ZBigFam

I really wonder about which globalist Hyatt values more. Is it the business traveler that travels on corporate rates or is it the high spender on the co-branded card earning globalist through spend.

I realize there are others like the family traveler but the first two are I have to assume the bulk of their globalists I could be wrong though.

What does everyone think? I wonder the profit margin differential between the two.

jameswes

Honestly, I think it's all of the above. There's a reason why Hyatt has a number of brands and why they're continuing to expand.

My $0.02 is that there are a lot of people that are a combination of all of the above to varying degrees.
- Absolutely there are people that spend 100+ to 200+ nights in a hotel on OPM and Hyatt's happy to have them. They stay loyal to Hyatt because they earn a lot of points and status and it allow them to take free vacations when they're not working, or it just gives them a consistently good quality.
- I think that there are a lot of people that get 10-30 nights from work at Hyatt and couldn't quite figure out how to maintain globalist before the CC. Now with the 5 + more nights on the CC, and some personal travel thrown in, they can have a good chance of making globalist every year.

My evidence of that is that it seems like Hyatt culled the # of globalists more than intended when they increased from 25 stays or 50 nights to 55 nights (there were a number of promos for extra nights, status matches/challenges/etc). I think that they need to have a critical mass of people that are globalists and are loyal enough to pay a premium and go out of their way to stay at Hyatt no matter where they are. And they reward those people with status/benefits/etc, but that they need that core group of loyal people. Outside of a few heavily concentrated markets, Hyatt doesn't have anywhere near the footprint of IHG/Marriott/Hilton, and I find that when comparing similar hotels, Hyatt is usually just a little bit more expensive. So general John Doe booking on Expedia just picks the cheapest hotel, which isn't Hyatt.

Matt4200

I agree with James.

Before the Hyatt Credit Card I knew literally nothing about Hyatt, except that they were a smaller luxury hotel brand similar to Hilton in that of the room quality.

I used to be one of those people who’d search Expedia for the lowest price hotels, excluding places like Rodeway Inn, and was fine with Motel 6 if I was just needing a quick 1 night stay.

Then through the IHG Credit Card I tried their brands and it wasn’t anything special, but it did the job for family trips.

After that I tried out the Hilton Honors card, I liked the idea of “Status” and the perks along with it. I knew generally Hilton was a great brand, but they were expensive. I stayed with them a bit, using up the points that came with the sign up bonus.

Then I uncovered Hyatt, I got in right after they took away the 2 Category 7 Free Nights, and replaced with a 60k offer which worked perfectly for me because I like to maximize points; get the most bang for your buck if you will. After staying just 3 stays I knew I wanted more. I researched the Elite Benefits of Explorist and Globalist. I never thought I’d make Globalist, but I did it with heavy dedication.

Anyways, I am not a corporate traveler I travel only with family (guess I’m the minority). I feel like Hyatt Hotels appreciate my loyalty and as a Glob (regardless of how) you’re given appreciation, respect and admiration.

There may be certain properties like GH DFW where it’s 95% corporate travelers and they may treat a family Globalist different than a Corporate Traveler Globalist, but for the most part I think it’s pretty similar.

The people who spend to get to Globalist Hyatt is making a good chunk off of them in swipe fees. Not to mention that with their new status they’re much more likely to stay exclusively at Hyatt Brands because they’ll get top tier treatment, especially if they have a family. Globalist Free Breakfast is a big deal.

Hydro88

I don't know what the people in the Hyatt finance team think (I would assume that they prefer guests who actually stay because there's more profit to be made that way) - but in my (limited) experience you will definitely get better treatment if you stay with the chain a lot rather than earning status through spend. This is of course especially true with repeat stays at the same hotels but also seems to apply in other scenarios.

Matt4200

I would disagree with this, especially the first portion.

I’ve stayed at multiple HH Properties and I don’t feel like I get better treatment than anyone else staying there. The same goes for HP as well. I don’t feel like even if you stayed at every single one of an individual brand (Hyatt House, or another brand for example) that you’d be treated any differently as a Globalist.

Now the 2nd part would be the same regardless of status. If you stay at the same property multiple times in the year you could potentially get even a Suite Upgrade as a Discoverist (a big Glob only benefit). Each individual property has files on repeat guests and managers assign inventory, sometimes based on history with the individual property.

Just my two cents.

ZBigFam

I think the reason you're not getting better treatment is because you're staying at Hyatt House and Hyatt places, those properties typically don't treat globalists any better than explorists or discoverists. so I think you should test your theory with mid to higher end Hyatt properties centrics regencies or even park hyatts.

Matt4200

I’m not saying Globs don’t receive special treatment at higher end properties. I’m saying that if you’re a Globalist staying at 10 different Hyatt Properties (whether they’re HH, HR or Andaz) I believe you’ll get the same treatment as any other Globalist.

Now if you’re staying at the same Hyatt for 10 stays (whether they’re HH, HR or Andaz) you’ll likely get better treatment as another Globalist.

That’s what I’m saying.

I honestly think that if I were to stay at 5 different Hyatt Regency hotels each for the first time I don’t think I’d get any better treatment than if I hadn’t stayed at the others as a Globalist.

