joecool1885

I'm wondering what experiences you all have with unadvertised, higher end suites.

The specific suites I'm curious about are the Onyx Suite at the GH Seattle, the Presidents House at the Regency Monterey, and the Premier Suite at the HR Maui. Last year I stayed in one of the Presidential Suites at the GH Kauai via E-Standby, but when I have inquired at the HR Monterey, they said the Presidents House is never available via E-Standby. Rates for that room are around 5K a night, for comparison the e-standby page showed the standard daily rate for the Presidential Suite in Kauai at 4,500 (the e-standby rate was significantly discounted)---- Similar situation at the GH Seattle: they said it's only available through their sales department and there was no budging on the cost. Why do hotels take this all-or-nothing approach? These are huge rooms to keep empty. I get there are maintenance costs, so it wouldn't necessarily be prudent to comp the rooms or sell them for super cheap... but to not budge on a 5K nightly rate seems overly rigid. Is it because if they give a lower rate once, everyone will want it?

Has anyone stayed in these rooms? Full cost? Comp? I'm interested in hearing your stories at other Hyatt's as well... these just appeal to me because I have plans to go to those hotels in the not too distant future.

writerguyfl

Perhaps you're operating under the false assumption that these suites are constantly empty. In one hotel where I used to work, our Presidential suite was occupied almost every night. And, it was only available for booking via our in-house Sales Department.

Maybe the Sales Department at the GH Seattle is just really good.

CloudCoder

I've stayed in several of those super-suites, almost always comp as a Diamond, almost always on a one-night stay.

joecool1885

I don't presume they are constantly empty, I just think that if I could score a night at the Presidential Suite in Kauai it shouldn't be MORE difficult to do so in Monterey or Seattle. Maybe I'm way off--- that's a statistic I'd love to hear: how often do those high-end rooms stay empty? And of the times they aren't empty, how often are they being comped to Diamond members?

How long have you been a Diamond and how many nights a year at Hyatt if you don't mind sharing? Most of these upgrades in the U.S or overseas?

I've only been Diamond since June or so (earned via 25 stays)--- only 35K base points. I've only had 2 stays where I didn't use DSU's, and both times I got comped upgrades to basic suites (Miami Suite at HR Miami and Monterey Suite King at HR Monterey).

Planned stays in Abu-Dhabi (which Diamond's seem to get upgraded a lot in)-- and PH Maldives (will book the room I want). Also will return as a Diamond to GH Kauai and possibly HR Maui or Andaz Maui.

antonius66

Never once been given a suite like that. in 4 years, I have been upgraded to a suite without using a DSU twice. Once was because I asked ahead of time and was given one generously in REP.

CloudCoder

I've been Diamond for 4 years. Comps to the super-deluxe suites (typically these are the size of four or more regular rooms) were at CMH (convention center) and DEN (Grand). Using a Diamond Suite Upgrade and getting a super-deluxe suite was at MSY (Regency), PHL (Penn's Landing) and SNA (Irvine). The pattern seems to be random. Some Hyatt Places have large suites which are amazing, 3x the size of a regular room.

iherebyresign

E-standby is a new term to me in relation to Hyatt. Can you elaborate?

peter42

The NOR1-Upgrades offered with the booking confirmation at a "discounted" price.

writerguyfl

My best guess is that every hotel might handle this differently. Additionally, the layout of the suite would also matter. In the hotel I worked (which was not a Hyatt), our Presidential Suite was four bedrooms with a separate living room and study. It was six rooms, not counting bathrooms. But, the layout could be altered by "locking off" various rooms.

As I recall, the suite was occupied 4-5 nights every week, with Sunday and Thursday being the mostly vacant nights. About 25% of the time, the suite was purchased at the retail rate. The rest of the time, the Sales Department "gave" the suite to whoever was renting the most meeting space. On weekends, that would be the families of people holding the wedding reception in the ballroom.

As with most things in life, it's hard to know why people and/or organizations do things unless you have access to data. For example, your night in the Presidential Suite in Kauai could be due to a hotel wanting to make a little extra on what otherwise would have been a vacant room. Or, it could have been an oversold situation where they had no option but to place someone in that suite.