Hyatt Points For Incidental Spending: A Consistent Problem

Hyatt Points For Incidental Spending: A Consistent Problem

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I’m growing increasingly frustrated by Hyatt properties consistently short-changing points. Other than being persistent and constantly following up regarding stays (which I shouldn’t have to do), it doesn’t seem like there’s otherwise a solution here. While I’ve had some issues with other hotel groups not fully posting points correctly, I find that Hyatt is the worst in this regard.

Let’s first cover the basics of how this is supposed to work, and then I’ll share my experience…

Does incidental spending at Hyatt hotels earn points?

There’s often confusion about what hotel spending qualifies for points accrual. For example, World of Hyatt offers 5x base points per dollar spent, but what spending qualifies? We know that room rate does, but what about dining or drinking in hotel restaurants, or parking, or pet fees, or excursions, or resort and destination fees?

In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points for your room rate, you can also earn World of Hyatt points for eligible incidental charges. The World of Hyatt terms & conditions note that eligible incidental charges vary depending on the hotel, but generally include:

  • Resort and destination fees
  • Additional cleaning fees
  • Spa, food, beverage, and lounge expenditures (except at outlets not operated by the hotel or resort)
  • Other charges, such as laundry, dry cleaning, and telephone calls

It’s also noted that points are not awarded for alcoholic beverage purchases in certain jurisdictions and countries, and at certain properties.

So my interpretation is that the only major categories of hotel spending that consistently shouldn’t be eligible to earn points are taxes, tips, and perhaps excursions and other arrangements booked through the hotel but provided by a third party.

Furthermore, I’d assume you aren’t supposed to earn points on alcohol in jurisdictions that have rules against that (in some places you can’t create incentives to drink), but that’s a small minority of places.

Spending at Hyatt restaurants should count as eligible spending

Are Hyatt hotels posting incidental charges correctly?

First let me share why it’s important that incidental hotel spending post correctly for Hyatt stays:

  • Many World of Hyatt members will specifically spend more on-property knowing that they’ll earn points, so it’s a bit of a bait & switch to promise points but then not award them
  • In terms of mentally accounting for the cost of things at hotels, I factor points earning into the equation, and am likely to spend more knowing that I’ll get a “discount” back in the form of points, based on my valuations
  • Lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist status is based purely on spending (you need to earn a million base points), so every qualifying dollar gets you closer to that

From the perspective of both hotels and loyalty programs, you’d think rewarding incidental spending would be mutually beneficial in terms of getting people not only engaged in the program, but getting them to spend more on-property.

Unfortunately more often than not, I find that World of Hyatt doesn’t post points correctly, and it’s hard to imagine that this is truly just a glitch.

Upon check-out, you can immediately tell for how much spending you’ll earn points. The bottom of the folio lists the “eligible spend,” which is the amount that will be multiplied by five to determine how many base points you’ll earn (the “redemption eligible” section is if you want to redeem points with Hyatt’s dining & spa awards).

What kind of issues am I having?

  • At some hotels, I find that “eligible spend” is less than the pre-tax room rate, never mind that it doesn’t include incidentals
  • More often than not I find that I don’t earn points for a significant portion of incidental spending, ranging from dining, to drinking at hotel restaurants, to pet fees, to room service

Let me give a recent example. I stayed at the Hyatt House LAX, and my “eligible spend” was simply my pre-tax room rate. That’s despite the fact that I bought an iced coffee at the lobby bar, and had dinner at the rooftop restaurant. Yet none of that spending seemed to qualify.

For what it’s worth, I asked at the front desk why that spending wasn’t considered eligible, and the associate just shrugged her shoulders. Furthermore, I find it strange how a lot of incidental spending is eligible for points redemptions (through dining & spa awards), but isn’t eligible to earn points. That doesn’t make sense.

Points largely aren’t posting correctly for incidental spending, in my experience

So, what’s the solution?

