Hyatt changed their loyalty program, Gold Passport to World of Hyatt, increasing their requirements for Globalists (top-tier elites) as much as 140%. They went too far and now their actions demonstrate that they know it. But is it a case of too little, too late?
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First Instance: Hyatt Relents on Globalist Requirements
There was a great amount of confusion when Hyatt Gold Passport changed their program to World of Hyatt and introduced new elite tiers and requirements. Soon after the announcement, there were a series of conditional exceptions by which a guest could qualify for Globalist status after uproar from elites. I detailed those here, but suffice to say they relented from a hard and fast rule to five exceptions all but one of which honored their prior obligations. They have gone further since, which I will discuss below.
Second Instance: Offering Abbreviated Challenges
Last year, many elites that struggled to achieve 60 nights to receive their upgrades or 55 to maintain status bristled when Hyatt offered a Globalist challenge requiring just 20 nights over a 90-day period (standard for status challenges across the industry). Previously, Hyatt had offered 12 nights in a 60-day period so while the challenge required more nights on average for the period it wasn’t wildly far off from what they had done before. The problem was that the Hyatt had taken such a hardline stance on what would qualify that letting outsiders in for 1/3rd of the qualification terms in the same year that loyal customers were told to pay up or beat it – didn’t sit well.
If Hyatt had too many top-tier elites under the previous terms and the goal was to limit some guests while pushing others to stay just a little more every year with the brand, then you shouldn’t need to get new elites in the program.
Third Instance: Award Nights Count
This year Hyatt added a new feature, award nights count toward earning status. This wasn’t the case before (points plus cash stays counted, full point redemption didn’t). It shows that they know not only that their program lacked a key feature of most competitors but also that there were too few elites that would have re-qualified without their vacation award nights in the mix.
Fourth Instance: Double Elite Credit For Andaz Stays
Last week Hyatt announced that in July and August all stays at Andaz properties (think W hotel sass but a little classier) would earn double elite-qualifying nights. I suggested this would happen in some form during the year as elites continue to fall away and commit to other brands who didn’t increase their requirements by 140%. (Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond guests could qualify at 25 stays or 50 nights in the old program, the new program requires 60 nights to qualify for the same status now called Globalist.) Take for example Hilton, their Diamond level (comparable) requires 30 stays or 60 nights but has a footprint more than 700% larger than Hyatt’s.
Andaz has very few properties within the Hyatt brand, just 18 to be exact, two of which are in Manhattan and one of which is not yet open. If not traveling to New York City there are just 15 open hotels – in the world – in which you can earn double elite stays. When I predicted that they would lower the requirements for earning by offering double elite credit nights, I had assumed they would make an effort in earnest. This promotion, while a beggar can’t be a chooser, is not a legitimate option for most travelers. Have plans to travel to the Hawaiian islands? You have one choice. Want to try out Andaz on a business trip to Hyatt’s hometown of Chicago – nope. In true business markets, just NYC offers a realistic option, even LA has a just a single hotel in West Hollywood which is not likely a place business people will have meetings.
Nonetheless, the promotion, while useless for most, achieves yet another way for some to reduce their requirement to Globalist status from a level clearly out of reach for most.
Fifth Instance: Credit Card Elite Night Earning
In perhaps what is Hyatt’s most ambitious promotion targeted at reducing the requirements for their elites, their new credit card (we don’t sell them, we don’t pitch them) they allow cardholders to reduce their requirements by five nights just for having the card. A re-qualifying Globalist reduces their requirement from 60 to 50 nights (55 is the requirement for re-qualification, 60 for new entrants) with the five-night reduction. Is it a coincidence that the old requirement was 50 nights (though stay qualification remains elusive) and the new requirement for returning Globalists with the credit card is back to 50 nights? This writer doesn’t think so. Rather, this is a clear admission that their new requirements were met with less business, not more.
The credit card also allows guests to buy their way to status, $5,000 charged to the card at a time. Each time the cardholder crosses $5,000 spent, two more elite-qualifying nights are earned further reducing the requirement. While this isn’t a bad way to hit status at a lower level, I am not personally interested in moving the majority of my spend from earning 1-3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar to a single Hyatt point. For example, if all of my spend on my Chase Sapphire Reserve was either dining or travel (most of it is) I would earn 15,000 UR points which I could transfer to a handful of airlines or directly to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio or 15,000 points. With Hyatt’s credit card I would earn just 5,000 which I can only spend with them and two elite-qualifying nights credited to my account.
