Dr. HFH

I have an upcoming trip to BKK, and have reserved Le Méridien at the special prepaid rate of THB3,000++. After reading this thread, went to Hyatt's web site and took a look at the BKK Hyatt. I've never stayed there, but have walked through the lobby. Quite a grand property, at least based on a lobby-to-lobby comparison with PA, WGS and SGS, and it certainly looks lovely on the website. Then I looked at the rates. SGS currently at 5,400++ for certain dates this month when I'll be there, Hyatt north of 7,000.

I'm quite new to SPG PLT (no stays since I arrived), and I understand from reading FT that I may get few suite upgrades. However, the extra $$$ is not worth moving my business to Hyatt, IMO.

scubadu

Based on a data point of exactly "one" at this point?

Regards

Vinodavid

I have 2 stays booked in LA/OC next week and have built in 16 spg carry over stays from the Q4 promotion. I thought about the Hyatt as well but finding a well priced, south of $150, was next to impossible with the exception of Garden Grove, blech.

peteropny

BKK is a bit of an anomaly. I'm pretty sure that the GH is owned by the Thai government (at least the predecessor Erawan Hotel in the same location was) and they may be a bit more bureaucratic in adjusting rates to "market". Also, in local Thai perception, the GH Erawan is much more prestigious than the PA, WGS, SGS, LM.

LM is located somewhat in an area that is less convenient both locationally and transportation wise except for the "red light" area

DH

I achieved both SPG Platinum and Hyatt Diamond last year and I drew same conclusion regarding clubs/lounges. My stays was limited to domestic properties and overall, Sheraton's lounges are not anywhere near RC/GC offerings. There are a few Westin Executive Lounges I enjoyed but not too many have lounges.

Like Beckles, I think SPG is a bit overrated too. Maybe I had too high expectation as I read about all those wonderful suite upgrades.

Anyway, there is no one program for everyone but so far I enjoy benefits offered by Hyatt most (lounges access/breakfast, free internet access).

My two cents.

jetsfan92588

Hyatt has so many things over spg. i would say the four things that spg does have over hyatt are as follows:
1. william and theytus in the flyertalk forum (the hyatt forum does have a gold passport concierge person but not nearly as active as william and theytus here) and an overall more active forum on flyertalk-just because there are more spg elites (although from what im reading here, all of that might change when the ft members from the spg forum begin to switch their loyalty).
2. 4 pm "guaranteed" late checkout (however as many know-it can be a pain to get some hotels to actually give you 4 pm checkout). hyatt hotels do offer 2pm late checkout but it isn't guaranteed, however from what i understand and in my experience, if the hotel isn't too busy the next day, they are absolutely happy to let diamonds checkout at 2pm (or even a little later)
3. the spg amex credit card-hyatt doesn't have a cc
4. the most obvious one- spg has more properties, but it looks like hyatt is working hard to change that

hyatt definitely makes up for those 4 with its consistency, with gold passport's helpfulness when a problem arises, and with the overall tone of the staff at hyatt hotels

rdchen

I think many FTers would rate less top-tier elite members & lack of brand CC as strengths rather than weaknesses

richk_30

I've been following this thread and found it to be fairly interesting discussion points related to both programs. I was wondering if someone with membership to both programs can comment on the amount of $ spent per program related to award nights. Both programs acrue different amount of points per $ spent, so it's not immediately clear on the comparison.

In other words, do you spend more or less money at Hyatt to earn an award night (say at the high end category hotel) vs. SPG?

Thanks

SanDiego1K

It's not a simple analysis. satori has spent some time discussing it in his blog.

richk_30

Thanks SanDiego1K... I knew it wasn't an apples to apples comparison. I'll take a look and see what satori has to say. Thanks for the link.

Jaimito Cartero

The BKK Hyatt can be had reasonably if you work for the right corporation.

Dr. HFH

I know, you're completely right -- one data point is hardly sufficient information from which to extrapolate. However, I don't travel all that much, and BKK is my most frequent destination, representing a substantial portion of my hotel nights each year. Remember I'm only making this determination for me, not anyone else.


It was my understanding that the land on which these hotels are built is most frequently owned by the royal family, the hotel itself by outside investors, and the management (Starwood, Hyatt, etc.) contracted for management purposes only. Four Seasons, for example, owns none of its properties (although it did in the past) and is now a management company only.


Indeed, I've heard about the location. I selected it because it is a brand new property, looks very trendy and cool (I'm a wanna-be ), and I got it for THB3,000++. For location, all I need is relatively close to the Skytrain.

Bonecrusher

I have started to spread my stays in recent months.
Starwood is struggling to realize whats happening out here...
IMHO SPG has fallen to #3 (behind Golden Circle and Gold Passport) but is well ahead of Marriott and Hilton.
The inconsistent delivery of the Starwood product, particularly for Elites, is damaging.

broadwayboy

+1.

I personally like the guaranteed benefits that Hyatt Diamond members receive (breakfast, internet, one category upgrade), as opposed to SPG's you-may-get-lucky perks. Even the supposedly guaranteed 4PM check out benefit can be a hit or miss, let alone the (subject to availability) upgrade to a suite.

And the SPG's 'subject-to-availability' clause has been abused by some properties as well.

HouFlyer

I am top tier in both programs. I prefer Hyatt in certain situations....the Park Hyatt in Chicago is wonderful to diamonds. The problem with Hyatt is they just don't have enough great properties. Most Hyatt Regency's are convention hotels. The Hyatt Places are painful to stay in when you are accumulating nights.

Some more plusses with Hyatt:

Award nights are easy to secure because they don't have a co-branded credit card that floods the market with points.

The FFN promotion that Hyatt has is imo the best promotion in the industry.