One trick to get free perks like room upgrades and breakfast is to book a World of Hyatt Guest of Honor reservation.
Here’s how to get free suite upgrades, free breakfast, and more without having elite status at Hyatt hotels.
World of Hyatt Guest of Honor
Free breakfast, free room upgrades, and more are a Hyatt Globalist perk. These and other freebies are yours when you stay 60 nights a year at Hyatt.
Did you know you could get those same benefits with 0 stays at Hyatt?
Yep, through the World of Hyatt Guest of Honor perk.
The World of Hyatt Hyatt Guest of Honor benefit lets a Globalist gift their elite status and book a Hyatt hotel for someone else. It is the only Hyatt-approved way to let someone borrow Globalist status.
Per World of Hyatt, “Guest of Honor is a truly differentiated benefit in the industry and one that is rooted in World of Hyatt’s spirit of care. By allowing Globalist members to share their elite in-hotel benefits with a Guest of Honor, they can extend care to their loved ones and have them experience the valuable perks of being an elite World of Hyatt member when a Globalist may not be joining them in their travels.”
Some Globalist gift status by making a second guest booking: by adding the person as a second guest to a reservation under the Globalist’s name. This is against World of Hyatt’s terms.
Instead of making a second guest booking, a Globalist can make a Hyatt Guest of Honor booking.
Hyatt Globalist Benefits
That person gets Globalist perks and VIP treatment:
- Free suite upgrade
- Daily breakfast for two for free
- Waived resort fees
- No parking fees
- Free premium in-room Wi-Fi
- Daily bottle of water
- Early check-in
- Late check-out (4 pm)
A Guest of Honor booking is only available on an award booking. Aka a points stay or a stay using a free night certificate. If you want to pay cash, you can’t book a GOH booking.
Learn more: The Ultimate Guide on How to Get a Free Hotel Upgrade
GOH Eligible Hotels
You can make a GOH booking at all Hyatt hotels worldwide:
- Alila (some locations)
- Andaz
- Caption by Hyatt
- Destination Hotels
- Destination Residences
- Grand Hyatt
- Hyatt
- Hyatt Centric
- Hyatt House
- Hyatt Place
- Hyatt Regency
- Hyatt Zilara
- Hyatt Ziva
- Joie de Vivre (some locations)
- Miraval
- Park Hyatt
- The Unbound Collection by Hyatt
- Thompson Hotels
But there are some exceptions. Guest of Honor bookings aren’t permitted at Hyatt Residence Club resorts.
World of Hyatt partnerships with MGM hotels and Small Luxury Hotels are also excluded from Guest of Honor bookings. You can still use your points to book a room for someone else at these hotels but Globalist benefits are not honored because they aren’t owned by Hyatt.
How to Make a Hyatt Guest of Honor Booking
To make a Guest of Honor booking, a Globalist has to call the Globalist line and give the reservation agent:
- Name of hotel
- Travel dates
- Name/s of the person/people staying in the room
Hyatt takes the points from the Globalist’s account. The Globalist gets the confirmation email.
You can also call or email your My Hyatt Concierge (MHC) to make a GOH booking. An MHC is a milestone award perk awarded after earning 60 nights in a calendar year.
Learn more: Base points vs bonus points – what’s the difference and why it matters.
Unlimited Guest of Honor Bookings
There is no limit to how often you can use the GOH perk. You can make unlimited Guest of Honor bookings. You can reserve multiple rooms at the same hotel or different hotels. Bookings can overlap on the same dates.
The only restriction, you need to have the points in your account. Unlike an award booking for yourself where Hyatt extends the courtesy of letting you make a points booking in advance and then withdraw the points upon arrival, with a GOH booking, you need to have the points in your account to make the reservation.
Who Gets Elite Night Credit
The person whom the Globalist is making the GOH booking gets the elite night credit. The reservation will not appear in the Globalist account. So the Globalist should forward it to the person on the reservation.
Who Benefits on a Guest of Honor Booking
Does it benefit the Globalist? Nope. But it’s a nice thing to do to help someone celebrate a special occasion or because you’re a nice person.
The person on the reservation benefits. They enjoy Globalist perks without having to stay 60 nights. They get stay credit because award nights count towards elite status. Plus they earn points from any purchases made at the hotel.
Transferring Points for Guest of Honor Booking
The recipient transfers the points to the Globalist by submitting a points combining request form.
This is important!!
Submit a point combining request form vs gifting points.
There’s a 55,000 point a year limit on gifting points. But there’s no limit to how many points you can combine with someone.
Pro-tip: You can transfer or receive points every 30 days.
But this has now changed!
Change to Terms
World of Hyatt has made a huge change to World of Hyatt Guest of Honor terms.
They are putting emphasis on the word “gifting.” So if you’re using the points transfer form to receive or give points back in exchange for a GOH booking, you are not using the program as intended.
“…the spirit of the benefit is for this purpose and not intended to be a reimbursement model to provide Globalist benefits to others. Doing so would be considered an abuse of the program.”
Conclusion
Say goodbye to having to stay 60 nights a year to earn elite status. You can enjoy free perks like suite upgrades, breakfast, and more with the Hyatt Guest of Honor perk.
To take advantage of the Hyatt Guest of Honor benefit, a Globalist has to make a reservation for you.
A Hyatt Guest of Honor booking is an award booking so you’ll have to transfer the points to the Globalist.
Where have you used or been a recipient of the Hyatt Guest of Honor perk?
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Inas
Monday 9th of August 2021
I love Hyatt hotels and all the upgrades sound amazing!!
Marysa
Saturday 7th of August 2021
Hyatt is such a great hotel chain. This sounds like a great perk!
Beth
Thursday 5th of August 2021
Those are some nice upgrades! I'd love to be a guest of honor at World of Hyatt.
Kathy
Thursday 5th of August 2021
Sounds like a wonderful place to stay. I may have to check this out. I'm always looking for nice places to stay while on vacation.
True
Thursday 5th of August 2021
I love Hyatt hotels ugh I could definitely use a view like that now. I hadn't heard of the Guest of Honor perks until now but will definitely be looking into the program because we book with Hyatt on the regular