Last month, Hyatt started letting suites be booked with points online. Previously, this could be done but it had to be done over the phone or Twitter. The reason I thought it was a big deal to let it be done online was because it showed suites and prices (along with availability) that we had not seen previously.
The Hyatt Regency Rochester Suite is Not Online Anymore
I had highlighted a suite I had booked at my old “hometown” hotel – the Hyatt Regency Rochester. It is a really nice hotel in Rochester (which does not have a lot of really “nice” options) and sits at an award category 2. This meant that the standard suites would be available for 13,000 points and the premium suites at 16,000 points.
| Hotel Category | Standard Room Points Per Night | Regency/Grand Club Points Per Night | Standard Suite Points Per Night |
Premium Suite Points Per Night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,000 | 7,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 |
| 2 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 13,000 | 16,000 |
| 3 | 12,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 24,000 |
| 4 | 15,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 |
| 5 | 20,000 | 27,000 | 32,000 | 40,000 |
| 6 | 25,000 | 33,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 |
| 7 | 30,000 | 39,000 | 48,000 | 60,000 |
| 8 | 40,000 | — | — | — |
Surprise – Really Great Suites Available!
Their standard suite was one I had booked a couple of years ago, the Skyline suite. It was nice and goes for over $700 a night so it was a great use of an upgrade certificate. But, I thought that was the top suite there (except for a presidential-type suite, which many hotels do not list). Boy, I was wrong!
When the use of awards for suites came online, I found they had two more suites that could be booked with points (and there is even a suite above those, the Lake Ontario Suite, but not bookable with points or cash online). The best one was the Rochester Suite. I quickly booked this one for 16,000 points per night – while the going rate was well over $3,000 per night!
The Lake Ontario Suite – their best suite that was never available with points
But, People Did Not Know The Hotel Even Had Them?
Here was the strange part – the local hotel staff honestly seemed to not even know the suite existed. I called to get the price (because they never advertise it online) and they insisted there was no such suite, that their top suite was the Skyline suite. I was only able to get the price from the excellent Hyatt Twitter team.
So, I am assuming that these suites are held for special events (maybe made available for wedding parties that book a lot of rooms or conferences) or for any rich/famous people that happen to be visiting Rochester. In other words, I do not think the Hyatt Regency Rochester ever wanted these suites to be available to be booked by the general public. This is likely why I can no longer find a single night with either of the premium suites available for an award booking.
No More Suite Availability?
Now, they technically are not breaking any rules with this since we cannot tell if they have them available or not – they have never been up for cash bookings online and the reservation staff at the hotel do not acknowledge them being there. But, it certainly was disappointing to see these go away.
Of course, the other thing could be that a ton of points people are descending on Rochester to stay in these suites – but I doubt that. 🙂 While I love my hometown and there are many cool things about it, it is not an aspirational destination!
I will still be staying there this year but now a review of it will not be nearly as helpful as it may have been! At least you can see what kind of suite had been bookable with 16,000 points for a short time! 🙂
My advice? Any similar suite/sweet spots you find with Hyatt points, book them now and worry about them later. Other hotels may want to pull them from award availability as well.
For 8,000 points a night + suite upgrade to the skyline suite I’ve stayed here quite a few times. I love the skyline suite ! Had no idea anything was above it though
The same for me! Until the points for suites went live online, no clue what was really available there! But, the Skyline suite is still a solid upgrade and still available with points outright for 13,000 points per night – a value of over 5 cents per point so not bad!