SMD 4 - Speculation about Hyatt Challenge (not yet announced)

Announcement from Todd on 9/12/2012:

The wait has ended. I have been busy as a bee working to get this wrapped up, and I’m excited to announce the Hyatt Gold Passport promos for SMD4. There were TONS of great suggestions submitted, many of which were highly considered. Without further ado:

Double Your Stay Points
In addition to our Fall promotion currently running, you will be able to participate in the SMD4 promo:
·Checkout dates of Nov. 1st, 2012 – January 31st, 2013
·Earn double base points for all eligible charges to your guest room during your stay

Triple Your Dining & Spa Points
Did you know you can earn Hyatt Gold Passport points at our restaurants and spas when you visit for a meal or spa treatment and aren’t staying the night? Now this is even more rewarding:
·Nov. 1st, 2012 – January 31st, 2013
·Earn triple base points on all eligible charges in participating restaurants and spas when not staying the night. Present your Hyatt Gold Passport card to your restaurant server/spa receptionist to earn points and pay for your transaction with cash or credit.
·Visit www.hyatt.com/diningandspa for participating locations. Most Hyatt locations worldwide are expected earning benefit by the end of 2012

Upgrade your status
·SMD4 attendees not yet Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members will be upgraded on Nov. 1st to Diamond status, good through February 2013.

The final terms and conditions for the above are still being written, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
·To participate in the above promotions you will need to register on a registration page MegaDo organizers will post to the Official Announcement thread. This will happen prior to Nov. 1st 2013
·You must stay at each of the Hyatt host hotels during the SMD4 on the negotiated group rate. If you have not already booked your rooms, please refer to the Official Announcement thread
·Double and triple miles will post 4-6 weeks after January 31st, 2013

And there you have it. Here’s to another great MegaDo!





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The below was originally posted back in July. I was quite wrong

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Splitting out this discussion to avoid further clutter of the "Official Master Thread" -- which might be the thread in name only now

While Tommy really wants FFN, I don't know if Todd has that much sway/budget, so I'm setting my sights low.

My completely made-up wild guess:

• Everyone (even those who don't have one of the 7 credit cards that provide it) gets immediate Platinum status, plus a lump sum of points.
• With X stays or Y nights after SMD and before 12/31/2012, those who don't already have Diamond get Diamond status, and those who already have Diamond status receive Z free nights at any Hyatt, where Z < X/2 and Z < Y.

What's your guess?

Need a challenge for those who already have Diamond status
Earn some free suite nights or a headstart on next year's requalification or a lump some of lifetime points

Why not just post what you submitted

OK, Here's what I sent Todd (don't hate me for not suggesting an unlimited FFN -- I was trying to meet his objective of having something Hyatt could stomach, as well.):
1. In order to make it worthwhile for Hyatt, I think awarding status prior to the MegaDo may not be a good strategy. I would propose that all attendees be enrolled in Gold Passport, and get a certain number of points (sort of like the late, lamented 'G' bonuses) just for attending the MegaDo, in addition to the regular stay credits and points earned from the stays. Maybe 5,000 points? Or maybe also something like a DELISH, where they could bring the certificate with them on a future stay, and receive bonus points + a F&B credit.

2. I would like to see a Diamond Challenge, perhaps combined with a limited FFN, for the SMDIV attendees. All attendees would be automatically enrolled, and the challenge would start January 1, 2013. Stays and nights would count double towards status, and the promo period would be Jan 1-Feb 28 or March 15. Anyone with 13 stays or 25 nights in the period would qualify for Diamond status. That could be combined with a Faster Free night promotion (only for SMD IV attendees) that was maybe limited to earning 5 or 7 free nights. Terms like the two promos (FFN and BWB) in 2010.

I didn't mention FFN either haha.. But did try to use realization in what could realistically be given to us ...

Note I themed it up for Star Alliance 15years.


Given to all attendees:
Diamond Status for ~120days (Feb 2013exp)
Current diamonds receive 4extra upgrades or 4 qualifying stays to 2013 status.

Qualification Period: Nov 1st to Dec 31st

Stay 15nights:
15k Miles to a Star Alliance Partner or 15k Hyatt GP Points
Extend Diamond Status Until Feb 2014 or Receive extra Suite upgrades if already qualified for Feb 2014

Stay 30nights:
15k Miles to a Star Alliance Partner
15k Hyatt GP Points
1 Free night in a Hyatt

Stay 45nights:
15k Miles to a Star Alliance Partner
15k Hyatt GP Points
2 Free nights in a Hyatt
Diamond Status until Feb 2015

Stay 60nights:
15k Miles to a Star Alliance Partner
15k Hyatt GP Points
3 Free nights in a Hyatt
15% Bonus on all points earned and received during the qualification period

Wow, 60 nights in 2 months. That would be impressive!

my suggestion was spend 25K within a to be decided period of time and get lifetime diamond for those on the mega-do

and for most, impossible, especially during the holidays.

What is FFN?

Isn't the normal diamond challenge 12 nights in 60 days? It seems like the ideas above are harder, what am I missing.

I'm probably going to get a MegaDO ban for saying this. If I were in place of Hyatt, UA etc, I wouldn't give a big impact challenges to my top tier participants and I would keep a challenge to something like 1/6 or 1/5 the yearly requirement in 60 days. I think that AA did it right for the OWMD - match to non-OW and a nice bonus 1+2+3...+10K for each RT in a 3 months period for the AA flyers.The Hyatt offer for the OWMD didn't get me to change my bookings (no way I could have gotten to 18 nights during the 3 months challenge. HOWEVER, the great service and Hyatt people I met during the OWMD did make Hyatt my number 2 chain.

