For a bit of background, last week Hyatt’s SVP of Loyalty, Jeff Zidell, did an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on reddit about Hyatt’s new 2017 loyalty program, World of Hyatt
The AMA…. didn’t go too well, though personally I did appreciate Jeff sticking around well past the initial 30 minute timeline answering reader’s questions
(READ MORE: Hyatt’s AMA on reddit was not QUITE a disaster…)
Still, it felt like there was a lot of frustration from people that their questions were not being answered (See below for a screengrab of the AMA on reddit)
Based on some of the questions and some of Jeff’s answers, I thought there might be an opportunity to better understand some of the strategy behind the shift from Hyatt Gold Passport to World of Hyatt
The questions…. so far
Here are some of the questions I’m considering asking Jeff. I’d like to get the input of the readers because while I have an interest in Hyatt and its loyalty program, I am by no means a road warrior. I didn’t even get Hyatt Diamond status when they were giving it away to anyone with a pulse!
- Why does Hyatt not grant Tier-Qualifying Nights for award stays? Every major Hyatt competitor now counts award nights toward status
- Why does Hyatt not allow earning Tier-Qualifying Nights on more than 1 room per night?
- Why does Award night availability differ so much from Cash + Points Award night availability? I would think that if an award night is available it should also be bookable with Cash + Points.
- Why does Hyatt continue to let certain hotels play games with award availability? Andaz Maui is the biggest offender (create a new room category to reduce number of standard rooms, sell rest of standard room availability to travel providers such as Costco travel so that there are whole 13 month periods without award availability, even at the end of the schedule). There are plenty of other examples
- What was the rationale between completely dropping the stay requirement instead of raising it to match the new World of Hyatt tiers? e.g., 60 nights or 30 stays instead of the current 50 nights or 25 stays?
- Why is only Discoverist status granted with the Hyatt credit card and not Explorist status? I am not sure the annual fee is worth keeping the card.
- Can you give insight into the Hyatt / MLife partnership and specifically why the change where Diamonds/Globalists will only get MLife Gold instead of MLife Platinum?
- Why does spending $50,000 on a purchased credit card only get medium tier? Hilton and other brands give Diamond which includes executive club upgrades for $40,000 in spend?
- Trends show growth is in Hyatt Place/House – where status perks such as breakfast and upgrades mean nothing. Why would the Place/House traveler commit to double the nights required to earn a status that derives them little benefit to begin with? What would you say to someone considering a shift to Marriott/Hilton with 5X the footprint?
- What was the rationale from removing the 1000 point welcome amenity for Diamond / Globalist members?
I also want to get some “quick hitter” responses – the idea on these is to get a one word / one sentence / top of the mind answer. Here’s what I’ve got so far
- Why should I stay loyal to Hyatt?
- Can you please tell us (in plain English, not corporate-speak) the single biggest reason that led Hyatt to decide to phase Gold Passport into World of Hyatt?
- Why are new DSU not issued at requalifying but only on March 1?
- Who do you think benefits from this change? Who gets the short end of the stick on this change?
- What is the one program change that would be most exciting for you if you did the same number of Hyatt stays you do now?
- For people who may have status matched or challenged to Hyatt (Diamond) in the past, is W.O.H. a distinct loyalty program so that they may be able to match/challenge again?
- For existing Diamonds who will become Globalists in 2017, will we have to earn 55 or 60 nights to maintain our Globalist status?
Now it’s your turn
Which of these questions do you most want answered, or are there other questions that you’d like to see?
Leave your World of Hyatt questions in the comments!
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For people who may have status matched or challenged to Hyatt (Diamond) in the past, is W.O.H. a distinct loyalty program so that they may be able to match/challenge again?
Great question – I will add that
Would love to know why they took away welcome amenity. Reaks of cheapness. That was my favorite perk. Disgusted by these changes. I forsee some forced resignations coming, after this world of hyatt backfires horribly.
I agree on the welcome amenity, I will miss it.
For existing Diamonds who will become Globalists in 2017, will we have to earn 55 or 60 nights to maintain our Globalist status?
(Can Jeff confirm this?)
Why can we get multiple rooms stay credit like SPG does upto 3 rooms.
Yes, he confirmed that it is 60 nights. Once you have earned Globalist (not transitioned) it will be 55 nights.
Sorry, that was supposed to be a reply to VX Flier – not sure why that happened!
