How to get upgraded at Hyatt hotels.

Over the past few years, since I became Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member, I have had in excess of 700 Hyatt stays ranging from limited service Hyatt Places to full service Grand and Park Hyatt’s.

Hyatt has several brands on their portfolio; Hyatt Place, Hyatt House (former Hyatt Summerfield Suites), Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz and few others. There are rarely any upgrade opportunities at the Hyatt Places as they are mostly non-suite properties. Also Hyatt House (Hyatt Summerfield Suites) are all suite properties where

Of course nothing is better than getting upgraded to unexpectedly to a presidential suite with own sauna and Jacuzzi as happened with my recent stay at the Grand Hyatt Bangkok. Reason for this upgrade that was way beyond what is required by the program? The hotel was completely full and as with the airlines they needed to bump people to higher room categories than what they had originally booked.

Getting an upgrade to a presidential suite is really rare. More likely you can get upgraded to junior or executive type suites which are nothing to sneeze at.

So how one can get upgraded?

1. My motto always is that if you ABSOLUTELY need a suite you better book it. For special occasions like honeymoons and such, it is always to know in advance what you get.

2. Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members can use one of the four yearly suite upgrades to upgrade to a suite for stays up to five days. Alternatively, Diamond members are guaranteed a best room excluding suites.

3. Use points for upgrade. You can use 3000 points to upgrade to a Club level or 6000 points to a suite for stays up to 4 days. You need to book a rack rate at Hyatt hotels or deluxe rack rate at Hyatt resorts. Rack rates can be pricey so this is not always a very good option.

4. Use Virtuoso or Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts programs. Both of these have special deal at some very upmarket properties and include space available upgrades as well. You need to contact a travel agent that has affiliation of these programs.

5. When making the booking, see if you get Nor1 upgrade option. I wrote about this earlier. Some Hyatt hotels are offering discounted room and other upgrades through this program. They are not confirmed in advance but rather at the time of check in.

6. Contact the hotel in advance of your stay to see if they are offering discounted upgrades. Don’t get offended if they are simply quoting the price difference between the room you booked and room/suite you would like to have.

7. Let the hotel know that you are celebrating a special occasion i.e. anniversary or honeymoon. Some hotels are receptive than others for proving upgrades for these occasions. Some chains keep track of your special requests so it might not be wise to have two honeymoons in the same year….

8. Be nice to the front desk employee and ask if they have upgrades available. People who work at the front desk typically have leeway who they decide to upgrade and who not. It never hurts to be nice to them.