Hyatt has a promotion for 1,500 bonus points at AVIA, Hotel Sierra and Hyatt Summerfield Suites for stays from November 22 through January 8, 2012. Use Special Offer Code 1500GP when booking rates. There is no higher rate for using this code. 1500GP promotion works with AAA and AARP discount rates too.

There is no list of participating hotels. Every hotel I tried in these brands showed 1,500GP beside the rate code.

Hyatt AVIA Napa AAA discount + 1,500 bonus points per stay.

The Gold Passport Diamond customer service agent didn’t mention this offer when I booked AVIA Long Beach last week and the earliest mention I see of the offer on the web is November 26. I will see if I can get the bonus retroactively?

My AVIA Long Beach hotel review this week shows several photos of a master suite at the property along with the hotel facilities. The pool is a great hotel feature. Checking this 1500GP rate I see AVIA Long Beach has a special December 2011 offer for the master suite room category at $119. This rate also allows 1500GP bonus. That is a deal for this hotel. The lowest advance purchase rate is $171.15 for the Master Suite room.

Gold Passport Suite Upgrade rate AVIA Long Beach Dec 13, 2011.

This looks like a good Winter Hyatt Gold Passport Bonus Offer.

Winter Hyatt Gold Passport Bonus Offer AVIA, Hotel Sierra, Summefield Suites for stays Nov 22-Jan 8, 2012.

The promotion also mentions Hyatt House which is the new 2012 Hyatt brand being created from Hyatt Summerfield Suites and recently acquired Hotel Sierra extended stay properties. Four AVIA upper upscale boutique hotels were also acquired by Hyatt in the Hotel Sierra deal.

Passports with Purpose 2011 Reminder

Hyatt Gold Passport donated a 110,000 points prize to sponsor Loyalty Traveler for the Passports with Purpose raffle.

$10 per ticket can win you some really cheap points (Loyalty Traveler post Nov 30, 2011).

Passports With Purpose 2011 – Libraries for Zambia

What –

Loyalty Traveler blog announces Passports with Purpose raffle prize of 110,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, generously donated by Hyatt Hotels for this raffle fundraiser to build two libraries in Zambia with the organization Room to Read.

Purchase of $10 raffle tickets are your entry for the Hyatt Gold Passport 110,000 points prize or other prizes hosted by different travel blogs for this Passports with Purpose fundraiser.

When –

From November 30 through December 16, 2011 11:59pm PST each $10 ticket purchased at Passports with Purpose is valid for one entry to win the prize you select. Hyatt Gold Passport donated 110,000 points for Loyalty Traveler to host as a Passports with Purpose prize. Those can be some cheaply purchased Hyatt Gold Passport points if you win the raffle prize.

There are about 100 other prizes being hosted by different travel bloggers.

Winner of Hyatt Gold Passport points must be a member of Hyatt Gold Passport to receive prize. You can join Hyatt Gold passport at www.hyatt.com for free if you win and collect your prize.

Where –

Raffle ticket purchase website: http://www.passportswithpurpose.org/donate/

Why –

Passports with Purpose has a 2011 goal to raise $80,000 for building two libraries with books and literacy materials in Zambia.

Who –

About Passports with Purpose.

Passports with Purpose (PwP) is a fundraiser organized by a small group of energetic travel bloggers in Seattle. This annual raffle since 2008 for travel gear and travel getaway prizes procured by travel bloggers raises money for
an international humanitarian project. This year the PwP project is supporting the international organization Room to Read to establish two libraries in Zambia.

Pam Mandel – Nerd’s Eye View, Beth Whitman – Wanderlust and Lipstick, Debbie Dubrow – DeliciousBaby.com and Michelle Duffy – Wandermom.com coordinate travel bloggers and businesses through the travel community for a purpose to help save the world one location at a time.

Two years ago I participated in Passports with Purpose and hosted a Hyatt Gold Passport prize of 50,000 points. The goal in 2009 was $30,000 to build a school in Cambodia. Passports with Purpose must be a successful fundraiser. The goal this year is $80,000 for two libraries in Zambia.

Nice thing Hyatt Gold Passport more than doubled their points donation in 2011 since the Passports with Purpose fundraising goal also more than doubled since 2009. I have a feeling this 2011 Hyatt Gold Passport prize will get plenty of ticket entries.

