Jeff Zidell replacement announced - Mark Vondrasek To Deepen Loyalty Engagement And A
 

As per Hyatt press release: http://newsroom.hyatt.com/news-releases?item=123606

Mark Vondrasek - former *wood loyalty manager. It will be interesting to see where WOH heads towards....i.e. how he "accelerates the WOH program" - yes definitely needs some acceleration.





CHICAGO (Sept 25, 2017) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced the selection of Mark Vondrasek as executive vice president, global head of loyalty & new business platforms, reporting to Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer. In this newly created leadership position, Vondrasek will direct Hyatt’s integrated experience strategy, which currently includes the World of Hyatt loyalty platform as well as Hyatt’s wellness initiatives including Miraval and exhale. Vondrasek will also be charged with creating and scaling new business opportunities, products and services.

“Mark’s successful track record, working in a brand-led, global organization makes him the ideal candidate for this role,” said Hoplamazian. “We are fortunate to welcome a leader with a reputation for transformation who can accelerate Hyatt’s loyalty platform, advance innovative products and expand Hyatt’s partnerships. This work is critical to our experience-based growth strategy and will deepen the relationship we have with our existing guests as well as expand our base of customers.”

Vondrasek joins Hyatt with more than 25 years of experience in building strong brands through the effective integration of marketing and operations. Most recently, he spent 15 years in leadership roles at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the latest of which as senior vice president and commercial services officer. In the position, Vondrasek was responsible for the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program, 10 customer contact centers, mobile applications, digital initiatives, business-to-business sales strategy, revenue management and sales. During his tenure at Starwood, he spearheaded many of the company's most successful loyalty initiatives as well as oversaw Starwood's strategic marketing partnerships. Vondrasek also held previous roles at Northern Trust, Fidelity Investments and Kemper Financial Services.

“This is one of the most exciting times in the history of the travel and hospitality space. I’m intimately familiar with, and have great respect for the Hyatt brand, the company’s entrepreneurial mindset and the strong foundation they’ve built with their loyalty platform and approach to growth and innovation,” said Vondrasek. “I’m eager to collaborate with the amazing team Mark has built to accelerate the forward momentum powered by World of Hyatt, the company’s movement into wellness and other opportunities to expand beyond traditional hotel stays.”

^^^

Hyatt needs new blood to undo all the damage from the WOH program.

#1 on my wish list is to bring back the Diamond Check in amenity
#2 Return to former loyalty level designation (Diamond, Plat, etc)
#3 A long shot - FFN :D (maybe just regular promos will do)

Was Jeff Zidell's title Executive VP or Senior VP when he left Hyatt? I think it was the latter, without some of the apparently added responsibilities.

On the face of things this looks like a good hire. Hopefully he can rollback many of the negative changes and sprinkle in some elements of SPG that make it such a strong program. At the very least perhaps we'll at least seem a promo every quarter (SPG certainly has them) instead of what seems to be 0-2 promos/year from Hyatt at present.

Also seems like a smart move on his behalf since presumably his role may have become duplicative if/when Marriott and SPG finally bring everything together.

Let's hope he gets rid of some of the most disliked changes.

Welcome, Mark!

(cautiously optimistic - thankfully they havent hired from delta or hilton... )

More promos please Mark and welcome to the Hyatt family!

Was he working for Starwood up to now or did he leave earlier (during the merger)?

He left Starwood over a year ago.

My #1 request is for award expiration date to coincide with status expiration date. Currently status lasts until Feb 2019. TSUs last for 12 months after they are earned (thus imposing the harshest penalty upon your most frequent customer, which is exactly bass-ackwards). Earned Free Nights expire a scant 4 months after they're earned, which is not even in the same ballpark as where it should be.

This is a great opportunity, Hyatt. Don't blow it.

Starwoods loss is Hyatt's gain. Starwood is clearly a favorite of FTers and for good reason. Nice hire Hyatt.

I hope this will make WOH into a great program with lots of promotions. One change I would like to see if for point award stays to count towards elite nights (not only P&C stays).

Fingers crossed. ex-SPG is definitely preferable to ex-IHG/Honors/airline...

But a new VP isn't necessarily going to be Santa Claus and bring us lots of benefits. He was available for obvious reasons, which is substantially different from Hyatt head-hunting somebody who could fix what we believe is a screw up.

SVP, according to his LinkedIn page

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffzidell/

and also according to the infamous https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/commen...lty_for_hyatt/