"This is just part of the name game -- brand roulette," said hotel consultant and Convention and Visitors Bureau Chairman Rick Swig. "This will really show whether people are loyal to their brands or to their buildings."
"If the Argent does suddenly better, it's not because the building's better but because someone is bribing them with Starwood points."
On the other hand, if the property does about the same, and attracts roughly the same customers, it may show customers are loyal to a particular hotel location.
Well would you look at that, they're toying with us. It's like a little socio-economic laboratory to figure out the cross-price elasticity of Hyatt and Starwood points.
Will be interesting to see what they find out, though (if it ever becomes publicly known)--Starwood points are a popular incentive, but there are already so many Starwood options in SF that I don't see how this move will show them that *points are highly valued. And it certainly doesn't give Hyatt customers any clear way to express their preferences, since the GH is not exactly the same vibe.