It’s not just the latest lucrative quarterly promotion that has me singing praises for Hyatt: it is the consistently superior experience I enjoy as a guest.
Why Hyatt Earns My Loyalty
I shared about how Marriott needlessly antagonizes its valuable elite members but Hilton is not far behind by whittling away benefits that really bring into question the value of elite status.
Of course it goes beyond free breakfast or suite upgrades. The heart of the matter is that loyalty is a two-way street and guests have a perfectly reasonable expectation of a consistent and positive experience across hotels in a chain’s portfolio, whether corporate owned or franchise.
Naturally, I have my favorite hotels in the Hyatt chain and some hotels outshine others. Nevertheless, the point I want to make here is how thankful I am for the consistency of the Hyatt brand.
There has not been a single occasion this year where a Hyatt property was still selling standard suites on its website, but I did not receive an upgrade. Contrast that to Marriott, where we frequently hear of upgrades denied despite apparent availability.
With Hyatt, at least in my experience, you simply don’t have to worry about that.
And breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. As a Globalist member, I can actually eat a full breakfast and not worry about whether I will be charged for it or not. The whole amount is removed…it’s that simple. No “enjoy a banana and coffee on us” or “credit” that is not even sufficient to cover a main course.
Sooner or later, new peak- and off-peak pricing will kick in. I don’t like it and a lucrative third quarter promotion (trip points on all stays over two nights) does not make this devaluation any less painful. But it has been clearly communicated, delayed for over a year, and Hyatt is hardly exempt from the reality that points are a depreciating asset.
It’s all transparency and with few exceptions, Hyatt has shined in being transparent about negative changes to the program.
But the bottom line is this: I feel valued as a frequent guest at Hyatt, which makes me want to spend more money with Hyatt.
CONCLUSION
These are relatively small things, but greatly impact a stay. While I fully expect customer services lapses and poor stays to occur at some point, which are statistically bound to happen, I am a very happy World of Hyatt loyalist right now and greatly appreciate Hyatt’s growing footprint in the cities around the globe where I choose to work and relax.
To my fellow World of Hyatt members: we should be thankful. The grass is brown, not green, on the other side. We must continue to hold Hyatt accountable, but let’s recognize how well Hyatt takes care of its guests compared to other chains.
And I’m not even hawking a Hyatt credit card here…
What has your experience been with Hyatt loyalty?
image: Hyatt (Park Hyatt Paris)
Part of the reason Hyatt needs to be more generous is that it lacks the footprint of Marriott and Hilton.
Exactly. Hard to still with Hyatt given their limited options
~70% of Marriott (and likely a similar amount for Hilton) is limited service.
If you don’t need those (or actively avoid them as I do) – the comparison is a lot more apples-to-apples in terms of property count.
Hyatt all the way!
Well, sure, but sometimes you need to be in a place that doesn’t have full service hotels. In those cases, the odds of there being a Marriott property are much higher than there being a Hyatt property.
Hyatt’s fine, but I’m LOL/24 so no Hyatt card for me, and I can’t reasonably get to Globalist with my travel patterns (I end up at fake Explorist with Mlife tick-tock back and forth status matches).
I will say I got upgrades at Hyatt Houses this year from base rooms to studios, and the promos are solid. I feel valued as a fake Explorist. 😉
I’m likely to be a Marriott Platinum for 2021/2022 and Hilton Diamond through various credit cards and promotions, which will be nice. I don’t end up at Ventana Big Sur:Park Hyatt Maldives/ultra high end stuff so I probably am missing out on things Globalist value. I also often can’t make ANY chain be best value for my travel, so I hold Hotels.com Silver status…
Hyatt loyalists always seem so desperate to let us to know how much better Hyatt is — until anyone tries to find a Hyatt hotel where they need one and reality bites.
Hyatt elite perks don’t do much when there isn’t a full service Hyatt option within 100 miles of where we need to be.
We’re delighted that you like Hyatt — and can find them. We need more hotels, and Hyatt doesn’t offer that.
Echoing Bill here. While I am happy for all those Hyatt loyalists who swear by the chain, it simply lacks the footprint that many of us need. Marriott has done well by me (I really do feel like I’m the odd man out here with all the griping). I have noticed that various independent hotels (Autograph Collection especially) are notoriously poor at recognizing Bonvoy status – to the point of near-sneering at it. That said, legacy Starwood properties have been fantastic across the board, including Luxury Collection hotels, and so have many of standard Marriott branded hotels (Marriott, JW, Renaissance, AC).
While I’d love to switch to Hyatt and experience the awesome that is gushed daily, the lack of full service properties and general absence from much of the world makes them useless to me. Overseas, wherever Marriott hasn’t been around I’ve had surprisingly positive experiences with Accor-branded properties. While their loyalty program isn’t much to look at, I’ve found their properties universally centrally-located, stylish, and with pretty solid service.
TL;DR – I’ll stick with Marriott. If there isn’t a Marriott, I’ll look for an Accor property. If there isn’t one of those that work for me, then I’ll book an independent hotel. Hilton and IHG are non-existent in my world.
