777 global mile hound

I'm holding out hope for something to improve on the list
For me the restaurant concerns are

• Quality of Breakfast out of season produce burnt toast,black spots and skin over the smoked salmon,pastry quality etc
• Execution of cooking and plate presentation
• Service
• Globalist Breakfast benefit allowance

All 4 could use a solid step up & tweak
I've heard a new pastry chef and chef have come on board.
After my conversation today the good folks from the Park Hyatt they seem to be making an effort toward making improvements of some kind however only time will tell
I don't mind to a small degree paying up when the breakfast & service is exceptional
Though of course I don't expect or prefer to based on how other Hyatt's deliver the benefit across the globe.The idea of staying 90 nights is to have earned it!

txhyattlvr

I expect to stay around 100 nights this year w/Hyatt and I appreciate the fact that they are the ONLY chain that offers a complimentary, generally high quality full breakfast (in the absence of a lounge) to Globalist members. You do realize, that EVERY-OTHER-CHAIN only guarantees a "continental", if that, right? Hyatt will soon have AS MANY properties as SPG did when it got acquired and SPG only offered a "continental" with various up-charges for anything beyond that...

I'm sure your a nice guy but it really sounds like you are stuck in the past in terms of expectations. There's less competition now. Market conditions have changed dramatically in the past ten years. Hyatt offers more generous benefits than anyone, even if the quality can be a bit off from time to time. Bottom line: if I were a Hyatt manager I would cordially invite you to take your business over to Marriott... and I suspect you'd miss Hyatt a lot (service issues and all) if you did that.

777 global mile hound

Congrats on your loyalty to Hyatt ^
I think its unnecessary to worry/be concerned at all.Perhaps I have to much faith in Hyatt
Hyatt has demonstrated fair generosity for many years now with delivering the breakfast benefit in most of the full service hotels.
Let us also not forget that it takes far more work to be loyal to Hyatt than it does Marriott or Hilton for example
If Hyatt would downgrade the benefit further it would be game over for many elites as Marriott Rewards offers Platinum and above 50 to 75% point bonuses
and some form of breakfast good and or bad
WOH already reduced 4 breakfasts to 2 breakfasts so they have deeply cut their costs

Should a continental or full hot breakfast really ever need to be a dollar amount if its really included?
Yes in North America we have seen a trend that way in some other programs
What do eggs and toast really cost wholesale or at the retail level? Or some fruit?
I had marvelous scrambled eggs avocado and pan done rosemary home fries this morning all made from scratch for 11 dollars right here in my city that was excellent
The establishment still turned a profit

Overseas while Hyatt is very fair or generous Hilton is far more so
Hilton International gives full hot or continental in the restaurant and or the lounge/
I sometimes have breakfast in the restaurant and finish with coffee or tea in their quiet lounge and they are beautiful some of them with exceptional offerings
At some Hyatt's one is restricted to the lounge which could be a good or a bad thing depending on the guest
Customization and optimization for your most frequent guests is always the way to go
Hyatt is awesome more often than not the world over and this is really a very isolated issue in my overview with regard to PHNY

gengar

Why does criticism of PHNY invariably turn into a discussion of the merits of WoH? Time after time. I really don't get it.

Kacee

Unfortunately, you cannot these days criticize PHNY in this forum without being personally attacked.

joe_miami

777 global mile hound

Kacee I have your back here anytime! Very sad to hear
Just know that.I admire your open and honest assessments of your experiences and hope you and others will continue to keep on posting & sharing away without hesitation
I learn from everyone here the highly satisfied & the highly dissatisfied.
Without the varied on property experiences meets WOH program delivery I would have no take away to how it is all working for others and myself
Realistically hotel experiences are so intertwined with the program its hard not to sway to WOH and comparisons.

I suppose in the most perfect world we could be nothing more than an advanced copy of a formatted Trip Advisor hotel review site per hotel but we are so much more thankfully
I've always been a big fan of Flyertalk because as a group on average we are more experienced and know our programs so all of our opinions are more valuable than any other site
Flyertalk was started with the sole purpose of program discussions and for myself that was the glue that kept me here all these years

Aventine

They've been discussing for many years now. I was told that back in 2016!

txhyattlvr

Personal attack? So if I state that someone's personal expectations are out of alignment with the marketplace (IMHO, of course) then that's an attack?

If you read the thread you'll see that this whole thing started when Mr. 777 was peeved about not being able to order his preferred version of what he calls a "continental breakfast" (which included a whole variety of separately priced items, including multiple entrees) that totaled somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 at the PHNY, WITHOUT being charged an overage... This resulted him complaining like-crazy to any/all Hyatt people who would listen to him.

