Hyatt Pricing Error
Yesterday it finally happened. The day we have all been fearing for a couple of months now. The day Hyatt crushed our souls with their new award chart. So far it hasn’t been as bloody as expected, but I think that is on purpose. I think that as new dates roll out, and as the calendar progresses forward, that is when we will feel the real damage. I know quite a few people were scrambling to do some last minute bookings to protect themselves because of this change. If the price drops you can almost always rebook at the lower rate after all! That has led to a Hyatt pricing error that has cost some people tens of thousands of points.
What Happened?
If you were near the booking cutoff before the changes go into effect then you likely were pretty frustrated. It sounds like Hyatt’s system was struggling with the influx of people, or maybe the site was kicking errors because of them tinkering in the back end.
Some MTM Diamond members noticed that once they were able to finally get their hotel award bookings locked in that they had been overcharged. It looks like they would get the first night at the price that was shown at booking. As for the rest of the nights, they booked at the new full rate (sort of).
I had thought maybe they just got fooled by the first night charges they sometimes show. Prices can then be different for the rest of the booking. Multiple people experienced the same Hyatt pricing error though, which means that wasn’t the case. Here is Ryan M’s example above and below.
The really weird thing is the new price shown after the changeover is for 30K a night. As you can see above, nothing billed at 30K. He got the old 29K category 6 peak pricing the first night, and then 35K a night after that. You would think it should be 30K if anything. It appears there are some glitches in the Hyatt matrix.
Other Issues
Ryan also noticed that some of his older bookings are showing the wrong amount. One such booking looks like he paid 220K for the stay, but it only cost him 200K. Hyatt’s social media team already admitted that the backend is having issues showing the correct amounts on previously made bookings. They were able to see what he actually paid per night though. So, don’t go cancelling your bookings thinking you are going to snag extra points!
Hyatt Pricing Error: Final Thoughts
Hyatt having a pricing error after a major system-wide change like this is not surprising. Hopefully they are able to correct it for people quickly though. I’ll forward this to the Hyatt team in case they are not aware of the issue too. I would reach out to your Hyatt Concierge if you have one, or direct message their social media team. You can ask to get refunded the difference in points, or rebooked at the lower rates. To be honest, the social media team usually responds quicker, and has always been excellent in my experience.
Let me know if you noticed this Hyatt pricing error on your bookings as well done below, or over in the MTM Facebook Group.
