Just got back from another great stay at the HR Maui. No palace suite this time
I had an interesting discussion with Jeff about the crazy upgrades. Apparently, they have some way to stack-rank guests and if the palace or presidential suites are available when they are blocking off rooms, they will upgrade the highest-ranked guest whose stay fits into whatever gap they have.
I didn't press for details about how the stack ranking works, but I assume it's some mix of Hyatt loyalty and loyalty to the HR Maui in particular. I am guessing that rate paid is not a factor, since the time I got the palace suite, I was on my cheapest rate ever, combined with a 30% off promo.
Definitely a nice policy compared the places that just try to upsell all the time, and will happily leave the suites empty if no one bites (and it helps make up for the fact that standard suites are rarely available at check-in, due to the fact that the hotel is constantly at 90-100% occupancy)
This continues to be one of my favorite properties in the world. The service really is a cut above.