It’s pretty standard for hotels to provide compensation (or “gestures of goodwill”) in the event that something significant goes wrong with a hotel stay. However, the way that one hotel in Mexico seems to be going about this is a bit ridiculous, if you ask me.
In this post:
A Hyatt’s laughable compensation contract
An OMAAT reader had an awful stay at a Hyatt all-inclusive property in Mexico. There’s a lot that went wrong with the hotel stay, from a blackout on the first night (with no safety lights and no flashlights), to food poisoning. Sounds like a fun vacation, eh?
The guest reached out to the hotel in hopes of getting some compensation for what went wrong, which seems reasonable enough. However, he shared that hotel representatives have been belligerent in their communication, and have lied repeatedly.
Eventually, the property offered the guest 44,000 World of Hyatt points as compensation. However, this requires signing a contract, and also sending the hotel a passport copy. So, what does the contract say?
We the undersigned accept the offer of compensation as a good will, stated below as full and final settlement 44,000 Hyatt bonus points.
[Hotel name] has provided attention to my situation at my full prices and entire satisfaction. We expressly release and forever discharge [hotel name] their officer, directors, agents, representatives, employees, successors, assigns, affiliates and subsidiary corporations form any and all claims, demands and actions
Moreover, by accepting this compensation we the undersigned, expressively waive any present, past or future rights to register a complaint, or pursue legal action against the hotel, tour operator or credit card company.
I understand this is confidential and I am agreeing not to comment or involve in negative publicity against the hotel or any associated company.
NO ALTERATIONS TO THIS RELEASE WILL BE ACCEPTED
Crikey, this is ridiculous…
The guest asks what I make of this contract from the hotel. I mean, where do I even begin?
First of all, this contract is a complete joke. It’s not coherent, and doesn’t even make sense. How can you can waive the rights to register a complaint in the past, as the contract suggests? And then you’re agreeing to not engage in any negative publicity against the hotel? So you’d be violating the contract if you wrote a TripAdvisor review about your experience?
I can understand if a hotel would want a legal contract for a major settlement where the hotel is compensating a guest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. But for 44,000 World of Hyatt points, which is roughly enough points for one night at a top Hyatt hotel, this is a bit of an overkill.
Personally, I wouldn’t sign this. What would I do instead? Well, I’d reach out to Hyatt consumer affairs, and get them involved. I can’t imagine that the approach the hotel is taking, forcing guests to sign a bizarre, wonky contract, is in line with the experience Hyatt wants to offer its guests. Hopefully Hyatt can have a bit of a pep talk with this property. At a minimum, maybe they could actually write a contract that makes even a little bit of sense?
Bottom line
A guest had a bad experience at a Hyatt all-inclusive property in Mexico. As is pretty standard when things go wrong, the hotel offered the person compensation. However, this requires signing a contract, which includes provisions like waiving the right to past complaints (huh?), and not engaging in any negative publicity about the hotel.
Personally I wouldn’t sign a contract like this, and would reach out to Hyatt corporate.
What do you make of this Hyatt compensation contract? Would you sign it?
Having been in this situation before on the hotel side I can tell you it's likely from a CYA situation. Without knowing the full details, I can say this request has only been made when there was concern about a lawsuit from the guest more than a reputation protection.
This reminds me of The White Lotus, Season 1
Every time I have reached out to Hyatt corporate support to resolve a matter in the past 5 years at least I've been referred back to a hotel employee. If @lucky reached out to them they might do something but if the average person reached out they'd do absolutely nothing.
I wouldn't sign this and now I'd plaster it all over the place. Not just my bad experience but how the hotel responded to my...
Every time I have reached out to Hyatt corporate support to resolve a matter in the past 5 years at least I've been referred back to a hotel employee. If @lucky reached out to them they might do something but if the average person reached out they'd do absolutely nothing.
I wouldn't sign this and now I'd plaster it all over the place. Not just my bad experience but how the hotel responded to my attempts to be made whole. 44k points aren't worth signing this and are totally worth all the negative publicity I'd offer
This might be a Mexico thing. We traveled to Cancun back in May. We had an issue with our room where the aircon wasn't working properly. Before they would give us an alternate room or "upgrade", they had me sign a "waiver" form that basically said I wouldn't slander them on social media platforms or leave a negative review anywhere. We didn't end up taking the upgrade, so I'm guessing what I signed was null and void.
When publishing something like this it’s important to mention the name of the property. I can’t tell from your article whether or not you know the name of the hotel and with held it, or the guest didn’t provide that information to you. Regardless, by not providing this information it rises to a level of hearsay that makes the reader question whether any of this is true.