Overlooked by many debating the new World of Hyatt enhancements is the increased challenge for low-tier Platinum Hyatt loyalists to maintain any Hyatt status post-3/2017 without having the Chase credit card. My business hotel bookings are out of my control (i.e. no Hyatt stays) therefore I manage on my personal travel to hit five stays a year despite Hyatt’s tiny footprint. Going forward I will now have to hit ten nights to maintain a devalued Discoverist status. I have been loyal to Hyatt for years as a lowly platinum – but now that I must find a way to book 10 nights a year (no award nights of course) to get any status – I will no longer book any further nights with Hyatt period. What is Hyatt’s rationale for giving loyal customers at the bottom of the pile no choice but to give up on Hyatt? How much does a room with a 2pm checkout and a better view “upgrade” actually cost Hyatt vs a formerly loyal customer never staying in any Hyatt hotels in the future because I will now be chasing more rewarding status elsewhere (SPG, Hilton) based on my business travel choice limitations?
he stuck around after the initial 30min because he only answered one question every 10-15min!
Somebody even asked him to respond to the question they asked in plain english/non corporate speak.
I was really excited for the AMA, but I can read the ads on their website. Answer the questions. We dont need more fluff about how exciting the transition is.
you’ve got a good list of questions. get direct answers. It will mean the most the most people.
While I think that these are great questions, is there any reason to think that you could reach the guy at all, let alone get some real answers out of him when he strenuously avoided giving real answers on the AMA?
Yes – I’ll be interviewing him – we’re just working on a date / time
Wonderful! I wish you luck and look forward to it.
The first question I would ask is why he used so much corporate speak instead of just answering questions in the AMA. We are real people and we understand Hyatt needs to make money so stop lying. Not answering the questions is insulting and this crappy AMA has made me trust hyatt even less than the WOH change did.
I don’t like question 3 above (Why does Award night availability differ so much from Cash + Points Award night availability? ) since I feel like it’s been answered before. Hyatt forces hotels to have last night availability for award nights but hotels get to decide for cash+points. It’s annoying but we all know the answer and I think asking it takes away from better questions.
I think asking why award nights don’t count when they’ve increased the number needed so much is a great question. I would never be able to actually use award nights since I need those nights to be paid to keep status.
Also, why are the award nights they give out only good for 120 days? A lot of their hotels only have award availability when you book a year out so this would make this useless. Also, a lot of people like to book a year out to get everything locked down early and this ruins that.
Your question four about hotels playing games is great and needs to be actually answered and not just: we are working with hotels. BS
And the final question: Who the F*CK came up with these dumb names. It feels like someone wanted to freshen things up and came up with these names to appeal to millennials. Older business travels will hate this almost as much as actual millennials.
Good luck with the interview.
The key PR problem Hyatt has with its how-much-longer-loyal global customer base regarding the recent launch of “World of Hyatt” is that Jeff Ridell, SVP of Loyalty, is not a member of the Hyatt Management Team. The new WOH “enhancements” should have been personally introduced and Q&A’d by CEO Mark Hoplamazian, or at minimum by GCMO Maryam Banikarim, instead of simply providing quotes to the press releases. As SVP of Loyalty Jeff’s job is to implement WOH not defend the loyalty-killing decisions he did not make – thus look for more corporate speak such as this classic: “The WOH program will deliver on EXACTLY WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS (insert “management team”) WANT – a broader range of benefits and more attainable rewards to experience with the most important people in their lives.” The second obvious PR problem Hyatt has is that WOH looks like it was created by those wonderful DIY marketers over at Club Carlson and Wyndham Hotels. What an impressive duo with which to associate your company. The ongoing losses in Hyatt’s once-strong brand equity are astounding and WOH hasn’t even fully launched yet.
Well, I am laptoptravel, who asked those highlighted questions in your post.
We’ve been strong supporters of and loyal to the Hyatt brand.
I have spoken with GM’s within the brand who had no heads-up whatsoever that WOH was coming!
My question is that expressed by Hyatt Place & Hyatt House GM’s who ask why? They have stated that this move by Hyatt management will hurt their brands. The incremental costs to these properties were minimal to host a Diamond elite. The welcome amenity was a way to thank and welcome elites to these lower brand properties.
Now with Hyatt’s move into WOH previously loyal Diamonds will be alienated causing these properties to lose visits and revenue by Diamonds hoping to get their required nights/stays.
Why punish the lower brands (and top elite members) with this radical departure from what was a great program?
-Why only 4 club lounge certificates with 30 nights or more?
-Why the same conditions for Europe based guests while Hyatt hardly has hotels there..
It looks – to me – like the hotels are going the same way as the airlines in diminishing their programs! The loyalty is one way only. So the only choice is for us to de-loyalize and stay or fly with the hotel or airline that offers the best deal!! It’s a new world hotels and airlines!
Why is your termination of Hyatt Gold Passport not a violation of your own Terms and Conditions?
http://www.tokyohyattfan.com/2016/11/06/hyatts-invalid-hyatt-gold-passport-termination-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/