Aventine

I'm curious about that alfonsino!

MikeFromTokyo

I can definitely say that I spend the same or more than what I normally would when I have a $100 credit. I view it more as added value, and I always appreciate it. I typically will order a more expensive bottle of wine, or perhaps have an extra spa treatment.

I think those credits are targeted toward less price sensitive travellers who will tend to "splurge" on something extra if offered a bit of a discount to take the edge off of an expensive meal or spa treatment. The result would not be the same if it were targeted toward more price sensitive guests who keep incidental spend to a minimum, as they would be more likely to pocket the savings without spending more.

Overall benefits like $100 credits must statistically generate more revenue for hotels or they would not offer them.

Aventine

I appreciate the added value but also tend to spend the same amount on a stay.

OsakaWino

Virtuoso also might be more attractive to non-Diamonds. Since I believe you stated that you are not a Diamond.

Some of the benefits certainly overlap...

MikeFromTokyo

You might be misunderstanding. The benefits do not overlap, they often stack in practice. So whether or not you are Diamond, if you are paying the daily rate you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by booking the Virtuoso rate.

As a Diamond member on a Virtuoso booking you will get:

$100 USD spa/F&B credit

Priority for room upgrades BEYOND your standard Diamond upgrade (subject to availability and not "guaranteed" - but definitely possible)

Possible "soft amenities" if your agent is well connected.

hailstorm

Nothing to lose? You assume everyone books at Hyatt Daily Rate?

MikeFromTokyo

I said IF paying the daily rate, one has nothing to lose by booking the Virtuoso rate instead.

stargold

He said some of the benefits overlap. To that extent, the 4pm check-out and breakfast absolutely do overlap and Diamond+Virtuoso will not get, for example, 8pm check-out instead of 4pm, or 4 breakfasts instead of 2. I believe this is what OsakaWino is getting at.

Also, he was saying that Virtuoso will be more attractive to a non-Diamond than a Diamond, not that Virtuoso is useless for a Diamond. And again, this must necessarily be true given that the package of Virtuoso benefits for a non-Diamond is more significant than a Diamond who will already be receiving some of these benefits.

His statements, and your statement that "a Diamond has nothing to lose by booking Virtuoso if they were going to book HDR anyway", are not mutually exclusive.

MikeFromTokyo

Who would expect those benefits to stack, and why would it matter if they are duplicated? The point is you get all of the Diamond benefits plus additional added value.

I am not spending any more time on this.

pricesquire

It's this kind of sentiment I don't really understand. Whether you're a Diamond or not, booking a Virtuoso rate at a property like this (or in Kyoto) is an absolute no-brainer. The $100 credit alone is far and away better than anything a Diamond could get on a 'regular' rate, showing up with status alone. (Not to mention the 50% off spa treatments and free train pick-up in Kyoto).

Furthermore, I think you are more likely to get an 8 pm check-out if you're to have your Virtuoso agent negotiate said benefit on your behalf. On the flip-side, I'd argue you're going to have a LOT more difficult of a time negotiating the same benefit as a Diamond playing the 'loyalty' game.

As for benefits overlapping vs stacking, who cares?!?! Sure, both a Diamond and a Virtuoso will get breakfast (overlap), but a Virtuoso booking gets both the Diamond benefits and the $100 credit (stacking). This is a semantics game, not really worth of a reply...

I just don't get the mindset of someone whose willing to spend money on a Hyatt daily rate but won't book a Virtuoso rate because they somehow think they're better off simply showing up as a Diamond.

Trust me...especially at a property like this...you're going to get much better treatment, traction, and benefits as a Virtuoso guest. The GM of this property is VERY much a fan of the agents that send business his way. Had this convo with him many times.

p.s., just clarifying...I know not everyone books daily rates!! I'm talking about "when booking a Hyatt daily rate."

stargold

It would have been better if you had actually read my post properly and understood what I was trying to say.

I was merely clarifying OsakaWino's statement because his post was being extrapolated beyond his words, and then being told he was incorrect.

He stated that 1. some of the benefits overlap (YES), and therefore 2. a non-Diamond gets comparatively more out of the Virtuoso program than a Diamond (A MATTER OF LOGIC - YES).

Why is this so hard to understand? And where in my post do you read that I'm saying a Diamond should book HDR instead of Virtuoso?

OsakaWino

I'm sorry that Mike is fed up with this. I've long thought the advantages of Virtuoso for GHP members, Diamonds in particular, to be worth discussing, Andaz Tokyo is a good example.

From what I understand of Virtuoso, I would certainly think that it is correct that anyone, including a Diamond, would be better off booking Virtuoso rather than the the HDR, but when comparing it vs P+C, it depends on the difference between P+C and HDR.

It was suggested that it would be wiser to book Virtuoso than to purchase pts in order to book P+C. After purchasing the pts on the 40% bonus sale, my P+C total cost was ¥47,000 vs HDR of ¥65,000 (inclusive); dates I'm looking at for next year have an HDR of ¥77,000 and up.

FlyingDoctorwu

I think Virtuoso benefits are good on shorter stays. On any stays 3 days or longer there are often better cost savings through booking discounted rates. When I was a non diamond I tended to book Virtuoso. As a diamond it's about half and half. Some properties have excellent virtuoso amenities. For example, the PH DC offers an upgrade at booking which is awesome. I used it last year to confirm the ambassador suite for the price of a park exec..

Now perhaps hyatts own program will exit beta...

Fdw

stargold

Even outright awards compare favourably compared to the peak HDR. I'm about to book some dates near Xmas, where the total including tax for the 3-night stay is a staggering 299,280 JPY, which is ~2,500 USD.

Purchasing 75k points for the 25k x 3 award stay would have cost ~1,300 USD from scratch during the sale.

During these periods, I don't think the aggregate value of the Virtuoso benefits - even for non-Diamonds, could hope to account for the ~400 USD difference in cost per night.

peteropny

Ok - please get back to the threads subject - Andaz Tokyo and enough discussion on Virtuoso (and by extension FHR) benefits in general if it doesn't specific to this property.

Thank you!!

Peteropny - co-mod - Hyatt