Destinations By Hyatt Condos Removed
February has been a busy month for World of Hyatt, and not in a good way. They first decided to break up with SLH, likely because of their onboarding of competitor Mr & Mrs Smith properties. Then yesterday, they announced their category changes for the year, which were mostly on the red side of the ledger. On the thread about the category changes ToP Facebook Member Jennifer J. posted that she was most upset that the Destinations by Hyatt condos were removed from the program. To be fair, she had posted about it a few days earlier and I missed it as well. This is potentially big news for family travelers that loved the Destinations by Hyatt condo properties in Hawaii and Colorado.
What Happened?
After seeing this I decided to a bit more why the Destinations by Hyatt condos were removed from the World of Hyatt program. I knew some people had received letters warning them about this change, but I figured there must be something more to it. After some searching I found this Reddit and Flytertalk thread about it.
It appears CoralTree Hospitality Group, a subsidy of Lowe hospitality management, purchased 36 properties in Hawaii and Colorado. Because of that they had to be removed from the Destinations by Hyatt program. Here is an email that was received by oakfan52 about this changes for an upcoming reservation:
…Beginning February 20, 2024, Wailea Beach Villas, A Destination By Hyatt Residence will no longer be a Destination by Hyatt residence.
Rest assured, your stay will be honored, your World of Hyatt benefits delivered, and your points and nights credited to your account. Based on your existing reservation as of today, you will earn the following:
- Base Points and applicable Bonus Points for qualifying spend
- Tier-qualifying nights for eligible nights
Any changes or cancellations to existing reservations can be made by contacting the Hyatt Global Care Center at 1.888.848.9496 (or 1.402.952.1131 if outside the US). Modifications on or after February 20, 2024, will need to be cancelled by the Hyatt Global Care Center and rebooked directly with the property as a paid stay and new rates may apply.
Starting February 20, 2024, you can make reservations for stays at most of the residences formerly branded as Destination by Hyatt Residences on Homes & Hideaway on Hyatt where you can earn and redeem points for stays at a collection of private homes, villas, and condos in Vail, Snowmass, Hawaii, and more.
You Can Still Book These Condos With Hyatt Points…Kind Of
You should noticed the verbiage I italicized from the email above. It is possible to book these properties with World of Hyatt points, but it is via the Homes & Hideaway program. Which, if you were paying attention when that program launched to zero fanfare, is not a good use of your Hyatt points. The program only gives you 1.2 cents per Hyatt point on redemptions. If transferring the points from Ultimate Rewards in order to make a booking you would be better off using the Chase travel portal for 1.25 / 1.5 cents per point on the redemption instead. People normally get 1.5 – 2 cents per point at Hyatt hotels, well above 1.2 cents each.
Suffice to say, these condos are no longer a useful option for your World of Hyatt points. That is unless you are just swimming in them and don't find much use with the Hyatt program any more.
Destinations By Hyatt Condos Removed: ToP Thoughts
Even though this is somewhat of a niche use for World of Hyatt points, it is still a noticeable loss. That is because you could routinely get 2.5 – 3 cents per point when redeeming at these properties. That made it pound for pound one of the best Hyatt redemptions on a regular basis. Throw in the fact that they offered space, a kitchen and opportunity to save money in some notoriously expensive family travel locations … and you can see why people are sad about this.
I considered booking a couple of these properties for our Maui trip because I had only heard glowing reviews of the properties. What I know for sure is that March can't come quick enough. Because February was a rough month for Hyatt fans.
