Hyatt Globalists: Booking a room for your friend? Here’s when you should forgo Guest of Honor awards

Guest of Honor is a unique feature of the World of Hyatt program. Only top-tier Hyatt Globalist elite status holders can use it.

Here’s how it works: When you use your points to book a stay for friends and family members, they will be treated as though they also have Globalist status. That means they’ll get benefits like free breakfast, free parking, suite upgrades based on availability, late checkout, etc. Depending on the hotel, a Guest of Honor stay could save your friends many hundreds of dollars.

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However, there are three compelling reasons not to make a Guest of Honor reservation. In fact, you should only use the Guest of Honor perk in very rare cases.

Add your friend’s name to your reservation instead

Checking in later than your friend? Add their name to your reservation. KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

The simple fact is that sometimes we cannot stay at a hotel we’ve booked. Inconveniences occur, plans change, etc.

For example, just a few weeks ago, I booked the Thompson Nashville for my three friends and me. Once we got there, the room was a bit cramped for all of us, so I booked a nearby Marriott hotel and a couple of us stayed there, too.

If you want to book a trip for your friends or family members, keep the reservation under your name. Simply call the hotel or email your Globalist concierge and add one of your friends’ names to the reservation. That will authorize them to get a room key if they get to the hotel before you.

Related: The complete guide to World of Hyatt Guest of Honor awards

Your friends will get free parking, suite upgrades, free breakfast and all the other Globalist elite status benefits you’d get yourself. I have done this several times with no issue, as long as they charge everything to the room.

Here are three reasons it’s better to take this route and forgo the Guest of Honor route.

You’ll earn elite night credits

When you book a stay with Hyatt, you’ll earn elite night credits to help you qualify for elite status. But when you make a Guest of Honor reservation, the elite night credits will post to your guest’s Hyatt account instead of your account.

If you instead leave the room under your name and add a friend to the reservation, the elite night credits will post to your account. Even if something comes up and you can’t make your stay, the credits will post as long as someone checks into the hotel.

You can use Suite Upgrade Awards

Hyatt has a cool program called Milestone Rewards which gives you valuable benefits when you stay a certain number of nights each calendar year — the most exciting being Suite Upgrade Awards. You can use these certificates to confirm a standard suite at (nearly) any Hyatt hotel at the time of booking. These certificates have given the TPG staff many thousands of dollars in value over the years.

Unfortunately, you cannot use Suite Upgrade Awards with a Guest of Honor booking. In other words, you can’t guarantee your guests will get a suite (though they’re still eligible for a suite upgrade at check-in).

If you leave the room under your name, you can apply a Suite Upgrade Award to the reservation and confirm a super fancy room.

You can also book paid stays

Guest of Honor bookings are only valid for award stays. If you’re booking a paid stay for a friend, they won’t get any Globalist benefits.

If you leave the paid hotel stay under your name and add your friend’s name to the reservation, they’ll get all your Globalist benefits.

Related: What is World of Hyatt elite status worth in 2022?

When you might want to make a Guest of Honor booking

Sometimes it makes more sense to book Guest of Honor — especially on high-end stays. ANDREW KUNESH/THE POINTS GUY

Guest of Honor isn’t a useless benefit, however. There are two scenarios where it definitely makes sense to use it.

You’re staying at a nice hotel

If you’re booking a stay at a hotel like the Park Hyatt Maldives, it’s wiser to make a Guest of Honor booking. Hyatt would like for you to be present if the room is under your name — if something comes up and you aren’t able to make it, hotels like these are more inclined to notice.

For example, I’ve booked a three-night stay at Alila Ventana Big Sur for my parents early next year. This is a hotel where guests regularly interact with staff. I’ve booked the reservation as a Guest of Honor reservation, as I’m not certain I’ll be able to attend and I don’t want them to encounter any hiccups during the stay.

You’re booking multiple rooms

You can use the Guest of Honor perk to book more than one room at a time. If you’re traveling with friends and family and want to give everyone free breakfast, free parking, etc., Guest of Honor is a great way to give Globalist benefits to rooms other than your own.

Related: The 11 hotels where you’ll get the most out of your Hyatt reward night certificate

Bottom line

Guest of Honor is a great Hyatt Globalist benefit. But in many cases, it will benefit you to simply book a room in your name and add a friend’s name to the reservation. If you can’t make it to the hotel, this will allow them to check in themselves.

You’ll still earn elite night credits, and you can use Suite Upgrade Awards for the stay. You can even book paid stays, and the room will still get Globalist benefits if something happens and you cannot attend.

Featured photo by Benji Stawski/The Points Guy.