Yes, this is better than nothing, but it’s hardly innovative. Consider for a moment the reduction received for having the card when compared with peers and previous offerings.
- The American Express SPG card gave cardholders (2) stay credits and (5) nights against a requirement that matched Hyatt’s previous requirement of 25 stays or 50 nights for Platinum status with the chain. The card ostensibly offered 8% of the year’s requirements on stays or 10% on nights (I assume because one cannot split a night credit and more than 10% would have been too much). The annual fee was $95, no free night.
- The Chase Marriott card offers 15 nights against a requirement of 75 nights for top-tier Platinum status or 20% of the requirements, though they are much higher. The chain is also the largest in the world and offers a free night with the card comparable to Hyatt’s.
- The Chase IHG card comes with Platinum status (mid-tier) but no reduction of requirements.
- The Hilton American Express cards come with Gold status (mid-tier) with no reduction of requirements but a spending path to Diamond status.
- Then the Chase Hyatt card comes into play with an offer of 8-9% reduction of requirements depending on whether you are a new or re-qualifying Globalist.
- The Barclaycard Aviator earns $3,000 EQDs at $25k in annual spending or $6,000 EQDs at $50,000 to reduce top-tier spending qualifications by 25-50% of the requirements.
- The Citi American Airlines Executive credit card earns a paltry 10,000 EQMs (innovative at the time but dated now) in exchange for $40,000 in spend.
In essence… this offer may be new to Hyatt but is in no way special.
They Just Don’t Get It
LiveAndLetsFly covers Hyatt an awful lot. All the writers here, Matthew, Carly and myself have loved the brand for a long time. Their suite upgrade policy, generous breakfast and (mostly) very nice hotels have endeared us to the brand. So how do you take three diehards and make them passive towards the brand? Tell them they are valued and then that they are not.
| Chain | Nights | Stays | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyatt | 60 | 60 | 667 |
| Hilton | 60 | 30 | 5,079 |
| Marriott/SPG | 75 | 75 | 5,974 |
| IHG - Intercontinental Hotels Group | 75 | 75 | 5,348 |
Visually represented, it’s a little clearer that the rest of the chains have similar or even higher requirements but more opportunity to stay in their properties. Hyatt has requirements of the big boys, just not the hotels required to make their top-tier obtainable.
Put simply (and visually) they have set the bar too high and are trying to walk it back without actually walking it back. Want to earn even faster? Spend 30 nights in any of our 17 Andaz properties! Want to buy your way to to-tier status, Hilton (with 5,000 properties) will do it for $100,000 spent on their credit card, Hyatt wants $140,000 on thier cards.
While Matthew has chosen to upgrade his card, Carly won’t – she’s not going to be close enough to status for it to make sense nor is the spend well incentivized. I may get the card to reduce my requirements and then again, maybe I won’t. I don’t have an opportunity coming up to earn faster at expensive Andaz properties and five fewer nights just doesn’t hold enough panache for me to grab another card.
Do you agree? Is Hyatt walking back their ramped up requirements piecemeal? Do you welcome it or loathe it?
So stupid. Just keep it at 60 nights. Bloggers seem clueless. Haven’t you yourself realized how diluted these programs get when they make it so easy. Seems like you want eveyone to copy each other ? Hyatt gives out much better benfits, it should be VERY difficult to earn top tier.
Absolutely. After experiencing Hilton diamond, spg/Marriott platinum and Hyatt globalist, Hyatt by far has the best top tier benefits. This group should not be diluted.
I agree with one of your points and cited as such: I don’t want the top-tier to become diluted. But your claim for which I don’t really see support is that Hyatt gives “much better” benefits. Free breakfast, upgrades at checkin based on availability, waived resort fees on award stays, free bottles of water in the room, expedited earning of points… SPG, Hyatt, and Hilton all share those same top-tier benefits. The only benefit for which you could be referring is their four confirmed suite night upgrades given per year, but wait, SPG offers that too for spending more nights with them.
Yet Hyatt requires the same amount of dedication (or perhaps as much as 50% fewer nights with Hilton qualification on stays) with a fraction of the properties and thus the ability to maintain the same level of loyalty.