I can’t quite figure out where the disconnect is here:

  • Are hotels intentionally categorizing things as non-eligible so that they don’t have to pay to award points, and are seeing what they can get away with?
  • Is there something happening on World of Hyatt’s end that’s causing points not to post correctly, or does World of Hyatt create an incentive for hotels to not consider spending as eligible for points?
  • Is this simply an oversight because no one brings this up?

I find the World of Hyatt program to typically operate in good faith, so I don’t think this is intentional or malicious on the part of the program. Yet at the same time, this issue has been around for a long time, yet nothing is being done to address it.

The issue as a member here is how vague the terms are:

  • The spirit of the terms about spa, food, beverage, and lounge expenditures qualifying as eligible spending seems pretty straightforward, but then why is this consistently an issue?
  • Points aren’t awarded on alcoholic beverage purchases in “certain jurisdictions and countries” and “at certain properties,” so what are those?
  • The terms state that eligible incidental charges “vary depending on the hotel” and “generally” include certain things, but that leaves the matter very open-ended

I brought this to the attention of a Hyatt contact last year (who is always super helpful and responsive), and here was the response, in part:

Assisting members with any program issues is a great service provided by My Hyatt Concierge representatives for those members that meet the Milestone Reward qualifications. For all other members, we encourage them to contact World of Hyatt via the nearest Global Contact Center, chat or email – these inquiries are typically solved within 7 days of checkouts.

To understand properties with restaurant and spa outlets that participate in World of Hyatt earning and redemption, we encourage members to learn more about our Dining, Spa and More offering here.

Please keep in mind that all outlets at each property may not participate and recommend confirming eligibility with the hotel. If staying at the hotel as a registered guest, it is always best to charge dining and spa to the folio for the most seamless way to ensure credit from participating dining & spa outlets is received. Additionally, all folios indicate eligible charges.

Where does that leave me?

  • When I’ve had major discrepancies I’ve emailed My Hyatt Concierge, and I’ve had my issues addressed quickly, and points adjusted; note that not all Globalist members get access to My Hyatt Concierge, but rather this is tied to the Milestone Rewards program
  • When I’ve asked at the front desk of hotels whether an outlet is eligible for earning World of Hyatt points, I’ve sometimes gotten blank stares, and I’ve sometimes been told yes, only for spending not to post as being eligible

Personally I only follow up when there’s a significant discrepancy, because it’s not worth my time to follow up each time, and I don’t want to waste the time of the My Hyatt Concierge representative who helps me.

It feels petty to follow up over a $30 difference in spending. At the same time, that’s almost more frustrating, since I’m kind of just accepting that Hyatt just isn’t going to follow its own terms. So maybe on principle I should follow up each time, even if it’s a small difference.

Always check your folio to make sure points have posted correctly

Bottom line

In theory you’re supposed to earn World of Hyatt points for a vast majority of your incidental spending at Hyatt hotels, ranging from food and drinks to parking. Unfortunately I’m continuing to find that there are some systematic issues, and I pretty consistently don’t earn World of Hyatt points for much of my incidental spending.

Ultimately I solve this by contacting My Hyatt Concierge, and then it’s sorted out fairly painlessly. However, it sure seems like this is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed, as there’s clearly a disconnect between how things are supposed to work and how they actually work.

I find this to be disappointing, since I don’t want to feel like a nag following up over fairly small discrepancies, but it also leaves a bad taste in my mouth to have this issue so consistently, and to not earn what I’m supposed to.

If nothing else, this is a reminder to always check your folio and make sure you’re earning (roughly) the right number of points for a stay.

What has your experience been with correct points posting for incidental spending at Hyatt hotels? Under what circumstances do you follow up?

Conversations (31)
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  1. reviewman Guest

    You have to destroy any hotel that engages in such dishonest tactics in any survey you get from Hyatt. Eventually the management company will get the message.

  2. Joel Guest

    I utilized World of Hyatt chat function to request assistance in understanding why my hotel bill on a recent stay only reflected a small portion of the room charges as "Eligible Spend". The agent could not help and recommended to contact the Hyatt Property for further assistance. I contacted the hotel front desk and was told that World of Hyatt should have been able to the help. So this time I call World of Hyatt...

