Hyatt Gold Passport is testing a new service it calls “My Hyatt Concierge,” which was first shared yesterday by Loyalty Lobby and View from the Wing. But unlike Gary, who’s already a member of the existing Private Line service, I was actually one of the people fortunate to be selected for this trial program. Possibly because in the last four weeks I spent 21 nights at mostly Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt, and Andaz properties (29 if you include a second room for my in-laws during one stay).
Wouldn’t it have been good to have a concierge before those trips? Maybe I can get her to help with the huge number of trip reports I now have to write…
Anyway, I got an email outlining the program on Tuesday (above), followed by a lovely letter from my concierge inviting me to call her the next time I need to book a trip.
I’m here to help make your travel planning easier by booking and customizing your Hyatt stays, keeping you informed about our latest promotions and giving you insider information that you won’t find anywhere else.
I’ve noticed in both the announcement and the personal email that Hyatt is making a big deal about this being a “test.” I don’t think they have much to worry about as one reason I often choose Hyatt is the customer service. But I can see how the concept of a personal concierge may set up unreasonable expectations, and Starwood has had some complaints about mercurial service from the Ambassadors it assigns to Platinum members who stay over 100 nights a year.
If anything, Gold Passport excels for setting reasonable expectations, meeting them in full, and then going above and beyond. It makes sense, then, that most of the benefits promises are thus far vague and seem to be along the line of “customizing” my stays and keeping me informed of promotions. I’ll have to wait and see how this develops before I can really evaluate the program’s success.
Many properties already do a good job of customizing their guests’ experiences on their own, as I was recently reminded at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. They not only arranged to have a birthday cake delivered for my mother-in-law but also waived the charge (I offered to pay). But most of the time my needs aren’t complicated. Other than the cake, I didn’t need assistance making plans during any of my recent stays, either because I made them on my own or just don’t make a lot of plans in general. I’ll have to think up ways to be more demanding. 
Anyone else get invited? I think it will be especially interesting to hear from those who also have a Starwood Ambassador and can give some comparisons a few months into the trial.
