yerffej201

so it seems that even if standard rooms are available, they might not be bookable with points? seems to be the case for several hotels in Greece.

illico

Effectively this is exactly what happened to myself as well. I was looking at a hotel in Iceland and after contacting them via their support email they do not have any intention of uploading inventory (neither award nor paid) via the Hyatt or SLH websites for the rest of year. They were perfectly happy to redirect me to their own website however.

antonius66

Other than award use at certain properties, slh is pretty much useless. If you are paying through Hyatt for an slh property, you are almost invariably being ripped off. The value of points plus night credit is almost never worth the Hyatt booking premium for slh properties compared to other booking channels. You can always get slh properties so much cheaper for cash rates compared to Hyatt that you are almost always paying the cost of the hotel plus the cost of night credit plus the value of points and then some, which makes zero sense to do. Awards, sure sometimes, but cash? Haven't seen it worth it yet, even more so when you factor in the lack of benefits.

uppereastsider

I really wanted this partnership to work and expand Hyatt's footprint. Alas, I have now tried 2 times to use SLH and no success.

1) Tried to book my honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, booked a SLH resort using Hyatt points... then they left the Hyatt partnership but no one ever told me until I tried to book a room there and it wasn't showing up. My concierge didnt even know they left. Glad I checked...

2) Tried to rebook my honeymoon in Bequia, but even though the standard room was showing bookable, points never were available. Checked almost daily.

Tonyr4

The Mirror Lake Inn last summer was similarly priced whether I booked them directly, off the Hyatt site, or through Expedia. I stayed at the Mirror Lake Inn last August and was able to book a month before my trip via the Hyatt site, point bookings were not available so I paid the cash rate. I looked for any weekend this summer today and there is no availability at all on the Hyatt site or Expedia but you can book certain days directly. I think demand is so high that they don't need to sell through Expedia or Hyatt. I'm thankful to have booked a point stay there again for this summer back in February.

The other SLH property I stayed at was the Stein Eriksen Residences which amazingly I was able to book a points stay over President's weekend this year. (I probably booked that one 8 months in advance when travel was still very uncertain) This summer i noticed that it is cash stays only no points allowed and you can get a room through Hyatt or Expedia sites but it's $200 to $300 more expensive than booking direct. I guess it depends on how much you value points and night credits but hotels are definitely in the driver's seat this year when it comes to summer travel. Demand is extremely high.

escape4

I generally agree about the lack of value when paying cash via Hyatt, and you used the word "almost" twice so I think you have not said anything incorrect - in my experience cash bookings on Hyatt.com can make sense, but only when stars align:
- If it's a property which happens to have one of the lowest cash differential, Hyatt about 10% more expensive (instead of 30-50% more expensive)
- If there are are Hyatt promos at that time, for example triple points
- If you do not have status at SLH, or you do but do not expect to reach the required 12-night increment to earn the free night before expiration of your qualification year (making those extra SLH night credits worthless so not useful to book via SLH.com)
- If you need the extra Hyatt night credits otherwise you will not reach a significant and valuable milestone such as 60 needed for Globalist

AJDem

I just booked 4 nights using Hyatt points at Sailrock Resort, and the confirmation email states:

"Additional Tax, Fees and Service Charges:
SERVICE CHARGE: 10.000%
SALES TAX: 12.000%"

I thought Hyatt award redemptions included taxes and fees? Is that not the case for SLH redemptions?

Daftryan

Bequia? Might as well splurge and go to Mustique.

tomtaylor23

Anyone ever purchased directly from SLH website and still receive the Hyatt benefits? The hotel prices are around $70 cheaper direct than via Hyatt.

khabah

Hyatt is crystal clear about receiving benefits like points and status credit with SLH: you have to book through Hyatt via cash or points. If you book via SLH or any other channel, you won’t get zilch from Hyatt. Cash is always higher via Hyatt, but these are the rules of their game.

khabah

tomtaylor23

Thanks. Here's me hoping I could save a bit, but I guess not.

WasKnown

It is less “saving money when you book direct” and more “losing money when you book through Hyatt”. There are often cheaper ways to get the same benefits so you’re really paying for the points and EQNs. I don’t think it’s worth it but to each their own.

This is just another way for loyalty programs to sucker unsuspecting ”loyalists” into paying more money for a negligible return. The booking to hotel relationship here is basically at OTA-level lol (but it seems like they share more guest data and release inventory differently).

IMO, the people booking SLH through WoH are subsidizing the program for the rest of us. I can’t complain too much about that but I also can’t recommend anyone actually book this way in good faith unless there are very specific circumstances.

Daftryan

This is not true 100% of the time. I booked a 4 night stay at The Urso Hotel & Spa in Madrid through Hyatt and it was the same price as booking through SLH. Lovely hotel, I should add.

Same is also true of El Convento in Antigua, Guatemala. AMAZING hotel and I got all the Hyatt benefits at the same price.

WasKnown

Fair enough. I can only speak to my experience. If it’s the same rate, no reason not to book. If it’s not the same rate (or if you have access to corporate/special rates), it’s not worth it IMO.

scillyisles

My experience when trying to book SLH hotels through Hyatt.com is that there is often limited to no availability whereas if you go to the SLH website there is lots of availability. For example we spent a month in France in August and tried many times to book SLH hotels through Hyatt - no availability and yet those same hotels we booked through SLH. For example we spent 14 nights at the Tiara Miramar Beach Hotel on the French Riviera - no availability on Hyatt.com both then and none as far as I can see in the future. We booked direct with SLH and there was and is lots of availability.