antonius66

Man, I was actually kidding when I posted at the very beginning of this thread that the complaining would commence just like the UA thing last year when this came out.

Vinodavid

I got the UA 50k last time around but not this time. I wonder if anyone got both.

It appears that they are going to "surprise and delight" a modicum of travelers each time with little rhyme or reason.

I actually like it, but was rewarded the first go around so I have a bit of of a cushion. I hope it doesn't start a poop storm from those that were denied twice.

fireworksboy

Especially to some of us that have done everything they can to put ourselves in a position to be considered - tons of properties, multiyear Diamond, got the CC and got no UA bonus. Not feeling the love.

AJLondon

I know someone who got both. He hasn't posted on his thread yet.

holtju2

Friend of mine got both. I think that it could be the same person we are talking about.

What a bs reply from Jeff. Must have gone through the bs generator several times.

peteropny

At least one has.

AJLondon

Yes, possibly the same one.

Especially if you mean our friend who would be jumping like a 12 year old at Disneyland.

thierry

89 Unique properties since 1995 and nothing in the mail.

Is this only for US based GP members?

JonathanIT

See post #13.

taipeiflyer

Wow! What a garbage reply from Jeff. Take your "special sauce" and shove it up your you know what. You just offended this previously loyal Hyatt fan big time. Your post is insulting.

soonerfanatic

Not disappointed. Modus operandi. Just proof and another data point that Hyatt will have these lottery type of gifts with no qualification criteria or "special sauce". Ridiculous to some and delightful to others.

taipeiflyer

You are not offended when Jeff says: "And, as much as I begged, our Milestones Curators will not reveal their secret sauce." He wants us to believe that the CEO of the company cannot get information regarding the criteria used? What kind of idiot does he take us for? It is bad enough creating a tiered Diamond membership and treating some as second-class Diamond citizens. It is another to lie to our faces about it and expect us to be ok with it. Zidell has absolutely no idea what customer service is about. Unfortunately for Hyatt, loyalty is a two-way street. So take your lies and try and get someone else to believe them Jeff.

NJTraveler

I will say it was fun going into the records and charting stays. Mine are 50 different properties since 2007, 80 since 1997.

I sent a note to the milestones e-mail, we'll see if I get a response. And I did receive the UA 50k bonus last year....

AJLondon

D'oh, I missed it!

baliktad

In case it wasn't clear, Jeff is not the CEO of Hyatt. Jeff is the VP of Hyatt's loyalty program known as Gold Passport. Obviously he doesn't control every aspect of Hyatt's operations.

Jeff is one of the most open, honest, and forthright loyalty program execs around. The fact that he's unwilling or unable to post the criteria used doesn't make me think any less of him or Gold Passport; it just means that the criteria used are sensitive. Perhaps it's people with a high average revenue per night over the last year. Perhaps it's people who tend to stay more in full-service or international properties, or those who tend to hoard their points, or use them in ways that cost Hyatt less. The point is that Hyatt's budget for this surprise was limited, they picked some bucket of people, and they don't want to alienate the people who weren't picked by informing everyone of the specific criteria.

In some ways, the criteria might be embarrassing to Hyatt or the guest if it were revealed. It could be people who are most "profitable" - those who pay published rates for suites, or who tend to spend large amounts on food & beverage, or who book nonrefundable rates and then don't actually show up. Imagine the reaction if Hyatt announced that they were rewarding those who averaged $500 or more in spa profits last year.

Further, revealing the criteria now sets up a de facto expectation in the future. Imagine that this year, Hyatt has a budget of (say) $500K, and each free night they hand out costs them $250. So they make a list of the people who have stayed at 50 properties, sort it by revenue or profit or some other metric, and hand out free nights to the top 2000 people on the list. Those people all have an average revenue of $350/night or above. If Hyatt reveals this, then regardless of what they say, people who average $350/night next year will expect to receive an award and be disappointed if they don't make the cut.

In loyalty programs and in life, I believe the formula for success and happiness is setting your expectations appropriately. This award was not announced or publicized in any way, so there's no way that anyone here should have had any expectation of receiving a milestone award. By delivering an award to some people, some expectations were exceeded. But no one can rightfully claim to be disappointed because nothing was ever promised. I didn't get the UA 50K bonus, and I didn't get a free milestone night. But I still stay at Hyatt and I'm still pleased with Gold Passport because the philosophy here seems to be to constantly delight by under-promising and over-delivering. This is just one example of that, and I'm somewhat surprised that there are those that are dismayed at such a generous surprise gesture.