Want Hyatt Top Tier Through Booking Meeting Rooms? Not So Fast: The Terms Have Changed!

Hyatt Tightens Elite Status Rules for Meeting Planners

When the World of Hyatt program was announced, travel hackers across the globe scoured through the fine print to see how they could maximize the new program. Under World of Hyatt, qualification via stays is now a thing of the past as are elite benefits on stays booked through third parties. Despite the bad news, there was one bright spot it seemed in the terms. Booking 20 meetings could earn you Globalist status!

I know some people planned to find a cheap Hyatt Place and rent a meeting room for a cheap rate 20X. According to the first version of the terms that seemed like it would work. Unfortunately at some point Hyatt revised those terms and let’s just say there is no free lunch. Let’s take a look.

A Qualifying Event

When the terms were published, they said you need 20 Qualifying Events in order to earn Globalist status. Here is how a Qualifying Event is defined:

(i) a meeting, conference, gathering, or other event that includes occupation of no fewer than ten (10) paid guest rooms for the same night (or multiple nights) (“Qualifying Meeting”). For a Qualifying Meeting, guest rooms may be billed to a group master account/posting master or may be paid for by the occupying guest (i.e., designated “Individual Pays Own”), provided that the guest rooms are associated with the room block for the Qualifying Event.

(ii) a meeting, conference, gathering, or other event that does not satisfy the guest-room minimum required for a Qualifying Meeting, but does include the rental of a meeting room or event space and/or the purchase of catered or banqueted food or beverage from the Hyatt hotel or resort at which the event is held (“Qualifying Catered Event”). (Qualifying Meetings and Qualifying Catered Events are referred to collectively in these Planner Rewards Terms as “Qualifying Events.”) At Hyatt hotels and resorts in Asia, personal catering/banqueting events not related to a business meeting or event organized by a business or other entity (as determined by Hyatt in its sole discretion) will not be considered a “Qualifying Event” and are not eligible for the Planner Rewards program.

I don’t believe the first set of terms specifically broke out separate names for Qualifying Meetings or Qualifying Catered Events (correct me if I’m wrong), however their description remains the same. These new names are a big deal though. To see how, let’s now look at how you earn status.

Globalist Through Meetings

If we scroll down through the terms, under the elite status section, Hyatt has added the following language. I am 99.99999% sure it wasn’t there before.

Please note that only Qualifying Meetings, and not Qualifying Catered Events, will count towards an Individual Planner’s qualification for elite status. An Individual Planner may earn Bonus Points for Eligible Event Charges incurred as part of a Qualifying Catered Event, but will not earn credit towards elite status for such an event.

What Does This Mean

Only Qualifying Meetings count towards elite status and those require at least 10 rooms to be booked in the hotel for the event. If you simply rent a meeting room, you will earn bonus points, but will not earn credit towards elite status. Let’s tally up the score. Hyatt 1 – Travel Hackers 0.

Your thoughts?

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