Dive Brief:
- Effective May 20, Hyatt will update the number of points required for a World of Hyatt loyalty program member to redeem a free night at 136 hotels, with 24 shifting to a lower award category and 112 shifting to a higher award category, the company confirmed to Hotel Dive.
- The changes come as Hyatt expands its award chart from three to five redemption levels within each of its existing eight categories, also taking effect May 20. The company will soon offer point redemption opportunities across five levels (lowest, low, moderate, upper and top) within each category, as compared to its current three levels (off-peak, standard and peak).
- Hyatt also plans to roll out new loyalty program enhancements later this year as it positions World of Hyatt for stable and sustainable growth, the company previously announced. The loyalty program shifts come as transparency and flexibility are top of mind for members, Laurie Blair, senior vice president of global marketing and loyalty at Hyatt, said in a February statement.
Dive Insight:
Andaz West Hollywood in California, Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin in Texas and Dream Nashville are among the Hyatt hotels shifting to a lower award category. Andaz 5th Avenue in New York City, Hyatt Regency Seattle and other properties will shift to a higher category.
According to a Hyatt spokesperson, category changes like these are part of the company’s annual review process to ensure each hotel is appropriately aligned in the loyalty program’s award chart. This month’s changes are “relatively limited in scope,” with more than 90% of hotels remaining in their current categories, the spokesperson said.
Additionally, the company is implementing five new redemption levels across its award chart, and each category’s redemption range is also changing.
For example, the redemption range for a standard room at a category one hotel in the current chart is 3,500 to 6,500 points. That is being updated to a range of 3,000 to 9,000 points in the new chart. While that shift represents a 14% decrease in redemption costs on the low end of the range, it also represents a 38% increase in redemption costs on the high end. Meanwhile, for a standard room at a category eight hotel, redemption costs on the low end of the range will remain flat but increase roughly 67% on the high end.
The expanded redemption levels come as hotel loyalty members seek brands that offer more flexibility around point redemption. Hyatt previously stated that by expanding flexibility within the defined category caps, it was reinforcing its “commitment to transparency, predictability and lasting loyalty member trust.”
The added redemption levels also “allow the program to manage peak demand more precisely by reducing the need for broad increases or major category shifts in the future,” Hyatt previously said. “After five years without a meaningful structural update, this evolution reinforces long-term stability and protects the integrity of the program rather than fundamentally changing it.”
Despite the expanded redemption levels, World of Hyatt members “will have no change to the usage of their Category 1-4 and Category 1-7 Free Night Awards,” the spokesperson shared.
Hyatt also plans to roll out loyalty program enhancements later this year, including digital points sharing and exclusive early access to award night availability for Explorists, Globalists, Lifetime Globalists and World of Hyatt cardmembers.
Hyatt ended the first quarter of this year with approximately 66 million loyalty members, up 18% year over year, CEO Mark Hoplamazian said during an earnings call last week.
