craz

60 nights is probably a slam dunk for the type of person they want to be at the top of their program. It will get rid of those who suck in all the benefits w/o much of an outlay out of their pocket and probably complain the most about things looking to capitalize on Compensation.

More or less along the lines of what the airlines did by going Rev based for RDMs rather then Miles Flown, they were able to rid their top tier of the leisure traveler who was taking up prime real estate in the premium cabins w/o adding much if anything to the bottom line, those folks werent about to payout > $10k and not earn that many RDMs doing so

spgplat21

I would be shocked if they made this change retroactive to people that have already re-qualified for Diamond until 2/2018. I'm guessing that type of move would be unprecedented.

I'm sure it will be announced and the new metrics will be used for the 2017 qualification year. Otherwise, they would piss off what I'm guessing is the majority of diamond members (those with less than 60 nights), and by announcing so late they really wouldn't even give those people much of a chance to meet the higher thresholds. It doesn't make sense on so many levels that I can't even imagine it being true. I don' think the HGP folks are that clueless.

nineworldseries

I really hope you are correct!

Brandon2277

All I know is that they better grandfather diamonds into top tier for next year if they plan to pull this at the end of the year with no notice. If they don't, it would certainly damage their brand and trustworthiness

solewalker

+1

I was on the fence on whether to use my points for PH Maldives. Now I'll go on a Hyatt points spending spree for 2018.

westlaker

I hope you are right. I don't recall any airline or hotel loyalty program changed qualification standard in November for this year's qualification.

craz

I would think that the type of person they want at their top level, doesnt do 25 Stays and then move on to another Chain. I would think they do well in excess of 60 nights already a year. Just as Marriott had a Premium Plat level

I would think that the majority of the Diamonds they would tick off will fall well short of 60 nights or $20k in Spend, and probably would gain from seeing them move onto other Chains. Im sure they will be a few that will fall between the cracks but not many at that.

Before HH and HP came around Hyatt was a no deal for me and was much more exculsive.They lost that and may be looking to return to its former self, sort of what the Carriers have done to weed down the #s at its top levels to those who really do the Spend and make a difference to the bottom line

also as Diamond swelled its ranks it put alot of pressure on the few Hyatts most folks cashed out for eg Park Hyatts and the Resort Hotels.

bsdstone

If Hyatt was trying to get me to drive more business to Marriott/SPG, they’ve succeeded! This stinks for someone like me that barely requalifies every year and will never spend the amount required for top tier status…I suppose that is what they are trying to do is get rid of guys like me. UGH!

Be interesting to see if my suite upgrades are usable through 2017.

olouie

Why bother doing that massive status match last year and then try and kick out lots of diamonds? I easily do 80+ nights a year in hotels but after this there is little reason to pick Hyatt above Marriott/SPG as the Hyatt footprint cannot compare at all. They are missing huge areas where they have zero hotels.

Colin

Really will appreciate the option to qualify on spend. My travel pattern is a few expensive trips per year often with multiple rooms, followed by stretching to meet 50 nights. Problem solved for me.

Gamecock

I am one of those who status matched last year after I felt SPG lost the marketing niche that had appealed to me.

The Hyatt ranks were certainly swollen, but how many of those were sticking around and requaling this year anyway? How many stayed at maybe one or two properties and then went back to their original program. A lot I think. Many were doing it just for the novelty of having another piece of plastic in our wallets.

Others, myself included, were doing it because we were disgruntled and looking for another loyalty program. I am, was, very happy with Hyatt, even though most of my stays were with Hyatt Place.

I'll see how this is handled, but like I said upstream, and as much as I hate it, Hilton may just be the best option for me in the future. Even mid-tiers there get a free breakfast.

spgplat21

I don't disagree with the rationale, which is why I can understand the ultimate shift to these metrics (if true). But I still don't think this will be retroactive.

Of course there's no way to verify this, but I would bet a lot of money that a huge majority of Diamond members are below 60 nights/year and an even bigger majority of diamond members are below $20K in annual spend (that's over $333/night at 60 nights). So yes I think this would upset a ton of good customers and HGP wouldn't risk that just to weed out some bad apples a year early.

LondonElite

What a bunch of stupid names! Thankfully it'll weed out some of those staying in $76 rooms and then moaning they can't apply their DSUs at the Place Vendome PH.

Mary2e

I suspect the information provided by Matthew is correct - Hyatt has been known to release info early to some bloggers in the past. Plus, I don't think he would post something that isn't certain. It's not his style.

If they don't offer DSUs beyond an upgrade to a suite at check in, well, I may have to reconsider spending my $$$ on useless mattress runs to requalify for top tier. It may be the same money for me to pay for what I want at each property.

pkrjp

In my opinion, the comparison to airline loyalty programs isn't exactly apples to apples. So much of the loyalty equation with an airline depends on where you live. If you live in ATL, you likely fly Delta, DFW you fly American and IAH you fly United. You aren't necessarily loyal because you prefer United over Delta, but rather because XYZ airline offers more non-stop options from where you live.

But with Hyatt, it seems that many of us are willing to go out of our way (literally, due to the limited footprint) to stay at a Hyatt for the stay credit due to the strong loyalty program. Isn't that the point of the loyalty programs? To drive the desired consumer behavior in a way that increases revenue? It's more convenient for me to use other chains, but I don't due to Hyatt's loyalty program, and therefore Hyatt earns more revenue from me as a result of their loyalty program.

If these rumored changes are indeed going to happen, I can't justify going out of my way to give Hyatt my money just to earn status that is no better than other hotel chains.