This piece requires some reader feedback to determine if there is a systemic problem with Gold Passport base point earnings or just my account posting incorrectly.

I have stayed at four different Hyatt Hotels in the past month. Looking over my account I notice that the base points posted for each hotel stay is slightly less than the expected 5 points per dollar awarded for base room rate I paid.  

My base points posted for my last four hotel stays are 4.85% less than what I calculate I should have received for the room rate I paid using the 5 base points per dollar earn rate for Hyatt Gold Passport.

I have questioned Hyatt Gold Passport about this issue twice. The response I received is the hotel is responsible for keying in the room rate used to calculate base points.

I can understand one hotel incorrectly keying in a room rate, but to have all four hotels I stayed at this past month incorrectly key in the room rate is highly unusual.

A discrepancy almost too small to detect with the naked eye

The difference in base points posted and what I estimate should have been posted is so small that it could easily go undetected. My account has been corrected after going through each hotel stay folio with a Gold Passport Diamond member customer service representative.

But I sure would like to know how widespread this issue is for Hyatt Gold Passport members. That is why I want you to check your accounts and provide some feedback.

Here are my actual numbers from my last four Hyatt hotel stays over the past month.

2,866 base points actually posted and I estimate 146 missing points for $602.80 in hotel rate base spend that should have earned 3,012 base points. I rounded down in all calculations and I am only considering the room rate before tax.

My account was short-changed 146 base points from 4 hotel stays on $602.80 in spend. Basically I was shorted $29 worth of base points which also affects my 30% Gold Passport elite bonus points by another 43 points. Missing 189 points after $600 in hotel spend is such a small discrepancy that I might have easily overlooked the difference.  

Overall, this is a 4.8% short-change in base points earned for my four hotel stays.

The reason I noticed the base points discrepancy is I did not receive 5,000 bonus points for two of my hotel stays booked with the Hyatt 5000GP rate for two-night stays in participating California hotels. The base points discrepancy caught my attention as I looked over the different hotel stay folios from the past month.

My real question for readers is “How widespread are these discrepancies between room rate paid and base points earned?”

15 Million Points would be a Big-Change Discrepancy

Multiply my short-changed account of 146 points on $602 in hotel spend by 100,000 Gold Passport members. Assume a nearly 5% shortfall in base points per person and you have a cumulative 15 million missing points from Gold Passport members’ accounts.

Now that would be a serious issue to be redressed for Hyatt Gold Passport members .

I am reminded of the movie “Office Space” where the software engineers who are about to be fired plant a virus in the computer system to siphon a fraction of a cent from each transaction and end up embezzling a large amount of money.

Please comment Hyatt Gold Passport members  so we can all see if base points short-changing is a common occurrence.

Is base points short-changing an anomaly specific to my Hyatt Gold Passport account or do others see a base points discrepancy with Hyatt Gold Passport earning on recent stays?

Hyatt Gold Passport has confirmed Diamond elite members may apply a 2010 Diamond suite certificate for a hotel booking made by February 28, 2011 for a future hotel stay later in 2011. The only catch is the Gold Passport Diamond elite member suite upgrade 2010 certificate is forfeited if the Hyatt reservation is cancelled after February 28, 2011.

This would have been a valuable piece of information for me in February 2010 when I let one Hyatt confirmed suite upgrade go unused. I would have booked a Hyatt Hotel for my March 2010 trip to Florida if I had realized I could apply my remaining 2009 Gold Passport suite upgrade that expired February 28, 2010 to a March 2010 hotel reservation.

Great news for those of us who still have Gold Passport Diamond elite confirmed suite upgrades available with just three months to go before the 2010 suite upgrade certificates expire. I have burned two of my four annual certificates in the past two weeks. Still one more in my account and now I know that I have a booking opportunity option for a future hotel stay upgrade if my remaining 2010 certificate has not been used by February 28, 2011.

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite membership requires 25 hotel stays or 50 hotel nights in a calendar year. Hyatt Gold passport has offered a stays count double promotion for part of every year for the past several years. We will see if 2011 follows suit.

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite benefits include four confirmed suite upgrade certificates annually.

Suite upgrade is valid on paid nights, for a maximum of 7 consecutive nights; excludes Hyatt Regency Kyoto, Hyatt Regency Paris-Madeleine, Park Hyatt Sydney, Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Summerfield Suites and Hyatt Vacation Club Resorts.

From Hyatt Gold Passport Terms & Conditions

• Diamond members will be issued four (4) suite upgrade awards, in their account, annually, defined as March 1st of the current year through the last day of February of the following year.
• Awards can be tracked through “My Promotional Awards” on goldpassport.com.
• A complimentary suite upgrade is valid on paid nights, for a maximum of 7 consecutive nights, at participating Hyatt hotels where suite accommodations are available.
• Suite upgrade awards must be redeemed at time of reservation.
• Member must call 800.400.2261 or their nearest worldwide reservation center to redeem upgrade award.
• Upgrade awards are not available at Hyatt Regency Kyoto, Hyatt Regency Paris-Madeleine, Park Hyatt Sydney and Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Summerfield Suites or Hyatt Vacation Club Resorts.
• Guest must pay an eligible rate.
• For purposes of this award, a suite provides for one-bedroom accommodations. Suite upgrade award is not valid toward Specialty, Premier, Presidential or Diplomatic Suites.
• Award is not transferable, negotiable or redeemable for cash or other substitutions.
• Credit will not be issued for unused upgrade awards.
• Guest is responsible for all charges exclusive of awards.
• There are limited numbers of suites available at each property.

