World of Hyatt Globalist status is easily one of the most valuable hotel elite statuses available to travelers. Not only does it offer free breakfast, complimentary suite upgrades, bonus points, and waived resort fees, but you also have the ability to make Guest of Honor bookings.
If you aren’t already familiar, Guest of Honor bookings allow a Globalist to share the benefits of their Globalist status with friends and family members that they make bookings for.
In this guide, we will break down how Guest of Honor bookings work, including how you can make one, what benefits the guest will receive, and what rules you need to be aware of.
Let’s jump in!
What Are Guest of Honor Awards?
Put simply, Guest of Honor awards are award bookings made by a Hyatt Globalist member on behalf of someone else. Guest of Honor bookings allows you to extend your elite status privileges to another traveler without having to accompany them on the trip.
What Benefits Does a Guest of Honor Receive?
A Guest of Honor could receive a complimentary suite upgrade with Central Park views at Thompson Central Park New York. Image Credit: HyattOn Guest of Honor bookings, the guest you are booking for receives all of your Globalist benefits during their stay, including:
- Complimentary upgrades to standard suites
- Elite check-in
- 4:00 p.m. late checkout
- Free breakfast and club lounge access
- Waived resort fees and parking fees
It is easy to see why Guest of Honor bookings are so valuable, as ordinally the guest that you are booking for wouldn’t receive any of these benefits otherwise.
Hot Tip: Learn more about the valuable benefits of Hyatt elite status (Discoverist, Explorist, Globalist) in our detailed guide.
Guest of Honor Booking Rules
There are really only 2 rules when it comes to Hyatt Guest of Honor bookings. The first is that you must be a Hyatt Globalist member to make them, and the second is that they can only be made when redeeming World of Hyatt points or a free night award certificate. That’s right — unfortunately, Guest of Honor bookings cannot be made for cash bookings.
With that said, there are no other limits to your Guest of Honor bookings, so you can book them as often as you want, for as many people as you’d like, provided that you have enough points (or award certificates) in your account to make the bookings. Further, you can also make multiple Guest of Honor bookings for multiple rooms at the same hotel if you’re planning a larger family getaway.
How To Make a Guest of Honor Booking
Making a Guest of Honor booking isn’t quite as simple as making a standard Hyatt booking. For starters, Guest of Honor bookings cannot be made online at Hyatt’s website.
You have 3 options when it comes to making a Guest of Honor booking:
- Call the World of Hyatt reservation line at 888-344-9288
- Email the Hyatt concierge
- Direct message the Hyatt Concierge Twitter account
Again, Guest of Honor bookings can only be made on award stays, so you’ll already need to have the points available in your account to make the booking. When you make your booking, you’ll also need to provide the pertinent information of the guest you are booking for, like their name and World of Hyatt account number.
Hot Tip: Need some ideas for what hotels can give you huge value for Guest of Honor bookings? Check out our favorite ways to redeem World of Hyatt points!
Combining Points for a Guest of Honor Booking
If you don’t have enough points for your stay, you can combine them to make a Guest of Honor booking. Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana. Image Credit: HyattAs mentioned, you’ll already need to have the necessary World of Hyatt points in your account prior to making a Guest of Honor booking, and unless you are extremely generous with your own points, it is customary for the person receiving the Guest of Honor booking to send the Globalist points in order for them to complete the booking.
Fortunately, Hyatt allows any 2 Hyatt members to combine points without any fees. To combine points you’ll have to fill out a points combining request form that covers details like the account numbers of each party, the number of points you want to be transferred, who will receive the points, and a signature from each party.
Keep in mind that you can only submit 1 point combining request every 30 days, and this includes gifting or receiving points. This means if you receive points from a friend or family member in order to make a Guest of Honor booking, you’ll need to wait 30 days before anyone else can send you points.
After submitting the form, the points should arrive in the Globalist account and be ready for use within 48 hours.
Final Thoughts
In summary, Guest of Honor bookings allows your friends and family to receive the exact same Globalist treatment that you do during your World of Hyatt stays. Of course, the downside is that this perk can only be used on award bookings, but fortunately, World of Hyatt offers an easy way for guests to combine points. Not only does this benefit provide huge value, but it can also score you some serious brownie points with your friends and family!