Hyatt Denies Guest Of Honor
There is no doubt that Hyatt runs the best loyalty program in the hotel space. Heck, it might be true in the entire travel loyalty space period – not just hotel programs. One perk of the World of Hyatt program that makes the loyalty program so good is the Guest of Honor perk. This perk allows Globalist members (Hyatt's top tier) to gift their status for a stay. The Globalist member even earns an elite night for being so giving. That is a true win, win – and it is a big reason why I no longer chase Globalist status. There could be an issue you should be aware of with these awards though. That is because it appears that Hyatt denies Guest of Honor additions close in at some properties. I'll share ToP team member Heather's recent experience with you.
What are Guest of Honor Awards?
First up we should go over the Guest of Honor reward perk a little bit. A Guest of Honor is simply an award that allows a Globalist member to share their perks with another guest of their choosing. These can come in extremely helpful when traveling with other people that don't have your same status. What benefits do these Guest of Honor awards come with?
The recipient will receive all of the same Globalist benefits we have come to know and love. These include free breakfast, guaranteed 4 PM late checkout, and club access (should the hotel have a lounge).
In 2023 and prior, Guest of Honor bookings were unlimited and were initiated by the Globalist member calling in and paying for the stay. However, in 2024 Hyatt made changes to this offering and shifted to giving each Globalist a limited number Guest of Honor awards. While this change was mostly seen as a negative change, there are some positives about this change that I truly love, like being able to book Guest of Honor awards online.
How Do You Earn These Milestone Rewards?
Before we get into the positive of these changes we should discuss how you earn these Guest of Honor awards. This change to issuing actual Guest of Honor Awards just rolled out in 2024. Unlike the first year, there is no head start for regular Globalists as of 2025. As a Globalist, you start with 0 Guest of Honor awards and need to earn them. The only exception to this are members who have earned lifetime Globalist status – who receive 5 Guest of Honor awards annually.
Beyond that, additional Guest of Honor awards can be earned as milestone rewards. Hyatt offers the possibility to earn 10 Guest of Honor awards as milestone rewards at various levels. As you can see from the chart below, Guest of Honor awards can also be earned once you hit the following levels:
- 40 nights (1 award earned)
- 60 nights (2 awards earned)
- 70 nights (1 award earned)
- 80 nights (1 award earned)
- 90 nights (1 award earned)
- 110 nights (1 award earned)
- 120 nights (1 award earned)
- 130 nights (1 award earned)
- 140 nights (1 award earned)
If you are curious in learning more about the Hyatt Guest of Honor perk, or how to transfer one, then be sure to check out our complete guide.
Heather's Recent Booking Snafu
Heather had a friend coming to visit last week and decided to upgrade her friend's stay. She had a newly minted Guest of Honor Milestone Reward in hand and was prepared to shower her friend with baller status. The perk was sent to her friend's Hyatt account in seconds, and all appeared well. That was until her friend tried to apply it to her stay.
World of Hyatt customer service, and even the hotel directly, said that the Guest of Honor award could not be honored for the stay. Heather even tried reaching out herself, but to no avail. The reason for the denial? Because it was within the hotel's three day cancellation window. It appears that within that window that there was no way to add the perk.
What I Think Is Happening
We have plenty of data points of people using Guest of Honor perks day of, much less a day or two out. That is why I think that the hotel's cancellation policy is playing a large role here. Especially if the hotel was sold out. Why? Because I think Hyatt's IT system is the real culprit here.
Let's look at another Milestone Reward perk for a minute to better understand what I am saying. A little over a year ago I almost lost 10,000 points by using a suite upgrade award. The award category of the hotel had increased between the time I had booked the room and applied the upgrade. Since Hyatt essentially cancels your reservation – and then rebooks you into the suite with a new reservation – they charged me the new, higher standard room award rate.
I think the same thing may be happening here. I am guessing they would need to cancel the room and then rebook with the Guest of Honor award attached. With this hotel having a three day cancellation policy they were within the no cancellation window when trying to attach the Guest of Honor award. Maybe the system wouldn't let them cancel and rebook because of it? Or, maybe the hotel was sold out and they weren't sure award space would reappear to rebook it?
That is my best guess on what is going on here. Heather was able to get someone to finally apply it on the fourth call into customer service. They likely finally found that person who had the knowledge, or at least the desire, to apply the Guest of Honor award.
Hyatt Denies Guest Of Honor: ToP Thoughts
I think Hyatt denying Guest of Honor awards in this manner will be a niche problem. It is likely that it would require a hotel to have a more robust cancellation policy, or to be sold out, in order for you to run into this issue. That is my best guess at least. If you take nothing else from this just know that the earlier you can attach your Guest of Honor Milestone Rewards the better. While it may work doing it last minute most of the time, waiting could cause you a lot of aggravation. Let me know if you have ever been denied applying a Guest of Honor perk over in the ToP Facebook Group.