Presidential Suite Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco

Hyatt Gold Passport has officially announced through FlyerTalk it will no longer offer status matches to Gold Passport Platinum and Diamond elite membership based on elite membership in other hotel loyalty programs.  In select cases an individual may receive an elite status trial offer at the discretion of a property’s sales department.

The folks at Hyatt Gold Passport have apparently decided that requiring loyalty members to earn Diamond status with 25 stays or 50 nights in a calendar year is a better business model after more than a full year of instant elite and fast-track offers in 2009-2010 (May 1- Aug 31, 2009), (Stays Count Double Oct 2009 – Jan 2010), (Feb-May 2010) even to Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond, and retention of Diamond elite for just 15 nights within 180 days of membership.

Perhaps the recent Frequent Traveler Awards Loyalty Leadership recognition for its Diamond-level, loyalty program industry-exclusive benefit of four confirmed suite upgrades annually gave a little more publicity to the high value of Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite membership benefits. Hyatt Gold Passport press release.

Converting your Starwood Preferred Guest $1,200 in hotel spend for 13 nights at Four Points hotels to Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond membership with four complimentary confirmed suite upgrades was perhaps a bit too generous.

The Hilton HHonors Diamond member who could upgrade her next business trip to London with an Andaz Hotel suite for 4 days and then a suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo for 7 nights on her first two Hyatt stays was perhaps leaving too much hotel spend unspent at Hyatt.

This change is not surprising for several reasons.

First is the comparable airline practice for status matching elites rarely applies to top tier matches. American Airlines Executive Platinum and United Mileage Plus 1K members receive complimentary international upgrade certificates annually. Airlines know these upgrade certificates are high value and are sometimes sold for cash. Airlines will status match you part way, but not all the way to top elite where you receive complimentary international upgrades to Business Class.

Secondly, Hyatt Gold Passport’s major competitor in the U.S. is likely Starwood Preferred Guest with a comparably major loyalty program and a bit more than twice as many hotel properties (around 1,050). Hyatt Gold Passport covers many major cities around the globe where SPG also has a presence.  Hyatt Gold Passport has blown away Starwood Preferred Guest over the past 18 months with generous benefits and high value promotions.

Personally, I know that the Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond benefit of complimentary breakfast has influenced my hotel choice in favor of a Hyatt rather than Starwood Hotel on a number of occasions since April 2009 when Gold Passport revamped its Diamond elite benefits.

I wonder how many frequent guests actually abandoned Starwood Hotels for Hyatt Hotels due to the generous Hyatt benefits?

The primary complaint about Hyatt Hotels is the small number of properties at fewer than 450 hotels worldwide. Business travelers want a major hotel loyalty program with widespread geographical properties. InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton and Marriott offer geographic flexibility. IHG has over 4,500 hotels, Hilton has over 3,600 and Marriott is close behind at around 3,400 hotels. Business travelers need a hotel loyalty program that will cover hotels in many places. 

The Hyatt Credit Card Effect

Another good reason to stop status matches is the current Hyatt credit card offer for two free nights with complimentary suite upgrade for Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members who become Hyatt Gold Passport Visa credit card members.

The Hyatt Crystal Ball

Hotels are predicting good increases in profits for 2011. Hotel stocks are on the rise. Analysts are currently saying BUY. Hyatt has big plans for New York City with several new properties scheduled to open in 2011 and 2012.

It will be interesting to see if Hyatt acquires another hotel brand before too long to bring its portfolio size in line with Starwood Hotels. High-end properties are in the works in many places like Amsterdam, Bermuda, and New York. Perhaps Hyatt’s strategy will be to remain focused on high-end hotels.

I do not lament the passing of Hyatt Gold Passport elite matches. Hyatt Gold Passport was overly generous since April 2009 in fast-tracking anyone who asked to join Gold Passport’s elite ranks.

Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum elite requires just 5 stays in a calendar year. Another unique feature of Hyatt Gold Passport are Platinum Extras certificates which provide additional benefit bonuses every 3^rd hotel stay as you stay your way to Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite.  Other hotel loyalty programs do not offer little extras to reward your mid-tier loyalty as you earn your way to the top.

Hyatt Gold Passport has ran Stays Count Double promotions for part of the year for the past several years. Keep your eyes open for a 2011 offer.

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite benefits link.

(Thanks to Lucky for posting about this change. I have looked over FlyerTalk many times this past week and the Hyatt thread title, “Hyatt Tier Matching Information“ never caught my attention as having this significant program information.)

Presidential Suite, Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Some people think I get free travel. The hotels and opportunities I get for discount rooms are the same opportunities open to any loyalty program member who plans with good travel strategies. I do not take complimentary rooms from hotels when I travel.

My goal is to show readers what is possible with hotel loyalty programs. Sometimes I probably get a nice upgrade due to being Loyalty Traveler, but the nice upgrades were a benefit I received as an elite hotel loyalty program member for many years prior to writing this blog.

Here is an example of how I stayed mostly in upper upscale and luxury hotels in Chicago for under $100 per night this past week even though a major Opthalmologist Convention was happening and filling many of the downtown Chicago hotels.

Holiday Inn Elk Grove (O’Hare Airport)

• Points & Cash = 0 points + $30
• Priority Club elite benefit = free Gatorade and chips from hotel pantry
• Published room rate = $109 or $122.08 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $30 + $5 maid tip = $35
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $87.08

Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village (O'Hare)

Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers

• SPG Cash & Points $60 + 4,000 points
• SPG Platinum benefits = 33^rd floor lounge access with evening snacks and sodas, morning lounge breakfast, free internet, SPG Platinum Welcome Amenity 500 points and late checkout
• Published Room Rate = $265 or $304.75 after tax.
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $69 + $5 maid tip = $74
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $230.75
• There is no cash equivalent value given for the 8,000 Starpoints used in Chicago since I earned 70,000 free Starpoints through this “My Midas Touch” promotion. There was also an option to buy SPG points at the rate of $145 per 10,000 points through DiscoverAmerica.com in May 2010. The cash equivalent value for 4,000 points would have been $58.