    I utilized World of Hyatt chat function to request assistance in understanding why my hotel bill on a recent stay only reflected a small portion of the room charges as "Eligible Spend". The agent could not help and recommended to contact the Hyatt Property for further assistance. I contacted the hotel front desk and was told that World of Hyatt should have been able to the help. So this time I call World of Hyatt and the agent made an attempt to explain what charges on my hotel bill does or does not qualify as eligible spend. However, the agent started to explain that all of the World of Hyatt Terms and Conditions should explain and help me determine why certain charges do not qualify. I proceeded to explain that knowing what qualifies varies with each property, which is why I am contacting Hyatt and the hotel itself. In fact, with one of the charges that was ineligible, the agent said the restaurant is not operated by the hotel but by a third-party. How am I supposed to know a restaurant at a hyatt property is run by a third-party and does not qualify for eligible spend without it being printed somewhere or asking? In fact if you search at the World of Hyatt website for participating dining and spa locations, the property I stayed at is identified as participating for dining. But what it does not tell you are the specifics for each restaurant at a property.
    My point is that the agents at World of Hyatt who helped me today appeared to me that while they were able to help confirm that the eligible spend from my recent stay is correct, I should know the reason why each of the other room charges were not based on the written terms and conditions. Sadly to say this is not good Customer Service.

  3. Larry K Guest

    Found out today that spend for "upgrade fees" does not count for earning points either according to a chat agent.

  4. Daniel Guest

    I’ve been following you guys for years and am both globalist with Hyatt and ambassador with Marriott (9 elite years). I would love to talk to you guys about the posting of incidentals with both Hyatt and Marriott. Something I recently discovered and confirmed with my Hyatt Concierge (she didn’t know till we pulled up years of my recent stays) HYATT’s system will automatically take an unknown small percentage off your eligible spend if you...

    I’ve been following you guys for years and am both globalist with Hyatt and ambassador with Marriott (9 elite years). I would love to talk to you guys about the posting of incidentals with both Hyatt and Marriott. Something I recently discovered and confirmed with my Hyatt Concierge (she didn’t know till we pulled up years of my recent stays) HYATT’s system will automatically take an unknown small percentage off your eligible spend if you Edit your bill in any way. For example I stay 3 nights at 200 a night (600 b4 tax) plus have breakfast each day (which is to be comped), 50/50 my breakfast is still on the bill at check out, if at checkout I need to get my breakfast (correctly) taken off the bill it would take more than just breakfast off the eligible spend (not off the actual bill). So for my example here, let’s say breakfast that was still on the bill and needed to be removed was $150 and the b4 tax room rate was $600, upon removing the $150 breakfast the eligible spend would show as $560 or so. I’ve calculated this and in my 9 years with Hyatt this has taken $6k - $9k eligible spend off my lifetime earnings (needed for lifetime globalist) and of course have lost out on those points. Concierge told me to send a list and they could edit my stays for upto one year back (but that’s A LOT of work)! Also I’d love to talk to you about Marriott eligible spend and what counts

  5. ArthurSFO Diamond

    The incidental spend situation is very frustrating, absolutely, and Hyatt doesn't really have a valid excuse for it.

    The issue that really makes my blood boil, though, is when Hyatt hotels aren't categorized as Hyatt and so don't earn the 4x points on the Hyatt card. I had it happen with the Tommy Hollywood earlier this year, and recently with an SLH property. I actually only recently realized this could happen and had never even...

    The incidental spend situation is very frustrating, absolutely, and Hyatt doesn't really have a valid excuse for it.

    The issue that really makes my blood boil, though, is when Hyatt hotels aren't categorized as Hyatt and so don't earn the 4x points on the Hyatt card. I had it happen with the Tommy Hollywood earlier this year, and recently with an SLH property. I actually only recently realized this could happen and had never even thought to double-check before. Now that's one more PITA to keep track of after a Hyatt stay, as if adding up actual eligible spend weren't enough, in addition to emailing my concierge when a stay doesn't even post in the first place.

