Sorry to hear you haven't had good CS from Hyatt. My experience is more in-line with shinbal. In my experience, Hyatt Customer Service is by far, the best of any travel or other service oriented company I use. No other else is even close. I've had one property GM I wasn't thrilled with, but never had a bad experience with Corporate level CS. As a Diamond member, is Diamond CS that much better than "regular" CS? Though in reading this board, my impression is that people are generally very happy with Hyatt CS.

With my travel patterns, Hyatt is also by far the best hotel program. Compare to colleagues with similar travel pattern that choose to concentrate on other hotel chains (Marriott and HH), I earn significantly more free nights at hotels than they do. FFN makes a huge difference, but that's just a lot of icing on the cake ... even without that, I still earn more free nights than they do at their chains. Obviously people with different travel patterns will have different results.

Remember Me? A few cents from a past loyal Hyatt guy
 

But they have in recent past:)
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Greetings All,

It’s nice to see posts that speak so positively about GP
Hyatt has run a pretty good program for many years and has IMO certainly deserved without question more mass consumer recognition for being one of the best in the past.

Let us not forget that Gold Passport has won Freddie Awards for Faster Free Nights and other such excellent promotions in the past.It has also taken in the past some years ago "Program of the Year" on the International front.
It takes a lot more then simply running a quality program or a good promotion or two annually.

With all that said as long as I have been observing the results since 2000 I have witnessed programs live and die many times by mere perception alone.
Right or wrong.

Hyatt IMO is going through its biggest transition and shake up with a multitude of change that has left concerns in the quality and consistency of Gold Passport benefits and its hotels depending upon where one travels. Hyatt Gold Passport must drive customers to its door as the "Program of Choice" for consumers and hotel owners globally.One cannot work without the other.
And they aren’t that far off course yet..despite my own personal viewpoints here

It would have been a very difficult year in particular to make such a significant breakthrough at the Freddie’s for Gold Passport.I had no such false expectation.Yet I have certainly held out hope in years past
Many faithful Hyatt customers still showed some fair Freddie voter support when you look at the numbers.

What would I personally suggest to Hyatt first before amending /changing anything in the program now or in the foreseeable future to create higher value? It would be that Hyatt corporate restore consumer relations/brand assurance as the number one most important factor in our guest relationships.And take problems seriously as they did brilliantly in years past.

It is something that most other hotel companies with the biggest names and programs have going for them over Hyatt presently today. That means that when it is important to a guest such as a hotel or program failure that Hyatt responds with a written apology and course of action of how they might improve things in the future. With or without a recovery effort.
It has become a problem for a number of loyal long time members I have been in contact with.

My eye is on Hyatt for the future. After all wasn’t this once called
“The little program that Could”? Perhaps make that should?
Time will tell all

............

I totally agree with your assessment of Marriott. I think the only reason they win is due to their much larger voter base. I can't remember the last time a Marriott promo came close to what Hyatt or spg had offered. There are so many disadvantges with the Marriott program I laugh when I hear someone swear by it. And that someone includes Freddie.

Here is what Marriott members think of Marriott latest program changes
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=668885&page=4

I agree with the thoughts of many which believe that the lack of locations which gain full stay credit/points is what limits Gold Passport. While I had FF cards since college, I remember my first two hotel programs were not Hyatt.

I had Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and SPG before I got Gold Passport in 2002 in part of FFN. I generally stay within 12-18 stays/year, but I should make Diamond this year. I just have GP and SPG now.
I am not really a stickler on T&C, I just want a room, but will leave a comment card and tell them of dangerous situations. July 4th weekend 2003 in Greenville when there were 8 year olds on treadmills unsupervised during a beauty pagent that weekend!
However, GP is an aquired taste, since locations are now expanding with the addition of HP and SS. Most of my friends only stay in Hyatts if I have a lower rate for GP or if I use FFN. Only one has joined, but he has stopped travelling. Thier poor website performance may also hinder its overall rankings with the Freddies.
Honestly, if a program/service does what I want then to do for me when I need it, I could are less about the awards they earn. They will consistently earn my dollars and respect.

this is Exactly why I feel that this whole ...... (freddies),is no different then the present season of American Idol. Not much of anything as the those who should be in contention arent. I said the same thing how is it that Qatar Airlines ends up with Feddies, while the really excellent Carriers that fly All Over the World dont.