Room view from Sheraton Chicago

W Hotel Lakeshore

• SPG Cash & Points $60 + 4,000 points
• SPG Platinum benefits = Lakeview room, high floor, two free drinks at the Wave Bar, free internet, SPG Platinum Welcome Amenity 500 points and 4 pm checkout
• Published Room Rate = $309 or $355 after tax.
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $69 + $5 maid tip = $74
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $281

View of Navy Pier from W Hotel Whiskey Sky Bar (similar to my room view)

Crowne Plaza Hotel Avenue

• Priority Club 25,000 points award ( I purchased 25,000 points last May for $150 through DiscoverAmerica.com Priority Club discount offer).
• Priority Club elite benefits = 15% off breakfast buffetat 40^th floor lounge; free beer at Elephant & Castle pub; complimentary upgrade to Tech floor with Mac computer and free internet.
• Published Room Rate = $329 or $379.67 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $15 (Elephant & Castle pub meal) + $5 maid tip = $20
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $229.67

Chicago at sunset from 40th floor rooftop pool deck at Hotel Avenue Crowne Plaza

Park Hyatt Chicago

• Hyatt Gold Passport Category 6  award for 22,000 points ( I purchased 22,000 points last June for $206.25 through DiscoverAmerica.com Hyatt Gold Passport discount offer) (oops … I posted this a few minutes ago incorrectly stating I paid $123.75, so now my average is a little over $100 per night.)
• Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite benefits = complimentary breakfast at NoMI ($33 value for crab omelette); free internet; Diamond member welcome amenity of 1,000 points; preferred view room on top floor (18) of hotel facing historic Chicago Water Tower.
• Published Room Rate = $422.50 (AAA) or $487.56 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $5 maid tip
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $281.31

Breakfast at 7th floor NoMI Restaurant Park Hyatt Chicago

5 hotel nights in Chicago = $564.25 for Loyalty Traveler

Actual lowest published rates for these hotel rooms = $1,649.06

That is why I am a loyalty traveler.

Stay 5 nights at any Hyatt brand hotel worldwide between September 15 and December 15, 2010 and earn 10,000 bonus points. This is a good and straightforward deal. You can earn up to 180,000 bonus points from this offer if you spend every night in a Hyatt Hotel during the promotion period.

No double/triple points threshold of 10 nights like Starwood Preferred Guest. No ridiculous 30 Saturdays or 75 nights like some IHG Priority Club members received. No targeted Hilton HHonors Diamond member bonus that could be either a free night anywhere or just 25,000 bonus points after ten nights this fall. No exclusive credit card tie-in like the Marriott Rewards MegaBonus offers requiring Visa payment.

Hyatt Gold Passport Great10K registration is required.

ELIGIBILITY/HOW TO REGISTER: To participate in this Promotion, you must be a Hyatt Gold Passport member and register for this promotion. Current member registration begins August 24, 2010 by calling 1-800-228-3360 or you’re nearest Hyatt Worldwide Reservation Centre.

Current member online registration is available beginning September 15, 2010 by visiting goldpassport.com/welcome10K. New member enrollments between September 15, 2010 and December 15, 2010 will be automatically registered for the promotion.

Hyatt Gold Passport follows the Promotion Nights Trend

The Hyatt Great 10K promotion rewards nights rather than stays, following the pattern for most of the hotel loyalty program promotions running this fall.

The advantage of a promotion based on nights is you have the ability to fulfill the promotion requirements with extended stays. Technically an extended stay is defined as four or more nights according to some document I saw last week. Promotions counting nights like the Hyatt Great 10K allow you to go to Hawaii for five or seven nights and still earn 10,000 bonus points tacked on to your regular stay points and other bonuses.

Many Gold Passport members were hoping for another few months of Hyatt’s Stay two times and earn a free night promotion. Hyatt Gold Passport marketing probably felt the time was right for a cease and desist of the free night offer after having run the free night offer for more than 11 months of the past 24 months. I suspect Hyatt Gold Passport needs to save some promotion firepower in reserve for a good roll-out promotion with the new Hyatt Visa credit card coming this fall.

A free night after two stays offer encourages hotel hopping as a strategy to maximize the free nights bonus. Free nights is a good game for those of us with highly flexible hotel arrangements, yet leaves some of the more profitable customers with multi-night stays feeling a little cheated when the $3,000 week-long Hawaii vacation does not earn a single Hyatt free night while someone hopping around Hyatt Place hotels picks up three free nights to use anywhere in the world, even Hawaii, for under $500.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis of Hyatt Great 10K Promotion

10,000 points after five nights is an additional 2,000 bonus points per night on top of base points, ‘G’ bonuses and elite bonus points if applicable. The Great 10K can still earn quite a few bonus points even for the one-night stand kind of traveler.

Sample Hyatt Stay itinerary:

Sep 17 Grand Hyatt San Francisco $175.20 (G Bonus = 2,000 points)

Sep 18: Hyatt Regency Santa Clara $84.15 (G Bonus = 1,000 points)

Sep 21: Hyatt Vineyard Creek Santa Rosa $151.20 (G Bonus 1,500 points)

Oct 8-10: Hyatt Regency Chicago $592.20  (G Bonus 2,000 points)

$1,002.75 base rate for 5 Hyatt hotel nights 

(Remember this is just an example. I could have just as easily pieced together five nights for under $400 staying at Hyatt Place hotels.)

