pitflyer

So late checkout at that policy is limited to 1pm for all? Is that because this is considered a 'Hyatt resort' and as such doesn't have to live up to 2 or 4pm late checkouts that are available to Explorist or Globalist?

I will be staying here burning some certs, just like others are doing this year, and would like to stay as late as possible before hopping to another hotel to burn even more certs!

gbdbld

Correct. As Explorist I was given 12 pm check out and had to fight for it

craz

and you can expect a knock on the door at the exact min the clock strikes the time you were given for checkout

Funny how the hotels claim due to Covid theres limited Housekeeping due to shortage of workers, yet when its time for your checkout that knock comes with a couple of mins

So dont plan on a late checkout and then extending it by not leaving, housekeeping most likely will be waiting outside your door

gbdbld

Thats exactly what happened. I was about to walk out of the door with the suit case at 12:01 and housekeeping came in.

platbrownguy

I booked a 4-day long weekend here in January on points and called in to use a TSU for the Miami Suite. What a chore -- first call, the agent did the routine, said he'd call the hotel to confirm the suite, and put me on hold... 20 minutes later, I get someone's voice mail (LOL?) -- so I said what the heck and actually left a message, mostly just because why not.

I waited an hour just in case it was in the works, but it wasn't, so I called back and got a second agent, explained the situation, but she was on the daft side and said "well I'll give them a call and hope we don't get disconnected" (to which I said, I didn't get disconnected, I waited for 20 minutes and then got sent to voicemail, just please don't do that). I then waited 10 minutes and she came back and said "yeah this hotel is a total pain to get a hold of, they wouldn't answer," and I said it was my second call, so... -- and her only offer was to send an email and open a case and that I should see the TSU deducted later. Fine.

That was yesterday, of course nothing happened and I didn't want the inventory to dry up, so I called again and the third agent finally got through and did it. But essentially an hour all-in to do something that ought to be two or three clicks online. Insane.

WasKnown

Sounds terrible honestly and truly another failing for Hyatt from a technology perspective. I can’t imagine the hotels themselves want FDAs to be spending their time doing this either

MarkOK

And this is why I value my hyatt concierge. One email, three lines about my request and my confirmation number, and within a few hours it is confirmed as done. I have a email record too.

coleslaw

Personally I would never call for this type of thing. Drop a message on Twitter for the fastest response and lowest effort. Or email your concierge if you have one. Phone calls are a last resort - you invest far more time and effort and you don’t have a written record afterward.

craz

for this hotel with the demand from us for the UPs Id call otherwise its a good chance that by the time its taken care of its already gone.

coleslaw

When using Twitter I've often gotten a response back confirming the TSU within 10-15 minutes of sending the message. I'd be surprised if I could get that done in less time when calling the Globalist line!

Not all standard suites are equal at this property either - so it's also good to have the specific suite type request in writing (via Twitter or email) vs. calling in my experience.

But I take this approach more generally in life - where possible I'll avoid phone calls and get everything in writing for my own records. It's been immensely helpful to have a record many, many times in the past. But I understand some people prefer just to use the phone.

craz

for me at least, I prefer the phone so I can make sure the other person fully understands me and when they say its Done, I can check online before hanging up. Otherwise I have to wait and maybe get into a back & forth till its done as wanted.

But the truth is both ways has its Pros and Cons and no 1 way is best for everyone

platbrownguy

For anything else, I would, but I've been burned with both the concierge email and Twitter when it comes to hard-to-find TSUs (think: 7 nights at Andaz Maui on an already hard-to-get points booking, which I eventually did get worked out over the phone, but every minute counted). My concierge is great but often takes 2-3 days to reply, and I've had Twitter take a few hours (even if, normally, I agree that they are great and respond within minutes). Getting things in writing is great, but if inventory dries up between your message and their response, you're SOL.

Anyhow, I certainly don't prefer a phone call, but a phone call reliably gets the TSU done in 5-10 minutes (usually closer to 5), except at this stupid hotel where the FD doesn't mind letting the phone ring and ring. Still a great deal at 15k/night with valet parking though, can't hate it.

WasKnown

Imagine if you could just apply TSUs directly on the website or in the app… that would save time for Hyatt corporate employees, Hyatt franchise employees, and the guest…..

coleslaw

It’s nearly as if they aren’t incentivized to make it easier for people to use TSUs…

I wish Marriott would do the same. At least Hyatt doesn’t even pretend that it’s an automated process.

FlyerBeek

FWIW, I would never chance applying a TSU to an email to my Concierge. I've never yet lost an upgrade in the 3-5 minutes it's taken to have a phone agent get it applied.

-FlyerBeek