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This past weekend we stayed at the Hyatt Place Worthington in the northern suburbs of Columbus.  We were there to see Brian Regan in concert at the Palace Theater (hilarious) and figured we’d just stay up there for a night before driving home (Grandma watched the kids)

Hyatt Place Worthington hotel info

The hotel was nice – it’s a Category 1 Hyatt, which means that it is 5,000 points / night.  It’s fairly conveniently located right off of the northern edge of the I-270 beltway and was easy to find (though there is construction going on there currently).

Entering the hotel and checking in they gave us our choice of floor preference.  Right by the lobby, I started wondering who’s paying 7 dollars for a lava cake

hyatt-place-cookies

Guess I should have stayed at a Country Inn and Suites or Doubletree!

(SEE ALSO: [REVIEW] Doubletree Johor Bahru: How is this only a Category 2 hotel!?!)

Turns out that was a portent of things to come….

Hyatt Place Buy, Borrow or Rent

A little later in the stay my wife realized she had forgotten to pack a shower cap.  Since most hotels provide complimentary toiletries in case you forget something like this, she went down to the front desk and then came back with a shower cap.  Then she realized she had also forgotten a razor so she trekked back down to the lobby, where she was informed “Ooooooh suerie.  We actually SELL razors”.  The gentleman at the front desk said that just this once he could give it to her, but it seemed odd.

Back at the room, we realized that apparently, Hyatt Place has the concept of Buy, Borrow or Rent – there are “menus” around of the different things that you can get

hyatt-place-buy-borrow-rent-menu

So technically she should have been charged 50 cents for the razor!  (Don’t tell anyone, but a different person at the front desk gave me a 50 cent toothbrush for free!)  I get that Hyatt Place is targeted towards business travelers (I think?), and people staying on someone else’s dime tend not to care about these kinds of charges, but it seemed a little odd when so many similar hotels provide these items complimentary.  I mean what is this, the Rodeway Inn?

Reminded me of an article I read this morning over on Rapid Travel Chai on How Did Australia/New Zealand Develop Their Nickel-and-Dime Economy and How Does it Affect the Travel Experience?  So apparently it’s not limited to Australia and New Zealand!

Breakfast at the Hyatt Place Worthington

The breakfast at the Hyatt Place Worthington was tasty and included several hot items like eggs, sausage and such.  They actually were a little light on the vegetarian options for breakfast, my wife pointed out.  I was a little amused / bemused by the signs on the breakfast tables

hyatt-place-cinnamon-roll

Satisfy your sweet tooth!!!! (For an extra $5!)  I guess if I want cinnamon rolls with my breakfast, next time it’s gotta be back to the Holiday Inn Express!

What do you guys think?  Are you familiar with the “buy, borrow, rent” model at Hyatt Place?  Do you think it’s a reasonable way to get extra revenue, or is it a little “nickel and dime-y”?


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