esquesk

+1 on this. Currently trending at around 100 nights/year and pretty happy with the majority of changes.

I've had all of the issues you mentioned with SParriot.

Kacee

You've had issues with the WoH branding and marketing at Marriott/SPG? That's odd

craigthemif

In my experience, frontline hotel staff haven't the slightest idea of what is going on at Hyatt corporate or the chain more broadly.

I recall a truly absurd conversation with an employee in the US somewhere about his pending trip to visit the "new Hyatt" in Barcelona and his unwillingness to accept that such a hotel doesn't even exist (despite the fact that the whole thing came up because I said I lived there and blogged about loyalty programmes).

98% of the time it is hotel management who have decided that blaming corporate is an easier way to explain cutbacks than to admit to their own decisions that frontline staff receive the flak for.

MarkOK

I think it becomes all too easy to set expectations high, which is bound to lead towards a disappointment in some way. I've experienced both great customer service and service misses with Hyatt over that last 12 months, but I know that the 'service misses' are things I've become more sensitive to because my expectations have been rising. I think back to the last time I stayed at a Marriott (a courtyward//askarben Omaha), and a Hilton (Parc55 SanFran) and both hotels had some terrible cases of customer service too (the Marriott refused to honor free breakfast until we provided hard copy proof that we booked said rate and even then I had to follow up twice to get charges refunded); the Parc55 didn't do room service a couple days while we were there, gave us a lower-rate room than the one we reserved, and didn't bring up extra pillow/blankets until we called the front desk and asked twice).

I sympathize if the OP has a downgrade in service at a choice hotel. I hope he complains directly to them. But it doesn't fit my experience.

jmandc

Been avid Hyatt stayers the last few years since we got a bite of the Diamond apple through a challenge and have done whatever we needed to do to maintain our top tier status. We've actually had more success with suite upgrades since WOH and, apart from a couple minor, property-specific issues here or there, we haven't seen a fall off in service. I absolutely miss the welcome points/amenity and the new status category names border on dumb, but I'd say that waiving resort fees and now counting award stays more than makes up for it. I'd still like to see waived parking and the ability share an account with a spouse where we each can earn points and enjoy benefits even when we are not traveling together.

nsummy

I can't really speak about Hyatt but a lot of what I read here is applicable to my experiences with SPG and Marriott, and I'm sure every loyalty program has these issues. What do you define as expectations set too high? Is the expectation that the hotel follow through with programs benefits at a bare minimum too high? I could go to any program loyalty website and memorize the benefits in about 20 minutes time; I don't think its too much to expect a person working the front desk to be familiar with the product they are selling and/or supporting. Its sad that we have to set our expectations to be zero and be thrilled when a property follows through with even half of the benefits. Then what is the recourse when you aren't given something you are entitled to? Complain? Look cheap? Waste valuable time on vacation or a business trip dealing with some unpleasant scenario that may or may not be resolved?

Really every hotel chain is in a race to the bottom. There are no shortage of hotel specific threads on all of the hotel subforums about hotels that do not follow the loyalty program. Some of these threads date back a decade and these hotels are still not providing the required benefits! It goes to show how much corporate cares and why these hotels get away with it.

MarkOK

No, I think expecting the bare minimum according to a program's benefits is where expectations should be, but that is often not where they are. What we are often complaining about, and expecting, isn't a base adherence to a program benefits, but that we aren't getting everything all the time that we think we deserve.

Example: We don't like being told that 'the buffet' is the only benefit, but according to the terms and conditions, limiting our free breakfast to the buffet is actually well within terms and conditions. We don't have a right to whatever breakfast we want, we only have a right to some sort of free breakfast. I, and others, expect more often than just some 'free breakfast'; ideally, we want an unlimited free restaurant breakfast (at non-lounge full service hotels) of whatever we want. And, I, and others, get quite use quite fast to the luxury that the good Hyatt properties give with regards to this sort of breakfast benefit. So when that changes, or we go somewhere that wants to be a little stricter about the benefit (but still within guidelines), we of course get mad about it. But, we are only getting mad because our expectations have been raised, not because we aren't getting what we are owed.

