Hot Pocket

I respectfully disagree. I think it is a great concept, but one that has been implemented with neolithic incompetence.

Again, it can't conceivably be too difficult to code Guests of Honor in the system to receive the same benefits as Diamonds minus the points bonus.

There are truly only 3 components, correct? Diamond Amenity, Club Access, Room Upgrades.

I think if I were a Hyatt GM I could figure out a way to implement this in like 15 minutes.

Put my vote in the column of "keep this benefit - just fix it"

hailstorm

If I were a Hyatt GM, I would spend my 15 minutes thinking of ways to undermine this policy.

It sounds like a nightmare from the implementers pointing of view: explaining Diamond benefits to people that normally don't receive them, explaining why they are receiving them this time, explaning why they won't be receiving them the next time they come.

Probably a whole lot of confusion on both sides of the equation, and lends itself to all kinds of abuse. Diamonds selling GoH reservations has already been brought up. Another I can think of off the top of my head: what if a non-Diamond makes a week long reservation, then a Diamond makes a one day GoH reservation for them at the start of the stay? Will the combined eight day stay receive Diamond benefits for the entire stay? Will the hotel give them a upgraded room for the first night, them shuttle them down to a base room for the remainder of the stay? Will they remember to recode the card so that these people don't have access to the lounge after the first day?

Guest of Honor sounds like a good intention that wasn't properly thought out or coordinated with the hotels. It needs to be scrapped and, if still desired, rebuilt from the ground up. Better no implementation than a bad one.

Kacee

I doubt most people who are getting an award room gifted will have difficulty understanding that the status of the gifter is transferred.

It was never an issue when I gifted UA awards to friends and family (before UA changed the rules). The giftees never had difficulty understanding that they were getting perks from my transferred UA status.

Hot Pocket

Agree with the above, and if there truly is abuse, it is easily, linearly trackable to that Diamond account and their "Guests of Honor" that caused it.

Here is where it would be great to have a certain J. Zidell chime in that yes, despite growing pains, this is easily implementable and provides tangible value to our best customers.

Jeff?

OsakaWino

How?

If I can see how easy it would be to cheat on this, all those who have been looking for ways to game the system by churning ccs, using fake corporate codes, etc., must be having a great time with Guest of Honor.

jdhnyc

Does anyone know about the timeline for Hyatt to decide whether or not to extend this benefit past 2015?

tennster

I hope it has already been decided to kill it off, which is why there is no big push to further piss off the hotels with its lunacy.

777 global mile hound

Hopefully you get your wish but it wouldn't be mine or that of a number I have heard from.The program is still alive and well making other
members delighted in having that option to gift others with their points.
With all due respect to your opinion and thoughts
I know of not one single hotel I have spoken with directly with in about approx 20 full service since the reasonably well received program launched that is anyway upset with "Guest Of Honor"
I've had the pleasure of speaking with both rooms Execs and GMs who embrace it and get the reason behind it even if there are bumps in the road at times.
Quite frankly mishaps can occur on a non Guest of Honor reservation and has.

Hotels can mess up sending over Diamond Welcome Amenity points. Should that be eliminated too in the quest for simplicity and lack of expediting ?
Points for dining without stays had numerous problems for restaurant managers and the service teams till they got a reasonable handle on the protocol .
And there are still the occasional problems years after launching
Should that too be eliminated even though some like to earn and redeem points for dining and spa treatments?
I still have to call on occasion to get points posted or reverse a debit of points that was deducted when I paid for my meal
But it doesn't negate a well needed and appreciated aspect of the program that drives greater participation and more entrenched loyalty

If you have some other reasonable accurate inside information
please do share that information and or assessment as I would be eager to hear other points of view

From a hotel side of expediting it should be no different than delivering any Platinum or Diamond benefit to the elite guest/member
I stand by the Hyatt folks 100% on this one even though they could absolutely should smooth process out over time should they wish to continue the benefit.

Cheers

K79

I totally agreed with you in this one. Yes, this new concept has its quirks and nuances, but in my opinion is good concept. There will always be haters and those that enjoy picking on the nagativity instead of looking long term and the benefits within.

hailstorm

Guest of Honor doesn't exist in a vacuum. It is part of a limited number of benefits available to be alloted to Diamond Members by Hyatt (otherwise, they could offer promotions like "One million dollars cash free with every stay!")

If the question were phrased as, say, "Would you give up the My Elite Rate in exchange for Guest of Honor benefits?", would you still be as enthusiastic about the program?

K79

Not sure if is a fair question, as giving up one benefit over another in my opinion is never easy. Yet, my experience with the no longer available "My Elite Rate" was hit or miss and never as beneficial as I expected or wanted. I can always buy discounted giftcards to offset the room rate but at this point I dont see how to obtain the benefits from the Guest of Honor experience if it stops existing. Again, I'm talking about MY experience and if I had a say on this, I would keep both benefits active.

OsakaWino

On additional flaw to Guest of Honor is that it benefits only a limited percentage of Diamond member. I have no idea what percentage that is - 20%% 30%?

Even if it is 50% or 70%, there are definitely a large number of Diamonds who have absolutely no need for it and would prefer some other benefit in its place. I'm speaking from my own interests of course, as is everyone else, and most who post on FT are those who benefit from the program, since those who do not have not reason to complain at how poorly it has been executed.

If all Diamonds were polled, I would be very surprised if Guest of Honor would survive.

K79

If Guest of Honor benefits some Diamond members, than is not a flaw. If there is a particular Diamond benefit you want the program to adopt, then I suggest that you make such request via the proper channels. I'd rather have this benefit and any other that GP wants to add, then to ask to replace this for none or for a benefit that could end up being like the "free wifi" for Diamond members when such is free for everyone specially at Hyatt Houses and Places. Be careful what you wish for.

Kacee

Agree 100%. It might not make my list of top 3 Diamond benefits, but it's a benefit nonetheless.

Beyond that, I think it's admirable that at a time when the other loyalty programs are relentlessly cutting benefits, GP is still experimenting with new ways to improve the Diamond experience. And there is something undeniably cool about being afforded the opportunity to make our friends and family "guests of honor."

kdoggold

I have to agree with 777 global mile hound, and K79, and Kacee. Guest of Honor will be a wonderful part of the Diamond perks once they get it right... Let's give it a chance, and once all the execs and front-desk people become familiar with it, we'll all have a chance to extend these benefits to family and friends. I just reserved a room for my brother-in-law, and I'm thrilled to be able to offer him a VIP-type experience. Even if they don't get it right the first time, my experience has been that Hyatt usually makes up for their mistakes; so, I will follow up immediately after he checks in to make sure he got the perks -- and if not, I expect it'll be fixed quickly.
I hope that some time far in the future, when this becomes an established part of Diamond perks, we'll be glad we didn't kill this perk before Hyatt had a chance to get it right.