Compared to last year, World of Hyatt has made a number of changes to its loyalty program and portfolio, leading loyalists to question whether this beloved program is still a favorite in its customer orbit. gritty or not.
Hyatt and MGM Resorts International announced ending their strategic relationship in July 2023. (Marriott joins as a new partner days later.) Then, in February 2024, Hilton attracts Hyatt’s cooperation with luxury boutique hotels around the world.
Hyatt countered the loss of its SLH by deploying Mr & Mrs Smith’s first property in April 2024. However, the addition has Hyatt enthusiasts questioning whether the hotel brand is shifting to dynamic pricing as Mr & Mrs Smith properties join does not comply with standards World of Hyatt award rankings.
So are the changes at World of Hyatt a sign that this hotel brand is in decline? Furthermore, will World of Hyatt begin dynamic pricing for all of its awards nights, similar to Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors? In our opinion: Not accurate. Here’s why.
Hyatt introduces a dynamic award pricing mechanism
Many award travelers were disappointed because Hyatt applied a flexible award pricing policy to Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Certainly, we hope Hyatt will include ambitious Mr & Mrs Smith properties in its awards rankings when it Acquires luxury and boutique hotel booking platform in 2023.
As TPG content director Summer hull noted in a discussion, “As more parts of their service become more dynamic, that is admittedly not a huge trend and a big departure from how Hyatt has operated .”
And she was right. We are pleased that Hyatt maintains its award rankings and provides excellent service World of Hyatt elite status Perks on most stays. However, like Hyatt’s previous partnership with SLH, loyalists won’t receive many of the elite Hyatt perks they love when staying at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels.
Why Hyatt uses flexible bonus pricing for Mr. & Mrs. Smith
There’s a positive take on why Hyatt uses flexible bonus pricing for Mr & Mrs Smith properties: It unlocks the entire inventory of rooms instead of just designated room types. intended to redeem rewards.
“Clearly, members have shared challenges due to the lack of ability to redeem gifts at similar relationships – we’ve changed that with Mr & Mrs Smith,” a Hyatt spokesperson told TPG. “While Mr & Mrs Smith hotels are outside the standard award rankings, this provides increased room availability and more flexibility for travelers who want to use points on specific dates. Now, Any room members find available for cash, they can redeem for points — opening up more room types and experiences to explore.”
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This is a fair argument, especially considering how booking platform Mr & Mrs Smith works. However, it is disappointing to see relatively low redemption values for many Mr & Mrs Smith properties you can book with Hyatt points. At least one property we valued was worth just 1 cent per Hyatt point, much less than TPG’s Hyatt points valuation and certainly less than what we strive for when redeeming Hyatt points.
Related: 5 easy ways to maximize your Hyatt redemptions
Is Hyatt moving towards eliminating award rankings?
There is a lot of talk in the awards travel community that this is a case of flexible pricing in the coal mine. If travelers embrace the award pricing strategy with Mr & Mrs Smith, wouldn’t Hyatt certainly implement a flexible award pricing policy across the rest of its portfolio?
We’re a little more optimistic than most. In spite of Points and miles often decrease in value over time, we believe Hyatt is in no hurry to say goodbye to its award rankings. World of Hyatt’s loyalty program remains significantly smaller than its main competitors. Marriott Bonvoy has about 203 million members and Hilton Honors has nearly 190 million. World of Hyatt only has 46 million members, so there’s motivation to make this smaller loyalty program more attractive to members with Hyatt’s unique offerings.
“This is not a move toward dynamic pricing, and hotels in the Hyatt portfolio will continue to fall into the standard or all-inclusive award rankings,” a Hyatt spokesperson said. .
Several discussions with Hyatt spokespeople indicate that Hyatt understands and appreciates having a rewards chart that differentiates their loyalty program from key competitors, leading us to believe that Hyatt’s award rankings aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Related: The 23 best Hyatt hotels in the world
Hyatt’s alternative strategy
However, the threat of dynamic pricing isn’t the only thing that has caught the attention of critics of Hyatt’s loyalty program. The loss of dual relationships with MGM Resorts and SLH has reduced opportunities to earn and redeem coveted Hyatt points.
