‘My Hyatt Concierge’ Has Growing Pains

The new World of Hyatt launched on March 1, and even though the program still has mixed reviews, I’m still staunchly loyal to Hyatt. Globalist status provides my family of four tremendous value when we travel, and I enjoy the general high quality of a Hyatt stay. In my opinion, Hyatt points are the second most valuable hotel loyalty currency after Starpoints, and free nights — or subsidized nights using Points + Cash — are relatively easy to obtain.

I hit 60 paid nights (award nights don’t count toward status with Hyatt) a couple of weeks ago, triggering another year of Globalist status (I already had that due to earning Diamond in January and February of this year), four more Globalist Suite Upgrades (GSUs) and another Category 1-7 free night (which unfortunately expires just 120 days from issuance, rather than at your elite status expiration date).

However, the perk I was most excited about unlocking after the 60-night mark was getting assigned a My Hyatt Concierge. I’ve heard stories of these concierges going above and beyond, but the general reputation of the My Hyatt Concierge program amongst Globalists is pretty lackluster. Still, I was looking forward to meeting my concierge and trying out the service.

My Hyatt Concierge

The World of Hyatt FAQs say, “If a member receives Globalist status through any method other than satisfying the Tier-Qualifying Night or Base Point earning requirements, the member will not receive a dedicated agent until the member completes 60 Tier-Qualifying Nights or earns 100,000 Base Points in a calendar year.” So basically you can’t take a shortcut to Globalist and expect to get a concierge.

Until just a few weeks ago, the terms also said a concierge would reach out to you and introduce themselves within 48 hours of you hitting 60 nights. Feedback amongst the 60-night Globalists I know was that concierges never meet this timeline. It seems that timeline has been bumped back to four weeks from the time of hitting 60 nights — which means you have to wait up to a month after hitting top-tier status to get to enjoy a stated benefit.

When I hit 60 nights a few weeks ago, the terms still said 48 hours, but I waited six days and hadn’t heard anything so I requested the help of the excellent Hyatt Twitter team. They said they went back to corporate and that a concierge would reach out shortly. I organize 4-5 events at Hyatts around the country every year and needed some help with a few intricacies for an event coming up in Manhattan. Not having to call the property or Globalist line, but rather shooting a quick email to my concierge, seemed like it would be a great benefit.

I waited another four days without hearing anything and then asked the Twitter team for help again. The next day, a very polite and experienced Hyatt concierge reached out via email and introduced herself. I decided to throw a couple of easy requests and questions to My Hyatt Concierge to set a baseline for expectations and then advance my requests.

I was expecting to attend a conference in Miami for five days and requested she find any Hyatt property in the Miami area that had confirmable suite upgrade space so I could use one of my GSUs. This saves a phone call to the Globalist line and having to request this info from each property one at at time or searching for available inventory online.

My second request was to reach out to a Manhattan property to secure an early check-in. I was hosting an event at the Hyatt and landing early to make some early afternoon meetings. Because I travel with a few checked bags to hold all of my event materials, I didn’t want to carry them around Manhattan for the day.

Request Results

For the first suite upgrade space request, my concierge said she couldn’t find anything in the area for my dates. A few weeks ago, Hyatt began labeling the standard suite at properties online so you could see if a suite was available for either a complimentary or confirmed Globalist upgrade. Based on my quick searches for Hyatts in the area on my dates — and given how relatively cheap the prices were — I found it hard to believe the properties were at high occupancy and no suites were available.

I did a quick online search at The Confidante Miami Beach and saw that the Miami Suite, designated as the property’s standard suite for upgrades, was indeed available for my dates. I called the Globalist line to confirm, and it was indeed available for a GSU. It was disappointing that my concierge didn’t see the space or save me the phone call and more online searches.

For my second request, early check-in at a Manhattan property, I didn’t hear back from my concierge until three days after check-in. She said she was out of the office when I emailed. I contacted her during her stated office hours prior to my travel but didn’t receive an out-of-office response or assistance from another concierge. I contacted the property directly the night before I traveled and got it sorted, but it defeated the purpose of having a My Hyatt Concierge.

After the first two requests — both of which I consider basic — failed, I was left not knowing how to utilize my concierge. So far, it seems the reputation the service has is well deserved, and that’s disheartening since this is a hotel chain and status I very much enjoy. Earlier this week, I did have a better experience: I shot an email to my concierge, requesting a Guest of Honor booking using my points for a family member, and that went smoothly. The reservation confirmation came through within a few hours, saving me a phone call.

Bottom Line

The fact that my personal My Hyatt Concierge didn’t meet my modest expectations isn’t encouraging to anyone on the fence about shooting for 60 nights. It also shouldn’t take up to four weeks for someone who has 60 paid nights to hear from a concierge.

The verdict on the World of Hyatt program is still a toss-up due to several factors, but mainly because top-tier status is difficult to earn with a relatively small property footprint and with award nights not counting toward status. If your requirements are high, the stated benefits should reward such loyalty. I hope the new leadership at Hyatt gives Globalists with concierge service clear expectations for what a concierge can and cannot do, and then holds staff accountable to those expectations.

Featured image courtesy of The Confidante Miami Beach.

from The Points Guy