Pam has a way with words and provides Room to Read links and some of her personal reading preferences in her October 19 post – Passports with Purpose 2011: It’s About Reading!

After reading Pam’s piece I decided to withhold my story for this post about reading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings when I was 15 during an overcast summer beach camping holiday near Barcelona, Spain.

Over the next two weeks on Loyalty Traveler I’ll remind readers about $10 raffle prize tickets for the Passports with Purpose fundraiser and share some of my stories on libraries, books and my days working as an elementary school reading teacher.

Loyalty Traveler Hyatt Prize Analysis

110,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points is enough points for

• 5 hotel nights are 110,000 points at the best of the best Hyatt Hotels worldwide for 22,000 points per night. Hotels like Andaz 5th Avenue, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort, Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill.
• 6 nights are 108,000 points at category 5 hotels for 18,000 points per night. Hotels like Park Hyatt Toronto, Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort, Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa, Florida.
• 7 nights are 105,000 points at category 4 hotels for 15,000 points per night. Hotels like AVIA Savannah Georgia, Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Hyatt at Olive 8 Seattle.
• 9 nights are 108,000 at category 3 hotels for 12,000 points per night. Hotels like Hyatt Regency Denver, Grand Hyatt Altlanta.
• 13 nights are 104,000 at category 2 hotels for 8,000 points per night. Hotels like Grand Hyatt Santiago, Chile; Park Hyatt Mendoza, Argentina; Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Hyatt Regency Lexington, Kentucky.
• 22 nights are 110,000 points at category 1 hotels for 5,000 points per night. Hotels like Hyatt Place Raleigh-Durham Airport North Carolina; Hyatt Regency Kathmandu, Nepal; Bali Hyatt Indonesia.

This prize will buy from 5 to 22 free hotel nights globally with Hyatt Hotels in the brands of Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Summerfield Suites, Hyatt Place and Andaz.

Enter raffle at Passports with Purpose.

Our kitten Theron sleeping in the "For the Love of Reading" book bag.

Nine Hyatt Facebook pages:

1. Hyatt (www.facebook.com/Hyatt),
2. Hyatt Hotels (www.facebook.com/hyatthotels),
3. Park Hyatt (www.facebook.com/ParkHyatt),
4. Andaz (www.facebook.com/andaz),
5. Grand Hyatt (www.facebook.com/grandhyatt),
6. Hyatt Regency (www.facebook.com/HyattRegency),
7. Hyatt Place (www.facebook.com/HyattPlace),
8. Hyatt Summerfield Suites (www.facebook.com/HyattSummerfieldSuites),
9. Hyatt Vacation Club (www.facebook.com/hyattvacationclub)

This sweepstakes started yesterday, 2pm CT, October 27 and runs through 5:00pm CT, December 9, 2011.

• open only to legal residents of any one (1) of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia, Aruba, Canada (excluding Quebec), Curacao, or Puerto Rico.
• Limit one (1) entry per person/e-mail address per Sponsor Facebook page listed above, for a total of nine (9) possible entries in the Sweepstakes.
• Hyatt Million Points Sweepstakes Terms & Conditions

Hyatt Facebook Pages for 9 Sweepstakes Entries

Loyalty Traveler Hat Tip to Vinay.

Hyatt promotion registration is required for 1,500 AAdvantage miles per stay. You can register online or by phone at 1-800-30-HYATT and request promotion code AA001.

Gold Passport members have the opportunity to earn both miles and 5,000 points every three nights at Hyatt until November 15. The current Hyatt Possibilities promotion offers 5,000 bonus points every three nights and the promotion terms include Gold Passport members earning miles on hotel stays. You can earn triple miles and promotion bonus points, but you will not receive regular Gold Passport points or elite points.

How to Request Miles from Hyatt Gold Passport

Hyatt Gold Passport does not have a way to change your earning preference to airline miles instead of Hyatt points through online account preferences. Gold Passport members need to request American Airlines AAdvantage miles (or any airline miles) at check-in and provide your frequent flyer number. Even when you request miles at the hotel there is the likelihood your account will post Gold Passport points instead of miles.