Why would they treat you any differently? They have no experience with you as a guest prior to this stay.

Hydro88

Matt, what experience are you basing this on other than your HH and HP stays?


They see more in the system than your status.

Matt4200

HP and HH are Hyatt brands and should be held to the same standards as a HR or any Hyatt IMO.

I have friends/family who are Globs they’ve stayed at about 40 North American Hyatt Properties, more than half of which were Grand Hyatt’s and Hyatt Regency Properties. I asked them (because they tend not to go to the same property often) if they feel they were treated any differently having gone to multiple of the same brand and they said they received “just about the same treatment”.

I know and understand that they can definitely see more than your status. But based on that and my intuition I just don’t see why you’d get any extra special treatment than another Globalist because you’ve stayed at more of the same brand of property (Hyatt Regency or Grand Hyatt being examples). I’ve never been told something like, Oh I see you stayed at another Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles (or similar) for any Hyatt Brand.

Can you elaborate on why they’d give someone better treatment just for staying at more properties within their specific brand? For example if I’d stayed at 10 Grand Hyatt’s and went on a trip to Manchester Grand Hyatt as a Globalist having never been there before.

If so I’d definitely stay within a specific brand of Hyatt rather than play the field so to speak.

Hydro88

Lol!

The argument from personal incredulity is always a bad one.

Matt, you and your "friend" are very recent Globalists who got there through CC spend and a few inexpensive HH/HP stays. At the same time, your posts give me the impression that you have an overblown sense of entitlement. It's evident you're excited about your new status and that makes sense. But don't you think hotels have a clear financial interests to distinguish between a guest like you and those guests who may bring considerable repeat business to them?

ZBigFam

I am not sure what all they can see but I do know there are V ratings that are still in play now that each hotel assigns. I don't know if it's system wide or property by property but I know this for a fact as a friendly fda shared my V rating with me and we chatted about what they meant.

Whether or not they are tied to "heavy stay" globalist or "manufactured spend" globalist I don't know. I was just postulating and wondering overall who the "best" guest for Hyatt was between the two.

Logically therehas to be a way to track, if they didn't then they wouldn't know how to negotiate how much to pay chase for their card agreements. That being said I'm not sure if that goes down to the property level or is just maintained at the corporate centre.

Matt4200

Thats just it, I’m talking about the ones who only have one stay at a property and just move to another property within the same brand.

I don’t see why/how they’d get any extra special treatment based solely on the fact that they have stayed at other properties under the same brand.

Of course if you stay at the same property over and over you get to know people and them seeing you often creates an impression of a repeat guest and they want to keep repeat guests happy as it brings more revenue to their individual property.

As far as entitlement -

As a Globalist I feel I am entitled to:

A Standard Suite Upgrade (If one is available, if not the next next room)

Complimentary Breakfast served in the restaurant or club lounge

Complimentary Parking on Award Stays at Properties where parking can be charged to the room.

4pm Late Check Out (at most properties)

Complimentary Internet

That’s what I feel entitled to, nothing more. I feel like any Globalist should feel entitled to these things. And if a property has nice comfortable rooms with a great breakfast and great service my family and I are much more likely to return to that property whenever we have a trip to that city.

Matt4200

I would think it would be on the individual property level rather than system wide. That way if you stay at a specific property often they’d rate you positively. Doing it system wide would just be logistically challenging.

Is it based on how you are rated as a guest or how often you stay and how much spent? I’m actually curious.

Hydro88

It's not about extra special treatment but about treatment relative to other Globalists in certain edge cases (for example: who gets upgraded? who do they make an exception to the rules for? who does the GM invite for a drink?)

Why would they do this? Put yourself in the shoes of e.g. the manager of the HR Kyoto. You have (1) one Globalist who got 35 nights by credit card spend and 15 nights in various HH and HP in the US and (2) another Globalist who has spent 60 nights at various PH and GH properties in Asia.
Who would you identify as more valuable, Matt?

We should add to this: being immediately addressed as a Globalist when getting there through CC spend during the stay, ideally being greeted as a Globalist at check-in already!

Visconti

Of course, I'd agree that every Glob is entitled to all stated benefits period.

Having said that, one of the hallmarks I look for in a top drawer hotel is how they treat their return guests. I've always felt a frequent and long tenured guest should get, at the very least, similar treatment as Globs, because returning guests over a period of time is relatively rare in the industry. For example, in MLife, a standard Noir may find getting a hotel upgrade challenging, but a returning gambler absent of status will easily be handed a suite and a minimum $350 standard food/room/beverage per day allowance. In my view, that's how it should work.

I'm not a hotel analyst and have no idea what Hyatt finds valuable, but, I'd imagine, like other industries, it would be the person who will potentially spend "X" amount in the future vs resources consumed (how much pain the in a**) guest is likely to consume. As an example, for the Glob who achieves status via MS on the Chase Visa using points only and never spends a dime (never tips anyone at the property while complaining about every little thing), I'd do everything I can to encourage this guest to stay with another property, or better yet, my competitor.

PS - a trick we used for clients we didn't like were to keep pricing our services so high that the person would fire us or pay us for the trouble of handling his business. Not sure if there's hotel similar practice.