    I can be more understanding with SLH, though it's not an excuse. And when it's a Hyatt-branded hotel that doesn't earn bonus points on the Hyatt credit card? That's just amateur hour.

  6. Brant Stookey Guest

    I took the time to email this OMAAT post to the CEO of Hyatt, Mark Hoplamazian. The following is the response I received.

    “Dear Brant Stookey,

    Thank you for contacting Hyatt Hotels; I hope my email finds you well. My name is Angie and I am reaching out to you on behalf of Mr. Mark Hoplamazian.

    First I would like to start by thanking you for your feedback regarding World of Hyatt. Our World...

    I took the time to email this OMAAT post to the CEO of Hyatt, Mark Hoplamazian. The following is the response I received.

    “Dear Brant Stookey,

    Thank you for contacting Hyatt Hotels; I hope my email finds you well. My name is Angie and I am reaching out to you on behalf of Mr. Mark Hoplamazian.

    First I would like to start by thanking you for your feedback regarding World of Hyatt. Our World of Hyatt team is working on being able to provide greater clarity to you on your earnings, as we do have several outlets that are ineligible to earn incidentals. I am truly sorry for the frustrations you have experienced regarding this and appreciate your feedback. Many changes made to our program are the result of member feedback such as yours.

    Earning points for alcohol spend is something that is determined by each hotel, as there may be variances in their local jurisdictions. I can certainly understand how this would cause confusion and is something that may vary by location.

    Thank you again for taking the time to provide feedback. If you need any other assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out. “

    Best regards,

    Angie Purl
    Guest Care Support

  7. Sam A Guest

    Pretty much universally I would say ex-tax room rate is applied - none of the incidental spend (which is in my case is usually limited).

    The other problem I have with Hyatt is the Privé property credit is often not applied so instead of being able to use express checkout, or the app checkout, I have to line up and have a 10 minute discussion to get it resolved.

    That said if I ever have...

    Pretty much universally I would say ex-tax room rate is applied - none of the incidental spend (which is in my case is usually limited).

    The other problem I have with Hyatt is the Privé property credit is often not applied so instead of being able to use express checkout, or the app checkout, I have to line up and have a 10 minute discussion to get it resolved.

    That said if I ever have any problems my concierge is excellent and for me that service is the number 1 value of being Globalist.

  8. Hyatt is Good Guest

    My problem with Hyatt is the posting of Nights & Points when Hyatt Business Card is used. How hard can it be, they post the Nights & Points on Personal Hyatt card right away. why not the other one?

  9. George K Guest

    I stayed at a Hyatt Place that started to charge a resort fee
    They charged the resort fee as a miscellaneous charge-Resort fee.
    It didn’t show as an eligible spend

    I’m pretty sure they closed out that way since Hyatt automatically takes off the resort fee since I’m a Globalist. (But it doesn’t automatically take it off if it’s a ‘miscellaneous fee’)
    The hotel told me I had to ask the...

    I stayed at a Hyatt Place that started to charge a resort fee
    They charged the resort fee as a miscellaneous charge-Resort fee.
    It didn’t show as an eligible spend

    I’m pretty sure they closed out that way since Hyatt automatically takes off the resort fee since I’m a Globalist. (But it doesn’t automatically take it off if it’s a ‘miscellaneous fee’)
    The hotel told me I had to ask the fee be removed (false, and I stayed at that same hotel a Couple months earlier, the fee was automatically removed)
    This hotel specifically seems to do things that aren’t great.

    In the end, my concierge takes care of things. I wish they didn’t have to. If the hotel weren’t shady, there wouldn’t be that problem

  10. DSK Member

    Bizarre rule that at least I had never heard of. Hyatt will award points on hotel stays for up to three rooms but on incidentals (such as dining) for only one room. Ran across this when paying for two rooms (one for kids) at a Hyatt resort. Sometimes food charges went on one room and sometimes on the other, which we initially didn't care about until we realized that the dining charges on the second...