$1,002 x 5 points/$1 = 5,010 base points + 6,500 G bonus points + 10,000 Great 10K bonus points

21,510 Gold Passport points earned for five nights.

If you are elite, then you also receive 750 bonus points as a Platinum elite (15% base points) or 1,500 bonus points as a Diamond elite member (30% base points).

You should be an elite member of Hyatt Gold Passport unless you are new to the Hyatt Gold Passport program or you squandered your opportunity for maintaining complimentary elite status since Hyatt Gold passport gave free elite membership to anyone who asked from mid-2009 to May 2010. Five stays at Hyatt and you will receive Platinum elite and its benefit of complimentary internet.

Hyatt Gold Passport Hotel Reward Categories

Hyatt has the majority of its 400+ hotel properties in the lower half of the Gold Passport free night award hotel categories in Category 1 = 5,000 points; category 2 = 8,000 points; and category 3 = 12,000 points. The upper tier properties are category 4 = 15,000 points; category 5 = 18,000 points and category 6 = 22,000 points.

In the example itinerary above the elite Gold Passport member earns enough points in 5 nights for a free night at any Hyatt in the world.

Earning Miles with Hyatt’s Great 10K promotion

Hyatt Hotels extends its generosity by allowing Gold Passport members who want miles to double dip with the Great 10K points bonus. There are some high value miles promotions concurrently running with the Great 10K offer.

Gold Passport Concierge posted Great 10K promotion FAQ on FlyerTalk. It says members who are earning miles rather than points will still be eligible to earn the Great 10K bonus of 10,000 points after five nights. 

Great 10K offer is combinable with current airline miles bonus offers

Hyatt currently has high value bonus mile offers for at least ten airlines. There is the American Airlines 60,000 miles bonus for 3,000 miles each stay through October 15, 2010. There is also the 1,000 miles per night promotion running through September 30 with a choice of nine airlines. 

Choosing miles means you are not eligible for Gold Passport base points or G bonus points offers. Some G bonus offers are actually for double miles so be sure to check. Basically you get the registered promotion miles bonuses and the 10,000 Gold Passport points bonus after five nights.

In the California and Chicago itinerary shown above, the Gold Passport earning AA miles would receive these bonuses:

$1,002 spent on 4 Hyatt stays (AA promotion stays must be by October 15, 2010)

• 12,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles
• 10,000 Gold Passport points

or

$1,002 spent on 5 Hyatt nights with the 1,000 miles per night promotion (assume 5 nights for this promotion completed by Sep 30).

• 5,000 United Mileage Plus miles (or 5,000 miles in any other participating airline for 1,000 miles/night promotion through Sep 30)
• 10,000 Gold Passport points in Great 10K bonus

Hyatt Gold Passport’s Great 10K may not be as easy for some members to earn free nights as the Big Welcome Back promotion of spring 2010, but this is one of the best hotel loyalty promotions currently available for fall 2010. And if you actually need extended stays at Hyatt Hotels, then this is your opportunity to rack up more points than you could with the Big Welcome Back offer last spring for 5,000 points after every two stays.

Loyalty Traveler Post-Analysis:  

While many Gold Passport members were hoping for free nights and feel disappointment, there were eleven months in the past 24 months with the promotion for a free Hyatt hotel night after two stays. Hyatt was basically the only hotel loyalty program with a recurrent high value, low stay requirement free night offer open for general Gold Passport members these past two years.

The worst hotel recession since the Great Depression spawned free night offers across the spectrum of hotel loyalty programs for the past 16 months. These high value free night offers were an aberration in hotel loyalty program marketing in my ten plus years of following hotel loyalty programs. Hyatt Hotels is the standard-bearer in free night promotions and I suspect we will see another free night offer before too long.

Past Promotions for Hyatt Gold Passport Free Nights

Spring 2010 Big Welcome Back

Loyalty Traveler post, March 20, 2010

• Earn: March 26 – June 30 2010
• Redeem: April 1-Aug 31, 2010

Fall 2009 Hyatt Gold Passport Faster Free Nights Promotion and combined promotion offers

Loyalty Traveler promotion post , (Oct 1, 2009)

• Earn Oct 1, 2009 – Jan 31, 2010
• Redeem: March 31, but extended to April 30 general members, May 31 Platinum, June 30 for Diamond

Fall 2008 Faster Free Nights

Loyalty Traveler post, Aug 22, 2008

• Earn: Sep 1, 2008 – Dec 30, 2008;
• Redeem: Sep 15, 2008 – Feb 28, 2009

Hyatt Gold Passport has some high value bonus miles offers for stays this summer. The 1,000 airline frequent flyer bonus miles per night promotion is from June 15 through September 30 for these nine airlines:

Monday, July 19 Update – American Airlines AAdvantage is not a participating airline for the 1,000 bonus miles per night promotion according to this announcement from Friday, June 16. Apparently members who had signed up for AA did receive the additional AAdvantage 1,000 bonus miles retroactive for stays since June 15, however, Gold Passport members will not be allowed to sign up for the 1,000 AA miles per night for the remainder of the promotion period. There is still the 3,000 AA miles per stay through October 15, 2010 for up to 20 stays. (See below)

Registration Links for 1,000 Airline Bonus Miles per Night (there are slight variations in the promotion period dates for different airline partners)

• American Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways
• Southwest Airlines (1.0 bonus credit per night)
• Amtrak
• ANA – All Nippon Airways
• Japan Airlines
• Thai Airways
• Jet Airways
• Lufthansa Miles & More (July 1-October 1)

The bonus can be earned for up to 30 nights for 30,000 bonus miles during the promotion period. Bonus miles are in addition to the regular 500 miles per hotel stay. Southwest normally earns 0.5 credit per stay, so a 1-night stay will earn 1.5 credits.

