That's why I was so surprised when I recently received an email offering me the opportunity to bid for a suite upgrade at an upcoming stay in Lisbon.
Several offers were available, including the chance to bid for an upgrade on a sliding scale. Options included a standard river-view room starting at an additional $41 per day, a deluxe suite starting at $97 and a deluxe river-view suite starting at $141. You could bid up to $185 for the largest suites.
Interestingly, I had a second stay at the hotel later in the week and received a similar offer via email.
Related: Tips to get the hotel room upgrades you deserve
There were also options to pay for early or late check-in or checkout, prepurchase classes like Pilates, get a room on a higher floor, book an airport pickup, and even prepay for a massage. (I should have booked the massage in advance since they were sold out when I was there.)
Other than TPG Senior Director of Content Summer Hull (who vaguely remembered getting an offer from an all-inclusive Hyatt property), none of my colleagues remembered receiving similar emails. I also asked in the TPG Lounge on Facebook and got some surprising intel. Several World of Hyatt members have received similar offers recently.
Facebook user N. Glann also had an upcoming stay at the Hyatt Regency Lisbon. "None of the upgrade offers seemed worth it, and the bidding started at a minimum price on the slider that I was not willing to pay," Glann said. "Even airport pick-up seemed ridiculously high at 90 euros, which is $92.33 USD. Right now, I can get an Uber XL or XXL from LIS to the Hyatt for 13.94 euros, which is $14.30 USD, or 16.37 euros, which is $16.79 USD, respectively."
A reader named Viktor Kryvyziuk said he'd received an upgrade offer for Dreams Natura Resort & Spa in Cancun. "Bidding included different room options and has a minimal bid amount (e.g., $115) with a reference to an average numbers members would typically bid (e.g., $150)," he said.
Marie Christine Misajon-Seda told TPG she got an upgrade offer at Hyatt Vivid Grand Island, also in Cancun. She was a World of Hyatt Explorist at the time but was already booked into a suite using points, so she didn't jump on the upgrade offer to a larger room.
Another reader said he didn't believe the bidding policy was new, suggesting it was up to individual hotels, which I do believe to be the case. I've stayed more than 80 nights at Hyatt hotels in the past 12 months, and the beautiful Hyatt Regency Lisbon is the first Hyatt where I've seen this.
In any case, I didn't end up bidding on an upgrade for either stay, but I was upgraded to a one-bedroom suite both times anyway.
Hopefully, that will be the case at other Hyatts that decide to enable this bidding process. I only see one red flag with this: Globalists could potentially lose out on upgrades if nonmembers or lower-tier elite members buy up all the suites because the hotel sells cheap upgrades. That is exactly what's happened to upgrades for elite members on airlines like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. They are getting much better at selling those prized first- or business-class seats to everyone. Depending on how properties react, the move to upsell hotel upgrades could be a devaluation if it spreads widely
I reached out to World of Hyatt on the policy but hadn't heard back by publication.
Now, bidding on upgrades is nothing new. Hilton Honors has been offering it for several years now — even for top-tier members who might otherwise get a free upgrade. It is a smart business move by hotels to increase revenue, as long as it doesn't come at the expense of free upgrades. Complimentary Hilton upgrades were already unusual in my experience, even for top-tier Diamond members. It might make sense at a chain like Hilton to bid ahead of time to guarantee a suite. I really hope that doesn't become standard at World of Hyatt.
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