777 global mile hound

Thought this was a very interesting blog post and I believe definitely of interest to our Hyatt Community

https://viewfromthewing.com/hyatts-c...ing-the-point/

Schnit

He is not wrong, in a general sense. Most people I know, who dont get tons of points through work and/or cards, only travel 1-2 times a year. Therefore they want the best bang for their buck, they consider hotel points useless.

notquiteaff

“With roughly half of Hyatt’s business likely to come this year from leisure travelers, the company encourages guests to sign up for its loyalty program less for the points and more for perks, such as access to discounts on stays, “curated meditations” to help them relax, the ability to stream content from their favorite streaming services via Hyatt’s TVs”

Yeah, curated meditations are not driving any business from this leisure traveler

And streaming content to the TV is becoming more and more common at other chains, too. Sometimes I use it, but as a leisure traveler I try to not spend a ton of time in my hotel room watching TV…

777 global mile hound

This year I celebrate 50 years with Hyatt
Long before a Hyatt program existed or I became one of the many Lifetime Globalists.
So I'm no spring chicken at hotels or guest loyalty programs after thousands of nights.
There is no guessing what a guest needs.
To my own thinking hotels are generally commoditized products no matter respectfully what
any CEO may have to say for the most part.
Sure its every company's dream to have an exclusive premium stand alone product/experience
be it an I phone, Tesla,Mercedes etc
There are some absolute exceptions where a true premium experience prevails but I would say that
is more rarely the case in hotels.
As brands more and more seem the same convention hotel vs boutique hotel vs resort etc.
It is still about the program and did I say oh baby the points!! As important the value of that currency.

Without the brilliant former Gold Passport Program when I started back in 1994 and its exceptional value
and outstanding customer service
there would have never been the hundreds of thousands of dollars of spending in the decades going forward.
There is still much to be thankful with World Of Hyatt despite the bloodbath devaluation but its also lost a ton of steam
in creativity and value since Jeff Zidell's departure.
Its also disturbing that Hyatt hired some well known executive alumnis from the former SPG/Starwood era.
These folks performed brilliantly during the SPG days creating new program world class standards but have somehow
sputtered under the World of Hyatt corporate umbrella.
To be fair to these folks there may be other internal financial pressures that may have prevented
them from performing at their best with their ongoing Hyatt tenure.
Have always admired them and enjoyed meeting them over the years at events.

Fast Forward I would be out the door in the morning looking at today's lack luster promotions,
massive devaluation/value prop and declining elite recognition
Then there is also cost cutting and select hotels gaming standard room availability and suite upgrade categories.
A double standard
If a guest were to behave in such a way defrauding Hyatt there account would be shut down immediately
Yet Hyatt allows these outliers to carry on as business as usual sadly.Year after year.
These properties are well known that fly the Hyatt flag by many here.

Make no mistake about it despite some my strong opinions I remain a fan of Hyatt many
Hyatt associates around the world.
Yes I expected more member excitement like the good old days.
But at the end of the day in order to run a great company or program you have to understand
the very needs of the customer you wish to cultivate relationships over the long run with
and meet those expectations reasonably.
Regardless of my age or that of my younger family members.
This nonsense that millennials/younger folks hate desks,beds,fresh air, club access etc is poppycock
Sorry to say they don't wish to hang from trees,want shrinking rooms or bunk beds and meals ready to eat
from army rations because they are younger
They too may want a sense of design style that differs from our generation but the basic needs
will likely never change in our lifetimes.
Hotels are teachers of how to live for our younger generation and they were life changing to my personal
and professional success.

A good hotel experience is always reasonably expected in a 3 star and more so expected to be defect free
in a 4 or 5 star even more so.
Not many of the lions share will stick around or return even with a boatload of points as a payoff for a lousy experience
if the elite recognition and or experience suffers routinely.
And action and true positive results will outshine any speak in or out of the corporate realm.
Otherwise we buy by price and location and order in Door Dash and skip the gobbly gook posing
as so called complimentary breakfast these days!The wow factor has been gone for years hate to break the news

antonius66

The actual skift article was an interesting read. 99% of everything that VFTW extrudes is just online waste disposal for clicks. Regarding Hoppy's specific remarks, yeah sure....experiences, no points...blah blah blah McKinsey C-suite consultant corporate empty doublespeak words for...more profit less customer focus. We get it. Keep telling us how we all actually want less benefits and higher prices and then "enhance" the program to add the things we just don't know we really want.

EuropeanPete

As an older Millennial, I like to think that I have some of the preferences of younger people. I would absolutely be turned on by an experiential focus from a loyalty scheme, but nobody has tried that since SPG had the creative welcome gifts, occasional points �games� and some incredible and truly unforgettable Moments experiences.

160 nights with Hyatt in the last 18 months. They do not offer �experiences� beyond using my app to be able to stream to the tv from my phone. By all means, serve me more experiences, but I doubt it can be done at scale nowadays, particularly in the US given the grim state of hotels there.

