, if other chains did it too, the discussion was about REVPAR and you tried to build on argument based on increasing REVPAR.
The Scribe at 264 is pretty much comparable (French hotel categorisation is a bit different from the more standardised approach we see in Germany or the US) , the W Opera is also ranked in the same category. Nobody mentioned breakfast so far in the whole discussion, it is a moot point for the vast vast majority of Hyatt GPP members anyway. @:-)
But it seems that breakfast at Vendome is nearly 50% more expensive than at the Scribe
When it comes to the daily rate, other comparable chain hotels are demanding 20-25% of what the Park Vendome charges per night.
So under the bottom line, wait for the next SPG sale, get the W at roughly 40-50% of what the Park Vendome charges and invest the 400 Euro into something different. Alternatively, pretty solid 4 star hotels will leave you with roughly 600 Euro to spend per night, if you can live with slightly inferior quality.
The LM Etoile and Regency Etoile are by no means bad hotels, also by no means great hotels, but the Park Vendome is not worth a difference between 400-600 Euro per night.
Nov 22, 2013, 7:03 pm
#164
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Fairmont Platinum, Aeroplan Diamond, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 18,686
Acutally, we do have a right to a free suite night for 48k points, and we did have the right to a free suite night for 33k/points in the past (no need to quote all the Categories).
Sorry, for me and many others, it's not about entitlement, but FT we discuss program changes and updates. Why limit the discussion to only positive comments? Negative (especially constructive) also add value in the discussion.
(I even mention in my posts that Hyatt wins my business versus its competition for Diamond service/product, ignoring HGP).
Sorry, for me and many others, it's not about entitlement, but FT we discuss program changes and updates. Why limit the discussion to only positive comments? Negative (especially constructive) also add value in the discussion.
(I even mention in my posts that Hyatt wins my business versus its competition for Diamond service/product, ignoring HGP).
I like cash and points and ability to apply a suite upgrade. Still not clear about Diamond Suite Upgrade only, or suite upgrade using points (I assume that the Suite upgrade using points hasn't been enhanced?).