I don't get the Hyatt DSU criticism: can't you apply it to the normal rates you'd otherwise book? Or do they have an airline-like structure where you must buy-up to an artificially high rate in order to be DSU-eligible.

Most Hyatt people on FT seem to value their DSU's pretty highly.

Most of my top-tier hotel years have been HH and Marriott where true suite upgrades have become quite rare.

In most cases, the biggest benefit I get out of hotel/airline elite statuses is access to basic, adequate customer service. Genuinely *good* customer service is of course reserved for the very, very top tier - UA Global Services and the like - which is way beyond my current rate of travel. But a low/mid-tier means you generally aren't treated horribly. (Stress generally...)