A LoyaltyLobby reader forwarded us a case they are having with Hyatt and being suddenly banned from participating in the World of Hyatt guest loyalty program.
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The case that the reader sent us reminded us of two other Hyatt account closure cases that took place in Hong Kong:
Reader Email: World of Hyatt Risk & Integrity Closes Member Account
Reader Email: World Of Hyatt Account Woes (Suspended & Reinstated)
Email from the reader:
Unfortunately, I was recently on the receiving end of Hyatt’s unfair business practice of deactivating accounts without warning. Multiple emails sent only yielded the same copy-pasted response of how they have “investigated” and found “evidence” to deactivate my account. Despite repeated requests, the team failed to provide any said “evidence” for me to understand how I breached Hyatt’s terms and for me to clarify any misunderstandings. Classic guilty until proven otherwise approach with almost no room for consumers to aruge their case. I have lodged an unfair business practice with the Federal Trade Commision over this.
I hope to share the above screenshot of methods Hyatt claims to use while investigating in hopes that it will benefit more of your readers.
Email From Hyatt:
I asked the reader if any possible violations may have taken place:
I’m actually not fully certain as the Consumer Affairs team has been extremely avoidant in their email replies. All my previous emails received have been simple copy-pastes of the one I attached above. Only after I complained to the Federal Trade Commission did they give a slightly more detailed response.
Perhaps they suspect that I sold/gave away a loyalty tagged stay. It was a big Christmas party at Andaz Singapore and there were lots of movement in and out of the hotel with my entire extended family present.
Not sure if you are able to provide any advice on any avenues to appeal for reinstatement of my Hyatt account?
Additional Email From Hyatt:
The reader’s problem is that they cannot be sure what Hyatt accuses they have violated when it comes to the World of Hyatt terms and conditions.
Note that they are NOT banned from staying and paying for stays but are not welcomed on the loyalty side.
Companies are required, by law, to disclose all the information they have about you if you live in specific markets, such as the European Union. I would look into the option if this also applies where the reader lives. If they don’t disclose the implied violation, they (Hyatt) violate the law.
The problem with all these loyalty programs’ T&Cs is that they are very one-sided. They can, essentially, ban you from the program for any reason, and they are not required to disclose anything to you.
It seems that if someone at a property is royally pissed at you, they can send a nasty letter to Hyatt’s loyalty department that gets you banned.
I would still try to get to the bottom of the issue to find out why Hyatt decided to ban the reader from the loyalty program. I would visit Andaz Singapore and ask to speak with their loyalty champion to see if they have anything to share.
Hyatt may not want to share anything because how can they be sure that anything took place? What if you could then prove that their underlying assumption was completely incorrect?
What else could the reader do?
My advice would be to move on. Other hotel chains (Accor, Hilton, IHG & Marriott) are happy to get the business.
If the reader really wants to continue to stay at Hyatt hotels, my non-professional advice to a friend would be:
- Open a WoH account in another country using a different address, email, and phone number.
- Don’t use the same credit card that you have previously used with Hyatt.
- The reader has a common name, and World of Hyatt cannot ban everyone from using it.
- Don’t frequent the same hotels.
Conclusion
The previous two cases were from Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, and this latest one is likely from Andaz Singapore. I have not heard of Hyatt closing member accounts in other markets. So what is going on with these hotels in Asia?
None of these cases we have covered have suggested that the guests would have misbehaved because they are NOT banned from future stays at their hotels but merely booted from the guest loyalty program.
If a loyalty program believes you have violated its rules, it certainly is in its right to end your participation. They should, however, be very clear about what T&Cs you are broken. Giving a list of very vague possible reasons is not enough.