I'm simply pointing out that the Hyatt T&C's officially offer (and deliver) an extremely generous benefit to us which is above and beyond the official benefit offered by any competing chain, included our beloved SPG (RIP) which had a similar-sized footprint to Hyatt today/near future, at the time it died. In the case of Hilton, the Honors T&C's are clear that you are only entitled to a continental breakfast as defined by each property.

The term "over-entitled" is well known in the hospitality industry, and these kinds of complaints will play a role in Hyatt devaluing the benefit down the road, i.e. "if they don't appreciate it anyway, they why are we even offering it?" In this case, Mr. 777 specifically wants/expects something that is clearly beyond the T&C's - that's what I call "over-entitled."

txhyattlvr

Well I'm a capitalist and believe that businesses should be able to charge whatever they think is appropriate for the service they are providing. The consumer's choice is to take his/her business elsewhere. I fully admit there are service issues at PHNY, however, I also believe reasonable limits as to how much a Globalist can consume are also well within the hotel's right to establish while recognizing the limits at comparable Marriott/Hilton properties in NYC are VERY LIKELY much lower than PHNY. Again, if you don't like it, you are free to stay elsewhere (at another Hyatt) or take your business to another chain. Just don't forget Hyatt is the most generous...

As far as food cost is concerned - how is that even relevant? There's a lot more cost than just the food in operating anything - and again, don't they have the right to charge what they think is appropriate? I don't think their prices are very different from JW Marriott/St Regis/Ritz, etc... except as an elite at those properties you WON'T get anything close to $50+tax+tip EACH in complimentary food as a guaranteed benefit.

777 global mile hound

Well Warm Greetings from your favorite entitled poster
Congratulations on your loyalty to Hyatt
Perhaps its in the way you state things as well as the respect you share with others regardless of their view points
21 approx years ago years Randy Petersen one of my inspirational heroes launched Flyertalk with an extraordinary warm place for open conversation
before Facebook and the social media explosion
Randy is always in the back of my mind and without him my ambition to get into consulting for major hotel loyalty programs likely never would have happened over the years
It made me proud of his personal thank you message years ago for helping others around the world seek high value and assistance with their chosen program & hotel right here in this forum

I've learned at my tender age that no matter what I can't make everyone agree or like me
However when challenged I will present the facts I am aware of to the best of my ability as kindly as I can
Can't agree with your opinion or perception but I still will respect your position and the way you view programs and their accompanying benefits though of course we see things very differently
To be open & transparent its not about you or my entitled self as you see things its about all of us in the Hyatt Community and the "World of Hyatt" membership
and any Globalist that have stayed their 60 plus nights and spent their are hard earned dollars who have truly earned it.
The problem outside of New York City doesn't exist at any Hyatt's anywhere in my 30 plus years with Hyatt that I can think of @ present.

I believe I speak for many that the expectation of a basic included continental or full breakfast regardless of retail cost printed on a menu
should be consistent with what can that can be found in any Regency Club or Hyatt restaurant typically found in any Hyatt

Have spent hours networking with NYC upper management in calls and emails
And yes they have listened with great interest, kind mutual respect and outstanding engaged dialogue
They do admit there are some potential issues to their credit having heard from other Globalists and trying to come up with solutions that may please all parties
The hotel is hoping to see material improvements for all members and in some instances it has already has outside of the restaurant.
I'm not seeking perfection but what I would like to say is a happy middle ground.Where reasonable expectations are delivered in what Hyatt has already set the standard
The hotel has never had better caring management than it does now and so my faith for now is strong.

Let us also note for that our voices were heard as a group previously with similar such issues in the past.
As one great example today the outstanding breakfast and ala carte menu which is now unlimited at Andaz Maui no longer has an up-charge of any kind
Many Globalists guests complained about the up charges in the past brutally.
Can say bloggers and many of us self included worked endlessly on behalf of the membership base
to get a policy that is consistent within Hyatt's own guide lines
The result with our outspoken voices I believe led to positive change ^

Today all "Globalists" and "Guests of Honor" gift recipients can rejoice when staying at Andaz Maui and have a fantastic experience with their breakfast gratuity included .
I always leave more.The team is amazing!
Does that make us all self entitled those who worked on your behalf and that of all the membership base who didn't think the original policy was fair?

Perhaps you don't stay in many Luxury properties where 25 to 50 dollar credits does buy an outstanding continental breakfasts for 1 and can be used towards anything hot or cold
Perhaps a modest up charge occurs when closing out the bill but quality runs high as does guest /service satisfaction
They include Waldorf Astoria and Conrad worldwide typically and other luxury brands where quality and pricing is reasonably aligned .Overseas even more so
No not a Domestic Double tree of course!

