Matt4200

You’re both wrong again. Checking exactly what was asked -

Indy 500 weekend this is what pulls up -





There are 0 standard rooms available at the standard rate. The hotel is in fact sold out and the only availability is Globalist Guaranteed Availability, meaning they actually have to kick someone else out and re-accommodate them. Globalist Guaranteed availability is not the Standard rate.

Maybe you are both confusing this thinking that well as long as a standard room is available…

When the case must be a standard room must be available and bookable at the standard rate for an award stay to be bookable.

antonius66

I was not referring to this specific case in the sense that I did not verify if it was regular or guaranteed availability rooms they were talking about, and I just took the other poster at face value. Yeah GA does not count, but again, as I have said, under other normal cases like this that were not GA, I only am saying what I have seen and been told. Anyway, that is enough of this for me, I don't care enough to continue beyond this post. True or not, it is what I was told before and have seen it in practice. Does not really matter to me if it is not true or anyone believes it or doesn't etc. Just adding a datapoint for others to use as they see fit, since to me that is what FT is good for. I don't care about victory or being right, certainly not on some meaningless online message board.

Matt4200

Kind of important to check facts before agreeing with someone.

I’m happy to check properties and dates to verify if you have some though to support this as Hyatt Corporate even confirmed it would go against their terms even on special dates to have a standard room selling at the standard rate and not be bookable as an award stay.

dr58

Difficult to prove on your own, sure, but pretty easy to do with a helpful WOH rep on the phone. If you find a situation that doesn't seem right, just call them and ask them why the cash-bookable room isn't "standard" when it seems like it should be based on the property's website. The explanations can be laughable, but the reps have been helpful in the past with "standardizing" purportedly non-standard rooms. The best approach is to be inquisitive and not go in guns blazing.

apjules

EDIT: I understand this was not clear when i originally posted but these screenshots are from the dates I originally attempted to book and was unable to, not today. The standard rate rooms are no longer available for these dates.

I was purposefully cagey regarding the dates and hotel originally because I didn't want it to sell out but I did take some screenshots and you can see both standard room availability (sorry its a bit cut off) as well as no points availability.

No points available but standard room availability

Chat rep confirming this is the case and it's ok

Matt4200

Multiple issues with this -

1) The dates you posted are sold out completely.

2) This property hasn’t opened yet

3) Because this property hasn’t opened yet they haven’t had everything loaded in yet with Hyatt Corporate. I’ve checked extensively all the way to May 2023 (the latest bookable dates for any Hyatt property) and 0 dates have standard rooms bookable as award stays. So this disproves that it’s just for “special dates”.

4) After noting this I contacted Hyatt via Twitter and they confirmed that since the property hasn’t opened yet and won’t open until at least September (if that) award availability will get updated as the opening process occurs, which confirms point 3.

apjules

1) It is now sold out but at the time there were standard rate rooms bookable (per the chat screenshot and other even though it is cut off).

Considering statement 1, I dont believe the other items are relevant. If I can book a standard rate with cash on the Hyatt app, should I not be able to book a standard award?


Availability on the app/website may have changed since I originally looked. I understand it's a new hotel and they may be ironing out details but if a standard rate room is available but a points rate isn't, maybe they should (at minimum) clarify their blackout date terms, no?


Edit: the screenshots are not from today. They were from the date of the original post. You can no longer find standard rate rooms.

projectmaximus

I do believe that if any of us has any questions/issues, Matt would be more than happy to take it up with corporate as if it were his own booking. Thanks for that.

You said it twice and it seems you're misunderstanding. Not standard rates. But a standard room (I like to say base room to avoid this confusion) The standard rates you saw were probably for above base rooms cause few hotels sell base rooms for $900+.

An example of a base room would be a 1 Queen room. An example of a non-base room could be a 2 Queen room. Or a 1Q with a view. Or a 1Q deluxe that has an extra 20 sq ft. It's up to the hotel to decide and a lot of times the distinction is a bit...weak.

Matt4200

Hyatt has no blackout date policy please check their full program terms.

The other items posted are very relevant as their IT hasn’t updated yet to accommodate award bookings for standard rooms or even define what a standard rooms is at this property.

I see 2 room types that would be standard (1 Queen and 1 King) I do not believe that once the IT is updated that they 2 Queens will be a standard room as I’ve seen that at many properties.

Hyatt has even confirmed that this is the issue that the opening is so far out that their IT hasn’t updated it to allow these bookings, it again has nothing to do with a special event. If you can find a datapoint to refute what I am saying in addition to what Hyatt is saying by showing this property has a standard room available and bookable as an award stay any time at any date in the future I’d be happy to reconsider.

apjules

It's a moot point now because it's showing as sold out but I'm pretty sure when I looked, both room types that you mentioned were available at standard rates but not on points. This is why I submitted the original post. This particular weekend is the F1 COTA race which is why so many hotels are sold out and why prices are elevated. I could check other weekends but they're not particularly relevant to this scenario since it is a unique weekend.

I'm not trying to argue, just want to point out something I noticed that didn't seem right. If they are selling rooms but haven't determined which are and which are not standard rate so they don't make any points bookings available, that also seems sort of shady. It may not be purposeful but probably goes against the intent of the loyalty program.

Matt4200

As projectmaximus pointed out above I believe you’re confusing the terms standard room and standard rate.

I understand it’s a busy weekend, a very busy weekend, which is why those who are smart book ahead, the even smarter ones likely booked prior to the peak/off peak change since this would be within the range of dates allowed at that time at nearby properties like Thompson and the Driskoll. HC Austin shows 0 base rooms bookable as award stays on literally any date which confirms it’s not just this one weekend it’s that the IT just hasn’t been updated yet due to the projected opening being far away.

It doesn’t change Hyatt’s IT being slow moving, especially for new properties, and especially when many opening dates have been changed multiple times recently.

Anyone who’s been a Hyatt loyalist for years knows Hyatt’s IT needs a major overhaul.

projectmaximus

Did you take any screenshots of the actual rooms? Or just what you shared here. Cause what you've shown, as we pointed out, doesn't really say anything other than there were some very expensive rooms available.

Tino

I stand corrected. I was unaware that the "Globalist Guaranteed Rate" was the one being offered. I just signed out and tried again as an Average Joe (along with other properties that were giving me the same message) and now see that it is unavailable.

apjules

I had been checking regularly and prior to this date, this hotel was not bookable at all via the app at least for this date. When I checked, there were all room types available but no award availability. Either way, like I said, moot point now bc it's sold out. Maybe it is an IT issue, maybe the rep was correct, or maybe something else, we'll probably never know. I'll stay on the lookout for the same scenario in the future.

apjules

I wish I did but what I shared is all I saved. All room types appeared to be available because the hotel was not previously bookable. As of now it's a moot point because the hotel is now sold out, the issue was pretty unique, and cannot be duplicated anymore. The chat log is just suspicious because while agents sometimes don't know what they're talking about, she seemed to confirm my suspicions.