    Bizarre rule that at least I had never heard of. Hyatt will award points on hotel stays for up to three rooms but on incidentals (such as dining) for only one room. Ran across this when paying for two rooms (one for kids) at a Hyatt resort. Sometimes food charges went on one room and sometimes on the other, which we initially didn't care about until we realized that the dining charges on the second room didn't yield any points. Concierge audited both room folios and sorted it all out, and we finally got our points after the hotel was asked by the Concierge to move all dining charges from the second room to the first (along with a $37 refund because apparently the hotel overcharged us for something that the Concierge noticed).

  11. Eileen Guest

    I’m new to World of Hyatt without a concierge assigned and have yet to experience a correct accounting for spend with over 15 stays. I look forward to the day that others describe when they get it right. At times, the Hyatt rep fixes it and other times they tell me I need to call the property to get the correct points assigned. Most of the time the property manager will apologize and adjust, but...

    I’m new to World of Hyatt without a concierge assigned and have yet to experience a correct accounting for spend with over 15 stays. I look forward to the day that others describe when they get it right. At times, the Hyatt rep fixes it and other times they tell me I need to call the property to get the correct points assigned. Most of the time the property manager will apologize and adjust, but twice the points never showed up in my account even after more following up. Once I got bonus points for the trouble. I just build follow up calls into my routine after I check out. This can’t be news to Hyatt given that it happens across all the Hyatt brands (including Miraval & SLH).

  12. Adam Guest

    Thanks, Lucky for being an advocate and promoting accountability. I foolishly trusted that my last stay would count the $277 towards parking and incidentals towards eligible spend, but of course, they did not. Would have never thought to check this without your article.

  13. Robert Petty Guest

    This has been a problem for at least 15 years. I think my first points correction was in 2006. Most of the time, the discrepancies are small and not worth the follow up. Sometimes, it's thousands of points missing. I've probably been duped out of 100k points or more in the last decade b/c I just don't have the time to check every folio.

  14. ECM New Member

    I always check and 1/3 they get right. So I get like 5 or 6 of them together, call the Globalist line and get them all updated. A hassle for sure, and even the Globalist help desk is frustrated, as they seem to be getting these calls all the time...

  15. ECR Gold

    Are SLH hotels operating under different rules for this? Have always been confused on this because I dont remember getting points for onsite food&beverage or spa at SLH properties on recent stays, but as you point out thats often the case at real Hyatts so I'm not sure if I'm even eligible for them at SLH properties.

  16. ChilliPalmer Guest

    I have consistently spent less and less at Hyatt hotels for this reason. I just can't stand dealing with it.

    My checkout folio rarely has more on it than two additional items to make it easier to scrutinize. I specifically avoid markets and restaurants in Hyatts because of this crap. I've just spent too much time on correcting it.

    Worst cases: Andaz Papagayo (completely incorrect eligible charges that they couldn't even begin to explain -...

    I have consistently spent less and less at Hyatt hotels for this reason. I just can't stand dealing with it.

    My checkout folio rarely has more on it than two additional items to make it easier to scrutinize. I specifically avoid markets and restaurants in Hyatts because of this crap. I've just spent too much time on correcting it.

    Worst cases: Andaz Papagayo (completely incorrect eligible charges that they couldn't even begin to explain - resolved after about two weeks) and Ventana, where massages don't count as eligible spend somehow

  17. JS Guest

    No points rewards for alcoholic beverages would be a given in certain Nordic countries -- at least Finland, Sweden, Norway.

  18. Tino Guest

    I find it even more rude/infuriating that Hyatt advertises "double/triple points" for hotel restaurant spend, even for non-stays, when a vast majority of properties (in my experience) offer ZERO points for restaurant spend. In reality, 3 x 0 = 0.

