This morning I posted options for getting top tier Hyatt elite benefits without having status. The best of these options is for a top-tier friend to book your stay as a Guest of Honor stay. The second option I posted was to have your top-tier friend book a regular stay in their own name and add you as a second guest. I mentioned in the post that Hyatt does not sanction this, but I also reported that it usually works out. In response to this, I’ve heard from many readers that Hyatt has recently been aggressively cracking down on this behavior. Some have received phone calls, but most have received emails as follows:
We appreciate your continued loyalty as a World of Hyatt member. However, we recently became aware of reservations credited to your account, for which you were not present. Please note, members may only earn stay and point credit, including bonuses earned with any promotion, if they pay an eligible room rate and are the registered guest. See https://help.hyatt.com/en/hyatt-terms/world-of-hyatt-terms.html.
At this time, your account is active. However, please be advised that any continuation of this prohibited behavior will result in an account closure and forfeiture of all accumulated points and awards.
Obviously it’s not worth risking your Hyatt account to book rooms for others except via the completely sanctioned Guest of Honor approach. I’ve updated the original post accordingly.
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[…] the negative side, reports are showing up that HYATT is sending out e-mails about elite member lending their status using additional guest. This makes sense for both the elite and the other party because the lender will receive stay/night […]
Are the Explorist Club Lounge Access Awards transferable? My friend has a couple that he’s not using, can he transfer them to me to apply on my reservation?
Thank you!
No. None of the Explorist benefits are transferable to my knowledge.
[…] is commonly done across chains. But Frequent Miler reports that Hyatt is reportedly cracking down on the practice. He says some members caught doing this […]
[…] Hyatt cracks down on second guest approach to sharing status by Frequent Miler. Surely they aren’t cracking down due to people doing things like this? […]
[…] Hyatt cracks down on second guest approach to sharing status by Frequent Miler. Surely they aren’t cracking down due to people doing things like this? […]
[…] the reason I’m writing about this is because Frequent Miler reports that Hyatt seems to be cracking down on this behavior. Specifically, he notes that several […]
does this change where i cant use annual certificate from a family member’s account. my sister has hyatt card and doesnt always use her annual certificate so i do where she adds me to her reservation?
You can do Guest of Honor reservation using annual certificate
I have the same question as Ray. Can a spouse with same last name use a Hyatt credit card yearly I-IV free night certificate when staying at the hotel without her? Guest of Honor not a possibility.
You can gift award nights to other people even if you are not Globalist.
I haven’t tried doing this for friends; however, I’ve gotten away with something similar for my spouse by putting their name with me on the reservation “in case my flight is delayed or canceled”. Points credited to my account so we can accumulate more on a single account.
What do you do if you have a reservation in your name with someone else as second guest and you can’t be there? Can’t rebook either because the rate is twice as much.
Contact Hyatt. They should be able to change the reservation to your friend’s Hyatt account
[…] UPDATE: This approach is NOT recommended. Hyatt has recently sent emails to Globalists who have booked stays this way warning them that their accounts may be closed down if they continue to book reservations for others without showing up in person. See: Hyatt cracks down on second guest approach to sharing status. […]