Oh, my child, to have been born in such innocent times. FFN was both the Holy Grail of and Weird Behavior Driver for so many of us. With this promo, Hyatt offered a chance to earn one free night at any of their properties to those of us who stayed twice in any property. Thus, many Milepointers and their ilk completed two stays in budget-priced Hyatt Place properties at what were sometimes very low rates (or at any Hyatt properties in any price range) and exchanged those stays for a night at a top property. Park Hyatts such as those in Zurich, Paris and Milan were often chosen for the redemptions. Unlimited free nights could be earned. Some of us made domestic "mattress runs" to earn the nights. Some of us (though not all, I am sure) actually enjoyed these runs and have returned again to the properties. The nights did have a deadline for use, unlike points, but WOW were some of the stays I had way beyond even my most aspirational dreams!

Didn't you hear Tommy? The only thing we're allowed to say/suggest is "FFN"

Other suggestions are subject to reservation cancellation

I suggested to Todd a challenge similar to a terrific Le Meridien promo of a few years ago: 7 stays within a certain time period brought 4 nights at any Meridien. I had 4 free nights at the Meridien Bora Bora as a result. I’d mentioned this to Todd during our One on One session, then reiterated it for the Challenge.

So, you have to ask yourselves what’s more important: if you’re not normally a Hyatt stayer that you don’t get Diamond or even Platinum (which really ain’t that hard at 8 5 stays), what’s the point of being Diamond at a chain you don’t use that much vs having 4 or more free nights at any of their hotels, and they do have a bunch of really nice ones?

BTW, I am a Diamond member, so challenges to make me Diamond don’t do anything for me.

I had a couple of ideas but did not remember to email Todd T. Is it too late?

I think this is an excellent suggestion, and totally agree with your point about 4 free nights vs. unused status, but did you really just write "I am a Diamond member" ???

Well status through 2/13 doesn't really do much since people on SMD3 already have that. The LM promo mentioned is even more lucrative than FFNs. I don't see a FFN promo limited to SMD4. I think it will be something more along the lines of the Hyatt London Do on TOBB (bonus points, some sort of a status challenge, addl suite upgrades for those already with status).

Slight correction - std Plat qualification is only 5 stays not 8.

He asked for suggestions by 6/15.

In the interest of full transparency, Giraffe- and helicopter-less Diamond. With no interest in acquiring either.

Quite correct, so I fixed it. But it makes my point even more: isn’t something like 4 free nights at ANY Hyatt more valuable than attaining a status level one would otherwise rarely use?

It's not just about what's valuable to the participants. Step into Todd's shoes and try to figure out what he needs to justify to his bosses. Hyatt (presumably) wants to breed long-term loyalty out of this, not a quick (and expensive) prize for Megadoers...

And having to qualify for the promo I brought up, by having to make X (doesn’t have to be 7) # of stays at hotels, showing people what Hyatt’s are like, in order to stay at truly aspirational Hyatt hotels doesn’t do that? Now, imagine if one actually had status at these hotels while you’re making the challenge, and in the future.

What do you suppose Meridien’s (SPG’s) thoughts were for having their promo, especially since it was open to anyone who joined their program, even those who started with no status whatsoever? What do you suppose Hyatt’s FFN’s were about? You think they were only “prizes” for existing high-status members?

What long-term loyalty is bred with people who merely gain a status, but otherwise need to earn enough points to stay at some of these aspirational hotels, unless they’re wealthier? Why not actually give them a taste of the benefits of the program over time?

I was pretty happy with the spring/winter promo where we could earn up to 66K points with an increasing number of stays and by also using our Hyatt CCs. Something like that would appeal to me, although maybe they could cut the number of nights required (e.g., bonus every two nights instead of every four) and hopefully make it stack with whatever other promo Hyatt is running at the same time.

Idea 1A: Give everyone Plat status. Existing Plats get one or two upgrade certificates. Existing Diamonds get upgrade certificates AND one or two free nights. (Don't just bump Plats up to Diamond without a great benefit for existing Diamonds, because there is a big difference in the night/stay requirement and it's incredibly easy to get Plat.)

Idea 1B: Now go use that status. Stay a certain number of nights in the next 60-90 days and earn bonus points. Points at each tier are in addition to points earned from previous tier:

2 nights = 4K points + 2K for using CC
4 nights = 8K points + 4K for using CC
6 nights = 12K points + 6K for using CC
8 nights = 16K points + 8K for using CC
10 nights = 20K points + 10K for using CC

Not sure why you’d rather have points than free nights at any Hyatt, which would cost far more in points and not whet your appetite for more staying at these hotels, but okay.

I'm not sure why Hyatt would just dole out a free night for every two paid ones. That seems like a poor way to encourage loyalty. I am interested in proposing a benefit that will encourage loyalty so that Hyatt execs will support it while still being lucrative enough to make it worth our time.

The tiers I suggested are much more lucrative than the promo earlier this year. If you stayed 10 nights, you would earn 90K points, enough for 4 free nights at any category 6 Hyatt or 6 free nights at any category 4 Hyatt (there are many category 4 Park Hyatt properties). Thus, you can still get a good number of free nights, and as points they will not expire as long as you maintain some activity in your GP account (free nights do expire). However, only the people who make Hyatt their new go-to chain will achieve the biggest bonuses.