Yesterday I covered the AMA (Ask Me Anything) that Jeff Zidell, Hyatt’s SVP of Loyalty did over on reddit
(SEE ALSO: Hyatt’s AMA on reddit was not QUITE a disaster…)
It started out as a bit of a disaster, with Jeff not answering many of the questions, or giving what many people considered “non-answers” or “corporate speak”. Here is one example
Personally, I thought the AMA got a little bit better towards the end, and I appreciated that rather than the original 30 minutes that was advertised, Jeff and his team stayed for almost 90 minutes answering questions. Towards the end of the AMA, I felt that it looked like the tone opened up and got more conversational (which is what I at least was hoping for out of the AMA)
Still, I think there is a bit of frustration / antipathy from some folks, including many loyal Hyatt customers. This has been indicated both on comments left on the reddit AMA as well as on some of my blog posts. Here is a sampling of comments
He didn’t indicate any understanding of people’s concerns and all of his answers were cut & paste. Made me less happy with Hyatt than before.
and
I didn’t find it useful. Most answers were canned and generic.
and
This non-answer marketing speak is just annoying and a little condescending. “All levels of engagement”?!? Come on!
So what questions would you MOST like answered?
I am attempting to see if I can talk to either Jeff or someone else at Hyatt loyalty to see if we can get some of these questions answered. No promises but I’ll do my best. From what I have seen, the Hyatt loyalty team truly does WANT to engage with customers and help us understand the value proposition. Jeff even commented in the AMA that “talking with members is [his] favorite part of [his] job” Perhaps an AMA was not the best avenue to do so….
So, in trying to prep for that should it happen, I thought I would see what the biggest questions you have are. Here are a few that were either submitted to me, or were somewhat “non-answered” on the AMA
- 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?
- 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 WofH?
- 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.
Vote for one (or multiple) of those, or come up with your own questions. Leave them in the comments, and I’ll do my best to track someone down to get them answered
Which questions do you most want answers from someone in the Hyatt Loyalty program?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
My biggest question is why they 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.
I just re qualified as Diamond and 1) and 4) on your list are my main questions as well.
One other question is why new DSU aren’t issued at requalifying but only on March 1. I am trying to use one for next summer but my current DSU expire and my new will only be issued on March 1 and nothing can be done until then. I understand the expiration date but why not issue new DSU at date of re qualifying?
My question is quite simple: Why should I stay loyal to Hyatt?