Originally Posted by
Cygnet
I thought there was a discussion about this sort of dynamic/adaptive pricing tactic awhile back, someplace else in FlyerTalk (not Hyatt)? (Couldn't find it.) I know there was a recent
WSJ article about Orbitz doing this to Apple users, and I found an
old article from Consumer Reports about this sort of practice in general, especially with different browsers. Never noticed it myself in Hyatt...yet. Although, I do notice that sometimes previously "sold out" properties (when not logged in) will display some rooms as available (at extremely high rates) when logged in as Diamond, but I always assumed that was just one of the Diamond benefits of guaranteed room availability...for a price.
The Orbitz/Apple thing was about the order properties were shown to a Mac user vs a PC user--higher-end properties were shown first because (said Orbitz) Mac users have a higher average income than PC users and tend to purchase more expensive vacations. I understand that. It's using something about you (your IP address, your browsing history, your computer itself) to customize what you are offered.
The DL mess was not the same thing (there was an actual price difference for the same product [well, the fare code was probably different]--the price was higher if you were elite). Unfortunately, at first glance this sounds more like the DL mess rather than trying to upsell you to a higher category room because you're logged in. Or maybe it is just not clearing corporate codes in your bowser.