Originally Posted by
Matt4200
For me I view it the exact opposite for a few reasons.
1) I’m willing to add on a 2nd or 3rd night in points or cash.
2) I will make either a small family vacation or a couple’s getaway out of it.
3) I chose within the US because even adding 1-2 additional nights it’s still not worth an international trip.
Not sure why anyone would even reference SF as the city is littered with crime and feces. As for NYC I feel the hotels are actually fairly reasonable in price and Category except for PHNYC which I wrote off years ago when their quality went way down. Right up the street is the new Thompson which is a Cat 6, amazing location and lovely service.
We take about 2 quality vacations per year, using this would likely be one of them, or a 3rd for likely a couple’s getaway. Which is why somewhere like Alila Encinitas is great as we have family in SoCal to leave the kids with an hour or so away. We do other vacations but I wouldn’t consider them quality as we usually stay at a Cat 1 HH.
I definitely don’t just choose a property based on its Category, it’s ADR or single factor. I research on here, on Hyatt.com reviews, and multiple other factors.
I mentioned SF as a city that has normal hotels in high categories because it is. NYC is the same. If you go to these cities (or similarly expensive places) you can get good value just using it on your regular hotel. If you take a trip that you wouldn't otherwise take them the cert is not saving you money, is costing you money. Of course this is what Hyatt is hoping you will do which is why they give you the cert. Nothing like spending $1200 or 60k pts that you wouldn't otherwise spend to turn your "free" night into an expensive 3 night trip.