ZBigFam

Looking for your opinion on how the programs stack up against each other. I am currently HH and Hyatt Diamond and SPG gold. I typically travel for family vacations with some business travel.

I have enjoyed the Hyatt Diamond breakfast benefit, the 4 suite upgrades, the guaranteed club access etc.

Am looking to test the SPG plat waters by switching some of my travel and qualifying but wanted to get your perspectives.

Sorry I searched on Hyatt and read through lots of results but could find no definitive comparison, all i found was a marriott comparison.

cruiser9999

Biggest issue is Hyatt has way fewer hotels; at the same time the club lounge is much better (at least in the ones that we were in) with better menus and longer times for food service. As well, the club lounges seem to have snacks all day / evening and the staff there actually knows the guests. The room upgrades are fewer and not as elaborate but once again, all of the preceding is based on our stays and may not be true across the board.

azepine00

Based on my family travel:
Pros for Hyatt: confirmed dsu, lower point need for suites, family plan rates, consistent lounge/breakfast benefit
Pros for SPG: more properties (far more in certain regions), qual credit for multiple rooms, point suite upgrade on all rates (requiring lots of points though)

365RoadWarrior

I've been SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond and HHonors Diamond for 15 years each (+- 1 year). My motivations are probably different than most peoples, since I don't keep my points (they go to my employers), I don't care about suites (I travel alone, for work and only sleep in my rooms) and I don't go to resorts. I don't really do breakfast, since I'm strict vegetarian. I tend to stay in lower-end properties. And, though I'm on the road perpetually, I don't really travel for leisure: my last "day off" was 2007.
Your "mileage" will surely vary.

But I wouldn't leave Hyatt. I care mostly about the quality of the hotel/service, and how well I sleep, relax and exercise tonight. It's like I used to say about Southwest Airlines: I fly 16 segments and, as a reward, I get to fly on Southwest? Hyatt has been reliable for me. No, not perfect. And no, they aren't everywhere (though moving that direction).

SPG is still my second choice, but I feel more frequently disappointed with their hotels. The fitness centers are unreliable, and often open crappy hours. (5:00AM or 6:00AM opening time? I'm on my way to work by that time.) Four Points just doesn't have any real brand definition. (The "counter" to that is that all Hyatt Places are virtually identical.) Sheratons often get really run down before anyone considers a renovation.
The great thing about SPG is that they do have hotels where I need them (non-safari Africa, for instance). But what you find when you get there may surprise you. (I'm looking at you, Sheraton Djibouti.) Customer service - hotel-by-hotel and program-wide - I prefer Hyatt...Starwood Lurkers aside.

But, back to your question. Why are you thinking of leaving Hyatt? The grass is greener or some specific concern?

schley

365 you don't get to keep your points? sucks! What program is that? I didn't think that happened.

You are on the road so much and stay at lower end properties by choice or employer is giving you a per diem that is not cutting it? As much as I like to travel it is for leisure, not for work as I find it hard to stay in a routine to travel for work. My workouts go to crap, I fight the I'm on vacation let's to out to eat and explore urge and find myself wishing it was leisure I guess.

ZBigFam

Thanks for the detailed perspective. I have left Hilton long ago and am only qualifying for Diamond based on spend. I am actually very happy with Hyatt but was just looking at SPG as qualifying for Plat with SPG will be a bit cheaper for me on an annual basis. If the benefits were fairly comparable it would make sense although it does sound from your analysis that I would be slightly disappointed with SPG plat compared to Hyatt Diamond.

Resort travel for my family and I is important, we enjoyed the Hyatt Lost Pines earlier this year and are staying at the Manchester Grand in San Diego in the summer (not technically a resort I know). Given the fact that I have lots of little ones international travel doesn't appeal right now (although on a personal level it really does given the fact that i grew up in SEA and Europe - that will have to be pursued at a later time).

Appreciate your knowledgeable perspective.

neuron

Agree with most of 365warrior's comments. While Hyatt has a much smaller footprint, the treatment of Diamonds far exceeds my treatment as an SPG Platinum (3rd yr for both).

I think the Hyatt hotels are generally nicer, the HPs are nicer than the 4P for sure and I prefer the Andaz over Ws, PH over St Regis/Luxury Collection. My opportunity for complimentary upgrades at Hyatts have been more freq than SPG. I also like the fact they have partnered with MGM Resorts/mLife making earnings easier. If you go to Vegas this may be a big plus.

I don't count on SPG upgrades to better rooms or suites anymore. They may have a policy of upgrading Plats to the best room, but I often have to cite this and always get the "reserved for someone else" or "room not available" line. I have called SPG at times to clarify, but its not worth having to argue for a stated benefit.

