Let’s be real. Is hotel management really going to police the breakfast room at Hyatt Place?
I’ve analyzed the changes coming to Hyatt Place properties in the USA. In addition to early check-in for elites and refreshed rooms, the complimentary breakfast benefit is changing.
Currently, all guests receive complimentary breakfast. The breakfast room, almost identical at every property, is open to all. There are no checks, there are no ropes, there are no lines: you just come when you want, as often as you want during the breakfast window.
That policy is changing. Breakfast will still be free for all World of Hyatt members, but only if you book directly through Hyatt…not a third-party site like Expedia or Hotels.com.
> Read More: Analyzing Three Recent Changes at Hyatt
Let’s set aside for one moment that hotels are going to have to deal with a lot of angry customers.
How are hotels realistically going to enforce the new breakfast restriction? Vouchers at check-in with an attendant to collect them? Hand stamps? Perhaps a list, like some hotels in Europe?
That’s all possible, but we’re talking about limited service properties. Hiring someone to patrol the breakfast room strikes me as highly unlikely.
Which makes me think…is Hyatt just trolling us?
Then again, maybe I’m just kidding myself that this policy will be loosely enforced. Many Hyatt Place properties are franchise-owned. Often the owners work the front desk. One night a fire alarm forced me out in the sub-zero temperatures at the Hyatt Place in Colorado Springs.
This malfunction was due to poor maintenance by the hotel…the owners were not keeping the pipes in order and one burst. No apologies were given, despite being outside for more than 30 minutes. I asked for compensation at check-out. 250 points on the condition that I “leave a positive review for us, because we need five goods for every bad one.” I’m not joking. These owners are penny-pinchers.
CONCLUSION
Call me cynical, but I don’t think Hyatt is going to spend more money ensuring a few people who are not entitled to free breakfast stay away if it costs more than the slop itself.
The Hyatt Place Colorado Springs is an ex-AmeriSuites. Those are always to be avoided.
I won’t be returning.
I would assume that the free wifi by booking with us thing has worked pretty well to drive people to use their own sites, right? If that works, then maybe the breakfast would as well. If that didn’t work, then this seems even harder to enforce and less likely to work.
Free Wi-fi is easier to enforce though. It takes a minimal amount of extra time at check-in to see if someone gets a code or not, or you can even fully automate the process with relatively little effort.
A decent size Hyatt Place will likely require another person on staff to enforce the entry in the morning. Some with a breakfast room may be able to easily do that, but larger locations that have the breakfast area is integrated into the lobby (thinking Hyatt Place Charleston for example) would have a much harder time doing any real enforcement, even with a dedicated employee.
I can see them asking people at check in that do not have breakfast included whether they would like to add it for a certain charge per night, but then not actually policing the breakfast room. There will probably be enough honest people vs. those who sneak in to make it worthwhile (either though people paying extra, or more bookings being driven to direct booking channels) to the property owners.
That’s probably the most likely result.
I’ve stayed at several Hyatt House/Hyatt Place properties where non-guests have dropped in for breakfast, They seem to be known by the front desk/management (probably work nearby) and appear to leave generous tips for the staff. All in all, a happy arrangement for everyone. So, yes, this new policy is likely to cause a lot of heartburn for if it is enforced. But I’m willing to bet it (largely) won’t be enforced on the local level.
That was exactly what I was going to say. I’ve seen people that were locals coming early morning in the hotel and were greeted by management and they grabbed a cup of coffee and a muffin while talking to them. Also, there were many times I went to my car to place my bag and came back to the property to have breakfast. How do they know I was a guest since the guy that checked me in the night before is no longer there in the morning? There is basically no control so I assume it will still be the case.
So if the breakfast rooms aren’t currently policed then does that mean someone could currently walk off the street and get a free breakfast?
Pretty much.
The easiest way to enforce the new restrictions would be to hand specially marked china and flatware at the front desk. Video cameras would record violators and charged a steep penalty on check out or county sheriffs called to arrest trespassers. Simple enough.;)
Did you accept the 250 points?
Yes.
Matthew why wouldn’t you call Hyatt Customer service and file a complaint
You most certainly deserve more than 250 points for the inconvenience
I know I should have. Too late now.