Hyatt offers families free breakfast benefits, which the others do not by the terms. I’d rather book a Hyatt when it’s guaranteed when my wife and two kids get breakfast in the restaurant than wondering if I’m paying for my kids at the Marriott down the street (if prices are pretty close)
There are also unpublished benefit that you receive at a lot of Hyatt hotels like complimentary gifts etc. Most of the gifts I have received from Hyatt are far superior to the ones I get from other chains where I have top tier status. Additionally, you can’t really compare the Hyatt suite upgrades to SPG. SPG certificates are for one night each; Hyatt certificates are for 7 nights each. Much better for Globalists that want to stay in suites on extended vacations.
Just because their footprint is small doesn’t make their status unobtainable.
I liked the idea that fewer people were going to get globalist because it meant less crowded lounge, higher likelihood of getting upgraded, and a higher likelihood of using suite upgrades. I hate trying to go to some Marriott lounges because they are a like mad houses, crammed with tons of people.
I completely agree with the comments about concerns over dilution. Top tier status should be somewhat exclusive.
You’re correct that the SPG suite upgrades are for single days as opposed to seven nights, however, I rarely stay in a single hotel for seven days so in practice for me, it’s not really a 28-day benefit (four upgrades each valid for seven nights each) but you are correct in your point. I have also received unpublished benefits from Hilton and SPG, I believe that’s down to the hotel preference not necessarily an unpublished benefit.
I do disagree though that Hyatt Globalists are not leaving. They have disclosed as much in SEC investor calls and while I agree, fewer people in the lounge is a good thing, I am one of those people less likely to stay. It’s not that I don’t have enough elite qualifying nights (I will be close to 200 before the year is out), it’s that I can’t make them all Hyatt because they don’t have enough properties. If the requirement was lower I would book towards them and they would have a share of those 200 nights but as a result, I have stayed in Hyatts just 15 nights this year compared with over 100 elsewhere.
I would argue that they could make it even more exclusive if Globalist numbers are still too high, don’t offer double elite-qualifying nights, don’t offer challenges, don’t offer a credit card that instantly lowers the requirements and continues to as you spend more. With all of the aforementioned reasons I think it’s clear they don’t have the numbers where they want them to be, even if some Globalists find upgrades easier to secure and lounges emptier.
Well the resort fees are comped for all eligible stays, not just award stays for globalists.
I guess one’s own experience varies, but I feel like my complimentary upgrades, welcome benefits, etc is better from Hyatt than SPG.
And you continue to bring up the higher level of dedication required…that’s the whole point! If you agree that you don’t want the program diluted, then you can’t be against harder criteria.
They lost me for good. I stay at a MGM property a few times a year which keeps my points active, but done with Hyatt. I took my 125 nights and am splitting them betweeen Marriott and Hilton.
I never thought I could have given up on Hyatt but halfway through the year I need 40 nights to re-qualify, maybe I will and maybe I won’t, but they have become fourth tier for me. I already re-qualified for Hilton, SPG (and thus Marriott) and have just a few nights left for IHG Spire.
It’s just a step too far.
Ryan, it seems like you misread the article. Kyle is saying that Hyatt’s mistake was trying to copy other programs; look at how similar their requirements are to others. Yet with such a small footprint, it’s probably proving difficult to attract new travelers who provide dozens of nights of revenue; at the same time, many elites who had options found Hyatt’s better benefits not worth the higher cost.
The point of a rewards program is to increase revenue, and providing benefits is the means to the end not the end itself. But if the bloggers are so stupid for figuring that out and you’re so smart, why do you read them?
Vet&Banker, you literally said it better than I could. Thank you.
I just find it far too common that road warriors and travel hackers see benefits purely from their own standpoint (more free nights! Emptier lounges! Breakfast and suites and and and!) while not considering the company’s point of view. An empty lounge for us means a either too few loyalists or too much loss-leader space not generating revenue for Hyatt.
I have given up on all the chains. Was for a while Plat or equivalent with SPG, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt. This being through stays with Hyatt and SpG the others through offers. Hyatt being me fav. SPG was my last hold out, but this year I have nearly stayed with any of them. Have been selecting boutique hotels in better locations and AirBnB accommodation. Why hope for a suite upgrade when you can rent high end apartment for a fraction of the price. In the end if is want to stay on one of their nicer hotels (and I stayed in some grim ones to get the occasional nice one) I can just purchase it and still be financially better off. (Note: this being from someone who has their own company so Hotel costs come from the bottom line.)