Now some good stuff about SPG - more hotels in more cities. Their points are more valuable for redemption (like converting to airline miles with a 25% bonus at 20K). If you are a DL flyer, you may like their partnership. They do have a lifetime Gold and Platinum offering beginning at 250 nights and 5yrs of Elite status. Also, stays incl free nights making gold or Plat easier, not to mention the getting the SPG Amex card that already gives you 2 free stays and 5 nights. Finally, if you combine all your nights and are close to 50, you may consider whether its good to split the programs, or stay with SPG to get to 50 (and 10 free suite nights guaranteed).

CPRich

Not to pile on, but I agree with much of the above. I was Hyatt Diamond for 2 years when there was a property across the street from my project site. The benefits were great.

But the current closest Hyatt is 60 miles away, and I'm in a state capitol. It's a converted AmeriSuites - the nearest FS is 75+ miles. There's an FS Sheraton and 9 Marriott's within 15 miles. (trivia question - where am I?).

And this is multiple consecutive projects where that has been the case.

SPG won't match the benefits, but it's my #1 of the remaining programs, as Hyatt just doesn't work for me.

DC777Fan

I do disagree about PH vs StR, but I do agree with Andaz vs. W -- at least domestic W's.

How many PH's are there compared to StR/LC? There are, what, 30-40 PH in the whole world? StR has a similar number, probably, but there's tons of luxury collection hotels -- some of which in no way resemble a chain hotel at all, which can be nice in certain locations. Somehow staying at a Park Hyatt Santorini (or St. Regis, admittedly) just wouldn't feel right.

jibi

We typically take one or two major trips each year. Last year, it was Australia and New Zealand. This year it is Costa Rica and Europe (London, Paris, Venice, and Rome). We also have a few trips to New York each year and I've been heading to San Francisco for the last year or two on business. My motivation for becoming a Hyatt Diamond was the Park Hyatt Sydney. A quick Diamond challenge while on a business trip for two weeks was easy enough to obtain and it helped me get a taste of the Diamond experience with Hyatt.

For Hyatt, we have stayed at the Andaz 5th Avenue (New York), the Andaz WeHo (Los Angeles), the Park Hyatt Sydney, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and the Hyatt Atlanta Midtown. We have upcoming stays at the Andaz Papagayo (Costa Rica), the Hyatt Regency Savannah, the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, and the Andaz Savannah. The DSU awards have been amazing to use and are night and day from the SNA awards with SPG. The fact that you can use one at booking time rather than crossing your fingers is a HUGE benefit. The fact that you can use ONE award for a multi-night stay (up to a week) is just as huge. Even at the recent devalued redemption rates, you can still stay at some properties with Hyatt for less than half of what it would take on SPG (Park Hyatt Maldives @ 30,000 vs. W Retreat Maldives @ 90,000 is a good example).

If you could have the best of both worlds - SPG's availability and value, Hyatt's program and low redemption requirements - it would be perfect.

With that said, Hyatt has come in handy based on our travel in 2013 and 2014. However, we are planning to visit Greece in 2015 and Hyatt is absent in the locations we want to see. So for 2014, I will be retaining SPG Platinum instead of doing both (unless I will meet SPG Plat50 and have extra nights to spare at Hyatt properties, which is doubtful).

EuropeanPete

I only have two years of each (started with Hyatt, then moved to SPG), and I'd agree with this.

Having said that, I would say that in most hotel's SPG's treatment of Plats is generally pretty good - I have relatively few complaints.

MSPeconomist

While I don't travel with family, I have several years as both SPG Plat50 and Hyatt Diamond, plus one miserable year as PlatMinus with almost no Starwood upgrades.

For me, a big advantage to SPG is that you can use SNAs or get free Plat upgrades even on nights paid with points or free certs. These also count for night and stay credit.

Hyatt doesn't count free (points or certs) nights toward elite status. I think that their new version of points and cash do count; at least Diamond suite upgrades can be used on these (but certainly not on free stays) as well as most AAA rates etc. Using points for a suite upgrade requires close to a rack rate.

For either SPG or Hyatt suite upgrades, you must check that you will be upgraded into a genuine suite and not just a junior suite, which can mean a slightly larger room with a sitting area.

Hyatt treats me very well; with SPG, it's been mixed. For me, a huge difference is having a wonderful Private Line Agent from SPG (although that program is being cut back), versus not being able to even get my own Plat Concierge from SPG or find someone that I would like to regularly work with on an informal basis. When the Abassador program expanded, it seemed to me that the quality of Plat Concierge service declined. (I had some dreadful experiences, even with Plat Concierge supervisors, both of whom didn't seem to even know the basic SPG program rules.)

azepine00

One additional note - spg's SNA are near useless for family stay. I can not wait until 5 days before stay to confirm upgrade when vacationing with family. A suite in that case is a necessity not luxury.

schley

true but you can upgrade with points or just book outright suite with 2x's the number of points for a free night.

pockyflyer

Have you tried the Platinum challenge with SPG? That's how I got in initially. From memory I believe it requires 20 nights (vs. 50) in a 3 month period.