Don’t panic if you earn Hyatt points instead of AAdvantage miles when your hotel stay posts. This is common for miles earners. A call to Hyatt Gold Passport customer service can easily get the Gold Passport points changed to miles.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Triple miles with American Airlines AAdvantage promotion can be combined with the 5,000 Gold Passport points every three nights promotion that runs concurrently through November 15, 2011.

Hyatt Gold Passport points are typically worth $20 per 1,000 points.

The combination of 1,667 Gold Passport points per night (about $27 value) and 1,500 AAdvantage miles per stay ($20+ value) is a nice rebate on Hyatt hotel spend.

Hyatt Gold Passport offers good value hotel rebates for frequent guests this fall 2011.

Related Post: Southwest Airlines 1,800 Rapid Rewards points per Hyatt stay, up to 18,000 points October 1-January 15, 2012. Loyalty Traveler post September 23.

The value of 1,800 Rapid Rewards points has a set $30 value (60 points = $1) when redeemed for Southwest Airlines Wanna Getaway fares.

Hyatt Promotion Registration Required

Hyatt Gold Passport Triple Rapid Rewards points with Southwest Airlines registration page. You may also register by calling 1-800-30-HYATT (provide promotion code WN002).

How to Request Miles from Hyatt Gold Passport

Hyatt Gold Passport does not have a way to change your earning preference to airline miles instead of Hyatt points through online account preferences. Gold Passport members need to request Southwest Rapid Rewards points (or any airline miles) at check-in and provide your frequent flyer number rather than earn the normal 5 Gold Passport points per dollar. Even when you request miles at the hotel there is the likelihood your account will post Gold Passport points instead of miles.

Don’t panic if you earn Hyatt points instead of Southwest points (miles) when your hotel stay posts. This is common for miles earners. A call to Hyatt Gold Passport customer service can easily get the Gold Passport points changed to Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Triple points with Southwest Airlines promotion can be combined with the 5,000 Gold Passport points every three nights promotion that runs concurrently through November 15, 2011. The ability to combine the 5K per 3 nights with airline promotions was confirmed by Gold Passport Representative, Hyatt’s company concierge on FlyerTalk.

Hyatt Gold Passport points are typically worth $20 per 1,000 points.

The combination of 1,667 Gold Passport points per night and 1,800 points per stay can be a rebate value around $190 after three one-night Hyatt stays between October 1 – November 15 when both of these offers are in effect.

Hyatt Gold Passport offers good value hotel rebates for frequent guests this fall 2011.

Hyatt House rebranding and signage is expected to be completed by early 2012 with Hyatt House conversion design elements being completed at properties throughout 2012.

Hyatt House logo

Hyatt remains a limited player in the extended stay market segment with its 54 hotel brand launch in a hotel industry niche dominated by Marriott with Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites brands for about 1,000 extended stay hotels.

The Hyatt House brand press release offers plenty of industry groundbreaking hyperbole. Here is the main part covering the actual hotel design features. Keyed into Hyatt, the hotel company blog, has a 5:26 min video “Introducing Hyatt House” describing the new brand concept with imagery of the design elements for Hyatt House.

Signature Elements: A Little Closer to Home

Working in collaboration with architecture and interior design firm Stonehill & Taylor, every Hyatt House will combine details that surprise and delight with unexpected touches that warmly welcome guests.

“We are thrilled to be working with Hyatt to create signature design elements that truly capture the essence of the Hyatt House brand,” said Michael Suomi, principal at Stonehill & Taylor. “We’ve helped bring to life a new design that mirrors the way people live in their own homes today and raises expectations on what hotel living can be.”

Hyatt House signature elements include:

Engaging Social Spaces: Each Hyatt House will feature a Great Lounge, a multi-purpose area with distinct spaces featuring new signature chairs with built-in digital plugs and gadget resting spots, an oversized social sectional, and a glass-enclosed game room equipped with a state-of-the-art home entertainment system, a pool table, and more. Inspired by the way the kitchen is the heart of any home and revolves around cooking, conversation, and entertainment, the Great Lounge will feature the H Bar, an integrated island that transforms from a breakfast bar in the morning to a cocktail bar in the evening with small plates, providing a place to gather with colleagues, friends and family. Each Hyatt House will provide an extension of its social spaces with a unique backyard concept, complete with a built-in kitchen and conversation area centered around a signature fire pit.

