Like many miles & points bloggers, I am a huge fan of World of Hyatt. In particular, I consider Hyatt’s Globalist status to be the only major hotel chain elite status truly worth making an effort to earn. Of course, 60 nights per year in a Hyatt hotel is a tough target to reach, with credit cards of limited help. But because Globalist status is so hard to reach, its benefits remain substantial.

2022 was not a big travel year for me, though, and I came nowhere close to the 60 elite nights needed to retain my Globalist status. Fortunately, I was eligible for a fast track available to American Airlines elite members – 20 nights in 90 days to earn Globalist status until February 29, 2024.

Cutting to the chase… I was highly motivated to stay 20+ nights in January and February 2023. And so I did…  But I made the mistake of choosing to stay twice at one of Hyatt’s new all-inclusive hotels.

 

Attempt 1

When my first stay didn’t credit to my account, I sent a quick email to my Concierge. She didn’t reply – I know that I probably no longer have Concierge service due to the fact that it requires 60 nights per year (not just Globalist status) – but eventually I heard from “regular” Hyatt customer service, with a meaningless response of…

Greetings from World of Hyatt team! We highly appreciate your loyalty to Hyatt hotels!

Kindly be informed that it takes up to 14 days for the system to post the stay.

Please allow this time frame as ——- is recently integrated with World of Hyatt, and may it requires additional time to post the stay to your account.

Attempt 2

After my meaningless interaction, I was asked to fill in a form evaluating the service.  Because nothing was resolved, I gave low marks.  Shortly thereafter I received another email from Hyatt customer service.

Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey you received after contacting Hyatt Guest Services.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for your experience with our Guest Services Associate. All Hyatt employees are expected to provide each and every guest with an outstanding level of service and I am truly sorry that you did not receive such service. I will forward this to the associate’s manager to ensure they are providing the level of service we expect.

I replied to this email saying…

Rather than report the associate to a manager, I would much rather that somebody takes the initiative to credit my 15-night stay to my World of Hyatt account…

I was hopeful when the same agent responded with…

Thank you for contacting Hyatt; I appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
Some properties do take longer to post, but I can certainly check on your 15-night stay. Could you please provide me with the following information to assist in locating your reservation?

Confirmation Number:
Name and Location of the Hotel/Resort:
Dates of your stay:

But unfortunately my hopes were dashed…

Thank you for providing the information regarding your stay. I was able to locate your reservation.

Since 14 days have passed since you checked-out and the stay has not posted to your account, I will submit a credit request for your stay. This process does take a while, and with the Alua properties, it could take up to 6 more weeks.

I understand that this process is longer than you expected. I apologize for this and appreciate your patience.

Attempt 3

Meanwhile, I stayed a second time at the same hotel. After check-out, I received an email requesting that I rate my stay at the hotel. I know that hotel management takes these surveys seriously, since part of their compensation is based on customer satisfaction.

In the section rating World of Hyatt benefits, I mentioned my issues with stays crediting to my Hyatt account.  At other Hyatt hotels, I have received emails from hotel management regarding my concerns.  Not this hotel…

Attempt 4

Naturally my second stay did not credit to my account either. After filling in the online form, I eventually received an email titled “an update on your request to earn points”.

But unfortunately there was no resolution of my issue – or mention of the stay in question.  Instead…

You’ve asked to earn points for a recent stay, but we can’t find a record of your stay on the dates you provided. Please send us a copy of your hotel bill and we’ll be happy to review your request.

Luckily I held on to copies of my hotel bills from both stays. I attached them to a reply email.

A few days later, I received another useless reply…

Thank you for writing back to us.

I am sorry to hear that you have still not received credit for your stay at —– I have again followed up with the hotel regarding the stay, hence I request you to please allow three to four weeks. I appreciate your patience in this matter.

Bottom Line

During nearly a decade of Globalist / Diamond status with Hyatt, I became accustomed to excellent customer service.  A quick email to my Concierge would result in any problem being fixed straight away. I have never experienced such a complete run-around – nobody willing or able to look at a hotel bill and a hotel reservation number to simply credit a few thousand points and, more importantly, the precious elite night credits I need to renew my Globalist status before it expires at the end of this month.

Even though I am a Globalist for a few more days, I am sadly now realizing how bad things will be on the other side…  🙁