minimum night enforced at hotel?
 

Used "Pay my way" workaround to book a 3-night stay with mixed payment (first night on points, the rest on cash), and then call customer service to change the booking to only keep the first night.

It's a destination hotel (The Lodge at Kukui’ula) which does not allow less than 3 night anywhere (hyatt or OTAs) even if you search with all cash rate. This is the different part from What Andaz Maui does (only limiting points booking)

Should I be prepared for check-in? It's likely that the front desk has never seen a one-night booking before.

Also, the booking has the following policy written, and remains unchanged after the customer service removed 2 nights.

I'm puzzled as to what you're asking. You admit that you know you're doing something that isn't allowed at this property.

If you're asking for opinions on what will happen when you check-in, those opinions will be complete speculation because (I assume) no one here at FlyerTalk will have ever been in this exact situation.

All that matters is what the hotel will do. That action will depend their policies. The only way to know what that might be would be to contact the hotel.

I don't know what the property would do, but I wouldn't be surprised if they simply cancel your reservation when they realize it doesn't meet their minimum stay policy. I suggest you have alternative accommodations in mind before purchasing airfare or other non-refundable expenses ...

One of four things will happen:

1. The fraud works and nobody notices.
2. The fraud does not work and the property simply cancels your reservation.
3. The fraud does not work and the property collects the full amount due at check-in.
4. The fraud appears to work, but is found out during your stay, at which point the property simply bills your credit card as per your contract.

I don't think anybody can tell you what's going to happen as it depends on who is looking at the reservation and whether they know/care.

Hotel sales/inventory department instituted a minimum stay. They may/may not be reviewing future bookings.

Front desk personnel who checks you in may/may not be aware of minimum stay and/or they may/may not care what sales has instituted.

What another property does in this scenario may/may not be what this property will do.

I’d say the most likely scenarios would be -

A) You are charged the 2 Night Deposit that was based on your original booking.

B) You stay 1 Night and depart with no issues.

The hotel may view is as a one off glitch booking and not care much, despite you circumventing their policy.

How is this different than booking a non-pay your way award (a la Andaz Maui) and cutting down the nights to fit one’s schedule? If the system registers it as a booked reservation once the reservation is trimmed, it should be a valid booking. Not sure where the fraud is.

Fraud - wrongful deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

I’m not the one who said it was fraud, I’m just posting the definition for clarification.

Wire Fraud under 18 USC Section 1343:
"Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned "

1. Knows it's a 3-night minimum.
2. Books that rate & checks the box, e.g. promises to pay $X
3. Intends not to honor the contract at the time of the booking.
4. Obtains money, e.g., the value of the lower rate

How can it be fraud if Hyatt reduces the nights for OP? Plenty of example where Hyatt said they couldn't do it. In this case they reduced the night per OP's request. The burden here is on Hyatt to enforce their t&c, not on OP to know if 1 night is allowed or not.

I would agree it's fraud if somehow OP finds a way to unilaterally reduce his/her stay from 3 to 1 night, like hacking Hyatt's IT system or something.

this will only apply if Hyatt wasn’t in on it but Hyatt changed the reservation to a one-nighter.

Why do you want to try and 'trick' a hotel into letting you stay when they don't want you making that stay? You think that hotel will treat you well if they actually let you stay? What if the person checking you in simply asks how you made the reservation for just one night, do you tell the truth of how you purposely manipulated the system or lie about it? Seems like you're making a one night hotel stay pretty complicated.

Fraud is committed at the time OP made the reservation intending what he called a "workaround." What happens later is irrelevant.

Bottom line here is that OP won't know the end result until after he has departed and an audit picks it up. The resolution won't be criminal, simply a charge to his card.

Intent to deceive is hardly the case in this situation. OP intended to book the 3 nights and change it to 1 night with the assistance of Hyatt/Twitter/the property. Hyatt could have said no.

Bottom line is the OP and Hyatt agreed on the one nighter after Hyatt changed it in the system. Both party consented to the change and highly doubt an “audit” will occur after the fact and I would fight the charge if it subsequently appeared.

I don't think fraud....OP was working toward an outcome that they, had no control over. OP asked and was apparently granted permission to do so. Hyatt decided to bend THEIR own rules. Reminds me of "Hello GA/Elite Rep/Red Coat....can you do me a solid?"