Well said Matthew
We are Hyatt loyalists too. We find Hyatts in the US can be less than stellar. But we have never been disappointed with our Hyatt stays in Mexico, Australia, Asia, or Europe. Most treat globalists – particularly return guests – incredibly well. We have had some absolutely fantastic upgrades. With their increasing footprint, we now more great properties to check out!
i’ve always had positive experiences with Hyatt, and i find their properties nicer than hiltons. Park Hyatts have always been nicer than Conrads, Hyatt Place nicer than hampton inn.
Matthew — Yes! After getting my laughter under control from “enjoy a banana and coffee on us,” I read on. You nailed it. If Hyatt can keep its fingers off the devaluation trigger, they have ABSOLUTELY the most guest friendly program.
Smaller footprint seems to be all the disbelievers (paid Marriott spokespeople?) can come up with. For those with the footprint concern: If that footprint is in the middle of your chest — hello, Hilton breakfast and Marriott in general — you need to look at IHG. They are everywhere, and are more than fair at those lovely motels alongside the interstate highway. For the best guest experience, consistently, Hyatt is the leader today.
@Bobby J the footprint is lacking for sure. However, having made Lifetime Platinum on Marriott, I have the fallback of Marriott when there isn’t a Hyatt property present.
I’ve been a SPG, then Marriott, then both member for years, but having experienced Globalist, the consistency and quality of the status is a cut above.
To me, Globalist + Platinum gets you a better deal than just having higher status on Marriott.
Love Hyatt. They are my favorite brand, outside of small-chains or non-points brands.
Hyatt and their hotel franchises approach the industry in a much more… committed way. Committed to a fulfilling experience; be-it a conference, beach resort, ski resort, or city hotel.
Their footprint is sufficient for most travel patterns, but there are still MSA’s with 300k+ population and no Hyatt. The benefits for globalists is a no brainer. I was pushing 120nts/yr+ at Hyatt, using Hyatt visa card for car rentals, food, gas – all at 2x earn. The points are just downright useful. Every property and their staff really do seem to go above and beyond. I would add 10 minutes to a commute to stay at a Hyatt. I moved 250k Chase UR to Hyatt for reward redemption just this week.
I share your angst with Marriott; a necessary evil in the travel industry. Marriott can have diamonds in the dirt, but overall a muted experience compared to what Hyatt does.on.a.daily.basis.
If this rabid loyalty doesn’t speak for something, then nothing does.
I echo previous comments re the Hyatt footprint. It’s not a global chain like Accor, Marriott and IHG. I could say I have had consistently positive experiences at NH Hotels and heartily recommend them, but my recommendation is no good for anyone who doesn’t visit the Iberian peninsula and/or major cities in Latin America.
I also second Bobby’s comment re Accor, they really have fantastic coverage, and, unlike Hilton and Hyatt, their pricing is always competitive with the local market. Paying €150 for a standard room at the Hilton and using your elite ststus to get complimentary breakfast and a chance at an upgrade is a pointless exercise when the junior suite at the Novotel is €120 including breakfast.
I love Hyatt Houses and Hyatt in general and I do agree Hyatt’s footprint is small, especially when you live in Canada! However my favourite hotel breakfast is Accor’s Fairmont properties pre covid. Due to location Accor and Hilton have my loyalty. Can’t wait to book a Fairmont Gold Room again!!!
I’m new to both the Hyatt brand and Globalist status. I’ve been a Hilton Diamond for years but I’ve read quite a few reviews similar to yours regarding the prestige of Hyatt. Twice this year I’ve stayed at properties and was told suite upgrades were not available and both instances there were suites available for sale online. Isolated instances? Bad luck? Any advice to improve my chances of receiving suite upgrades in the future?
I personally think World of Hyatt is the best loyalty program. I can only remember having to stay at a non-Hyatt (unless I’m feelin spendy and decide to stay at a Peninsula) once or twice since I have been an explorist or now globalist. And, Hyatt has continued to add a ton of properties to their portfolio… so I don’t understand the “footprint” argument. It’s like saying, this airline doesn’t fly to every single city in the world, so I don’t like it.”
Hopefully someday you naysayers will see the light.
Hyatt Centric Honolulu is offering…. zilch for breakfast currently. Hope it changes soon.
I have stayed 200 nights a year in Marriott properties (mainly Renaissance, Meridien, Westin and Sheraton) and I have always received an upgrade to a Junior suite minimum.
Granted my stays are only in Central Europe, Turkey and Asia.
It looks like Elite treatments is terrible only in US properties. Am I right?
And in Greece, apparently (ask Ben!)
Marriott has started selling timeshares. that alone tells you what a shitty company they are.
@Peter: And what do you call the Hyatt Residence Club? They use “timeshares” in their own description on the website. So does Matthew now redefine Hyatt by the same derogatory description as you use for Marriott?
They have been selling them for decades. As timeshares go thru are a decent product. You may have even stayed in one.
Last time I had comped Hyatt status, I think from United Chase, I finally was going to Sao Paulo where I had cause to stay with them.
Except the hotel was on the wrong side of a gridlock riddled town. So I stayed near the office. Footprint is everything
I agree that Hyatt consistently honors and gives its elite members free breakfasts and upgrades. With over 100 nights this year I have actual experience at getting my benefits. I recently stayed at a Marriott in Chicago, Roby, and they openly agreed that my titanium elite member got me nothing. Non guests scheduled parties on the roof top and on the pool deck so we could not use. Marriott is pretty worthless with no consistent free breakfast. Thank you Hyatt.