You can also register for this promotion by phone and ask to enroll in TP30K2010 for your preferred airline program.

Gold Passport 30,000 Bonus Miles Promotion Source: Hyatt Gold Passport 1,000 miles per night announcement on FlyerTalk by Gold Passport Concierge on July 13, 2010.

Choosing miles excludes earning 5 Gold Passport points per $1 for hotel stays. You also do not earn G bonus point offers when choosing miles.

Diamond members still can receive 1,000 Diamond amenity points for a hotel stay when choosing miles (500 points for Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites). And even when choosing miles Gold Passport Diamond members are still eligible to receive bonus points Diamond benefit for a closed Regency Club (2,500 points) or bed preference unavailability (5,000 points).

Stackable Miles Bonus Hyatt Promotions for American Airlines and United Airlines

In addition to this offer there has been confirmation by Hyatt Passport Concierge that the 1,000 bonus miles per night may be combined with other concurrent promotions for American Airlines miles or United Airlines elite member mile bonus.

American Airlines 3,000 AAdvantage Miles per Hyatt Stay

Hyatt has a separate promotion for American Airlines to earn up to 60,000 AAdvantage miles for hotel stays from July 6 through October 15, 2010.

Gold Passport members choosing AAdvantage miles earn 2,500 bonus miles per stay in addition to the regular 500 miles per stay for a total 3,000 miles per stay for a maximum of 20 stays with this promotion.

Combine the two AA promotions and the Gold Passport member earns 3,000 miles per stay plus 1,000 miles per night through September 30. A one night stay earns 4,000 AAdvantage miles.

• 1-night stay = 4,000 AAdvantage miles
• 2-night stay = 5,000 AAdvantage miles
• 3-night stay = 6,000 AAdvantage miles
• 4-night stay = 7,000 AAdvantage miles

Hopefully you see the pattern here. One night stays are the way to max out this promotion offer at minimum cost.

There have been several postings on FlyerTalk in the past couple of days to clarify whether the 1,000 bonus miles per night promotion can be combined with the AAdvantage 2,500 bonus miles per stay promotion. Gold Passport Concierge confirmed these are stackable offers in this July 15 FlyerTalk post.

United Airlines

Mileage Plus elite members have had an offer for 2,000 bonus Mileage Plus miles per Hyatt brand hotel stay running all year from November 1, 2009 through January 31, 2011.

Gold Passport Concierge posted on FlyerTalk the new promotion may be combined with the older promotion for UA elites.

• 1-night stay = 3,500 Mileage Plus miles
• 2-night stay = 4,500 Mileage Plus miles
• 3-night stay = 5,500 Mileage Plus miles
• 4-night stay = 6,500 Mileage Plus miles

Hyatt hotel stays seem to be a cheaper way to earn miles than flying these days.

I am generally a last minute booker of hotel travel. Time and time again I read travel expert’s advice that the best rates or award availability are available to the hotel guests who book early. There is some truth in that, but I don’t accept the belief that you need to be the early bird to get the hotel of your choice on an award or the lowest room rates. I am overwhelmingly a last minute reservations kind of guy.

My cases in point are Hyatt Free Night awards and Starwood Hotel rates for San Francisco for the July 4 weekend.

Help! I have earned free nights but I can’t get a reservation!

I was reading FlyerTalk Tuesday morning and a Gold Passport member was complaining about the lack of award availability for free nights. I developed some concern as I had two free nights expiring June 30.

Could I find a room at short notice?

My free nights were leftover award nights from the January 31, 2010 end-date for the original Gold Passport Big Welcome promotion. These nights were extended from the original March 31 expiration date to June 30 at the request of this Diamond member. And now there are thousands more guests with free night credits from the current Big Welcome Back promotion.

I called up the Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond line.

     “Do you have any rooms available at the Carmel Highlands Inn?”

     “Yes, Mr. Garrido. You can use your free night award for any night except Saturday or Monday.”

     “What about Lake Tahoe? Is there any availability at that hotel?”

     “Lake Tahoe is wide open. You can book an award night for any night through June 30 at the Lake Tahoe resort.”

I redeemed my two nights without any problem.

The Starwood Last Minute Hotel Rates Case Test 

Two weeks ago I made a survey of 21 San Francisco Bay Area Starwood hotel rates for the July 4 weekend. This earlier survey compared 2010 rates to 2009 and revealed 16 of 21 hotels with higher rates for the 2010 holiday weekend. In my June 8 post I stated the higher rates, in several cases 25% to 50% higher than 2009 rates, were possibly the “ecstatically optimistic” hopes of hoteliers that tourists were coming back big time in 2010.

From my June 8 post – “For this same time period in 2010 as when I checked rates about four weeks before Fourth of July holiday in 2009, hotels in San Francisco city appear to be pushing the rate envelope. I’ll try and remember to check back in next week and see if the Starwood Hotels envelope is a little too stuffed for San Francisco tourism economy this summer. That will be indicated by a room rate price drop next week.” 

Here are the room rates for Starwood’s seven San Francisco city hotels today on June 24 for the July 4 weekend. This rate check is 16 days after my June 8 rate check and eight days before the start of the July 4 weekend.

5 of 7 Starwood hotels are a lower rate today than earlier this month. Only the St. Regis and Westin Market Street Hotels have increased rates. 3 of the 7 hotels also have lower AAA rates today than on June 8. Two other hotels (Palace and Westin St. Francis) have the same AAA rate today as on June 8.

