Loyal readers would know I have generally positive thoughts about the World of Hyatt program, but I’m not so sure about the future value of the program.

The Venetian joins World of Hyatt

In December 2024, Hyatt beat out IHG for partnering with The Venetian and The Palazzo, two hotels found in the center of the Las Vegas Strip. Immediately, there were cheers from Hyatt enthusiasts who grew tired of perceived sub-par treatment at the Rio, Hyatt’s other casino property in Las Vegas.

At the Rio, the standard set of elite benefits applied, but the games at check-in and the difficulty in honoring breakfast in full exhausted elite members. What members wanted was a good Las Vegas hotel with full benefits. They didn’t get that with the Rio (it’s not on The Strip and still under renovation). So when the news of The Venetian partnership came out, understandably many fans rejoiced.

World of Hyatt perks at The Venetian

What we got

Then, in January 2025, more details finally emerged. So what did we get after waiting all this time?

• 5 Base Points per dollar spent on rooms, resort fees, and restaurants when charged to your room
• 4 Bonus Points per dollar when using your Hyatt credit card
• Award nights that do not follow any category (based on the cash price of the room)
• Credit towards earning tier status and Milestone Rewards

And what did elite members get?

• A separate check-in area
• Non-guaranteed late checkout and early check-in
• Non-guaranteed suite upgrades
• A discount on gondola rides

What we’re missing

Note that these benefits only come when you purchase rates directly through Hyatt, which can be higher priced than other avenues. Notably, there are quite a few benefits that are missing from the standard benefits you’ve come to expect:

• No resort fees on award stays. While not directly assessed, the points price already has them baked in.
  • By the way, the resort fee here is simply atrocious. Access for two guests to use the fitness center and Wi-Fi access.
• Globalists don’t get free parking on award stays.
• Globalists don’t get free breakfast.
• Even bottled water for any elite member isn’t guaranteed.

On paper, there is no differentiation at all between any and all elite members. That seems a bit weird and counter-intuitive from Hyatt’s perspective. It left a lot of members frustrated, but I have to say I’m not surprised.

Why it doesn’t surprise me

That’s not how the MGM partnership worked

Before this recent partnership, MGM maintained a relationship with Hyatt. Ultimately MGM ended up partnering with Marriott and Hyatt was left out in the cold. But when the MGM and Hyatt partnership was at its peak, many standard Hyatt benefits didn’t exist. Granted, there was a status match in play, where Hyatt’s elite members could earn MGM status that would get them out of resort fees and parking fees. But there was no free breakfast benefit available for Globalists and everyone was OK with it.

Don’t forget that the MGM partnership with Celebrity Cruises is still going strong, so if you want your free parking at MGM resorts, it’s easy and free to get it.

This isn’t how Vegas values guests

Go ask any hotel if they care if you’ve stayed at 100 other hotels. They don’t care until you stay and spend (big) at their hotel. Other hotels aren’t allowed to get away with that thinking but Las Vegas is different. Spending is truly king here and they value their own whales who are willing to spend big on the overpriced goods they’re selling and at the casino. Your hotel status with any chain is meaningless if it doesn’t translate to spend at The Venetian. Want comped meals at The Venetian? Well, you’ll need to spend a lot of time at The Venetian to earn it.

Las Vegas has been this way for a long time and the Hyatt partnership wasn’t going to change it overnight.

Hyatt’s recent purchase of Mr & Mrs Smith

Let’s take a closer dive into other partnerships that Hyatt recently purchased. The most notable purchase was arguably of Mr and Mrs Smith, a booking platform for other hotels. This purchase added over 1,500 properties in the luxury end of the segment to provide a decent boost to its hotel count. However, it should be noted that Hyatt terminated their partnership with SLH (a different booking platform) with this purchase.

Elite treatment at these properties, just like at The Venetian, isn’t anything special. Again, Globalists don’t see any real benefit for staying here. There is no breakfast and no guaranteed late checkout or upgrade. And similar to how the award pricing works for The Venetian, there is no fixed points rate for these hotels. At least with the SLH partnership, award pricing was a bit inflated but it tied to fixed categories. No one wants to see dynamic award pricing spread, but here we are.

Hyatt’s focus is on all-inclusive properties

If you look at Hyatt’s focus recently, it’s not just in the luxury segment but also seems heavily weighted towards all-inclusive properties. Perhaps this is their way of differentiating their asset mix into an area their larger competitors haven’t gone. But one thing holds true at these resorts–the lack of a need to differentiate elite benefits. There’s no need to be a Globalist to get free breakfast since everyone gets it. Sure, maybe possibly extend a room upgrade if it’s available, but there truly isn’t that much of a need for them to differentiate things.

Hyatt’s future is outlined in their earnings calls

This all leads to my ultimate conclusion on why it doesn’t surprise me that Hyatt is heading down this path. For assistance, let’s take a brief look at Hyatt’s 2024Q3 investor meeting details.

First, Hyatt points out that they’ve been leading the industry with net rooms growth for seven years in a row. They double-down with that concept by also pointing out fees, pipeline, and loyalty membership also grows at a faster rate. As a customer, it sure gives me comfort that fees are leading the way at Hyatt, but they don’t mean resort fees but rather fees paid to Hyatt from the member hotels.

Then they mark the hefty growth the company has experienced since 2017. If you need a reminder, World of Hyatt launched in 2017 (previously known as Gold Passport). The thing to note is all the growth in rooms and in loyalty members.

And finally we get to the meaty part of the presentation, where Hyatt pats themselves on the back with their luxury portfolio. Hyatt has grown to own 13% share of all luxury branded rooms. While Hyatt doesn’t reference its market share from back in 2017, the slide does note its impressive growth.

No need to differentiate as the chain gets bigger

This all points to Hyatt’s larger size than they were in 2017. It also means they don’t need to be quite as generous with benefits compared to where things were in 2017. Other major chains do not offer as generous a benefit as Hyatt offers–both to elites and the typical loyalty member. Why would Hyatt then incur more costs to attract members? It’s more of a theory on economic cost models than it is a theory of collusion. The chain doesn’t have to spend as much money to acquire another customer.

I wouldn’t expect Hyatt to change its loyalty program to signal a change in thinking. After all, Gold Passport lasted 30 years and went through its own changes along the way. Rather, what you’ll end up seeing is a gradual paring back of benefits. And look at what we’re getting: newer expansions with less benefits and differentiation.

I’m not trying to say the World of Hyatt program is doomed or has no value. Rather, in the natural course of how it does business, Hyatt won’t have as strong a need to attract customers. As a customer, that might mean more propensity for disappointment than surprise. But I’d say try not to be surprised because it’s inevitable as the chain grows larger.