  19. sb Guest

    I've been fighting with the Andaz Mayakoba on this for what feels like years. I kind of gave up...I redeemed points but spend almost $2K on F&B. The qualifying spend they gave me was $180. Trying to tell me that alcohol doesn't count which is why it's different. 1. we are not big drinkers at all. 2. I gots the receipts! Infuriating

    1. sb Guest

      THanks for the reminder here. I just reached out again and my concierge just credited me the points.

  20. Mantis Guest

    Thanks for the heads up on this. I will be sure to not do any incidental spending at Hyatts. Is that really the behavior you want to encourage, Hyatt?

  21. Bgriff Guest

    I'm not sure what you are assuming are places that don't give points on alcohol, but the way you write about it seems to suggest you're imagining it's only the UAE, or something like that. But, I believe this old FT thread (about a different, no longer existing hotel chain) is still accurate in noting that a few major US states prohibit it as well. When I stayed at the Andaz Maui recently, I noticed...

    I'm not sure what you are assuming are places that don't give points on alcohol, but the way you write about it seems to suggest you're imagining it's only the UAE, or something like that. But, I believe this old FT thread (about a different, no longer existing hotel chain) is still accurate in noting that a few major US states prohibit it as well. When I stayed at the Andaz Maui recently, I noticed that I did not earn points on alcohol spend consistent with what this FT thread thinks is the law there, though at least my receipts from F&B outlets clearly marked that and my final spend was correctly credited for non-alcohol incidentals. (And even though CA is apparently also such a state, that doesn't explain you not getting credit for various non-alcohol spend in LA.)

    https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-starwood-preferred-guest/1121021-no-spg-points-alcohol-california-hawaii-massachusetts-oregon-updated.html

    It would be nice if the Hyatt T&Cs listed out these states, but I guess there is also an argument that they don't want to have to update their T&Cs every time a state changes its laws.

  22. Mark Guest

    As a Globalist, this is by far my biggest frustration with Hyatt. Beyond just the lack of posting points for incidental spend correctly, it’s really annoying having to guess whether a food outlet in the hotel is property owned or not and therefore eligible for point earning. That should not be on the guest to figure out. The hotel obviously has a relationship with the restaurant whether it’s owned or not so if you can...

    As a Globalist, this is by far my biggest frustration with Hyatt. Beyond just the lack of posting points for incidental spend correctly, it’s really annoying having to guess whether a food outlet in the hotel is property owned or not and therefore eligible for point earning. That should not be on the guest to figure out. The hotel obviously has a relationship with the restaurant whether it’s owned or not so if you can charge the bill to the room, it should earn points.

  23. Gentry Guest

    There is a FlyerTalk thread I started about this a while ago. The consensus was “don’t tell Hyatt because the easiest solution is for them to just exclude alcohol from point earnings”. I find this obnoxious - I escalated this with my concierge because I hosted an event with hundreds spent on alcohol charged to my room. They ultimately determined it was up to each hotel - the hotel in question had no idea that...

    There is a FlyerTalk thread I started about this a while ago. The consensus was “don’t tell Hyatt because the easiest solution is for them to just exclude alcohol from point earnings”. I find this obnoxious - I escalated this with my concierge because I hosted an event with hundreds spent on alcohol charged to my room. They ultimately determined it was up to each hotel - the hotel in question had no idea that was their policy, all the way up to their GM. I now go out of my way to eat outside of the hotel for this reason.

    1. Steve Guest

      Even more annoying at my recent stay, they refused to charge spend at the hotel restaurant to the room and made me pay for it separately, effectively eliminating the benefit of purchasing anything there. Super shady.

  24. John Guest

    I’d say it’s most likely an IT issue. You have to set up the POS system correctly for it to work and sometimes they never get around to it. Someone will call and complain and the points will be manually posted and the incident is closed. It doesn’t get routed to the person who could correctly configure the POS.

  25. Tim Guest

    I hope Hyatt sees this. I do 70-80 nights at Hyatts, and have stopped spending money at hotels and resorts because of this annoyance. I’d think hotels would want to reward us for this spend, but due to the annoyance of following up with my concierge, I just go off resort/hotel for most food.