I am still holding out hope that Hyatt just does an about face and reinstates status by stays even if they increase that level from 25 stays to 30 to put them on par with Hilton. It may be a false hope, but it remains there undying all the same.
Nice post, but I would suggest reworking on the graph a little bit. Why “Stays” are plotted the same way as “Properties” do ? Barely able to read it on the plot.
Danny, I do agree but was having trouble with the graph… if anyone wanted to supply a graph that better plots the information as I have attempted, I would gladly replace mine.
Thanks for your commentary on Hyatt. As a long time Diamond member and as Globalist for the past 2 years, I will end up a Discoverist for next year. I already have 142 hotel nights for this year and if my travel were limited to NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Hong Kong and Singapore, I would easily continue Hyatt Globalist status. It is so much easier to achieve Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire and SPG Platinum simply because of footprint. I ended up staying in more Marriotts and Starwood hotels to achieve the Platinum 75 level because there are so many more of those hotels in cities where Hyatts don’t exist. I love Hyatt hotels for all the same reasons you do yet I don’t see a reasonable way back or an incentive to remain Globalist.
I was a Hyatt Diamond for four years, primarily because of reading travel bloggers with their recommendations. They had the best top tier elite program, period. However the brainiacs at Hyatt who developed their new program (probably the same one’s who came up with the new tier names as well) killed it for me. I can see them wanting an even more aspirational tier level, but if that’s your goal, then don’t make next level such a dud. I went from 35 stays and 45 nights in 2017 (which was far more than qualifying for Diamond in previous years) to 4 nights total this year, and will unlikely stay in any of their properties the rest of this year. They’ve simply made the bar too high for me and my travel needs. And I’m guessing if the bean counters put that into their spreadsheets and analytic models, it will not be a good result.
What a well written and thoughtful article. Probably Kyle’s best work so far on this blog.
No Hyatt status for me but just enjoyed a nice stay at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. The service in the Grand Club Lounge was excellent.
I was a Hyatt Globalist and a Marriott Platinum. I also use the Chase Marriott card, which makes qualification for the higher status much easier and provides more help in achieving status than the new Hyatt card.
The qualification standards are one aspect of this discussion. The other aspect is the drop-off in benefits for not achieving the highest status. In this area, Hyatt falls dismally short. Breakfast goes away, room upgrades are very limited, club access is very difficult to get. Marriott drop-off is not significant. The point bonus percent drops. Hyatt treats someone who stays 10 nights almost the same as someone who stays 59 nights. That is very wrong. I have pulled back over 1/2 of my business given their draconian view of elite status. Their earnings report on July 31 will tell us how bad these changes have been for their business.
Correct, they don’t get it, not even vaguely/remotely. Even when they started to back-track ( in itself reflecting the lunacy of the initial changes), they ignored most of the world , as many places don’t have access to the Hyatt card. Then they offered the corporate deal, ignoring those who run their own businesses or pay for themselves. Now the crazy Andaz deal. So ill-considered. Who’s going to rush off for top-up stays at Andaz? There must be no more than 10 outside the USS.
I have 2 nights at Hyatt in 2018. That will be it for me, unless an award night is necessary. That follows 12 or 15 years as Diamond under the old program.
I love staying at Hyatt as a Globalist. What I find difficult to understand is why Hyatt isn’t putting more energy into getting top independent hotels with lower than desired occupancy levels to become Hyatt properties. This would seem like a win-win for both. I find it hard to believe that there’s not a single luxury hotel in Bora Bora that wouldn’t like to be part of the Hyatt chain. Likewise, I’m sure Hyatt knows where its footprint is lacking and I would think they have the resources simply to build more of their own properties (a la Andaz Maui) with possible plans to sell them to buyers who will keep them as Hyatts once the properties have proven themselves profitable.
I’d like to add to my last comment. I didn’t mean that Hyatt should build properties like the Andaz Maui– that hotel tries to pretend to be something it’s not (a luxury property to which people would readily return). Hopefully in this particular case, Hyatt may have learned what not to do in the future.
I am not a Hyatt Globalist. I have only stayed at the Andaz in Savannah in June of this year.
I can state, unequivocally, that our 2 night stay was not great. On the second night, our room was never cleaned. When I complained I was told housekeeping would come to our room. This was at approximately at 3:00 pm. When no one came after a long time, my husband and I got comfortable and decided to rest before going out to dinner. Housekeeping came after we fell asleep. We told housekeeping to come back later. They never did. When we came back from dinner, our room was still not cleaned. We had dirty towels and an unmade bed. When I complained, I was told clean towels were on their way. Needless to say, we did get our clean towels, but our room was never cleaned or our bed made up.