Many hotels do try out things that reduce costs. I don't think there is anything wrong about complaining about it, but I think it is prudent to not obscure the line between complaining about truly bad service and complaining because we aren't being treated as the royalty we think ourselves to be.

ClarkGriswold

On the flip side, at HR San Antonio (though I prefer the Grand Hyatt there with the club and the numerous suites) I've had them happily honor the new terms of the WoH, specifically the suite upgrade. They've proactively upgraded and confirmed on the phone prior to arrival a Riverview Suite, and *apologized* profusely one time I was there and they couldn't keep me in a suite one night when they were clearly sold out of all rooms/suites.

I get it - it's frustrating when a hotel has offered service above that which is required decides to change course (like when HR Hill Country stopped letting me have room service for the diamond breakfast) and one might fairly make the argument that this makes Hyatt "less better" than the others. But for me, for now, hyatt is still a great chain, especially at the resorts my family frequents often enough that I know the staff pretty well (it still amazes me what plain kindness, saying please, and not acting entitled gets you these days).

txhyattlvr

When did I say that HR San Antonio ISN'T providing Globalist benefits? I have ZERO issues with them following the T&C's. The staff there also DO provide consistently excellent service and I have no issues with them either.

The point of my post was the general downgrading of the Hyatt experience, for ALL guests, regardless of elite status. I would argue that anyone paying for a full service, 4-star hotel (with over 600 rooms) should be able to get a cooked to order breakfast from a restaurant onsite. This is something almost every Hilton Garden Inn (and 4 Points) is able to provide!

Things like removing shower gel from rooms, and requiring a ticket for a bottle of water are further examples of cost cutting that degrades the brand and the experience, and is not related to elite status, either.

We have seen similar cutbacks at other Hyatt properties and I have talked to manager-level staff who have suggested a culture shift towards relentless cost cutting coming from higher up in the organization. I'm a Hyatt shareholder and am all for the company making money - I'd just argue this is the wrong way to do it.

azepine00

Note to future posters: overdramatic titles take away a lot of credibility from your posts even when some valid points are brought up...

antonius66

Yup. More histrionics like always. Are there some very valid issues with Hyatt? Yes. Has the program and chain gone completely to the gutter without redemption in the last year? Absolutely not. Any attempt to say otherwise is ignorant nonsense. A legitimate argument can made that the program is actually functionally better overall now with the addition of award credits than it was a year ago. I have not found treatment any markedly worse or better overall post woh.

paolo64

ClarkGriswold

I wasn't trying to discount any points you made -- they're true / valid. I'm just saying that on the flip side of it, there have been some noticeable improvements for some - so I'm not sure "racing to the bottom" is exactly fair. Is Hyatt cost cutting? Sure, heck apparently even the Park Hyatt in New York doesn't have a proper restaurant anymore. They're a business - if all the changes materially affect the amount of people that use their properties - they'll course correct.

Colin

Haven't noticed any cost cutting at Napa, Carmel, Tahoe, Mayakoba, Andaz SD, Churchill.

I save over $2000/yr now by not paying resort fees on ~50 resort nights per year, including always waived on a 2nd room I often book.

I will save a few thousand more this year with reward nights now counting as qualifying & being TSU eligible.
In the past, I have always anxiously sought out P+C at the most desirable properties and often during peak times.
No more now. When rates are good, I use Citi 4th. When rates are high, I'll book full points always for Cat7 and full points for Cat 1 to Cat6 when P+C not available.

txhyattlvr

Point taken. You are right about the Park Hyatt New York no longer having a proper restaurant - I was just there and only the bar area now serves food... the main restaurant is closed. So, the five star hotels are also seeing cuts - who would have thought a Park Hyatt in New York would no longer offer a full service restaurant? If you like eating breakfast on a cocktail table you'll love it. Of course, I'm not trying to say the Park Hyatt NY isn't fabulous - it is - it's just unfortunate to see the basics diminished. And yes, they are also honoring the WOH T&C's.... I have had zero issues with any Hyatt following the basic rules of the program.