How to Use Hyatt’s Guest of Honor Globalist Benefit

Earning elite status with any hotel chain is an impressive feat. You’ve more than likely spent weeks inside of hotel rooms to reach that tier, so it seems rightly fair that the rewards for that loyalty should be equally impressive. Knowing that you’ve worked hard to earn status, Hyatt also believes that sharing that status with a friend or family member is just as important — which is why they offer status holders the Hyatt Guest of Honor benefit.

This benefit allows you to make a reservation with your points for a friend or family member and bestow the Globalist benefits upon them for their stay. It’s not without its own quirks, however. Here’s a rundown of how to use the Hyatt Guest of Honor Globalist benefit.

Globalist is the highest level of Hyatt elite membership, and as such, it comes with some attractive benefits.

• 30% bonus points earnings for all eligible spending on top of base points.

• No resort fees. They’re waived for eligible paid and free night stays.

• Free upgrades at check-in for standard suites, assuming they’re available.

• 4 p.m. check out, allowing you more time to work or explore.

• Free breakfast or club access in hotels with an executive club.

• Comped parking when you book your stay with points.

When you make a reservation for someone else under the Guest of Honor benefit, you essentially extend your status perks to your guest for the duration of their stay.

These are the in-hotel Hyatt Globalist benefits they will receive:

• Free internet.

• Elite check-in areas.

• Room upgrade upon arrival.

• A bottle of water daily.

• Late check-out upon request at participating locations.

• Club lounge access.

• Complimentary parking.

• Priority access to available rooms when checking in early.

When your Guest of Honor is a Hyatt member and their number is on the reservation, they will be credited for the qualifying night for their stay, and not yourself — even if yours is the account where the reservation originated. If your friend or family member isn’t already a World of Hyatt member, this would be a great time to get them to register.

There is no limit to the number of times you’re able to extend your benefits via Guest of Honor, nor is there a limit of nights or rooms you are able to book at the same time for the same or different properties.

Unfortunately, there’s no digital platform for you to take advantage of the Guest of Honor benefit. In order to make the booking for your guest and apply your benefits, you must call Hyatt customer service or your own Hyatt Concierge.

No Points + Cash award bookings or normal cash bookings are eligible for the Guest of Honor benefit. The reservation needs to be fully booked on points or be a free night award booking, and the points need to come out of your Globalist account.

Because of this, you have two main options to fund your Guest of Honor booking:

• Pay for the stay with your own points.

• Have your guest transfer the points from their World of Hyatt account to yours first, then use those points to book the stay.

If you opt for the second option, be aware of Hyatt’s points transfer policy which only allows one transfer to your account every 30 days.

Guest of Honor bookings are available at all Hyatt brands with the exception of Hyatt Residence Club resorts, as well as third parties such as MGM hotels and Small Luxury Hotels of the World partners.

Suite upgrade awards and club access awards are non-transferrable, and thus cannot be granted to your Guest of Honor.

Qualifying for Hyatt Globalist usually requires 60 elite nights or 100,000 base points per calendar year. The first and second tier levels, Discoverist and Explorist, require much less but also come with fewer perks.

A qualifying night is any night where your head is in the bed, whether that’s a paid stay or a points stay. Also, you can earn two nights per $5,000 spent on your World of Hyatt Credit Card from Chase.

Due to the unprecedented nature of COVID-19 and its effect on travel, Hyatt has decided to cut all its requirements in half for 2021. For example, instead of needing to stay for 60 eligible nights to earn Globalist status, you can now get there with only 30 nights. The same applies to the lower tiers, Discoverist and Explorist, as they’ll only need 5 and 15 nights, respectively.

Hotel loyalty can come with great perks that help you enjoy your stays to the fullest. With Hyatt’s Guest of Honor, you’re able to share those with your friends and family so that they too can have an unforgettable experience. If you’re already a Globalist member or looking at upgrading your status this calendar year, factor this benefit in as you consider how valuable a particular elite status is to you.

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