That’s it. That’s all she wrote. That’s the end of the line. There ain’t no more mustard leftover in that honeysuckle.
Actually, I don’t think that last one was real, but hopefully it still helps to express the point: the old Hyatt rates are dead.
What Happened?
This is one of these topics we build up to every year, unfortunately. Around this time the hotel chain decides that they need to switch things up and start making changes about which locations are getting more fancy, and which are going to start having to wear a burlap bag to the cocktail parties.
The strange thing about that example is that we, the consumers, are realllyyyy pushing for that burlap bag to come out front and center straight down the catwalk. We like our down-home, affordably priced hotel stays, right?
But every business needs to make changes to survive and thrive. This is just one of those changes:mannual award category updates.
How Bad was it this Year?
From my count, there were 118 different properties that went up in value this year, whereas only 33 dropped down a category or two to make stays there just a little more affordable for us points and miles travelers.
While we understand the economics of such decisions, we still wish there was a way to keep these changes to a minimum. The constant devaluations in airline and hotel programs hurt! And man, oh man, are we sick of those sharp sticks in our eyes.
To be fair, this year wasn’t all too bad for the more higher-end locations around the world. What I saw that’ll have possibly the biggest impact on my strategy for obtaining Globalist again this year is the fact that there were a lot of Category 1 locations moving up to Category 2’s. Not an issue in and of itself, but certainly stings when you’re trying to leverage 3,500 point-per-night rooms to eek out the last 17 nights you need for globalist at the end of the year.
Ouch.
It's not all Bad, Though
Like we already mentioned, 33 properties around the globe did decrease in price, and some of those places were actually pretty decent!
One that specifically caught my eye was the St Lucia Zoetry moving down to a Category E from a very bloated Category F this year. That’s more than enough to get that spot put on my must-visit list in the next year!
Very few of the other fan-favorite All-Inclusives changed categories this year, either. They seemed to take care of all of those ones last year which were definitely tough pills to swallow…
Getting to the Point(s)
So, yea, we’ve had some changes take place yesterday. Some good, some bad. But the real reason we’re posting this quick little update is because we want to hear what you were able to book!
I know I’m going to kick myself for not being more aggressive with speculative bookings, especially after hearing all your great ones, but I want to hear ’em anyway!
Swing on over to our Facebook Community page and let us know! I want to hear all the great details about why you chose the place you did, what are you celebrating, what kind of certificate are you hoping to apply for a nice suite upgrade… everything!
Shoot, maybe there’ll be an impromptu points and miles meetup if one of the places was a really popular booking location!
Think we should hand out prizes for that…? 🤔
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