I will never stay at a Hyatt hotel again even though I joined their Loyalty program. I surely will not earn Globist points. Hyatt needs to have better management and make sure guests are treated with respect.
My husband spends M-F out of town for work all year long. Which means he racks up the points. It also means the last thing he wants to do is travel on his vacation. Thankfully once a year I WANT to go to a gaming convention in Seattle…so we go lol ..but its my one request.
Before 2016 he split time between Marriott and Hilton. Top tier for both. Marriott we used points for T.V.s etc We loved Hilton, and used points for the Seattle Con.. week. They treated us right. There was never a problem getting a room. When they said no blackout dates they meant it. As long as I made res before Con tickets went on sale their was also rooms for points avail. We were always upgraded. We stayed in Homewood suites. Breakfast was comp M-S and dinner/drinks M-Th. I do not have a negative to say about Hilton.
2016 hubby had a new contract and there was a Hyatt 5 min away ..vs Hilton 20 min. He knew he would reach top tier and he did.
2017 and now time to get that reservation for Con. When I called the res line for Globalist they said all rooms were booked for 2 days in the middle of my stay. I could not believe it. 8 months lead time. So I asked my Mom the travel agent. She called and they had over..well over 100 rooms available. As a globalist one perk is guaranteed room. So we had two pay over $1200 for those two nights in the middle. This year called even earlier. Same issue..but even fewer nights available in the middle of our stay
They are clearly blacking out dates. Or only making a few rooms available for globalist to use their points on.
A million + points and no where to use them. This is not the kind of membernthey should be driving away.
Yep..its back to Hilton for him..and me.Lol..personal globalist concierge…haha haha.
So surprised that no updates on this post re Hyatt’s latest acquisition. Bigger footprint on the way. I’m lucky in that this year it was going to be easy for me to qualify. Which I did in July.
Here’s how it might play out. 50% globalist drop off for the 2019 award year. Team figures this out by EO september 2018. They call McKinsey.
McKinsey comes in, blah blah blah and then in 2019, huge targeted win-back campaigns start getting tested. Attainment requirements drop. Bonus point campaigns. They’ll hire you or lucky or Leff to redesign the program and then it will game time again.
Meanwhile I will get more upgrades and suite upgrades will be easier to use, especially around Xmas 2019. It will be a great year, and then back to usual in 2020
@Gloyalist – Thanks for commenting, here are my thoughts.
There’s no update to the post for a few reasons. First, you have stated that it was a Hyatt acquisition, but that’s factually incorrect. Their loyalty program has partnered with Small Luxury Hotels of the World but the hotels were not acquired and will not be fully folded into the brand. Why does that matter? Some of the hotels will not be included in the program, it’s subject to their desire to participate. I also don’t find that it helps with one of the problems with Hyatt hotels which is due to their limited footprint – their rates in many cities are higher than comparable hotels. Adding SLH to the brand may or may not have a material impact on use.
Hyatt added a number of homestay properties that helped grow their footprint, but in fact, has had no impact on the brand because when their customers got to Hyatt.com to search for hotels in Barcelona, nothing comes up, not even their homestays. If SLH stays outside of Hyatt.com I can’t imagine how many customers will seek out SLH properties as an extension of Hyatt but purposefully outside of the website and the rest of the ecosystem.
I think that we will see some of those promotions, though I am not sure that McKinsey will be the team that does the win-back promos. It seems (as I outlined) the brand already realized it. For the record, there is a follow-up post to this where I clarify my hypocrisy, double down on the brand, and will compete with you for those suite nights in the near future.
“Put simply (and visually) they have set the bar too high and are trying to walk it back without actually walking it back”
Ok, so it’s now the end of 2018 and I stumbled across this article noting how Hyatt looked to be correcting itself back in July 2018.
Only now, Hyatt raised the Globalist requalification amount from 55 back up to 60 nights per year. The common gripe from Globalists is that we haven’t received anything to compensate for this raise.
Keep in mind that we’re ALREADY Globalists, so gradually earning perks that we’d receive anyway is not anything amazing. But raising requalification back up to 60 nights? Ha!
Hyatt needs to rethink their marketing strategy and get their act together.