World Of Hyatt To Focus More On Unique Experiences
We’re just a few days from the launch of Hyatt’s new loyalty program, World of Hyatt. We learned many of the details late last year, so it’s nowhere near a complete surprise. They’re re-imagining many parts of the program. As a self-avowed HyattHomerTM, and someone who will easily qualify for the new top-tier status Globalist, I’m pretty happy with the announced changes as they relate to top-tier status.
But, what else can we expect?
Hyatt reached out to me a couple of days ago with a few more details. I was traveling so I hadn’t had the time to review them in detail. One of the first things I noticed was what they said about the focus on experiences:
- We’re focused on providing experiences for our community beyond traditional hotel stays.
At launch, we’re partnering with AFAR (a company founded on the idea that travel promotes understanding) on an immersive experience in Tokyo that will be available to select members. More details to come.- We’re partnering with Learning AFAR/No Barriers USA (non-profits) to put empathy into action – Chicago Public School students who couldn’t otherwise participate will have an opportunity for an immersive educational program that culminates in a trip to Costa Rica.
I’ll be interested to see where Hyatt takes this. I’m all for experiences. There are a number of different ways they could go with this. There’s the SPG Moments philosophy of bidding with points on once-in-a-lifetime experience. And, there’s another path where they learn what their best customers want and customize stays/experiences based on that information.
Hyatt has had a focus on community and helping others for as long as I’ve been a big fan of the brand. It was over 5 years ago that I was part of a team that worked with Hyatt to raise money for charity, with a focus on education and helping folks find new careers.
They also released two new videos that talk a bit about their philosophy (and also have some fun with Snapchat glasses).
The Final Two Pennies
I’m eager to see how the new program works. I’m hopeful the new philosophy is more substance than marketing. Stay tuned for something cool that I’ll be doing in conjunction with Hyatt. It should be pretty rewarding for one of my readers.
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You’ve gotta look at what they’re going to move away from if they are shifting more towards experiences. And that’s points. Marriott said more or less the same thing in a keynote presentation at the Loyalty 2017 conference in London last week.
Points are (relatively) expensive for the programs to give out relative to offering “experiences” that consumers find so compelling they pay extra for. And Hyatt has shown over the past many years of growth that it is not afraid to trim the points options in favor of other benefits to consumers.
Seth, I think we’re in agreement there. My guess is that they may try trimming points at lower levels as opposed to across the board, given the emphasis on their top elite tier in the new program. Marriott, OTOH, I wouldn’t be surprised to see trim points earning across the board.
To be fair you should have prefaced this article: PAID ADVERTISEMENT. Fortunately most of your readers know that the World of Hyatt is a bad deal at every level. The 1,000 point amenity take-away will cost me 60,000 points – enough for two nights at my fav: The Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris. And that’s when I want it – not at Hyatt’s timetable of 120 days for a free night. I should have said “would have cost me” because I’m through with Hyatt.
Diamond Dave, as much as I’d like to get big fat checks from programs for speaking my mind, I’m not that lucky. I’m not sure of your stay patterns, but WOH is as good or better for me as a high-spend, high night Diamond. It’s not better for lower tier folks, and I don’t love the amenity going away, either. But, it’s better for me in a number of ways, not the least of which is DSU on award stays.