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World of Hyatt’s Guest of Honor Awards [How They Work, Benefits]

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Jarrod West
Updated: 
Edited by: Jessica Merritt
& Michael Y. Park
World of Hyatt’s Guest of Honor Awards [How They Work, Benefits]
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Key Takeaways

  • World of Hyatt’s Guest of Honor Awards allow elite members to gift benefits to friends and family without traveling with them.
  • Your guest receives complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, late checkout, and waived resort fees.
  • Only Globalist members can use the award, making it an excellent perk for Hyatt’s most loyal travelers.

World of Hyatt Globalist status is easily one of the most valuable hotel elite statuses available to travelers. It offers free breakfast, complimentary suite upgrades, bonus points, and waived resort fees, and it lets you share Guest of Honor benefits.

Guest of Honor awards allow World of Hyatt elite members to share Globalist status benefits with friends and family members.

In this guide, we explain how Guest of Honor awards work, including how to share one, what benefits the guest receives, and what rules you must be aware of.

What Are Guest of Honor Awards?

Guest of Honor awards can be used to extend Hyatt Globalist benefits and perks to another traveler for a particular stay, even if you don’t accompany them on the trip.

» Related: My Personal Experience Using Hyatt’s Guest of Honor Program

What Benefits Does a Guest of Honor Receive?

On Guest of Honor bookings, the guest receives Globalist benefits during their stay, including:

  • Complimentary upgrades to standard suites
  • Elite check-in
  • 4 p.m. late checkout
  • Complimentary breakfast and club lounge access
  • Waived resort fees and parking fees

It’s easy to see why Guest of Honor bookings are so valuable. Normally, a guest without Globalist status wouldn’t receive any of these benefits.

Additionally, the member who gifts their Guest of Honor award to another member receives 1 elite night credit toward their membership qualifying tier after that member completes their stay. It pays to be generous with your Guest of Honor awards.

Hot Tip:

Learn more about the valuable benefits of World of Hyatt elite status (Discoverist, Explorist, Globalist) in our detailed guide.

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Guest of Honor Award Rules

There are a few rules when it comes to using Hyatt Guest of Honor awards.

The first is that you must have a Guest of Honor award available to use. Gone are the days when you could share an unlimited number of Guest of Honor awards.

You earn 1 Guest of Honor award after 40 elite qualifying nights, which is before the 60-night Globalist-earning threshold. After 60 nights, you earn Globalist status and 2 more Guest of Honor awards. Members earn 1 additional award at each of the 70, 80, 90, 110, 120, 130, and 140 elite night thresholds. This gives you a maximum earnable amount of 10 per year, but most members retaining Globalist each year end up with 3 or 4 Guest of Honor awards.

Previously, you could only redeem Hyatt Guest of Honor awards for point stays. Now, awards are redeemable for both points and eligible cash stays. This means the only time you cannot use a Guest of Honor award is when redeeming a free night certificate or booking with a third-party provider.

Lastly, Guest of Honor awards are good for 1 year after they are received and can only be used on stays of up to 7 nights.

How To Gift a Guest of Honor Award

You can easily share your Guest of Honor award using your World of Hyatt account. Previously, you had to call the World of Hyatt reservation line or email your Hyatt concierge to book on behalf of your guest.

Now, the process is simple: You transfer your award to the person’s World of Hyatt account.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Log in to your World of Hyatt account and click My Awards.

Hyatt Guest of Honor 1
Image Credit: Hyatt

Step 2: Once you see your available awards, select a Guest of Honor award, then click Gift.

Hyatt Guest of Honor 2
Image Credit: Hyatt

Step 3: From there, enter the World of Hyatt number and the last name of the person you are gifting the Guest of Honor award to, then click Continue.

Hyatt Guest of Honor 4
Image Credit: Hyatt

Step 4: After that, the recipient receives a confirmation email that they’ve received the Guest of Honor award. It should appear in their account and be ready for their next stay.

Guest of Honor recipient email
Image Credit: Hyatt
Hot Tip:

Need some ideas for what hotels can give you huge value for Guest of Honor awards? Check out our favorite ways to redeem World of Hyatt points.

How To Redeem a Guest of Honor Award Yourself

There are a few people who might use a Guest of Honor award. The most obvious is a person without Globalist status who was gifted the award from a friend or family member with Globalist status.

Now that Guest of Honor awards can be redeemed after earning 40 elite night credits, you could also redeem a Guest of Honor award on your own stay to boost your benefits. This can be useful if you’re still working toward Globalist status or if you used to be Globalist but have since dropped down to Explorist status.

In any case, redeeming a Guest of Honor award is now extremely easy.

Step 1: When you log in to your World of Hyatt account and click Awards, you’ll see your Guest of Honor award and whether you earned it yourself or received it as a gift.

Guest of Honor recipient account award
Image Credit: Hyatt

Step 2: From there, book a stay as usual, then click to apply your Guest of Honor award to the stay during booking. And voilà, you’re all set to receive Globalist benefits on your next stay!

Guest of Honor eligibility on award search
Image Credit: Hyatt

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Guest of Honor Award Exclusions

There are a few notable exclusions that apply that you should be aware of when using Guest of Honor awards:

  • Guest of Honor awards can be redeemed at most hotels in the World of Hyatt portfolio except for Hyatt Vacation Club properties.
  • Guest of Honor awards cannot be combined with any other type of Hyatt award, including Suite Upgrade Awards, Free Night Awards, and Club Lounge Access Awards.

Final Thoughts

Guest of Honor bookings allow the user, whether it’s you or someone you’ve gifted it to, to experience Globalist treatment on an upcoming stay. While there are some exclusions, this is, without a doubt, a powerful award to earn. Non-Globalist members can use it to enhance their stay, and Globalist members can gift it to a friend or family member to earn an elite night credit and brownie points, to boot.

Featured Image Credit: Juan Ruiz

Frequently Asked Questions

Who earns elite credit for Guest of Honor bookings?

The elite credit, and any points that might be accrued, go to the guest completing the stay — as in the Guest of Honor. Additionally, the person who gifted the Guest of Honor award receives 1 elite night credit after the guest completes the stay, regardless of how long it was, but does not earn any points.

Can Guest of Honor bookings be made on paid stays?

Yes, Guest of Honor bookings can be made on eligible paid stays purchased through Hyatt. Cash stays made through third party bookings like Expedia or Hotels.com are not eligible.

Can free night certificates be used to make Guest of Honor bookings?

No, you cannot use free night certificates for a Guest of Honor booking.

Can you apply Suite Upgrade Awards to Guest of Honor bookings?

Unfortunately, you cannot apply a Suite Upgrade Award certificate to a Guest of Honor booking, but the Guest of Honor is still eligible for a complimentary suite upgrade if space is available.

Can you use the Guest of Honor benefit on multiple rooms at the same hotel?

Yes, you can gift multiple Guest of Honor awards to friends and family members to use for multiple rooms during their trip.

Does the elite member have to be present during a Guest of Honor stay?

No, elite members who gift Guest of Honor awards don’t have to travel with the guest. This is an excellent benefit of this perk, as your Guest of Honor receives Globalist benefits without you needing to be there.

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About Jarrod West

Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 8 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year, and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.

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