hailstorm

Never said it was. All I am saying is that this year was good, and the jury is still out on next year.

At this time last year, I was near the top of the list of complainers. Then MER and P+C were announced, and things worked well. As a result, I am willing to wait until their announcement for what they are going to do before getting my Fruit Of The Looms in a bunch this time around.

JD623

Would like to see 48 hour sale go to cancelable. Great thing about MER was that it was not advance purchase, so could use a GC. Otherwise would like to see hyatt GCs as a payment option on hyatt.com. There's been a push on the GCs and would be useful for many to use them on advance purchase rates.

SCEflyer

In my experience it can be anywhere between 5.0 percent and 20 percent.

SCEflyer

I have no data to back this up, but I would suggest that most Diamond's also have one or more of those memberships.

OsakaWino

Maybe most US resident Diamonds.

FWIW, I did not see any AAA discount rates in any of the 5 countries I stayed at Hyatt this year, but did see AARP rates at all of them.

But of course what he wanted to say is that there is no rate benefit for being Diamond, just those programs available to anyone. It was nice having MER as an additional benefit of attaining elite status, but I guess Hyatt decided it wasn't worth it. As someone already mentioned, it would be great if Diamonds could book the Advanced Purchase rate as a cancellable rate.

FlyingDoctorwu

What they should do with the MER is make it available to all Diamonds who have requalified. For instance, once they hit their 50 nights, then they still have incentive to stay with Hyatt instead maybe of seeking status elsewhere. Make it a available without blackout days and on all standard rooms (as long as a standard room is available, the discount is available to a diamond). As it was, it was also available to plats, even those who had achieved their status via the CC. This would thus continue to drive business to Hyatt that might have gone elsewhere. As it was, it most likely cannibilized their existing sales...

FDW

Miesque

As someone who is a new GP Diamond this year, I have to say that I am very disappointed that MER is not returning next year. While I have AAA so I am not totally screwed, keep in mind that Hilton has MVP and Gold Medal rates which (like MER) provide better rates than the AAA rate and as MER became pretty scarce there have been several times this fall where I ended up at the Hilton property on an MVP rate instead of at a nearby Hyatt property on a AAA rate.

FD1971

I could not agree more.

Mr.Zidell has built a reputation over the last years, cont. trying to sell massive cutbacks as something we should be happy about. Obviously, it is his job and he is trying to be good at it, but, luckily, some posters are able to differentiate marketing blabla and reality.

What I really love this time is the 'My elite rate beta test' fairy tale, this is almost too good to be true, nearly as good as praising Hyatt's IT and its brilliant app. But I have to give Hyatt some credit.

IMHO, the Hyatt app is def. superior to the LH one.

FD1971

It simply depends on the property, so I do not think that one is able to draw a general conclusion like the one in your first paragraph.

There are many SPG properties where C+P availability is equal to free night availability and I am under the impression that this is the same at Hyatt. But there are also lots of properties where both redemption options are coming out of different fare buckets, to use a term from the airline industry.

But I have been to change free night awards to C+P awards during check in, in some cases SPG or GPP CS had to be involved in the process, but it worked out anyway. ^

wedotravel

Ideas have consequences. Hyatt is bound to see a lot less of me. When I travel to a city I pull up several Hotel chains websites Hyatt, SPG, Marriott, Hilton, IHG and book according to promotions, rates and location. Because of the Elite rate Hyatt saw me a lot more in 2014. This will change if the 20% discount from Daily rates is NOT available.

jerryhze

That might be true but still, those memberships grant 10% discount while the MER is more generous at 20%.

azepine00

All this bitterness over MER demise just sends a message that no good deed goes unpunished...

Next time they will be just like other chains with same boring useless "promos" - why try something new if people get all pissy if its taken away?

i'd rather have MER or ffn or whaever short tern than not have it at all...

OsakaWino

I disagree. I think most people just would appreciate more transparency. Sure MER was never promised beyond 2014, but it is not true that Hyatt ever said it was a "trial" or a "test". This "we always said" BS assumes that everyone on FT is an idiot with short memory. It's a bit insulting that they lie so poorly.

Why not be honest and say, "hey, we threw you a carrot to take attention away from the devaluation, but if you thought that it would last, you're all more fool than we imagined".

So if Hyatt and GP feels fine about dissembling to its so-called "elite" customers, why shouldn't anyone feel fine about dissing that attitude.

Everyone knows that there is no real "loyalty" in either direction. We stay at Hyatt because it is in our own best interests, and they offer only those benefits that they believe will lift their bottom line. And that's how it should be. It is merely a business arrangement, and there is no need to hold back criticism as if it were a spouse, family member, or friend that was treating you like an idiot.

suite2suite

No worries. It will be up to each hotel to give you some form of compensation, not GP.
Some properties have been more generous than others and if I remember correctly I've received more than the 5k points.... in some cases as much as a suite upgrade.

jerryhze

Why not get pissy at a decrease in benefit? True it was never promised as a permanent benefit, but that 20% played a major role when I pick hotels. It's also true that after multiple stays at Hyatt, I like them more than other major chains, and maybe that's what Hyatt wanted to achieve in the first place.

However I don't have a rich employer to pick up my hotel bills, so next year I will make sure to check price at other chains. To Hyatt, it's a business decision: they've certainly crunched the numbers and deemed the decision favorable. To me, it's a loss that I won't be staying at some nice Hyatt hotels for a reasonable price. What a shame.