Visconti

I need a translation. What's a "curated meditation"?

MarkOK

I think there is certainly an element of truth to it.

My personal perception of value in the program is a bit more with the experience and perks as a Globalist (--awesome breakfasts, suite upgrades, early checkins/late checkouts, valet parking on award stays, customer service gestures (as a whole) (etc)), much of which I'd have a hard time justifying on my own dime most of the time because I don't mind suffering if it saves me money. I do get a lot of value in my points, but even there it's about happenchance opportunities to make my life marginally easier while getting some night credits for requal. It's not -- Let's go burn 200K points for a 5 night vacation at PHNY. It's more like "crap, we need to go to a funeral, I suppose we can burn 5000 pts by staying at the HP Topeka half-way there to break up the drive:, or "want to kick back and have another bottle of wine because it's Sunday Fun Day and we are in Tulsa? Might was well sleep it off at the HR Tulsa for 5000 pts, have a breakfast and drive home in the morning", or "Oh, you've found an antique lamp in KC we found on marketplace?, might as well go and we can just stay the weekend" or, we are supposed to spend Thanksgiving at sister-in-law's place up in Reno? Might was well have a quiet comfortable bed of our own and burn some points at HP Reno than to sleep in that mess of a house". Etc. (and, in all of the cases, like 95% of the time, I am getting more than 2 cents per Pt based on the cash rates). In the end, my true vacation properties are priced so high on points anyways that I often just pay cash and go during non-peak times when I can (and enjoy the suite, breakfasts, etc.). I suppose I am a counterbalance to the 'norm' of people using Cat1s-3s for work (and pts earning) and cats 5-8s for pts burning. But I think on a pure cash vs pts basis, there is more value there.

As for 'curated meditations', I am at a lost there. Have no idea.

And my perspective might be different because I am, and have always been, at least a 50% leisure traveler and a lot of my 'work trips' isn't exactly on 'other people's money' -- it's on grants and contracts that I secured and often I have 'room' and 'flexibility' to swing a good portion of those dollars towards salary for me instead of spending it on work travel. So, 'free points' as kickbacks from 'my employer' sending me on work travel isn't really the case for me -- all my travel is pretty discretionary and 'on the whole' I'm looking for a great stay.

Tonyr4

I too am a 100 night a year Hyatt member that has zero interest in using resources towards Hyatt find experiences. When you hear these words from the CEO we can all assume that further cuts are coming. The problem is everyone else is devaluing their programs too, so Hyatt stays at the best of the worst in the devaluation department. At a certain point though we'll all be better off being loyal to no one as the cuts keep coming.

flyjfk

I agree with the previous comments - what experiences are they talking about? as a 100+ nights at Hyatt in the last 12 months, there's been only one experience offered, and that was a NYE special for everyone - small boat tour around the Sydney Harbor at PH Sydney. The CEO must be living in his own bubble if he thinks Hyatt is giving unforgettable experiences to their loyal guests.

bbbb

Sounds like there is going to be another Hyatt director of loyalty retiring soon when people stop using the credit card.

777 global mile hound

Your post resonated with me as yes sadly Hyatt has become more common.
This direction seemed to all accelerate at the start of the pandemic
I'd be happy with hotels taking good care of their Globes and LT Globes.Of course some still do.

In Chicago home to corporate @ the Hyatt Regency O'hare (once a role model airport hotel and
still respectable just not what it once was)
Last few times breakfast consisted of no bottled water of any kind,no avocado,no fresh pastry or quality
baked items.Holiday INN Express level
no table service and no choice of cheese.
What are the choices? Its a choice of cheddar or cheddar
But I don't care for Cheddar take it or leave it sir thats all we have!

Thanks for the great experience you can keep my points for such a stellar experience
This is one of many examples of Hyatt in North America and then some server says sorry fruit isn't
included or water even if we had any.
2012-2019 Hyatt was far more on point with guest experience and bragging rights running a stellar
program that made you always want to come back for more

HaleiwaFlyer

Really depends on the consumer. Cash sensitive folks want points to redeem a semblance of luxury experience. Luxury travelers who have funds would like great experiences.

Even PH aren�t considered luxury accommodations anymore in the luxury hotel forum: so I don�t think Hyatt will deliver on their experiences since they are targeting the wrong demographics.

soy

Its where you give a LOT of money to a consultant who tells you what customers want, aka cost cutting hidden under a pile of marketing waffle
Back in the day, hoteliers would focus on excellent service and value, but clearly that is no way to run a hotel in 2023

gobaers

If he thinks he can turn Hyatt into the Four Seasons for true experiential luxury, he's going to have to hire more and better talent, and probably exert way more control over ownership groups. I don't see it ever happening, maybe if limited to the ultra luxury brands.