Analysis of Hyatt Hotels Nonrefundable 21% Off Sale, December 1-12, 2008
Loyalty Traveler Trip Tip: Shop Other Rates Before You Drop a Prepaid Bundle on this sale
The Offer: 21% Off ‘Prevailing Rates’ using offer code LTO107.
Discount rate is eligible for Faster Free Nights promotion.
Requires nonrefundable prepayment for hotel stays booked with this offer.
Blackout Date: 12/31/08
Booking Timeframe: In USA, Canada, Caribbean – Must book by December 12
Park Hyatt hotels worldwide*, Hyatt’s top-tier hotel brand, and Hyatt hotels in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia/Pacific and Latin America (including Mexico) require 7 days advance booking for stays through January 31, 2009. The December 12 date is not the timeframe limit for Park Hyatt or Hyatt Hotels in most international regions.
*Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort, Colorado is an exception and must be booked by December 12.
Hotel Stay Timeframe: Rate applies to stays through February 1, 2009.
Loyalty Traveler Analysis:
Hotel rates are dropping faster than home prices in many locations. I have family traveling during the December holidays and I focused my searches for the Hyatt 21% LTO107 sale on California and Arizona hotels.
Best hotel rate findings are mixed. The Hyatt sale is a good deal for some locations and the offer is an opportunity to book a Hyatt hotel at its lowest rate of 2008.
I also found Hyatt locations where comparable AAA rates are available. In several searches the prepaid, nonrefundable 21% discount rate saves only $10 to $15 per night compared to a refundable AAA rate. Paying an extra $30 to $50 for a $600 stay can be a smart insurance policy on unforeseen circumstances that may result in a missed stay and a hefty loss if your vacation plans fall through on a prepaid hotel.
I try to avoid nonrefundable rates at every opportunity.
The problem with buying a nonrefundable rate hotel stay at the present time is hotel rates are dropping. Hotels are seeing some serious deflation in the past two months. It is hard to know a good deal unless you are highly informed about the rates for a particular hotel over the past several years. I have followed San Francisco Bay area hotels for the past five years and I am seeing some hotel rates fall back to 2003 levels. Other hotel rates are still in the bumped up range from the 2006-2007 huge room rate increases and have not fallen back to the post-9-11 lows of 2002 and 2003.
Some Hyatt Hotels are a good deal at the 21% discount rates, however, they may not necessarily be the best deals of 2008 for that property. I think the Hyatt rates are likely to be about as low as rates go for December, but I would be reluctant to prepay a resort like Hyatt Regency Resort Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona for a late January stay. Resort properties may be slashing rates for January even more in the coming weeks if the reservations don’t roll in for the major hotel players with deals like this Hyatt Hotels 21% discount promotion.
Hyatt Regency Resort at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona
Rate Comparisons for Hyatt Hotel Stays in December and January
|
Hotel, Location, Date |
Limited Time 21% rate – Offer Code: LTO107 (prepaid-nonrefundable) |
AAA rate (usually refundable – rules vary from 48 hours prior to arrival to day of arrival) |
Hyatt.com (prepaid-nonrefundable)
|
Prevailing Rate (rules vary) |
Special Offer Rates (hotel specific) |
|
Hyatt Regency Orange County, Garden Grove, CA Fri 12-26 to Sun 12-28 (2 nights) *prices shown are total rate for two nights |
$243.32 King
$338.12 King suite or 2-bedroom kids suite |
$277.20 King
$385.20 King Suite or 2 bedroom Kids Suite (cancel up to 24 hours before arrival) |
$298.00 King
$418 Suite |
$308 King
$428 Suite |
‘Suites on Sale’ Special Offer – Suite $368.00 (may cancel up to 24 hours before arrival) Refundable rate helps if little Julie comes down with the flu. |
|
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Fri. Dec. 26 |
Deluxe King $141.41
Regency Club $200.66 |
Deluxe King $152.15
Regency Club $215.90 Cancel up to 24 hours
AAA Hot Deal rate includes breakfast for 2 and 25% off valet parking
Deluxe King $161.10
Regency Club $236.10 Cancel up to 24 hours
|
Deluxe King $159.00
Regency Club $234.00 |
Deluxe King $179.00
Regency Club $254.00 |
San Fran on Sale Deluxe King $161.00
Regency Club $236.00 (includes a $25 food credit and may cancel up to 24 hours) |
|
Grand Hyatt San Francisco Fri-Sat Jan. 16-17 |
$330.22 King
Regency Club $448.72 (RC is complimentary for Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members) |
$376.20 King AAA Hot Deal includes breakfast for two daily ($80 value) – May cancel up to 48 hours before arrival
Regency Club $526.20 (negates value of free breakfast) |
$418.00 King Regency Club $568.00 |
$418.00 King No option for Regency Club shown online. |
No applicable special offers |
|
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, AZ Gainey Ranch 4 nights-Fri-Sat Jan 16-20 |
$1,061.20 King (30% off prevailing rate of $1,516.) |
$1,212 King Cancel up to 72 hours. |
$1,436 King |
$1,516 King |
$1,137 3 For Free group/corporate #: 22828 (includes free one category room upgrade and credit for 4th night) Cancel up to 72 hours. |
|
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, AZ Gainey Ranch 2 nights -Fri-Sat Dec 12-14 |
$404.60 King |
$462.40 King Cancel 72 hours prior to arrival |
$538.00 King |
$578 King Cancel 72 hours prior to arrival (AAA has $116 value for this stay) |
|
|
Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego 2 nights Dec 26-28 |
Not Offered |
$238.50 |
$288.00 |
$338.00 |
Hotel Site Special Offer – Winter Getaway $198 Cancel 24 hours prior to arrival |
|
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego 2 nights Dec 26-28
|
$248.00 (40% discount) |
$334.56 |
$388 |
$408 |
$298 Holiday Rate special offer. Cancel by 24 hours. |
Hyatt Regency Orange County, Garden Grove, California (near Disneyland).