This isn't just "one hotel in Mexico"...it's a lot of hotels in Latin America...run by both Playa and Apple. I have unfortunately had bad incidents at a Dreams and a Ziva and was asked to sign something before the points were deposited. It is not clear if these are NDAs (where you can't talk about it/leave a bad review) or simply a release of liability (i.e. you won't bother them for further comp)
You can still leave a review. Just create a TripAdvisor account without using your real name or real email address. Or just tell someone about the incident before signing the NDA and have that party do it for you. These NDAs are worthless.
Eh, it's a privately (not Hyatt corporately) owned hotel in Mexico. The reality in this situation is no one is suing anyone over anything, regardless who says what. The whole point of the waiver is to discourage bad publicity. If it can be agreed that the compensation offered makes the complainant "whole", then it's reasonable to require no further bad-mouthing. If it isn't enough, then don't agree and hold out for more points.
Personally, I'd...
Eh, it's a privately (not Hyatt corporately) owned hotel in Mexico. The reality in this situation is no one is suing anyone over anything, regardless who says what. The whole point of the waiver is to discourage bad publicity. If it can be agreed that the compensation offered makes the complainant "whole", then it's reasonable to require no further bad-mouthing. If it isn't enough, then don't agree and hold out for more points.
Personally, I'd sign and take the points. There's value to getting at least something and moving on. Dragging the situation out keeps you from moving on from the bad experience.
This is surely done in an attempt to prevent customers from complaining to corporate. Bad properties want to resolve issues, particularly any noncompliance with corporate-imposed requirements, on-property and not after the fact when corporate contacts them. If they have this form already produced, it suggests the property has a lot of issues and this is standard operating practice. I had something similar happen at a Royalton all-inclusive in Jamaica that is flagged under Marriott. They...
This is surely done in an attempt to prevent customers from complaining to corporate. Bad properties want to resolve issues, particularly any noncompliance with corporate-imposed requirements, on-property and not after the fact when corporate contacts them. If they have this form already produced, it suggests the property has a lot of issues and this is standard operating practice. I had something similar happen at a Royalton all-inclusive in Jamaica that is flagged under Marriott. They did a bait-and-switch on me with my room category, multiple things in the room were nonfunctional, the room was dirty, etc. They offered me 7 "free" nights on a return visit if I signed an agreement accepting the 7 nights as resolution and also agreed not to discuss the hotel or report the issues. I declined their offer.
Hi Ben- on a separate note, can you look into the Hyatt SouthHampton Bentley Hotel and maybe do a post on it? It’s Hyatt branded but apparently it doesn’t participate in the Hyatt program and you can’t earn or redeem points there. That’s what the Hyatt Globalist line told me yesterday. I’ve never seen this before and was wondering what’s going on with this hotel?
I was required to sign a non-disclosure type document if I wanted to accept an complimentary room upgrade at an all inclusive in Cancun for being Marriott Titanium.
I've stayed there many times and received many upgrades but never had to sign anything before. I wonder if there has been a change in Mexican law or something. I found it very odd, particularly because it said I wasn't allowed to post anything about my upgrade...
I was required to sign a non-disclosure type document if I wanted to accept an complimentary room upgrade at an all inclusive in Cancun for being Marriott Titanium.
I've stayed there many times and received many upgrades but never had to sign anything before. I wonder if there has been a change in Mexican law or something. I found it very odd, particularly because it said I wasn't allowed to post anything about my upgrade on social media or reviews, wouldn't they want that positive PR?
What an amazing coincidence. We booked and stayed at Grand Vivid Island Cancun this year. It was a terrible hell. We wasted our time, money and health. While at the property we could not get past the front guard of management to complain when we got sick. Being experienced travellers. This is just nonsensical management, they hide behind an iron door. The hotel staff won't give the name of the GM. How could that be a normal operation? They evaded...
What an amazing coincidence. We booked and stayed at Grand Vivid Island Cancun this year. It was a terrible hell. We wasted our time, money and health. While at the property we could not get past the front guard of management to complain when we got sick. Being experienced travellers. This is just nonsensical management, they hide behind an iron door. The hotel staff won't give the name of the GM. How could that be a normal operation? They evaded and evaded.
When we complained, we receive the same NDA agreement that Ben shows. We were in contact with Hyatt Concierge on the property, but they couldn't make any headway.
If that doesn't make you feel like Hyatt needs to shake up things, I don't know what will. Hyatt Corp in Chicago cannot lose control of these All Inclusives in Mexico, but it looks like that's where they are heading.
