(Originally published May 9, 2005)
Chicago —In an exclusive to MeetingNews, Hyatt Hotels is announcing this week a startling new program: Sign up for multiple meetings to be held between now and 2010, and attrition damages will be waived.
Alternatively, for meeting planners who have no concerns about attrition, master account credits as high as $10,000 per meeting are available.
Buyers must agree to hold three or more meetings, each using at least 250 guestrooms on peak night, and to submit a two-year event history to the hotel. Meetings must be contracted between May 15, 2005 and March 31, 2006, and held between June 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2010. There are no blackout dates, but the program is not applicable to citywide meetings.
Hyatt has grouped together its 21 top meeting properties under a new banner called Hyatt's Large Meeting Network. They include the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and the Grand Hyatt Washington (D.C.), and Hyatt Regency hotels in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas (two), Kansas City, Dearborn, Mich., Denver (opening this December), Houston, Jacksonville, Chicago (two properties, one at McCormick Place and the other at O'Hare Airport), Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, Vancouver and Washington D.C.
Good Times, New Approach
Now that the economy is improving, planners don't generally expect suppliers to agree to flexible contract terms. According to Hyatt executives, though, the days of suppliers automatically adopting a hard-line stance when they're flush with cash are over.
"We want to take some responsibility along with our customer because we both have something at stake," said Stephen D'Agostino, Hyatt's executive director of sales. "We don't want to make the mistake of a few years ago, which was turning our backs on customers."
Added Fred Shea, vice president of sales, "We know customers will be with us for the long haul, so this time we want to be proactive. This reinforces the partnership we have with meeting planners."
The program earned a vote of confidence from Karen Schneider, meeting services and travel coordinator at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Rosemont, Ill. "I'm a frequent customer, but this would make me consider Hyatt even more," she said. "This would enable us to book meetings into hotels that we couldn't use otherwise because of attrition concerns."
For those who opt for the credits, here's how they work: Groups that bring in 250 or more paid peak-night rooms will receive a $2,500 credit. For 500 or more paid peak-night rooms, $5,000; and 1,000 rooms, $10,000. The credits are awarded per meeting, so if, for example, a three-meeting contract brings in 250 rooms on the first meeting, 500 on the second and 1,000 on the third, the group saves $17,500 on that contract.
Planners who sign the contracts will automatically be upgraded to diamond-level status in Hyatt's frequent guest program.
Easy Money
Planners are welcome to book all three meetings, or more, for any combination of years and properties, including all in one, D'Agostino said.
"Customers have told us that the competition has done programs like this but they're all over the board. We wanted to make it simple and allow them to book what they want," D'Agostino said.
Earlier this year, Starwood introduced the Convention Collection, a network of 19 Sheratons and Westins for which it would accept multiple-meeting contracts (MeetingNews, Feb. 14). Unlike Hyatt's program, the Convention Collection was set up to be a permanent offering. However, it doesn't go as far as waiving attrition. It did promise lenient contract terms, though the company declined to specify them. At that time, Hyatt said it had something in the works.
"We've been wanting to do some type of program," said D'Agostino, "so our national salespeople have been asking their customers what would appeal to them. Association planners love the no-attrition offer while corporate planners seem to want the master account credit." He noted, though, that individual groups might have the opposite preferences.
The program offers obvious cost savings, but there are some hidden benefits too, said Hyatt officials.
"We're seeing substantial rate growth now, but this allows planners to lock in rates," D'Agostino said. "Our escalation clause typically moves at a slower rate than the economy, so planners can get better rates by booking meetings now."
Also, securing dates ahead of time can ease planners' stress levels, said Jack Horne, vice president of sales.
"Now that we're in a robust economy, it's becoming tougher and tougher for groups to secure a spot," he said. "I think it gives meeting planners peace of mind to have dates locked in."
Contracts will say that attrition has been waived, or spell out the master account credits.
If a group flat-out cancels a meeting, though, cancellation damages will still apply.
Asked what would happen if a group was only able to fill, say, 60 percent of its room block, Shea said only, "If a group isn't picking up, we'd like to work with them to do what we can to sell the rooms. We'll work our way through it with the customer."
Sales Edge
Another motivation for Hyatt in offering this program is that some of its hotels still need a business boost.
"We have a disproportionate number of large hotels so there's a little more need for us to go out there and be aggressive," Horne said. "This way, we can help the secondary cities, like Jacksonville, Kansas City and Houston, which haven't come back as quickly as the New York and Orlando."
Hyatt's national sales representatives will be announcing the program in their customer newsletters or websites, Horne said, adding that it puts Hyatt in a good position relative to its competitors. "This gives us a tremendous edge," he said.
Contact Rayna Katz at
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