Brendan

I agree with Hedoman #7, Nnn #20, Shareholder #86 & others that we should be grateful for this moderately generous but realistic promo! FFN promos were too juicy as if designed by Santa Claus or our Fairy Godmother(s)! Most people do stay about 5 nights in 2 stays in fine hotels such as Hyatts when they are not mattress-running or hotel-hopping to game the system. Also, GP has probably grown tired of us begging for extensions to their deadlines, which admittedly were much shorter than similar promos at other chains.

Perhaps Hyatt should bring back FFN in 2011--earned 1 per 5 nights, not per 2 stays. A guest who stays 5 nights in 1 hotel @ US$300 each deserves an FFN more than a $69 buxanite mattress runner!
Look on the bright side: GP points don't expire & can be used for friends/ tCC trading partners & transferred fee-free!

agrater

My two cents... This is a good promotion. There have been better Hyatt promos, but this is better than some other Hyatt promos and better than most promos from the competition.

I have 4 nights currently planned during this period, so this will certainly pull in another night I would have spent elsewhere.

ldsant

You were reading my mind! I too have already requalified for Diamond status for next year (through 2012) but will continue to stay at Hyatts during my stays for the rest of the year (Starwood, due to their continual lack of Platinum benefits/treatment/lack of promos has lost over 50 nights this year that have gone to Hyatt). Hyatt's treatment is stellar on property! Just because some people wanted FFNs (which are wonderful btw!) I don't get why so many are whining about this promo?! Heck - it's a LOT better than many of the other chains are promoting.

Vuelos

Their goal is to increase sales. They've done so with us.

That's not a bad idea... though 4 would be better than 5 IMHO.

Jaimito Cartero

1 free night per 5 stays is a non-starter. It's got to be something realistic. I can tell you that IHG is considering free nights again (probably 1 for 2 or 1 for 3), plus their other excellent promotions.

I try to use the free nights in each program, to get the best value. Using PB nights with IHG, I get 1.2-1.4 free nights for every paid night. I don't expect Hyatt to compete at that level, but to make it interesting, certainly.

hobo13

I'm certainly hoping that Hyatt has something else in the works. This alone probably won't do it for me.

Ironically, I'm now within 2 stays of SPG Gold (thanks to Hyatt forcing me to hotel hop in Honolulu last spring!) So if Hyatt doesn't conjure up something else to draw me in this fall, I'll probably go get those other 2 free nights and see what SPG Gold is like.

Yes, Hyatt, you were my first hotel loyalty program -- and I'll surely be back -- but don't blame me if I have a wandering eye.....

nnn

FWIW, it's 5 nights, not 5 stays.

Agree completely. I have no shot at making top-level status elsewhere, so why waste the status I've earned?

jlcchien

Thank you Hyatt for the promo^

Beckles

Do you stay at full-service properties (e.g., full-service Hyatt, Sheraton, Westin) or mid-level properties (e.g., Hyatt Place, Four Points, aLoft)? If you're staying at full-service properties SPG Gold is in absolutely no way comparable to Hyatt Diamond. If you're staying at mid-level properties they're somewhat similar in that netier does much for you, except that with Hyatt you get a Diamond amenity at least.

Jaimito Cartero

For my MR's, they're the same thing.

hobo13

If it's on my own dime, I'm cheap.

If it's on the gov't dime......

Mostly, I'm a believer in diversification. I've already hit Diamond for the year, so I figure I might as well get SPG Gold, just to hedge my bets.

tommy777

This years experience from this SPG Plat and Hyatt Diamond:

While BWB promo was running I almost went out of my way to stay at Hyatts over SPG properties.

After the promo ended, I've only had a handfull Hyatt stays and SPG bookings have picked up a lot. So without a promo, the loyalty disappears and I just pick the best property.

So if the new SPG promo is a stay 2-3 nights and get one free one, SPG will win this guys business almost exclusively this fall.

What can I say, pretty damn disappointed, this is just an extra G2 bonus, nothing else

stallion114

This was my dream, I just got transferred to just north of baltimore for three months living in hotels the whole time (on my dime with per diem), and was so excited about the weekend mattress running possibilities in the DC area, and then of course no one has a free nights promo going!!!

At least the Chantilly Dulles has a 2K gbonus so i can burn the rest of my costco certs.

kenbo

Has Hyatt done back to back FFNs before? Seems there are a lot of folks who were hoping for another round. I didn't think FFN would come around so I'm not really disappointed. I think it's a pretty good offer, especially with the fact that they're going with nights instead of stays.

ENIAC

Luckily I only need one more stay for Diamond after doing 14 paid stays in the earlier FFN earning period. I had been on the fence about whether to put in the 13 SPG stays I need to requalify, but between this and the stay 3 get 10K starpoints from SPG Amex it's clearly making sense to go back to SPG for the rest of the year. I've been SPG Plat since 2004, and although their program has slipped it would still hurt to give it up.