Apartment-Style Suite Design: Hyatt House will feature studio, one- and two-bedroom kitchen suites that are reminiscent of a well-appointed, urban residence designed with extended-stay travelers’ needs in mind. Residence-like touches include peek-a-boo cabinets in the kitchen for quick location of items and an entryway hall tree, a hotel’s version of a mud room where guests can hang keys, coats, umbrellas, and other items. Each suite will also feature a multi-tasking island where guests can prepare a meal, watch TV, or work on their laptop.

Customized Food and Beverage: In addition to a large spread of savory, sweet, and healthy items, Hyatt House guests will enjoy an Eggs Your Way complimentary breakfast where they will be able to order eggs and toppings any way they would like from the chef preparing them fresh each morning. There will also be a daily Open House with high quality food and drinks at happy hour prices offered seven days a week from 5 to 10 p.m. in sync with the schedules of today’s travelers.

The redesigned guest market will offer traditional and gourmet groceries and other items for purchase. Personal shopping services will also be available, giving all guests a chance to easily have their refrigerators stocked with food and comfort items.

“Hyatt House is designed to stand out from other hotels in the select-service and extended-stay category, which will make us more attractive for developers in markets all over the world who want to add preferred brands to their portfolios,” said Hoplamazian. “Expansion of our select-service brands globally is key to achieving our vision of serving as the preferred brand for frequent travelers.”

In addition to its 54 extended-stay hotels currently open in the U.S., Hyatt has additional properties in this segment under development in key markets in North America, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.

Hyatt House (Sierra Hotels) locations.

Hyatt House was the name of the first Hyatt Hotel in 1957 at Los Angeles Airport LAX. Here is an old postcard image of the Hyatt House hotel pool courtyard I saw on Flickr with a double H logo seen on the building. The new Hyatt House logo shown in this post is a bit more stylish.

Just think how hotels have changed in the past 50 years.

Up to 25,000 Aeroplan miles after 10 Hyatt stays.

A big summer bonus is 2,500 Air Canada Aeroplan miles per Hyatt stay globally from July 1 to September 30, 2011. This is 5x miles per stay since Hyatt stays normally earn 500 miles for most airline partners. A maximum of 25,000 Aeroplan miles may be earned with 10 stays.

Earning Hyatt miles requires the member to request miles at hotel check-in and provide Aeroplan frequent flyer number. You still may find points post instead of miles and a quick call to Hyatt Gold Passport customer service should rectify any errors in Aeroplan miles postings.

It is just a fact of hotel loyalty programs that many transactions do not post correctly and following up by phone or email is often necessary to correct missing promotion and hotel stay credit points. I still need to contact SPG about 4,000 missing points from two Best Rate Guarantee stays in May that never posted to my account.

Hyatt Gold Passport Aeroplan Bonus Registration

Promotion registration required for this offer using this link or by calling 1-800-228-3360 and request enrollment code AC001 for promotion.  

New members may join Hyatt Gold Passport and be automatically enrolled in Aeroplan promotion using link: www.hyatt.com/ACSUM11.

You must also be an Aeroplan member for this promotion. Join Aeroplan here.

Hawaiian Airlines is new Hyatt partner

Hyatt stays are now eligible to earn 500 Hawaiian Airline miles per stay. Here is a list of all 35 airline frequent flyer miles partners, including Amtrak.

Related posts: One Mile at a Time – 2,500 Aeroplan miles per Hyatt stay through September 30 (July 1)

The Points Guy – 2,500 Aeroplan miles per Hyatt stay (July 4)

Hyatt Summerfield Suites are extended stay, residential style hotels with studios, one and two bedroom suites. Rooms have cooking facilities and properties offer complimentary full breakfast buffet, guest laundry, guest market and business center.

The three new properties will be:

• Hyatt Summerfield Suites Cypress/Anaheim – 142 suites on three floors.
• Hyatt Summerfield Suites Emeryville/San Francisco Bay area – 234 suites. Property is located near San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and five miles from University of California Berkeley.
• Hyatt Summerfield Suites San Diego/Sorrento Mesa – 194 suites located in northern San Diego County.

Hyatt plans $15 million in renovations for these three properties in brand conversion.

Source: Hyatt press release (May 18)

Hyatt Summerfield Suites full kitchen

Hyatt Summerfield Suites – Belmont/Redwood Shores, California

Hyatt promotion registration required for Southwest Triple Points.