San Francisco may not be typical for all major cities, but last minute rate drops is a pattern I frequently see with San Francisco hotel rates.

These rate surveys I periodically conduct are the primary reason I avoid nonrefundable, no changes rate offers. In my experience, the last minute booking often offers better rates or free night award availability.

And if you are sitting on free weekend nights earned from the current Starwood promotion… well, all seven of the San Francisco Starwood Hotels are available for free night awards Friday July 2 through Sunday night July 4.

A quick check of New York City shows every hotel except Westin Times Square is available for free night awards over July 4 weekend.

I am finally getting around to writing about The Big Welcome Back from Hyatt Gold Passport when I see Gary Leff is giving away free Hyatt nights at View from the Wing blog. The only thing better than a free night after two hotel stays is two free nights with no hotel stays requirement. Simply leave a comment, by noon eastern time, Sunday, April 25 on Gary’s Hyatt Free Nights post and cross your fingers for good luck.

One thing to point out about Hyatt’s free internet for Platinum and Diamond elites is the hotel may only offer one access mode for free, wired or wireless access, and you have to pay to use the other one. I found this to be the case at a couple of hotels where I wanted wireless, but only wired was free. Fortunately at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco my room location was sufficiently close to access the Regency Club wireless internet from my room.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) launched free internet access for top elite Platinummembers as an in-hotel benefit. Simply accept internet charges when logging on at the hotel and they will be removed from the bill for Platinum elites. This benefit is available worldwide at all SPG hotels offering internet. Public space and meeting room internet is not covered in this benefit and terms vary by hotel for these spaces.

Reaching SPG platinum elite membership requires 50 nights or 25 stays in a calendar year. SPG typically offers an 8 to 12 week window each year with a stays count double promotion making Platinum status available in as few as 13 stays which can be as few as 13 hotel nights.

The Big Welcome Back from Hyatt Gold Passport

“We want to welcome you back before you readjust to your time zone.”

I picked up the 6”x11” card from Hyatt Gold Passport at my mailbox yesterday.

Choose to earn a free night or 5,000 Hyatt Gold passport bonus points after every two stays through June 30, 2010.

Now just decide where you want to go. Start earning. Then, enjoy your reward. Because the only thing better than welcoming you, is welcoming you back.

• Register today at goldpassport.com for the reward you want – free nights or bonus points
• Stay at any Hyatt worldwide through June 30, 2010
• Provide your Hyatt Gold Passport account number

Earn as many rewards as you can and then redeem them at any Hyatt worldwide. Enjoy your free night awards with no blackout dates between April 1 and August 31, 2010. Or, enjoy your bonus points anytime toward free nights, upgrades, or miles, with no expiration.

Why is Hyatt working so hard to attract members with giveaways?

I am not actually referring to Gary Leff’s free nights promotion; rather, why is Hyatt giving instant elite membership for the asking and top-elite diamond for just 15 nights? Why is Hyatt Gold Passport offering a free night at a Hyatt brand hotel anywhere to a member with two stays at any Hyatt hotel anywhere? These are high value giveaways.

Recently, several articles have passed by me and together they kind of paint a picture of the high stakes game for hotel revenue management combined with brand name recognition and high value customers.

Max Starkov is chief e-business strategist at Hospitality e-Business Strategies, a business which focuses on hotel direct online channel strategies. Direct online channels are the hotel brand websites. For Hyatt hotels this means the company booking site at Hyatt.com, the loyalty program booking site at goldpassport.com, and individual hotel booking sites like highlandsinn.hyatt.com.

Max Starkov’s recent article, “Not All Internet Bookings are Created Equal,” analyzed the proportion of hotel chain bookings made via direct online channels vs. indirect channels like online travel agencies – Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline. Overall for the hotel industry the proportion of room bookings made via the internet is estimated to be around 45% of all hotel bookings in 2010.

That means fewer than 50% of hotel rooms booked are via the internet. The top 30 hotel brands actually have a higher proportion of bookings made via the internet with 54.2%. In 2009 about 71% of internet bookings are direct channels and 29% indirect channels. In 2007 about 76% of internet bookings were direct channel bookings. Basically, the hotels are losing ground to the online travel agencies for room bookings.

Why do direct bookings matter, and, what does this have to do with Hyatt’s promotion giveaways?

GDS systems used by travel agents book about 23.6% of hotel rooms in 2009 compared to 31.3% in  for the top 30 hotel brands. The number of hotel rooms booked by GDS dropped by 25% in four years. Over the same time period the number of phone bookings also dropped from 31.3% in 2006 to 22.2% for 2009.

Basically there is a smaller share of room bookings happening via GDS systems and the phone. Internet bookings are growing and the hotel brands are losing share in the booking channels used by customers for buying hotel rooms.

The truly remarkable part to me is the large number of guests staying at the top 30 hotel brands who are not receiving any hotel chain loyalty benefits due to booking via Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, etc. Even more amazing perhaps is the fact these guests probably did not pay any less than the rates available on the hotel’s own websites when not booking on an opaque site like Priceline or Hotewire where the hotel is not known in advance.

There certainly are some lower rates to be found through online travel agencies like Orbitz and Expedia. I book about 20% of my hotel stays through successful Best Rate Guarantee claims on the hotel’s website when I find a lower room rate at an online travel agency. I receive the low rate plus additional rate discounts or bonuses and I still receive all my hotel loyalty program benefits.

Starkov’s article goes on to show indirect bookings of hotel stays cost the hotel about 8 times more money. As the travel recession is now in the middle of its second year, hoteliers have pushed more inventory over to online travel agencies and the OTAs have gained share in the reservations market.

