Originally Posted by
pinniped
Hyatt doesn't have the raw numbers, but if your need is primarily big-city hotels for business trips plus a stable of nice resort in good places for redemptions, it's not as thin as FT would lead people to believe. Hyatt is more a fit for a heritage-Starwood fan than a Marriott fan. The new program structure seems to keep most of what the heritage-Starwood fans were hoping for - SNAs, elite benefits at resorts and their best brands, etc. But Hyatt is definitely a viable option if they feel that the impending category creep is too severe.
Pinniped, I have no issues with Hyatt. I've even figured out how to game them to get 'Diamond Lite' status by doing an MLife match to Explorer. That gives me pretty much everything that Globalist would give me for 4 stays per year. That works for me; 55/60 nights a year is too much of a commitment for their small footprint. I've done Hilton, Marriott and Starwood as standalone programs in different years; I've never been able to use Hyatt as a standalone program (I tried) - I had to rely on my MR LTP and SPG LTG on several occasions when I was doing Hyatt as a 25 stay Diamond. It was simply impossible to only rely on Hyatt. Even at that, I'd pass up more than a few better located hotels to stay at a Hyatt - some of those were HH or HP instead of a full service hotel with another brand in order to reach 25 stays. At about the same daily rate.
I'll continue to use Hyatt. For my credit card night, cash+points, and points burn nights. And I'll use my club level certs every time I stay there, since it will be 4 or less times per year. But Hyatt is not a standalone hotel program for almost all travelers.