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A couple of days ago we wrote about the news that Hyatt will be losing one, possibly two, of its properties in Los Angeles and as I just happen to have reservations at both of the properties in question, I can now offer an update on what Hyatt’s official line appears to be and on how it’s dealing with cash bookings at one of the affected properties.
Quick recap
For anyone who didn’t read our original article, this is the situation:
The Tommie Hollywood will be leaving the World of Hyatt on 29 October 2024 and there are strong rumors to suggest that its sister property, the Thompson Hollywood, will be following suit.
As things stand, the Tommie Hollywood has this message on its website …
“Effective October 28th, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. local time, tommie Hollywood will transition to a hotel brand outside of the Hyatt portfolio and is expected to honor all paid reservations including those for stays October 29th, 2024 and beyond. Guests with questions regarding stays at the hotel after the hotel ceases to be affiliated with Hyatt and World of Hyatt members with reservations for award stays for October 29th and beyond should contact Hyatt’s Global Property & Guest Services at 1-888-848-9496 for U.S. guests or 1-402-952-1131 for international guests.”
… while there’s nothing on the Thompson Hollywood’s website to give us any hint on if/when it will also be leaving the World of Hyatt.
We know that the Tommie Hollywood will be joining Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio and rebranding as the Hollywood Volume, but even though the property is now live on Marriott.com, it’s not yet accepting reservations through Marriott’s booking channels.
What we now know
All the people at Hyatt that I have been in contact with have all said that there is no news to share about the Thompson Hollywood, but that doesn’t tell us anything one way or another.
There may be nothing behind the rumors that the Thompson will also join Marriott, there may be ongoing discussions which haven’t yet concluded, or the deal has been done for the Thompson Hollywood to walk away from Hyatt, but no one is yet ready to make a statement.
Things are considerably clearer when it comes to the Tommie Hollywood.
- The Tommie Hollywood will continue to honor all cash bookings for stays after it leaves the World of Hyatt.
- it would appear that World of Hyatt award bookings are not being honored (at least that has been the case for two guests that I’ve spoken to) and the Hyatt guest services team is helping guests get re-accommodated elsewhere.
- Guests with cash bookings who no longer wish to stay at the Tommie Hollywood are being offered 12,000 World of Hyatt Points if they move their reservation to another of Hyatt’s Los Angeles properties.
- Because the Tommie is happy to honor any cash bookings that are already in place, Hyatt is not offering a price match for guests who chose to change their reservation to another property.
One thing which remains unclear (because I’ve heard conflicting reports) is what happens to guests with non-refundable bookings.
I strongly suspect that non-refundable bookings at the Tommie can now be cancelled without penalty (because guests will not be getting what they signed up for once the Tommie leaves the World of Hyatt), but because I’ve heard of at least one guest who has been told otherwise (probably incorrectly), I cannot say that this is definitely the case.
Anyone with a non-refundable booking who now wishes to cancel their reservation at the Tommie Hollywood should contact Hyatt guest services for clarification.
My experience
As I no longer have any interest in staying at the Tommie Hollywood (because my reasons for making the booking are now all redundant), I have cancelled my reservation and moved my stay to the Andaz West Hollywood.
I found the Hyatt Guest Services team very easy to deal with (via email) and quick to reply to my questions, so I didn’t bother getting my World of Hyatt concierge involved.
Once I decided to cancel (an easy decision once I realized that 12,000 bonus points were on offer and that the Andaz was, miraculously, offering a cheaper rate than the one I had booked at the Tommie), I sent the Guest Services team an email with my cancellation reference and the reference for my new booking at the Andaz, and within 10 minutes of sending the email, I had a reply from the Guest Services team and could see the bonus points sitting in my World of Hyatt account.
My booking at the Thompson Hollywood is still in place, but given that the Andaz is a superior property in a superior location and that the Thompson may well no longer be a Hyatt property in the coming weeks, I suspect that this will be another reservation that I’ll be cancelling … hopefully in exchange for more bonus points 🙂
If you have/had a reservation at the Tommie Hollywood and have been in contact with Hyatt Guest Services, please let us know how your situation was dealt with.