By the Numbers:

Stay 1: 1,800 points
Stay 2: 1,800 points
Stay 3: 1,800 points
Stay 4: 1,800 points
Stay 5: 1,800 points + 10,000 point bonus

Total: 19,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points 

To participate in this promotion:

• Register online or by calling 1-800-30-HYATT (provide promotion code WN001).
• Stay at any Hyatt hotel between June 1 and August 31, 2011.
• Provide your Rapid Rewards account number at time of check-in.
• Pay an Eligible Rate during each stay.

FlyerTalk Hyatt Gold Passport forum moderator Peteropny states this promotion can be combined with the current offer for 10,000 points after 5 nights and 5,000 points for each additional two nights through June 30.

Choosing Southwest miles means member does not earn 5 points/$1 for hotel stay, but the 10,000 point bonus after 5 nights with Possibilities promotion is a separate sweep which should allow earning both the Possibilities points bonus and the Southwest points bonus for the same stays through June 30.

FlyerTalk member TooManyBooks estimates 19,000 Southwest points have a value of $317.

Looks like a great double dip points & miles opportunity with Hyatt for the next few weeks. Five one-night stays before the end of June can provide an airline ticket and one or two free hotel nights.

Hyatt Regency Monterey golf course view

I have been stating all week as I report hotel numbers for different loyalty programs that Loyalty Traveler counts hotels rather than using the hotel industry norm of room count. By rooms Hyatt Hotels only grew by 4.2% in 2010. This reflects the smaller room size of Hyatt Place hotels compared to full service Hyatt Regency properties.

The following properties were added to the portfolio during the fourth quarter of 2010:

• Hyatt Place Des Moines/Downtown (franchised, 95 rooms)
• Hyatt Place Pittsburgh-North Shore (franchised, 178 rooms)
• Hyatt Place Houston/Sugar Land (managed, 214 rooms)
• Hyatt Escala Lodge at Park City (managed, 153 rooms) (Classified as Hyatt Regency)
• Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf, Germany (managed, 303 rooms)
• Hyatt Regency Pune, India (managed, 219 rooms)

Hyatt is Expanding

Hyatt Hotels is poised for major growth with approximately 140 hotels signed as of December 31, 2010 to be Hyatt brands. This will add nearly 31% more hotels to the chain and provide a much expanded geographic reach for Hyatt Gold Passport members. Approximately 70% of the new Hyatt hotels will be located outside North America.

Hyatt Average Daily Rates

Room rates for the three months ending December 31, 2010 were $167.57 for comparable systemwide properties.

North America has significantly cheaper average rates than international properties.

North America Full Service 119 hotels (all brands except Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites)

• ADR = $158.12
• Occupancy = 64.7%

North America Select Service 158 hotels (Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites)

• ADR = $91.03
• Occupancy = 69.9%

International 92 Hotels  

• ADR = $234.16
• Occupancy = 69.1%

 The significance of this information for this loyalty traveler is the fact that Hyatt Hotels offer the Hyatt Gold Passport frequent guest the opportunity to earn points and stay credit at low priced Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites properties in the U.S. and redeem points for much higher priced hotels when traveling international.

Hyatt has 104 international properties. Here is the geographic distribution.

• Asia Pacific = 51 hotels
• Southwest Asia = 13 hotels
• Europe, Africa, Middle East = 33 hotels
• Other Americas = 7 hotels

Over the next couple of years the addition of nearly 100 hotels in these global regions will double the geographic coverage of Hyatt outside North America.

Hyatt Hotel Brands By the Numbers (Hyatt Properties as of Dec 31, 2010)

• Park Hyatt = 25 hotels (5,049 rooms)
• Andaz = 5 hotels (1,096 rooms)
• Grand Hyatt = 37 hotels (21,568 rooms)
• Hyatt Regency/Hyatt = 167 hotels (72,577 rooms)
• Hyatt Place = 161 hotels (20,434 rooms)
• Hyatt Summerfield Suites = 34 hotels (4,582 rooms)
• Hyatt Vacation Ownership and Residential = 24 hotels (2,201 rooms)

Hyatt Hotels Global Total = 453 properties as of 12-31-2010

And finally – the question on all our Gold Passport loyalty members’ minds is when will Hyatt announce a systemwide 2011 loyalty promotion?