This weekend I wrote about the Hyatt Hotels & Resorts Flash Sale that the chain has announced for their Thailand-based properties and the (lackluster) campaign has now been activated.
The Flash Sale was advertised with “Up to 40% Off” yet with every single property I checked none of them were discounted more than 10% lower than previous or comparable rates.
Customers booking this rate plan through March 8th will be able to stay at Hyatt’s Thailand properties from 1 March – 30 September 2022 under these rates which are inclusive of breakfast as well.
At the same time, many properties had the audacity to actually rack up their standard rates so to make it appear like a higher discount than it actually is.
Here is an example of the current rates charged by the Grand Hyatt Bangkok:
The Standard Rates at the Grand Hyatt were hovering around 3200 Baht in recent weeks (and 2000 Baht last year) and I have frequently kept an eye on those because I often book Amex FHR/THC rates in Bangkok which always use the Standard Rate as basis.
So the rate has been artificially inflated at the Grand Hyatt Bangkok to make the saver rates look discounted. In fact, a few weeks ago I booked the Grand Hyatt for 2410 THB++ which means there isn’t any discount here. Quite the opposite, it got even more expensive.
And the Park Hyatt Bangkok isn’t much better:
Standard Rates at the Park Hyatt Bangkok have been 8500-9000 Baht static for pretty much the last twelve months. Suddenly it’s up to 10,500 Baht just before the Flash Sale goes live. Right…
Similar to the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit:
The situation at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok is a little (but not much) different. This hotel has always been more expensive than the Grand Hyatt and featured higher Standard Rates as well. 3,055 Baht (2820) for one night is on the lower end of what I’ve seen here. It’s a pretty good deal and the Regency has actually the best Club Lounge.
Over the past two years there have been online sales of various forms for Hyatt properties in Thailand with some being available directly at the Hyatt website as normal reservations, others you were able to reserve as vouchers sold online and often packages or individual nights offered at travel fairs held in big shopping malls.
The problem with such promotions is that the promises are rarely kept. They say “up to” 40% off which could really mean anything, and then there’s the question of what the discount is based on.
It certainly isn’t 40% off the Best Available Rate (BAR) which is most often a prepaid or member rate. During such promotions, advertised discounts are often based on some rate types that regular leisure travelers would never usually buy such as flex package rates or a rack rate. In this case it isn’t even remotely 40% off even the Standard Rate but they did their best to inflate these rates to be able to claim it’s at least 20-25%.
In the end, there is really no way to tell if this promo is run in an honest way or not but before the promotion went live I sifted through a few dates to see what the hotels sell for right now on specific dates during which I want to travel. Being also very familiar with the rate structure at all of Hyatt properties here in Thailand I can tell that this “promotion” is once again smoke and mirrors.
Nothing has changed here in terms of pricing when you compare last month and this month despite the “sales” going on.
It’s not surprising as I’ve rarely seen an honest sale in Thailand that didn’t hide unfavorable terms & conditions, stretched the truth, or outright distorted the facts. Two weeks ago I visited a Marriott Hotel in Phuket that advertised a Steak Night on Thursdays for 399 Baht. When visiting the restaurant that night it turned out that the “steak” at that price was actually Fish and Beef would cost 200 Baht more.
Conclusion
Starting February 28th until March 8, 2022 Hyatt Thailand is running a Flash Sale through the regular website / app where promotional rates will be available at a discount. If this discount is actually reflective in the displayed rates compared to the past few weeks isn’t exactly certain. It certainly depends on the property as I demonstrated on the examples above.
I suggest to look through the properties you’re interested in and if you find an acceptable deal book it. I didn’t see anything mind-blowing with this sale. In fact, I prefer to book at local travel shows with a decent discount. Whatever hotels market through the official website these days is hardly the best deal available.