I like Hyatt, but I chose Hilton as my hotel program of choice, because Hyatt doesn't have the availability I'd like. And, as opposed to Priority Club and Hilton, it doesn't have hotels on the lower end of the price scale.
I also find it easier to earn Hilton points-they have a credit card and partnerships with mypoints and erewards, and, formerly, cokerewards. Hyatt is much harder to earn points in.

As far as complaining that the Freddies weren't fair to the smaller companies, I think you should look at the success Frontier Air and Midwest Airlines had on the airline side of things to show that it's not the size that counts; it's the quality.

Doubtful - Frontier & Midwest even had a showing...

I would agree 100% and add

5. SPG properties


FFN should definitely have won a "best promotion award" (if there was one) as it tops any of the point bonus offers that everyone else uses. However, the fact that FFN now seems limited to 1x per year (as opposed to the former practice) with a fairly short redemption window makes it less useful to many of us compared with the frequent point promos offered by the competition. Also elimination of stay credit for priceline stays was (though understandable) a big minus for many of us. ;)

I am also not sure what Hyatt really does for lower level elites. With Hilton I always get a lounge access or a breakfast coupon and better treatment. IC always gives me a better room even at HIX properties. SPG treats everyone like dirt and simply seems to ride on the strength of its Amex card and no blackout dates.

Hyatt has some great properties and great employees, but it needs to figure out an inexpensive way to recognize the lower level elites. IC Ambassador would be a shining example to follow. :)

Until/if/when Hyatt ever offers an affinity credit card, it is a complete non-starter brand for me. I have't stayed in a Hyatt since the Grand Hyatt about ten years ago (the rooms were so tiny, even by NYC standards, I laughed and said "never again")...and now if a program doesn't offer an affinity credit card, its not even a consideration for me and my travels. Ifs the very first screen for me.

From reading some of these posts, looks like others have the same opinion.

Affinity card threads for Hyatt pop up constantly, and it's always very predictable. Travelers who do not stay very much at Hyatt's want a Hyatt credit card, and travelers who are already frequent Hyatt guests DO NOT want one (and that includes me).

I like Hyatt because I earn points that are worth something by staying at the hotels. At *wood it seems that the only way to earn enough points for a stay is through the credit card.

This is a very low level issue for me. I'm much more interested in what my experience is like while I'm staying at the hotels and booking stays, etc.

Completely agree. ^

richee, I agree...always seems to be a zero-sum game to the top-tier elites...they don't want to share the space w/ anyone.

I've never personally seen it this way, and could really care less how others earn their keep (tier). More power to them.

My point is simply that Hyatt is not even a starter for my hotel stays until they move into the 21st century in terms of what's expected...until then, they are a non-player for my dollars and it is no surpprise to me at all they don't rate in the freddys.

And I suspect many others, perhaps a silent large minority even, share the same view...and just avoid the brand. As I counsel my young college freshman about how to select a credit card, bank, investment adisor, and (yes) hotel chain, you can bet Hyatt is not getting a mention.

it takes focused effort these days to get to critical mass and accumulate enough points to get decent awards, and earning points merely through infrequent stays doesn't cut it...so to the extent that Hyatt doesn't offer an affinity card, they will not be considered in my household and I teach my kids the same analysis.

We both want what makes sense for us based on our travel patterns, and I can certainly understand your position.

If you have an opportunity to stay at a particular chain only a few times a year, you certainly would want to have a credit card to help accumulate enough points for worthwhile rewards.

I stay enough at Hyatt's, though, that it's certainly in my best interest for Hyatt not to have a credit card. There seems to be Hyatts for all the cities I frequent, and between stay credits, various bonuses and promotions, and FFN, I am earning points faster than I can redeem them. The past few years, I've been redeeming about a dozen nights a year, with most of them top tier properties, and my balance still keeps increasing each year. For example, in 2007, I've already had free nights at (or made reservations for and had points deducted for) Orange County (3 nights), GH Kauai (5), and PH Chicago (2), and my point balance is still higher now than at the start of the year. I don't think I can do this with any chain other than Hyatt. On top of that, I appreciate the way I am treated as a Diamond member at Hyatt at most properties. I continue to stay at Hyatt's every chance I get even when I pass the 25 stay threshold for Diamond requalification (though FFN is a good motivation for doing this, too).

I admit to being a greedy and selfish top tier Hyatt guest :p and certainly don't want to be competing for the inventory of free nights with those that stay only a few times a year, but earn boatloads of points via credit cards. If Hyatt introduces a credit card, and I'm not getting the same value for my stays that I feel I am getting now, I most likely will spread my stays around more instead of staying at a Hyatt every chance I get.