It’s that time of year…the annual hotel mattress run for procrastinators. This year, I am one of them!
I had to laugh. I’m in Long Beach, CA for a couple days because I’m two stays short of my Hyatt Diamond re-qualification and there happens to be two Hyatt hotels across the street from each other here.
Last night I arrived at the hotel (with wife and kid) and chuckled as I overhead the check-in conversations at the desks on either side of me. The guy on my left had his wife and kids with him and was staying for one night. He was on a $126 AAA rate with half-priced parking. The guy on my right was alone and also staying one night. He admitted to the agent checking him in that he was just trying to re-qulify for Diamond status and lived nearby. He also had booked the $126 AAA rate.
My story? One night. LA resident. Yep, the AAA rate too.
We were all assigned rooms on the club floor. Not long after, we all ran into each other in the club. There were others like us.
I harbor mixed feelings about the new World of Hyatt program. I think rewarding discretionary customers on the margins like me who still have to go through great lengths to get 25 stays and are willing to go out of their way (trust me I do) to stay at Hyatt is good business sense. At the same time, I understand why Hyatt decided differently and greatly respect that the top-tier elite benefits have truly been enhanced.
The change is liberating — even tomorrow I dread packing up and changing hotels. With nights-only qualification coming in March, my average length of stay will increase.
Any of you mattress running this week? If so, keep an eye out for your fellow mattress runners!
Just booked a 1-night stay at a relatively cheap SPG property 3 miles from my house to re qualify for status. If mattress runners didn’t tell the front desk what they are up to, they might make some faulty assumptions.
Would have loved to hear you explain to Heidi why you needed to book a vacation in Long Beach lol
Congrats on the new blog.