With a smart and seasoned CEO like Mark H, gotta believe he will dig in and make changes. He has too much to lose if he doesn't.By voicing our nightmare experience there we are bringing awareness to other guests and preventing ruining their holiday in an "ABC" type run hotel. Grand Vivid Island is not a Hyatt operation or rules. It is only a name online for advertising.
"An OMAAT reader had an awful stay at a Hyatt all-inclusive property in Mexico. There’s a lot that went wrong with the hotel stay, from a blackout on the first night (with no safety lights and no flashlights), to food poisoning. Sounds like a fun vacation, eh?"
Sounds a lot like CrowdStrike Microsoft and Delta.
Definitely not an absurd request, and a perfectly coherent (though legalese) release.
50+ countries,
Millions of miles,
And business owner.
I actually did this in April at a Hyatt Ziva property. To get a refund (and a bunch of points) for an involuntary room downgrade. I was hesitant at first, but after reading it.... whatever. Got my refund and my points.
While I would reach out to the hotel's brand corporate on the matter, in the meantime I would go directly to the duty manager and general manager for related compensation. Often times, working with them can be more reasonable than working with the corporate offices of the hotel brands. I would still bring this to the corporates attention, but lately there has been a lack of appropriate compensation from corporates.
I am only surprised that it has taken this long for we lawyers to miss this loophole and ensure that all point compensations are subject to an executed legal release!
And yes, the tongue is firmly in the cheek.
I don’t understand the controversy. I wouldn’t have an issue with signing this at all. Particularly if I had fully recovered from said “food poisoning”, which is likely impossible to trace back to the hotel anyway.
hello. i had a recent similar experience but with Marriott. I booked and stayed at an Autograph Collection all-inclusive in Antigua and had a horrible time — zero customer service, rude staff that also lied and many instances of racist and discriminatory practices. i contacted the hotel and at first they did nothing but then they agreed to transfer 50,000 points as compensation but i also had to sign a contract similar to the mentioned...
hello. i had a recent similar experience but with Marriott. I booked and stayed at an Autograph Collection all-inclusive in Antigua and had a horrible time — zero customer service, rude staff that also lied and many instances of racist and discriminatory practices. i contacted the hotel and at first they did nothing but then they agreed to transfer 50,000 points as compensation but i also had to sign a contract similar to the mentioned above. i contacted marriott corporate and someone was “supposed to get back to me within 3-5 days”; that was over 10 days ago
The first mistake this guest made was choosing Mexico over Hawaii. The day you travel is shot anyway so why not add a couple of hours and go to a superior destination.
As a resident of Maui I agree, but it is extremely expensive at this time.
And this is helpful how? Seriously, in what way does "should have gone to an entirely different country" fix something that's already happened and solve the question at hand and not just waste everyone's time reading your unhelpful comment?
I'll sign it for points. I don't do trip advisor and understand this stuff happens sometimes when you travel. I'm certainly not going to spend hours on either of these issues. Gimme them points and on to the next one.
The contact is fine. 44,000 points as a goodwill gesture is fine. If the hotel wants a hold harmless, release of liability and a gag clause, that costs a lot more than a goodwill gesture. Maybe a few hundred thousand points over the 44K.
Well at least they didn't spike their drink and then be in cahoots with a hospital and ambulance demanding tens of thousands upfront from the poisoning or refusing medical treatment without payment
Happened to two women recently all over the news
Seems to be an occasional thing there.
If I were GM I would lock them up in the hotel cell till they signed ;)
Seriously a disgrace to the industry...
Well at least they didn't spike their drink and then be in cahoots with a hospital and ambulance demanding tens of thousands upfront from the poisoning or refusing medical treatment without payment
Happened to two women recently all over the news
Seems to be an occasional thing there.
If I were GM I would lock them up in the hotel cell till they signed ;)
Seriously a disgrace to the industry and brand
You couldn't offer me a free month to go there
Folks always go as its cheaper than other destinations.Hard pass!
The easy fix is to stay out of that sadly now shithole of a corrupt country that I used to love.
Why would anyone go to the Cartel-run country of Mexico nowadays when prices and flight times are similar in Central American countries?
Glad I won’t run into people like you in Mexico.
If some regions of Mexico are "cartel-run" this isn't one of them. Millions per year visit the Yucatan and have a good, safe time. By your logic, "America" isn't safe because, you know, East LA.
Name and shame the hotel
For real. Readers deserve to know the hotel name so we can add it to our blacklists and avoid staying there.
The background image may be hinting something
I don't see any issues with signing this. As someone stated, this was probably translated from Spanish.
In my experience, it's always best to handle issues on site or at the time of incident. Going home and "thinking about it" allows for discrepancies and even denial.