However, analysts on recent earnings calls noted that Hyatt will endeavor to find an alternative strategy in the event of the loss of the partnership. Of course, some of these alternative opportunities are more attractive than others.
Replaces MGM resort
Instead of booking at MGM Resorts (Hyatt’s strategic partnership ends September 2023), World of Hyatt loyalists can now earn and redeem points at Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. This casino hotel, currently undergoing a $340 million renovation, is located off the Las Vegas Strip.
Although the Rio is not as centrally located as many of the Las Vegas hotels in MGM’s portfolio, it still offers Hyatt members a casino hotel in Sin City. Best of all, weekday rates at the Rio start at just $31.51 or 9,000 points per night. There is a $45.35 nightly resort fee but is waived on award stays for all World of Hyatt members and qualifying paid stays for Hyatt Globalist members.
That said, it’s hard to imagine Hyatt is just resting on his laurels regarding Las Vegas. Therefore, we look forward to additional collaboration opportunities in the future. The president of Hard Rock International recently suggested to TPG that the company – about to transform Mirage Hotel & Casino into the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – in talks with major hotel groups about loyalty partnerships; however, no specific company name was mentioned. It’s hard to imagine Hyatt not throwing his hat into the ring.
Related: The 15 best hotels in Las Vegas for a Sin City getaway
Replace SLH with Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Like many travelers, we’re disappointed that Hyatt is using flexible award pricing for Mr & Mrs Smith properties — especially since the resulting redemption rates are often lower than the pricing our Hyatt points.
However, if we can put aside the frustrations and worries about fluctuating prices, some travelers may see Hyatt’s acquisition of Mr & Mrs Smith as a positive after all. end the SLH relationship.
For starters, you can earn and redeem Hyatt points at more than 700 participating Mr & Mrs Smith boutique and luxury hotels. At its peak, Hyatt and SLH’s partnership included about 350 hotels. Hyatt said additional Mr & Mrs Smith hotels will be added to the World of Hyatt program on a quarterly basis.
“We are continuing to evaluate ways to enhance the guest experience and member experience, especially for members,” Laurie Blair, Hyatt’s vice president of global marketing, said in April. our best member.” “So this is just the beginning of the relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
Additionally, while points are a limited commodity for most travelers, we’ve encountered travelers who earned more points than they needed. For these travelers, booking a Mr & Mrs Smith property with Hyatt points may be appealing, even if the redemption value is lower than what you can get at many other Hyatt hotels.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Hyatt’s Hotel Brands
Add properties
Hyatt is adding an impressive number of properties every month, as evidenced by this Hyatt’s promotion allows you to earn an additional 500 points per night. Many of these are centrally located Hyatt category 1 hotel or other low-type attributes. So even when visitors mourn every time Hyatt makes category changes every yearIt’s important to remember that many properties participating in the World of Hyatt program are low-category properties.
In addition to the one-time hotel addition, Hyatt also added word properties Lindner Hotels & Resorts, Me and All Hotels, Dream hotel group And Apple Leisure Group’s all-inclusive resort portfolio in the World of Hyatt program since the end of 2021. So Hyatt is not just trying to replace what was lost; it is also striving to expand its portfolio and footprint.
Related: How much value does World of Hyatt status provide when you book directly?
Bottom line
The real fear is that World of Hyatt may use its competitors as reason to believe that travelers will be reluctant to accept changes. Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy haven’t exactly turned away loyalty members after both switched to dynamic award pricing policies and Hilton discounts its elite breakfast benefits.
We didn’t want to lose the ability to book SLH properties that fit Hyatt’s eight-tier award rankings, and we didn’t want to lose the opportunity to earn and redeem Hyatt points for stays on the Las Vegas Strip. We were also disappointed that Mr & Mrs Smith properties are much more affordable than SLH properties when redeeming Hyatt points.
But we don’t believe World of Hyatt is about to collapse or that Hyatt has any upcoming plans to eliminate its award rankings. Instead, Hyatt will likely try to maintain its small but mighty stance on the loyalty front and stick to its award rankings, while also looking for partnerships and revenue experiences. attract members to join the World of Hyatt program.
It’s important to remember that Wall Street seems okay with everything Hyatt is doing: As of the morning of May 22, the company’s $151.26 per share price was up 36% from a year ago.