In my opinion I think Hyatt is pulling in a higher proportion of customers by giving elite status and free nights. You only earn these benefits through direct bookings. I do not have any data, but I assume Hyatt has seen a proportional shift to direct bookings after a solid year of high value promotions and complimentary elite status. Hyatt has loads of capital to invest. Hyatt has a credit card partner in the works to launch the hotel chain’s first cobranded credit card. Hyatt is maintaining high prices at its full service hotels.

I just hope after the Hyatt credit card comes around, the elite ranks have grown, direct bookings have grown, and the chain expands, perhaps with a new brand acquisition or two, that the program still offers free nights. I have a hunch though.

Faster Free Nights is what many of us who have been around Hyatt Gold Passport for much of the past decade refer to the free night after every two stays periodic promotion. In past years this promotion was commonly tied to using a MasterCard when paying for the hotel stays. I wonder is Hyatt really promoting the two stays for a free night concept heavily over the past year to tie in their new credit card with future free night promotion offers?

I would not be at all surprised to see 2011 require the Hyatt card be used for the free night after two stays promotion. Wait and see.

Back to the Big Welcome Back.

Seriously, this is a great promotion from Hyatt Gold Passport. Two stays anywhere and earn one free night anywhere and all summer to use it. Huge leverage potential makes booking unnecessary hotel stays totally worthwhile.

In the San Francisco Bay Area there are several Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites hotels with weekend rates $80 or less. Eight miles down the road from me is the Hyatt Highlands Inn with summer room rates typically $400+ per night. You do the math. I have.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my hotel stays at the Hyatt Highlands Inn.

Receive instant Platinum elite for 180 days with only a 5 night requirement to maintain Platinum elite membership through February 2012. Diamond elite through February 2012 can be earned with 15 nights within 180 days of enrollment.

Register online or call Hyatt Gold Passport Customer Service 1-800-228-3360 to register.

Platinum elite normally requires 5 hotel stays or 15 nights in a calendar year. While a guest can become Platinum elite in regular circumstances by staying at Hyatt brand hotels 5 times for one night stays, the advantage of this promotion is the instant upgrade to Platinum gives the ability to earn 15% bonus points, receive complimentary internet, and perhaps score a complimentary upgrade.

Hyatt Highlands Inn view of Pacific Ocean at dusk

The 5 nights requirement allows a guest to maintain Platinum elite with just a single 5-night hotel stay. One vacation or business week at a Hyatt Hotel can keep you elite for the next two years.

Point Lobos Suite at Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel, California

Diamond elite is even a better deal because it is based on nights rather than stays. Hyatt’s recently ended Stays Count Double promotion (October 1, 2009 – Jan 31, 2010) required 13 hotel stays to reach the 25 qualification stays for Diamond. Even at the minimum this required 13 hotel nights with one-night stays .

This current elite fast-track allows a member to earn and maintain Diamond elite status in 15 nights within 180 days of promotion enrollment. A person signing up in the first week of March 2010 has 180 days, meaning you have until about the end of August 2010 to stay 15 nights. Regular qualification requires 50 nights in a calendar year so this offer is a reduced qualification fast-track to Diamond elite.

Point Lobos Suite at Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands

Even for the leisure traveler that is easily done in two vacation weeks and some weekend getaways. Qualify for Diamond in the next six months and your status will be valid through February 2012. The benefits of Diamond include a hotel welcome amenity (movie or drink credit, bonus points, wine…), Regency Club access, 30% bonus points, room upgrades, and complimentary breakfast.

Similar 2009 elite promotions from Hyatt Gold Passport upgraded many members instantly to Diamond who asked directly for Diamond elite. For this reason a phone call to Hyatt Gold Passport Customer Service 1-800-228-3360 may be the better way to sign up for this offer.

The photos in this post are from my upgraded room stay last week in the Point Lobos Suite at the Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel Highlands, California. I am a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member.

The Monterey pines on the ridge between Monterey and Carmel darkly dot the tree covered hills like a Monet painting. Muted sunlight filters through the rolling fog on the upper part of the landscape and various shades of golf course green lay the foundation of this Monterey Peninsula natural canvas.  The window I am looking out from the bed is Hyatt Regency Monterey, suite 860. The nearly wall width windows outline the dimensions of the morning’s visual setting.

The only sounds I hear are surprisingly quiet riding mowers moving across portions of the golf course immediately outside the hotel room. When I arrived yesterday the room temperature felt to be in the 70s. I have both windows fully open and the fans running this morning. It is in the mid-50s outside, but this is Monterey and the room only has a heater, no air conditioning.

There are signs in the room suggesting guests open the windows and turn on the fans if the room is too warm. This was an adequate solution for me as the colder air outside on this January day quickly cooled the room. I dread to think what measures one would employ if this were one of our rare 85 degree days experienced five to ten days a year most years on the Monterey Peninsula. Some years the hot days occur in the middle of winter, although more likely to occur annually in September and October.

The Hyatt Regency Monterey resort has two pools. The pools are an oasis from the uncommon sporadic days of outdoor heat. Typically Monterey has 60- to 70-degree weather around 80% of days locally in this California coastal microclimate. The main pool by buildings 3, 4, and 5 was in use by a couple of families and some kids on a 59-degree, partly cloudy January afternoon in Monterey.

We take the weather as it comes in Monterey. 59-degrees with medium humidity in January can be warmer than a foggy, high humidity 59-degree day in July. The kind of July day that is relatively frequent in a typical year on the Monterey Peninsula. Most of the United States, aside from parts of Alaska, have extended periods annually when the temperature is over 80-degrees. In Monterey, as in much of the coastal Pacific north of Monterey, California and on up to British Columbia, the rare days when it reaches 80-degrees sustained rarely exceeds two to four days in a row. Of course this is only true for the immediate coast within a couple of miles of the Pacific Ocean.  Go inland five miles during summer months, or however deep the fog belt and Pacific Ocean natural air conditioner extends, and most of the west coast is regularly 90-degrees and over in the summer months. But this is winter in Monterey and 60 degrees is baking for people who have been living in snow and ice for the past couple of months.

