Is Hyatt Being Smart or Dramatic With Offers?

I will start this by saying that I am a huge fan of Hyatt. I have stuck with them through the devaluation of their elite levels (even though I will slip to Explorist this year) and their category devaluations because I love their hotels and have had great experiences with their staff. In fact, their Twitter team is almost second to none when it comes to response time and helpfulness.

Is Hyatt Being Smart or Dramatic?

So, I think it is fair to say that I sort of give them the benefit of the doubt or a little bit of leeway with many things due to my positive experiences. That is why I put this question to you – is Hyatt being smart or dramatic?

What Do I Mean?

You may have noticed that there is often a flood of posts about Hyatt when some change is made or some new promo is out. That is because many of us get the releases from Hyatt ahead of time and hold them until the embargo lifts. Many companies do this, though I do not always write about all of them for those times I do not feel they are relevant to my audience or there are other things going on.

Hyatt’s Releases to Bloggers

Hyatt chooses to use this means of getting the word out to many people, in addition to e-mails to their members (though not all members receive those e-mails). It is a smart way to make sure your customers – and potential customers – are getting the word in the form of blog posts from the many miles and points blogs throughout the internet.

While I acknowledge that using embargoes are a smart way to go for releasing information and ensuring people write about it, is Hyatt being a bit dramatic with some of these releases?

Recent Offer: $30 Statement Credit at Grocery Stores or Drug Stores for $300 Spend

Link: Hyatt Offer

Let’s consider the most recent – the $30 statement credit after spending $300 at grocery stores or drug stores on your Hyatt credit card. That is a decent offer and could even work for getting 10% off gift cards. However, it is very similar to Amex Offers for which we get new ones almost every single week. And I can count on one hand the number of times I have received an e-mail from American Express pushing a particular Amex Offer.

They have also done this with their sales on purchasing points (even though others do not notify people in this way).

I understand that Hyatt has started making a major push with their credit card, from allowing certain bonuses to apply only for cardholders to finally inserting the card into the affiliate chain for marketing. So, to them, using these types of offers is an important draw for future card holders and a good incentive for current card holders to pull this card out of the drawer and put some spending on it.

Smart or Dramatic/Overused?

But, is it possible that Hyatt (or any company) could overuse such means of communication? Is it a bit dramatic to use such releases for a single, specific offer such as this one? It worked in the sense that bloggers who almost never write about Amex Offers (that often are much better than this one) chose to put out a blog post about this new Hyatt offer.

So, what do you think? Is Hyatt being smart with these releases or a bit on the dramatic side?