Hyatt Introduces Member Discounts

Hyatt Introduces Member Discounts

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Hyatt has just announced that effective immediately they’ll be offering exclusive discounts of up to 10% for Hyatt Gold members who make bookings through hyatt.com, the Hyatt mobile app, or through Hyatt’s call center. The discounts will be available at Hyatt properties in the US, Canada, and Australia, and will be at the hotel’s discretion, so don’t always expect them to be available.

Park-Hyatt-Washington-DC-16
Park Hyatt Washington DC

Per Hyatt’s press release:

“We want to build strong, long-term relationships with our guests and drive deeper engagement, so we are rewarding Hyatt Gold Passport members with an exclusive discount only available when you book with us,” said Ellen Lee, senior vice president, global digital for Hyatt. “Hyatt.com guarantees the best price, and its hassle-free experience means you manage your reservations on your terms.”

Here’s what Hyatt advertises as the other perks of booking through their website:

  • Best value: Hyatt.com has long offered the lowest prices. With Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee, if a guest finds a qualifying lower rate published on another site within 24 hours of booking, Hyatt will match it and discount it by 20 percent for the entire stay. See Hyatt.com for more details.
  • Loyalty program benefits: Hyatt Gold Passport members who make direct bookings can earn loyalty points and credit toward elite tier status, which provides members additional benefits such as free premium Wi-Fi and complimentary suite upgrades.
  • On-the-go access and support: Hyatt.com and the mobile app make it easy to manage reservations on-the-go, including reservation changes without surprise fees and around-the-clock support by phone or the social channels travelers prefer.
  • Personalized experiences: Not only can travelers select the right room type and amenities that fit their needs when they book direct, but Hyatt can also better get to know guests and tailor experiences accordingly.

Park-Hyatt-Melbourne-Suite-04
Park Hyatt Melbourne

Hyatt also claims they’ll be adding further functionalities to their mobile app later this year, giving guests the opportunity to make on-demand requests through text message:

Plus, later this year, the enhanced Hyatt mobile app will provide guests who book direct the ability to make on-demand requests by communicating instantly with Hyatt on services like Messenger or text messaging.

“Coming mobile features for on-demand communication and services will further travelers’ ability to drive their own experiences,” Lee said. “And when you book direct, Hyatt colleagues have more opportunities to personalize guest experiences based on preferences, from knowing you want an extra blanket to helping you celebrate a special occasion.”

I’m curious to see how that’s executed in practice, given that Hyatt isn’t exactly a leader when it comes to IT. For example, they allow online check-in, but I still haven’t figured out what purpose that serves.

Hyatt introducing member only rates follows the lead of Hilton and Marriott, which have introduced similar offerings over the past several months.

HHonors-1

These programs are an attempt by the major hotel chains to capture as much business as they can directly, so they don’t have to pay online travel agencies a ~10% commission on bookings. A lot of people still book their hotels through the big online travel agencies since they allow people to compare prices across many chains. Hotels want to change the way you search for availability.

The reality is that for the savvy traveller there’s really not much benefit to these members only rates. I haven’t found a single instance where the members only rate is lower than the AAA rate, which also often knocks 10% off room rates (I have a AAA membership, though for what it’s worth, I’ve never been asked to present it). Of course both are capacity controlled, but there seems to be a lot of overlap between the availability of both rates.

Hyatt-Members-Only-Rate

Bottom line

I’m not surprised to see Hyatt add this members only discount, as it follows the industry trend. Ultimately this is a further marketing effort to try and get people to book directly with Hyatt (which I do anyway). If you know what you’re doing there’s not much additional value with this benefit, given that it’s similar to the AAA rate at best.

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  1. Jennifer Guest

    Here's what infuriates me: you can't use an award night or points to book a "member discount" rate room. Such a scam.

  2. Rufo Sanchez Guest

    The Member Rate I booked for the Hyatt Place I am currently sitting in was a whole 100 cents cheaper then the AAA rate!

    So don't write it off just yet :P

  3. Tennen Gold

    Are the member only rates that they (and the others) offer bookable through Citi Prestige? Do you have to specifically request it?

  4. Greg Guest

    At least its something. I'll take a discount over no discount. I wonder though if this will make it harder to get a best rate guarantee. Suppose you book a standard room, not a member rate, and find a competitor that has a standard room cheaper will they match if there is a member rate for cheaper?

  5. Dwonderment Guest

    One big yawn
    I book almost everything Hyatt through 3rd party sites and my 4th night free through Citi Prestige.Typically travel agents that will give me some part of their commission or rebate back
    Hyatt is two faced with their best price guarantee and proven they can't be trusted to be fair just dishonest.I did trust them back when
    Are they trying to be like the airlines?
    Somebody remind them it's...

    One big yawn
    I book almost everything Hyatt through 3rd party sites and my 4th night free through Citi Prestige.Typically travel agents that will give me some part of their commission or rebate back
    Hyatt is two faced with their best price guarantee and proven they can't be trusted to be fair just dishonest.I did trust them back when
    Are they trying to be like the airlines?
    Somebody remind them it's a slippery slope when you break trust
    The Member elite rate had me booking more but of course if it's popular and members like it be sure to come up with something worse
    This will not likely make me book on Hyatt.com

  6. Gary Leff Gold

    Australia

    And since it is managed inventory it is possible that member discount could be available when AAA isn't

  7. Emmanuel Guest

    Could have sworn this was already in existence for like... The past 2 months

  8. SPC Guest

    FWIW, just found a four night stay where the Member Discount rate was about $5 lower per night than AAA and advance purchase rates.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Jennifer Guest

Here's what infuriates me: you can't use an award night or points to book a "member discount" rate room. Such a scam.

0
Rufo Sanchez Guest

The Member Rate I booked for the Hyatt Place I am currently sitting in was a whole 100 cents cheaper then the AAA rate! So don't write it off just yet :P

0
Tennen Gold

Are the member only rates that they (and the others) offer bookable through Citi Prestige? Do you have to specifically request it?

0
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