I love this view from the Hyatt Regency Monterey.  The nearest houses are hundreds of yards away and almost entirely obscured in trees. From the bed I gaze to the hills and see thousands of pine trees, yet only a glimpse of a few houses. This setting is unique for Monterey hotels. The Hyatt Highlands Inn or Pebble Beach resort hotels have similar tree-filled views, but the Pacific Ocean vista for enhanced viewing pleasure at these other hotels means prices are typically $300 to $600 per night.

My sister stayed at the Hyatt Regency Monterey hotel last month. Her room was across the hall from the room where I am now. Her room was a standard size hotel room, limited space, basic bathroom shower/tub, and a window overlooking the parking lot. Highway 1 traffic sounds can be heard from rooms not facing the golf course when the window or patio door is open. Some rooms at the Hyatt Regency Monterey are within 50 yards of the freeway (Buildings 20-26). Building 26 even has balconies and patios facing the freeway side.

Last month I asked my sister if she would like me to book her room and secure her and her husband a suite or would she rather book her own room and go for the free Hyatt night after two hotel stays. She went for the free night offer. She had a surprisingly good rate of $119/night for a Friday and Saturday weekend stay. She does not have Hyatt Gold Passport elite status.

My main advice for the Monterey Hyatt Regency is book a golf course view room. This hotel is an old hotel locals knew as the Mark Thomas in the 1970s. The hotel is located on the southeast side of Highway 1. The ocean is about one mile away on the northwest side of Highway 1. The hotel location is secluded from the city of Monterey. A car is desirable to get to tourist parts of Monterey which is about a 30 minute walk to downtown.  Monterey’s Del Monte Beach can probably be reached by foot in 20 minutes.

Two words – “Elite Status”

Yesterday I checked into the Hyatt Regency Monterey on an $89 limited time offer rate using Corporate Code #13147. I used one of my complimentary suite upgrade certificates in my Diamond elite account and received advance confirmation for a suite. Diamond members receive four electronic upgrade certificates annually. A single upgrade certificate can be used for a stay up to seven nights.

I called the Gold Passport Diamond member customer service line and asked for the 2,000 point G2 bonus code to be applied to my stay. At check-in I opted for an additional 1,000 points Diamond amenity rather than taking a free pay-per-view movie or food & beverage credit for my stay.

As a Diamond member I received complimentary Regency Club access with free sodas, coffee, cookies throughout the day, evening appetizers, evening dessert selections, and complimentary breakfast. Two computer stations and a printer are also available in the Club lounge.

My sister would have had to pay a rate $40 more per night for access to the Hyatt Regency Club.

I regularly read articles from travelers who do not find value in chain hotels and hotel loyalty programs. They would rather pay for trending boutique hotels, Priceline stays, the hotel with the best TripAdvisor review, or even skip the chain hotel scene altogether for a more economical option.

Hotel loyalty program elite members can experience so much more of a hotel without spending so much more money. Hyatt Gold Passport offered complimentary elite status to members in 2009 and several fast-track elite options including stays count double from October 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010.

Hyatt Gold Passport and Starwood Preferred Guest both require 25 stays in a calendar year to reach top elite level within the hotel loyalty program structure. Hyatt Gold Passport’s Diamond members and Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum members receive complimentary suite upgrades and elite bonus point gifts per stay on top of the percentage differential points bonus for being an elite loyalty member.

$55 Million Renovation

The Hyatt Regency Monterey has just been through a $55 million transformation. The Stay Fit fitness club and Accista Spa are two of the biggest changes in the past year.

The Hyatt Regency has six tennis courts with complimentary access for guests. There are two pool areas, both with swimming pools and whirlpools. The pool complex near the lobby and TusCA restaurant and room buildings 3, 4, and 5 has ping pong tables and a large chess board.

The Garden Terrace pool complex is between buildings 24, 25, 26 (road side) and 12, 14, 15 (resort side). Golf course facing buildings are 6, 7, 8 and 9, 10, 11. Half the rooms in these three-story buildings face the golf course and half face the parking lot.

Before the renovation, the Hyatt Regency Monterey received numerous poor reviews from guests feeling ripped off by the high price and old style hotel set-up.  I have provided a photo album with nearly 200 pictures showing different parts of the resort. There are plenty of activities and facilities to make the Hyatt Regency Monterey a good vacation hotel.

My main tip for guests unfamiliar with the hotel is to pay the premium to secure a golf course view room. The two main detractors of this property are the rooms looking out over the parking lots and the rooms facing the freeway side of the resort where noise can be a disturbance. The room interiors are nicely decorated regardless of the room location.

I live close enough to the Hyatt Regency Monterey that Tiger Woods could probably reach the green in two or three shots from my place. This was my first actual room stay at the hotel.

I liked it.

Being a Hyatt Gold Passport diamond member with a suite upgrade certificate and complimentary Regency Club access certainly made this a better hotel stay than the average guest might experience. And that $89 limited time offer rate I booked is probably as rare as our 80 degree days for pricey Monterey.

Here is a link to my Hyatt Regency Monterey annotated photo album on Picasa with 175 hotel photos.

I also have a Picasa annotated photo album for the Hyatt Highlands Inn Carmel with about 200 photos.

Golf course view Hyatt Regency Monterey