Tomorrow, Hyatt will introduce variable peak and off-peak pricing on awards. We’ll unpack those details on Live and Let’s Fly once we see how bad they are, but this is your last call to book under prevailing rates for stays in March 2022 and beyond. Sadly, I failed in my endeavor to lock in space next summer at one of my favorite resorts.
Last Call: Book Hyatt Stays Post March-2022 Before Devaluation
As you might have guessed, I am talking about the Ventana Big Sur, perhaps the greatest value in the World of Hyatt program at 30,000 points per night for a standard room. These rooms regularly retail for over $2,000/night and not only is the wooded venue with ocean views beautiful, but the amenities, food, and service are top-notch.
This is an adults-only, all-inclusive resort, making it more difficult considering I have two young children, but my wife and I greatly enjoyed the getaway here earlier this year.
> Read More: Ventana Big Sur, An Extraordinary Alila Resort By Hyatt Review
The good news is that I was able to book three nights for my parents here next autumn. The bad news is there was no space left for me in the summer or fall of 2022 when I went back to book a few hours later. This was certainly a case of you snooze, you loose. I’ll take one more look this evening, but I have resigned myself to paying the extra 5,000 points per night (still a very good deal).
I may book a couple nights at the Park Hyatt in Sydney, but no travel to Australia is currently planned. I’d love to visit Perth and stay at the Hyatt there, but it appears that even after much of Australia re-opens, Western Australia will remain closed.
With so much up in the air right now, I’m just not able to plan my travels for 2022 yet…and I know I’ll end up paying for it when it comes time to book a Hyatt next year. But if you are able to factor in travel now for next year, considering locking in your stays at lower rates today. Should your travel dates happen to fall in the off-peak period, Hyatt has announced it will automatically refund the difference in points.
CONCLUSION
I’m genuinely concerned that the new peak and off-peak pricing will be 360 days of peak pricing and five days of off-peak pricing at most properties. But we’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we? In the meantime, I’m glad my parents will get to experience the Ventana Big Sur…hopefully I will be able to return at some point, even if not for 30,000 points per night.
What have you booked before the devaluation?
I may very well eat my words but Hyatt has acted in a pretty honorable fashion over the whole Covid era and I don’t see them destroying the goodwill they’ve built by allowing hotels to charge peak rates for over 300 nights a year. Didn’t Hyatt say something about at least half the year being at standard pricing or something like that?
We’ll see tomorrow! BTW, was that you who just followed me on Instagram with those two adorable kids?
Not me, I’m afraid. I don’t think I have any children.
Oh okay. I know there are many Christians out there. But his first and business class pictures made me think it could be you.
Think it was said at least 1/2 the year will be Standard.
I too trust Hyatt to do the right thing…a nice change of pace from a pair of neutral-to-negative Marriott stays in the last week. Dumpster fire of a company and loyalty program. Happy to have 99% dumped them now.
“Peak” night pricing for 180 nights in a year? Wouldn’t shock me if that is the outcome at some properties within a year or two (if not immediately).
It doesn’t take much of a leap to conclude that Hyatt will make the properties’ historical or anticipated high-occupancy nights “peak” priced nights since that is the way Hyatt can limit its costs per point redeemed for award night stays at Hyatt-affiliated properties.
I am betting that Hyatt intends to go full on with the Delta SkyMiles approach to loyalty program customers: repeatedly decimate the value of the customer’s points while using elite status benefits as the glue to keep the customers on the hamster wheel.
@ Matthew — These exercises pretty much always turn out to be a waste of time.
I had no problem booking a 30K, four-night, weekday stay at the Ventana Big Sur for late Spring.
When?
Booked an award stay at Ventana Big Sur last month, was a fantastic resort property. Would definitely like to go there again (in a few years), but 2022 would be too soon. Like you, I’ll be most interested to see what periods/days peak pricing on awards is in effect.
I have no hope. I fully expect most aspirational properties will double overnight for redemptions.
At least I don’t pay resort fees or parking. And actually get a decent breakfast in most Hyatt properties. But the reality is that this is the new reality. The golden days are over with most airline and hotel redemptions. They have us hooked like crack addicts and just upping the cost.
Hyatt set the implementation date for this devaluation vehicle to be about as bad as it could be: so the roll-out excludes booking dates beyond Thanksgiving Day 2022 and sets up the 2022 travel recovery as an excuse to devalue the points even more as and when travel recovers.
The 2022 Sydney Marathon announced dates and I immediately booked the Park Hyatt over that weekend. Minimal walking distance “home” after the race finishes at the opera house!
Booked 2 days in Malta for 16k for the gap between arriving by ship and the start of the TCC International meeting I’m waitlisted on. If I don’t make the waitlist I can stay aboard ship and head to Barcelona after cancelling the reservation. Also booked weeks in Tokyo at very good Hyatt rates to coincide with a Sakura season cruise that has been rescheduled 4 times now over 3 cruise lines. I would expect those rate to rise and hope we do not have to reschedule a 5th time and face higher hotel rates.
Love Ventana! I recommend the “Falconry Experience” which will probably be an uncommon treat for anyone who isn’t a falconer. Here’s a recounting of my stay last year:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g240329-d143905-r766064076-Ventana_Big_Sur_An_Alila_Resort-Big_Sur_California.html