When I was 15, my dad and I took a trip to Los Angeles that changed my life. We didn't have a set agenda, and since we were staying down the road from the University of California, we took a campus tour.
21.01.2025 - 20:21 / thepointsguy.com
World of Hyatt is known for treating its top-tier elite members especially well. I'd argue the brand is first among many when it comes to customer loyalty. As a World of Hyatt Globalist, I often get upgraded to a suite at check-in or even ahead of time.
That's why I was so surprised when I recently received an email offering me the opportunity to bid for a suite upgrade at an upcoming stay in Lisbon.
Several offers were available, including the chance to bid for an upgrade on a sliding scale. Options included a standard river-view room starting at an additional $41 per day, a deluxe suite starting at $97 and a deluxe river-view suite starting at $141. You could bid up to $185 for the largest suites.
Interestingly, I had a second stay at the hotel later in the week and received a similar offer via email.
Related: Tips to get the hotel room upgrades you deserve
There were also options to pay for early or late check-in or checkout, prepurchase classes like Pilates, get a room on a higher floor, book an airport pickup, and even prepay for a massage. (I should have booked the massage in advance since they were sold out when I was there.)
Other than TPG Senior Director of Content Summer Hull (who vaguely remembered getting an offer from an all-inclusive Hyatt property), none of my colleagues remembered receiving similar emails. I also asked in the TPG Lounge on Facebook and got some surprising intel. Several World of Hyatt members have received similar offers recently.
Facebook user N. Glann also had an upcoming stay at the Hyatt Regency Lisbon. "None of the upgrade offers seemed worth it, and the bidding started at a minimum price on the slider that I was not willing to pay," Glann said. "Even airport pick-up seemed ridiculously high at 90 euros, which is $92.33 USD. Right now, I can get an Uber XL or XXL from LIS to the Hyatt for 13.94 euros, which is $14.30 USD, or 16.37 euros, which is $16.79 USD, respectively."
A reader named Viktor Kryvyziuk said he'd received an upgrade offer for Dreams Natura Resort & Spa in Cancun. "Bidding included different room options and has a minimal bid amount (e.g., $115) with a reference to an average numbers members would typically bid (e.g., $150)," he said.
Marie Christine Misajon-Seda told TPG she got an upgrade offer at Hyatt Vivid Grand Island, also in Cancun. She was a World of Hyatt Explorist at the time but was already booked into a suite using points, so she didn't jump on the upgrade offer to a larger room.
Another reader said he didn't believe the bidding policy was new, suggesting it was up to individual hotels, which I do believe to be the case. I've stayed more than 80 nights at Hyatt hotels in the past 12 months, and the beautiful Hyatt Regency Lisbon is
When I was 15, my dad and I took a trip to Los Angeles that changed my life. We didn't have a set agenda, and since we were staying down the road from the University of California, we took a campus tour.
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When my son was 4, I took him on our first big vacation . It was the first time we traveled out of state, and we had to take a plane to reach our destination. At the time, it was also a big deal for me to take an entire week off of work, but being able to take my son on a true vacation had long been a goal of mine.
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