Sign it, get your points and contact Hyatt when you get back to the US. If that fails, dispute it on your cc. But loss of power and food poisoning is not outrageous by any means.
Sorry buddy I have to hard disagree. HARD disagree. The worst part of a frequent traveler community is how jaded people become and feel the need to invalidate all but the most extreme forms of suffering.
Screw that. This is a resort and people were on vacation to have a good time which losing power and having food poisoning is decidedly not....
Sorry buddy I have to hard disagree. HARD disagree. The worst part of a frequent traveler community is how jaded people become and feel the need to invalidate all but the most extreme forms of suffering.
Screw that. This is a resort and people were on vacation to have a good time which losing power and having food poisoning is decidedly not. Are there worse things in the world yes. Is taking time off work and paying money to a resort only to not have power and get food poisoning objectively bad? Yes. And it should be compensated appropriately, which is to say, involving copious apologies and cash refunds, not contracts and points.
You paid to rent a room for a small period of time. You don't own the resort. Losing power isn't in the hotels control. If an apartment lost power for a day or two, should you demand rent back from the landlord? Must be nice to walk around the world so entitled.
Also, take it from me, you tell any top of the line restaurant, even at the Michelin level that you got food poisoning,...
You paid to rent a room for a small period of time. You don't own the resort. Losing power isn't in the hotels control. If an apartment lost power for a day or two, should you demand rent back from the landlord? Must be nice to walk around the world so entitled.
Also, take it from me, you tell any top of the line restaurant, even at the Michelin level that you got food poisoning, most aren't going to compensate you anything and recommend you do not pass go and head to the nearest urgent care. As the hotel restaurant, idk if you got food poisoning. Shit, maybe you have a sensitive stomach. People get sick in other countries. Take probiotics or wear a helmet.
Hotels in venues with undependable electricity have generators. Cheap management delays starting the generators in hope the the electricity will resume, saving the cost of running the generator (fuel alone costs around US$400 per Mwh).
When power fails and the on-site generators don't pick up, refrigeration lapses and food spoils. At an all inclusive resort, there may not be alternatives. The customer has paid for all meals in advance, and rather than pay for a...
Hotels in venues with undependable electricity have generators. Cheap management delays starting the generators in hope the the electricity will resume, saving the cost of running the generator (fuel alone costs around US$400 per Mwh).
When power fails and the on-site generators don't pick up, refrigeration lapses and food spoils. At an all inclusive resort, there may not be alternatives. The customer has paid for all meals in advance, and rather than pay for a rush order of unspoiled food to replace what was in the freezers and refrigerators, cheap management risks the customers' health by using the spoiled food. And when a customer at an all-inclusive gets food poisoning, there is little doubt where the bad food came from.
Regardless of all that, the resort tried to buy the customer's participation in a post-event cover-up with points that are worth perhaps $600 to the customer and cost the hotel even less.
Could I invent scenarios where the customer might be wrong in his expectations of compensation? Sure. But in that case, management would have no reason to insist the customer keep shtum about the deficiencies experienced.
And you wouldn't know extreme suffering if it bit you in the face and slapped you silly homeboy.
Agree completely!
I agree with most of what you had to say. Apparently you are a lawyer...me also (and I am certain from reading comments on ths blog for a while, so are many others...."so what"?)....so you must know that 44,000 points, whatever their value is these days, appear to be an amount either unilaterally offered or set by some corporate match to the egregious occurrence. Either way, you must know that this number is negotiable, right....
I agree with most of what you had to say. Apparently you are a lawyer...me also (and I am certain from reading comments on ths blog for a while, so are many others...."so what"?)....so you must know that 44,000 points, whatever their value is these days, appear to be an amount either unilaterally offered or set by some corporate match to the egregious occurrence. Either way, you must know that this number is negotiable, right. The victim could sue or in everyone's interest agree upon a fairer number. The confidentiality clause could of course be refined but whether the compensation amount comes in points, dollars, pesos, yen or whatever, nobody is forcing the victim to sign, and if th econfidentiality part is especially offensive, then don't settle for unless they sweeten the pot.
Agreed Paul.
Half of FlyerTalk, if you said you were in an airline aircraft accident, would say "Well, you aren't dead. What's the big deal? It happens."
Thanks for the pictures. I booked this hotel for an upcoming stay next year. Will be changing it to a different all inclusive in Cancun as the request to sign the document is beyond ridiculous. I don’t like doing business with companies who don’t know how to treat their guests and whether compensation should have been offered or not I can’t say based on the limited info provided but no hotel I have ever stayed...
