A former Hyatt Hotel worker went viral when she shared how some rewards members use the same complaints to get freebies during every stay.
TikToker KT (@melvcookie) shared how rewards members act up to get free stuff and wished hotel chains would crack down on bad behavior instead of indulging people. The video has been viewed over 167,000 times as of publication.
“When I worked for Hyatt and Hilton, people at the front desk were able to go into the property management system and look up rewards members’ complaint history,” KT began. “It’s called a service recovery tab in their system, and you can find out what people complain about, what kind of compensation they got, and then you get to read comments about the person posting the complaint. Sometimes, some of these people who travel do it at every hotel they stay at.”
“People like that should be banned from using the rewards program,” she added. “And I really wish every hotel chain did that. Just to protect themselves from losing money [and] to also know what they’re expecting from people; their behavior can become so erratic you may have to kick them out of the program.”
Most commenters agreed with KT and shared their own knowledge of complainers trying to score freebies.
“Hilton tracks that and when it gets to far they claw back the points and send them a letter asking them to stay at another hotel chain,” one said.
“Fun fact. Agents add the same notes at airports. Commenting on passenger behavior,” a second shared.
“My Uncles second wife is this type of complainer driven to get something free or discounted EVERYWHERE! restaurants, hotels, movies. It’s embarrassing,” a third added.
@melvcookie #hotel #motel #travel #karen #chad #advice ♬ original sound – KT
Others said hotels have enough money and disagreed with KT’s point that people who make the same bogus complaint every stay should be punished.
“Nooooo not Paris Hilton missing out on some extra cash,” a viewer said.
“Won’t somebody PLEASE think of the poor billion dollar hotel chains?” another joked.
It’s an open secret in the hotel industry that workers warn other hotels about bad guests. If a customer misbehaves, then not only will it be documented, but the last hotel may reach out to another to warn them about troublesome guests. Workers may even google customers so they have ammunition to talk smack after an encounter.
What many people don’t realize is that bad behavior, like abusing a rewards system, does have consequences. For example, Hyatt routinely gathers evidence of bad behavior across multiple branches. Enough evidence and customers will receive an email that informs them of their removal from the loyalty program and the loss of accumulated points, according to a LoyaltyLobby article.
The Daily Dot reached out to KT via TikTok comments, Hyatt via email, and Hilton via Press Contact Form for further information.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/hyatt-hotel-rewards-member-freebie-hack/