I’ve been a frequent lurker here and have greatly benefited from the collective wisdom of this forum. Today, I am making my first post because I wanted to share an experience that I believe could serve as a caution for my fellow members, especially those who, like me, are deeply integrated into the Hyatt ecosystem. As a Lifetime Globalist with around 600 nights across approximately 45 Hyatt properties worldwide, I hope my experience adds value and gives you something to think about before you decide to take a similar step.

Inspired by a discussion here on FlyerTalk, I became curious and decided to submit a Data Subject Access Request to Hyatt to uncover what might be said about me in my guest profile. The request process was straightforward and took about two months to complete. When I finally received the information around 2 months later, it was compiled into a 110 page PDF segmented into four key areas:

1. My points transaction history
2. A list of prior complaints with associated points awarded
3. The GXP section with summary alerts
4. Verbatim individual responses from each hotel I've ever stayed at

Interestingly, there were just 2 complaints listed, and I must clarify I’ve never demanded points nor requested complimentary stays directly. The GXP section threw the first curveball with an assortment of comments varying in nature, from critique on wifi speeds and room service delivery times to a reminder about my birthday. However, it was the property-level notes that truly caught me off guard.

Out of the 45 properties, 44 responded with generic or non-relevant comments regarding their records (or lack thereof) of my stays amounting to maybe 2-3 sentences each ("Thank you for your request. Guest stayed for x nights with late checkout. No further information available."). There was, however, one glaringly detailed exception that recounted a 2-night stay from three years prior, spinning a narrative that painted me in quite a controversial light: my too blunt demand for a standard suite upgrade, my unfounded complaints about water pressure, my supposed toiletry hoarding, and my snack pilfering from the globalist lounge. I chucked given they unironically acknowledge that I showed them the Hyatt app showing standard suite availability, that yes there was in fact a standard suite available, and note they had chosen to give it to someone else. I was with a friend celebrating his birthday and having seen the standard suite availability, I had walked in expecting to be able to surprise him with a suite. Given it was 3 years ago, I don't remember much about it aside from remembering arguing over the standard suite upgrade being available.

I also noticed a general pattern. It was always worded as a "warning" or "caution". For example, rather than saying something like "Guest appreciates high wifi-speed due to remote work teleconferencing" it is instead "Caution, guest frequently complains about wifi, be aware and handle carefully". It is especially odd to me since the employee warning is also included "Be aware these comments may be shared with guests if subject to data subject access request".

The purpose of my post is not to dispute or justify the account as described by the one property that provided detailed feedback but to highlight and warn others about the potential ramifications of lodging a Data Subject Access Request. It appears it might incite certain properties to dredge up information, perhaps inaccurately, that they otherwise would not have, and report negatively to Hyatt HQ, possibly affecting your standing and treatment across the board. For me, nothing happened since it was just one stay out of 100+ and the complaint itself wasn't too extreme (e.g. no accusations of property damage).

Please consider this experience a cautionary tale. While it's insightful to see what data is held about you, there's an inherent risk of uncovering and possibly amplifying misconstrued or misdocumented interactions that could impact your reputation within the network.

Stay informed, savvy travelers, and weigh the risks before you decide to dig deeper into your guest profiles.