Thanks for the pictures. I booked this hotel for an upcoming stay next year. Will be changing it to a different all inclusive in Cancun as the request to sign the document is beyond ridiculous. I don’t like doing business with companies who don’t know how to treat their guests and whether compensation should have been offered or not I can’t say based on the limited info provided but no hotel I have ever stayed at has asked me to sign a contract like that when I have had issues or concerns.
I would never stand in a long "rebooking" line in an airport and I would never sign anything like this. If they didn't earn your money honestly or competently they owe you, plain and simple. I wouldn't accept any conditions on that. If they owe you, they should pay up. I think the mistake people make is thinking there's urgency, when there isn't. One can go home, think about it for a week, decide whom...
I would never stand in a long "rebooking" line in an airport and I would never sign anything like this. If they didn't earn your money honestly or competently they owe you, plain and simple. I wouldn't accept any conditions on that. If they owe you, they should pay up. I think the mistake people make is thinking there's urgency, when there isn't. One can go home, think about it for a week, decide whom to contact and what to say, then act. Better result from thoughtful action.
You either need to travel more or listen to Sebastian a lot less.
The time you get for thoughtful action is also the time you give them for thoughtful action too.
I've had a similar experience with an all-inclusive Hyatt Resort in Mexico when I voiced a (very serious) complaint about a negative experience. I'd be very curious to know if it's the same resort
Based on the photos it looks to be the Hyatt Vivid Grand Island in Cancun which recently opened.
I had to sign the same agreement and send in passport copy for a 10K Marriott points compensation for a recent Marriott stay.
"had to"? You actually obeyed people like this?
Having a corporate backup like this is my primary motivation for staying in chain hotels instead of independents. The points and status perks are just a bonus. What I really care about when I stay at a hotel is the assurance that there is somebody up the ladder of accountability.
For someone who bulls**t a lot about legal, you seem to give no opinion in that regards when it matters the most.
And for the record, chain hotels have corporate backup for their customers for sure. The only problem for you is you are not their customer, the hotel owners are.
I totally disagree. I always stay at local hotels, dine in local restaurants and hire local guides without issues. I do not travel domestically but by reading from those who do, I am relieved that I do not.
" What I really care about when I stay at a hotel is the assurance that there is somebody up the ladder of accountability.'" statement has no validity whatsoever. Accountability is sorely lacked in this country....
I totally disagree. I always stay at local hotels, dine in local restaurants and hire local guides without issues. I do not travel domestically but by reading from those who do, I am relieved that I do not.
" What I really care about when I stay at a hotel is the assurance that there is somebody up the ladder of accountability.'" statement has no validity whatsoever. Accountability is sorely lacked in this country. Let's go thorough the list: Boeing, Delta, AA, United, Southwest, Marriots, Facebook? I can add more names of politicians who we voted for to run the country?
HYATT IS GROWING TOO FAST AN LOSING TOTAL CONTROL OF THE EXPERIENCE AND THEIR PROPERTIES. NOTHING IS CONSISTENT AND LOYALTY IS HORRIBLE AS BENEFITS NOT DELIVERED TOO.
Looks like the Caps Lock key is broken on the keyboard on the computer in the business center where you are staying.
Agree. Hyatt, in order to keep up with the other 2 big ones "H and M", they need to please Wall Street. They are getting the room count up, like Smith Mr & Mrs but in process are losing managerial and quality control.
The All Inclusives properties definetly need a select separate manager from corporate to bring them into standards.
No safety lights at a Hyatt property?? If people died or injured that...
Agree. Hyatt, in order to keep up with the other 2 big ones "H and M", they need to please Wall Street. They are getting the room count up, like Smith Mr & Mrs but in process are losing managerial and quality control.
The All Inclusives properties definetly need a select separate manager from corporate to bring them into standards.
No safety lights at a Hyatt property?? If people died or injured that would be one huge criminal case. Who to blame for not having a simple American safety standard, although Mexico, its still and American company.
Grow too big too fast lose control, quality drops, guests dissatisfied, start moving to other brands. CEO's, you gotta know, keep your product otherwise you lose market share. The Street watches that too and they zero in on the one running the company.
Its a talent to balance both. That's why you the CEO can demand such large compensations.
The hotel probably wrote the contract in Spanish and used a translator website to translate it to.English. if I was the hotel, now.that they shared it with you id tell the guest to f off. Blackouts happen....ask.Ted Cruz. Food poison sucks....but feel like it should be dealt with onsite.
People are just bitshes and want compensation.
@Ben this reads more like an NDA rather than contract.
An NDA is a type of contract...
If you violate an NDA you can get sued. Would never sign that.