Originally Posted by
Matt4200
I feel like Hyatt doesn’t know what to do they have their hands in so many pots it’s hard to balance.
They recently ended their longtime MGM relationship, they are “partners” with SLH, they just purchased the “Dream” portfolio, then Secrets, and all the AI’s in South America just added, that along with URCove, balancing the number of Elite Members while being competitive, then revamping the Elite Program altogether and planning promos for 2024. Oh and finalizing their decisions for Category changes which I’m sure Hyatt will do internally sometime between now and mid-January.
It’s definitely a lot to take on in such a short period it’s either going to pay out for Hyatt or leave many feeling distanced. I know losing MGM they distanced a good chunk of people, especially since Rio has yet to join World of Hyatt as a semi-replacement.
Three major downturns for me that Hyatt has done just in the last couple years are -
1) Introducing Category 8 which in its first year was primarily SLH properties maybe a couple actual Hyatt ones.
2) Shortly after moving many many desirable properties from Category 7 to Category 8. That’s a 33.3% cost increase on Standard dates.
3) Adding a significant amount of properties to the TSU ineligible list that were not there before despite being in the Hyatt portfolio for years. One notable one is PH Beaver Creek.
These are major devaluations that Hyatt loyalists have noticed I’m hoping Hyatt gives some more value to the program or promos to reward loyal guests. As many have noted the new changes for January 1st are mostly net even.
Hard to argue about 1, 2 & 3. Surely those that were enjoying those benefits would now feel the program devalued. For a relatively newer Glob like me, I never enjoyed the above benefits for long (or at all) so personally I think of it more along the lines of what I could get vs top tier status at Marriott, Hilton, or IHG. Hyatt (even with those devaluations) still beats those programs. I get they have to due to their smaller footprint, but at least they do what they have to. They don't have to crush the other programs (long gone are the old Starwood days). But they're still doing a good job in comparison to what exists among their competitors. Are there things around the edges that could be improved? Surely! #3 is annoying for sure (for me in NYC especially) and #1 is frustrating (but at least they created a CAT 1-8 cert even if most of us will never get one due to the absurd amount of nights required to do so (it should be give at 100 imo). #2 is something that happens across all chains and while frustrating is just part of the loyalty chasers life. Use em (stay) while you can.
It'll be interesting to see how long they keep chipping away at the edges... and how quickly they get closer to being more like Marriott. The closer they get, the more likely they are to lose sig nights from Globalists switching away.
But so far, guaranteed suite upgrades in advance without time limits, waived resort fees, & free parking on award stays, (I may be missing one or two other unique benefits) are unique within the industry and are good enough to keep most of us running on the hamster wheel to re-qualify.