  26. Shawn Guest

    I think this is an example of YMMV. Since you stay at Hyatt’s most frequently, you see it more often and then justify they are worse than others. I stay at Marriotts most frequently and have to call almost EVERY single time as a titanium because points aren’t correct or stays just don’t post (even weeks later). It’s to the point I am NOT nice to them because as you say, it’s a waste of...

    I think this is an example of YMMV. Since you stay at Hyatt’s most frequently, you see it more often and then justify they are worse than others. I stay at Marriotts most frequently and have to call almost EVERY single time as a titanium because points aren’t correct or stays just don’t post (even weeks later). It’s to the point I am NOT nice to them because as you say, it’s a waste of everyone’s time. And they usually won’t give anything extra. I tell them all the time I have better things to do and they should be penalizing these franchised hotels.

    Personally I find Hilton to be the best. Even when I think they are wrong it’s usually me who missed something. On the odd time they are wrong, they usually also throw 10-20k points for the trouble.

  27. Stvr Guest

    I find that a comped breakfast reduces you eligible spend.

    Ex: $200 room rate, pre tax
    $40 breakfast, waived
    Eligible spend: $160

  28. tef0306 Guest

    I've found that many hotels contract their parking (including the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek shown in this post) and therefore aren't obligated to award points on this type of spending.

  29. Nick Thomas Guest

    Gary Leff wrote about this. See here: https://viewfromthewing.com/some-hyatts-have-learned-a-trick-to-avoid-awarding-points-and-get-away-with-it/

    In short, many Hyatt properties are claiming they don't award points on alcohol and other incidentals and corporate won't do anything about it because they don't have a system to delineate jurisdictions where incentives for alcohol isn't allowed.

    This is especially the lower brands that are more likely to be franchised as Hyatt corporate manages a much higher number of its full-service properties compared to Marriott...

    Gary Leff wrote about this. See here: https://viewfromthewing.com/some-hyatts-have-learned-a-trick-to-avoid-awarding-points-and-get-away-with-it/

    In short, many Hyatt properties are claiming they don't award points on alcohol and other incidentals and corporate won't do anything about it because they don't have a system to delineate jurisdictions where incentives for alcohol isn't allowed.

    This is especially the lower brands that are more likely to be franchised as Hyatt corporate manages a much higher number of its full-service properties compared to Marriott or Hilton.

    Making it worse is the fact that many properties just lump food and drinks into one category, which means many restaurant or bar FOOD purchases never get posted properly.

    Moreover, the default position of corporate Hyatt is that no points for alcohol are awarded unless a property says so. I had this conversation with a very senior Hyatt executive recently. It was enough for me not to stay with Hyatt any longer. I spend a lot of money entertaining customers and potential customers in hotel bars and restaurants. I've had $4,000 dinner tabs before. here is no reason for me to ever spend a penny at a Hyatt property again.

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Mark Guest

As a Globalist, this is by far my biggest frustration with Hyatt. Beyond just the lack of posting points for incidental spend correctly, it’s really annoying having to guess whether a food outlet in the hotel is property owned or not and therefore eligible for point earning. That should not be on the guest to figure out. The hotel obviously has a relationship with the restaurant whether it’s owned or not so if you can charge the bill to the room, it should earn points.

1
Gentry Guest

There is a FlyerTalk thread I started about this a while ago. The consensus was “don’t tell Hyatt because the easiest solution is for them to just exclude alcohol from point earnings”. I find this obnoxious - I escalated this with my concierge because I hosted an event with hundreds spent on alcohol charged to my room. They ultimately determined it was up to each hotel - the hotel in question had no idea that was their policy, all the way up to their GM. I now go out of my way to eat outside of the hotel for this reason.

1
Tim Guest

I hope Hyatt sees this. I do 70-80 nights at Hyatts, and have stopped spending money at hotels and resorts because of this annoyance. I’d think hotels would want to reward us for this spend, but due to the annoyance of following up with my concierge, I just go off resort/hotel for most food.

1
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