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Old Nov 28, 2016, 9:04 pm
  #1802  
PortlySpartacus
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Minnesota
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,097
Originally Posted by bldr1k
I'm amazed at how upset people are at the new program. I was never impressed with HGP. In a couple years as a Diamond I've not used a single suite upgrade. I guess people that book way in advance have more luck but that isn't me.

I am top level at all four chains and my treatment is consistently average across all of them. Because of this I only stay enough to get to top tier which gets me free breakfast.

There are some benefits like late checkout that I occasionally use but generally speaking, if I check in on Wed I get a lousy room everywhere. I never get suite upgrades at any chain. Service varies by hotel - but the impression I get is that lots of people are diamond.

I bet they paid some marketing people a lot of money to do a data analysis and come up with this new program. Some of the "benefits" are really silly. I wonder how many customers they talked to in this process.

If some hotel chain would make top status worth something I would be more inclined to stay 250 nights at one chain. I'm not sure they care though - they are all striving to be good enough while minimizing spend.

When I go on vacation I prefer to stay in a Four Seasons or some other smaller chain that provides great service to everyone.
Glad you posted this and your perspective of top tier status across the big hotel chains. All these status programs are based on expectations of what you might get. You called it out above.....you get consistently average treatment across the chains with top tier status. Why is that? Because everyone believes the marketing hype that they will get treated better by the competition and we are all suckers.

What I can say is, Hyatt has been hands down better than Hilton at the Diamond level in my 5 years of experience with both. I've had many average Hyatt stays along the way but overall, I thought Hyatt's were a notch above.

So while everyone can complain that WoH is a trainwreck, I'm not going back to Hilton, no way. Maybe SPG/Marriott but they will change their program in 2018. Everyone wants to feel and be treated as special but what you are saying is average is the norm. Sounds like economies of scale to me. You want special? Stay in a non-chain boutique hotel....but where will you all possibly post about this on FT?
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