Lindsay's Lessons

As you know we do a fair amount of travel this time of year. With that in mind, we belong to nearly every customer rewards and loyalty program available. From airlines to hotels, we have racked up millions of points. Yet amazingly, with the exception of Southwest Airlines who has actually honored our loyalty with some free flights, we rarely see the benefits of those rewards.

Well, that's not entirely true. I do get a free bottle of water when I check into the Holiday Inn. With that in mind, why wouldn't I come back? Clearly I am valued.

I can't say that these rewards programs are a complete failure. There are many times that we try to stay with a particular chain in hopes of finally reaching that next level. You know, the level where you actually feel good about being a customer. After all, isn't that all we ever really want as a customer; to feel good about our experience when we leave.

However, I recently abandoned all of my loyal principles and decided that I just needed an inexpensive room in which to crash before an early morning flight. I wasn't looking for frills. I didn't need a free bottle of water. I just needed a clean place to rest and a quick shower. So, I finally did it. I went to Priceline.com and named my own price.

The service allowed me to choose the area of town in which I wanted to stay and to set a minimum standard for the type of hotel in which I would stay based on a system of stars. Beyond that, whatever deal they found would be my sentence for the evening.

Much to my surprise, I ended up with a room at a very nice Hyatt Place hotel for a rate that was beyond reasonable. When I arrived at the hotel, I was thrilled. My room was spacious and comfortable. The amenities were wonderful and they even offered free Wi-fi. I was a happy customer. Moreover, as I often find myself in need of a room near Columbus, I was prepared to have a new favorite place to stay.

Best of all, we are proud members of the Hyatt Rewards program. We are loyal customers who frequent their hotels in our travels.

The next morning I approached the front desk to check-out with one very simple request. I asked the gentleman behind the counter if he could please apply my customer reward number to my stay as I checked out. It sounded simple. I am a loyal customer. Their program supposedly strives to reward customer loyalty.

Alas, my request was denied.

"I'm sorry, but since you booked through a third-party provider, you didn't pay for the room so we are unable to credit you with reward points."

Wait a minute. I had just stayed in the hotel as if I were a customer. And I was fairly certain I was being charged for the privilege.

I said to the gentleman, "So you're telling me that I'm not being charged for my stay?"

He said, "Well no, of course not, you already paid for it when you booked the room."

"Oh, so then I am the customer." I responded.

"Well, no," he countered, "Not according to our policy. It says the third-party provider is the customer."

"Would they have booked a room here last night if I hadn't initiated the request?" I prodded.

"I guess not," he continued, "But just look at it this way, you saved a lot more money than you would have if you had called us directly."

"Oh, I see. So as a loyal customer you would charge me more if I called you to book my room? But since I didn't so that I could save money, I can no longer be rewarded for being a loyal customer. Do you see where I'm headed with this?" I asked.

He responded, "Well, it's not really my policy, it's theirs."

"Fair enough." I conceded. "So don't you think you should probably share with them, that because of their policy a very loyal customer who had just experienced a great stay in your hotel and was looking forward to staying with you again soon is now leaving very unhappy."

"I can, but it won't do any good." he said with honesty. "It's just the way it is. We've been through this before."

At that point I decided it was time let go of my little chew toy and move on. After all, how can one possibly begin to argue when they've just effectively been told, "We know and we don't really care."

To recap, in order to receive the best rates at a Hyatt hotel, I must book them indirectly because even though I am a loyal customer, I will be charged more if I simply call them to book a room. Yet, if I don't pay more for the privilege of staying with them, I can not receive rewards points for my loyalty.

And while apparently numerous customers have expressed frustration over this insane policy, Hyatt would rather have them leave unhappy than to alter their policy.

To give credit where it's due, their loyalty policy is clearly working. It does inspire loyalty...just not to the Hyatt.