Hyatt Hotels Corp. will replace and rename its loyalty
program next year, and the changes appear to benefit guests who spend the most
dollars.
The World of Hyatt program, which replaces Hyatt Gold
Passport on March 1, 2017, will do away with granting loyalty status based on
number of stays and instead base qualification on the number of nights stayed
or the amount of money spent at the hotels.
The bottom tier for World of Hyatt, called Discoverist,
requires 10 qualifying nights or 25,000 base points per calendar year, with 5
points granted for each dollar spent.
That differs from Hyatt Gold Passport's bottom tier,
Platinum, which is granted after five eligible stays or 15 eligible nights per
calendar year.
World of Hyatt will have three tiers (Discoverist, Explorist
and Globalist) compared with Hyatt Gold Passport's two (Platinum and Diamond).
Like the current program, World of Hyatt's perks include room upgrades, an exclusive
reservation phone line, expedited check-in and late checkout.
World of Hyatt will also add perks such as guaranteed room
availability with reservations made at least 72 hours prior to arrival and the
waiving of resort fees in some cases.
A new wrinkle: World of Hyatt will award a free night to
guests who log stays at five different Hyatt brands (the company has a total of
12 brands).
Members of the current Hyatt Gold Passport program may start
earning World of Hyatt points for stays starting Jan. 1. The Hyatt Gold
Passport program will remain in effect until Feb. 28, 2017, and will then
transfer to World of Hyatt on March 1.