Fri-Sat night weekend stay for December 26-28, 2008.
A hotel special offer for a full suite or a 2-bedroom kids suite is available through the “Suites on Sale” special hotel offer at only $15 more per night than the 21% nonrefundable rate. The Suites on Sale rate may be cancelled up to the day before arrival. That is relatively cheap insurance to protect your vacation money.
The lowest priced one bedroom King room is available as a refundable AAA rate for just $17 more per night than the nonrefundable LTO107 room rate for the 21% discount. To reiterate, $34 extra for a room rate that may be cancelled up to day before arrival is a good insurance rate to protect your cash from a cancellation of travel plans or a rate drop between now and the hotel stay dates.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco at the Embarcadero
Friday, December 26, 2008
Some of the major cities in the USA and Europe have their lowest rates of the year during the December holiday week when business travel is near non-existent.
The LTO107 discount rate offer of $141 for the night is only slightly lower than the basic AAA rate of $152 that may be cancelled with no charge up to day before arrival. An extra $20 for the AAA Hot Deal rate of $161 includes breakfast for 2 guests and 25% off valet parking. The breakfast deal alone is worth at least $40 at the rates charged in the Hyatt Eclipse lobby restaurant. AAA is a better deal.
A “San Francisco On Sale” special offer rate of $161 includes a $25 food & beverage credit which could be a better deal for someone with Diamond elite status who will receive complimentary Regency Club access for complimentary breakfast. This special offer rate may be cancelled up to day before arrival.
San Francisco Bay view from Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
Friday-Saturday, January 16-18, 2009
The 21% discount LTO107 rate of $330.22 ($165/night) is the lowest available rate for this hotel. There are no applicable special offer rates for these dates at this time.
AAA Hot Deal rate is an extra $23 per night and includes breakfast for two each day. The AAA rate may be cancelled up to two days before arrival making this a comparable rate to the LTO107 with the value-added breakfast component.
The Holiday Sale rate for the Hyatt Mission Bay, San Diego did not appear when searching AAA rates for the two night December 26-27 weekend stay. By checking both the LTO107 rate and the AAA rate I saw the special Holiday Sale rate with the same cancellation terms as the AAA rate for a savings of $36. Paying an extra $50 (20%) to avoid the nonrefundable LTO107 rate is a choice that needs to be weighed against the probability of a change in plans for the hotel stay.
San Francisco Bay view from Grand Hyatt
Hyatt Regency Resort Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona
January 16-20, 2009
The LTO107 four night rate for this hotel is $1,061.20. This nonrefundable, prepaid rate is a $37.50 per night savings on the $1,212 AAA rate which has no value-added component except for a cancellation policy up to 72 hours before arrival.
There is a free night and free one category upgrade hotel special offer at $1,137 for the four night stay. This rate allows cancellation up to 72 hours before arrival and brings the refundable room rate to just $16 per night more. The special offer rate at $60 more to protect an $1,100 hotel investment for your vacation may be a wise choice.
At the pace hotel rates are dropping there might even be lower rates that become available for this stay 7 weeks away.
And the best deal of all for the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch may be booking the room through an online third party site. This hotel stay listed for $969 for the 4-night stay, January 16-20, 2009 through GTAHotels.com link found through Kayak.com. This is $90 less than the Hyatt.com LTO107 rate. Regency Club is $1,155 total for these dates.
This stay may qualify for Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee which would reduce the $969 rate by an additional 20% and bring the nightly rate down to $776 or $194 per night compared to the $265 per night rate using the LTO107 rate. Loyalty Traveler has made several successful Best Rate Guarantee claims with Hyatt Hotels and Starwood Hotels based on GTAHotels.com rates.
Hyatt Regency Resort at Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona
Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California
December 26-28, 2008, two-night stay
The 21% Discount LTO107 rate is not offered at this Hyatt property. There is a AAA rate of $238.50 which is $50 less than the nonrefundable Hyatt.com rate. Even better is a hotel special offer rate “Winter Getaway” for $198 for the two night stay.
Kayak.com showed a rate of $95.09 per night on Hotels.com for this stay. This could be another Best Rate Guarantee claim that, if successful, would reduce the nightly rate to just $76 per night. Now that is a hotel bargain you can’t beat for one of San Diego’s top hotels.
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego, California
December 26-28, 2008, two-night stay
The 21% Discount LTO107 rate of $248.00 for the two-night stay is actually a 40% discount on the prevailing rate of $204 per night. The AAA rate is $47 more per night and does not include any value-added component except for the more liberal cancellation policy.
Hyatt Mission Bay has a hotel “Holiday Rate” special offer of $149 per night. The additional $25 per night for a cancellation policy up to day before arrival may be a better choice for some.
