My mom always said “when people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” Maya Angelou may have said it too but I think she was just copying my mom. 🤣
Anyway, Hyatt has once again shown why they have such a highly regarded loyalty program as they officially announced last night that for anyone who booked a Hyatt advance purchase (non-refundable) reservation, World of Hyatt is offering 10,000 World of Hyatt bonus points per reservation if you no longer wish (or can’t) travel as a result of coronavirus.
THE BREAKDOWN
Obviously, it’s not practical for Hyatt to outright refund all bookings in regions that don’t have advisories, but Hyatt at least wants to offer something to those who no longer wish to travel so here are the details:
- This is valid for reservations made BEFORE March 8, 2020, and for stays through June 30, 2020
- If you no longer wish to travel, just contact Hyatt by phone (or  worldofhyatt@hyatt.com), and you’ll be given 10,000 points for each advance purchase reservation you no longer wish to use
- You must cancel at least 48 hours before check-in
- You won’t be refunded any cash for these bookings, but will get points
- This is even valid for those who weren’t World of Hyatt members (if you’re not a member already, but have a booking just make an account so you can still get points)
- For regions where Hyatt DOES have a waiver (i.e. China, South Korean, Iran, Italy, Japan), you can of course cancel your booking for a refund, but then you don’t get the points
THE MATH
This is a very generous gesture by Hyatt. While Hyatt will still have your money that you used to book the room if you cancel a non-refundable reservation, being awarded 10,000 bonus points is some consolation.
Personally, I value World of Hyatt points at ~1.5 cents each so it’s like $150 worth of points for every stay you no longer plan on using. Going a step further, if you had a bunch of stays that cost, say $100, you could be coming out ahead. And although you don’t have the physical cash back in your hand, it’s better than nothing.
Another perk to this offer is that even if you weren’t a World of Hyatt member when booking the stay originally, you can go to Hyatt homepage, open up an account, register and still earn the 10,000 points. It’s worth noting that this is only valid for bookings made directly with Hyatt, so if you booked via an OTA (e.g. Expedia, Orbitz etc.), you won’t benefit from this exception.
FINAL STAMP
For those that are thinking outside the box, just stop! There’s no opportunity to game the system with new bookings because this only applies to reservations that were already made through March 8 so you’re a few days late.
I do find it interesting that Hyatt is offering a flat number of points regardless of room rate or length of stay. Obviously, the math is more in your favor if you had a bunch of cheap hotel stays (preferably 1 night) that costs less than $100 while it is less lucrative for stays that are more expensive or longer.
I’ve said this in countless posts, the decisions made by Hyatt tends to be reasonable and well thought out. This is the reason they standout above the other hotel organizations.
There’ll be some travel companies that come out of this whole situation with their reputations enhanced (i.e. Hyatt), while others will have lost a lot (i.e. READ THIS POST). With this type of policy, Hyatt is helping ensure they’ll be in the former.
Does anyone plan on using this offer for a non-refundable Hyatt stay?
1TattedPassport 