Here is something else to consider if you think 100 dollars is self entitled in a city like New York.
Not that I ever said it was fully necessary but actually now that you bring it up perhaps it is
Here is a great review in a blog (not my own) in an alternative program called Bonvoy which made me want to try it as a Lifetime Titanium member
That may give you reason to reconsider your own point of view at some point.
The 5 Star Iconic St Regis (see below) offers a 135 dollar a day breakfast credit in the restaurant or though room service hot or cold
I suppose f we refer to the Bonvoy terms and conditions I suppose we could say that only a continental is allowed
Luxury Hotels are expected to deliver more and be luxury and defect free to a large degree.
I learned that @ Cornell University many many years ago long before I spent thousands of nights in hotels

From "The Points Guy Blog

"The gorgeous rooms aren’t the only reason Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Titanium Elites should pay this property a visit.
I paged my St. Regis butler to order a cappuccino, but I wasn’t really feeling up to breakfast in the hotel’s Astor Court restaurant, so I decided to order room service instead.

I called downstairs to ask how the free breakfast amenity worked with room service, and was told that I could order the American breakfast.I’ll chalk it up to the jetlag, but apparently my voice betrayed a little too much confusion for someone who was staring at the menu. The lady on the other end of the phone paused for a minute and then said, “How many people are in your room?” When I answered that it was just me, she responded, “Oh, then you can order anything you want off the menu.” While my mind quickly jumped to some 6:00am champagne and caviar, she quickly clarified that I actually had a $135 credit I could spend towards my room service breakfast.Let that sink in for a moment.

While $135 at the St. Regis New York doesn’t buy as much as you might expect, it was more than enough for me to indulge in an absolute feast.
And you can bet I used up every cent of that credit, ordering the 5th Avenue Breakfast (eggs, caviar, breakfast potatoes and asparagus) and a yogurt parfait.
I also tried to order a side of bacon, though that $16 (plus taxes, tip and service charge) would have put me over the $135 limit, so the lady on the phone kindly suggested I hold off.
She was right as I ended up with enough food to feed a small village.Caviar is a treat that (for me) is normally reserved for first class flights, as I’ll never pay the exorbitant price to eat it on the ground.
In this case the egg/caviar dish alone was an absurd $75, and eating it in my $2,500+ a night suite was a great reminder of why I continue to pursue Marriott elite status[img]file:///C:/Users/Don/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg[/img]
If you’re trying to stretch your credit a bit further, you can do what Summer did and order two American Breakfasts. With the bread basket, coffee and juice, you’ll have enough food to feed several people"

joe_miami

RichardInSF

As an example of breakfast pricing, the current menu shows that the lounge will serve you a bagel with cream cheese for $12. Adding lox raises it to $28. Plus tax and tip, of course. If you want to check, I found the menu here: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/ne...k/nycph/dining

The 24 hour grocery store across the street sells bagels for 69 cents each and enough cream cheese for 4 bagels for $3-4. They have plastic knives by the buffet. No tax, no tip. I didn't price lox, but I suspect enough lox for a single bagel is a lot less than $16.

P.S. Does anyone actually make oatmeal that is NOT steel cut?

txhyattlvr

Taking it back to the PHNY... Here's what the World of Hyatt Terms and Conditions say:

"Globalists will receive daily complimentary full breakfast (which includes one entrée or standard breakfast buffet, juice, and coffee, as well as tax, gratuity and service charges) for each registered guest in the room, up to a maximum of two (2) adults and two (2) children."

Yet, this is what you claim to be entitled to, and if you don't get you will complain:

What you are actually entitled to (T&C), and what you expect (above) are two very different things.... you are entitled to one entree. That's it. ONE. Simple. Yet you believe you are entitled to order anything that might be found in a Regency Club lounge... If that's not "over entitlement" I don't know what is...

I expect Hyatt to deliver on the T&C's and will complain when they do not.

I am, of course, delighted when they exceed the requirements of the T&C's (which happens occasionally), but I do NOT expect that they will do so. Contrarily, you expect them to exceed the T&C's, and complain if they do not (as you've outlined above).

The Andaz example you cite is a case where that hotel was NOT following the T&C's - as they were not offering the "standard" buffet to Globalists - they were offering something less than than that. This was corrected. That is very different from what you have been complaining about at PHNY.

We obviously look at the world through two very different lenses. Earlier, I saw you boast about getting $100 worth of food from a hotel where you only paid $100 for a night (as if this should be a normal and expected occurrence). Congratulations on sucking as much out of them as possible... However, as a business person myself, I actually want good businesses to make a profit, pay their employees well, maintain their facilities, and continue to take good care of me. Thus, I don't look at WOH as an opportunity to continually push for more and more while I pay less and less - I am happy to live within some basic guidelines designed to reduce abuse, say from people who want to "order 3 entrees for breakfast because thats what can be found at the Regency Club."

There are some legitimate complaints about service levels at PHNY but I think so much of it stems from a misalignment of expectations and entitlements.

joe_miami