Travel Deal of the Day (Nov. 21, 2006)

How can you get a $500/night 5 star Hawaiian hotel for only $250? How can you get a busy $300/night metropolitan hotel for only $99/night? These hotel deals are obtainable through a largely unknown Hyatt program known as the Hyatt Stay Certificate Program. Hyatt allows you to prepay for certificates redeemable at many of their hotels. Hyatt ranks its hotels in four categories, from the least expensive (Classic) to most expensive (Elite). The prices for these certificates range from $99 (Classic) to $249 (Elite). Many times, especially for leisure travel during a holiday season or for business travel midweek, these stay certificates provide excellent deals.

The Deal:
Purchase Non-Refundable Hyatt Stay Certificates for stays at Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. The prices vary based on the level of Hyatt hotel:
Classic (lowest level) $99/night
Choice (level 2 of 4) $135/night
Premier (level 3 of 4) $165/night
Elite (highest level) $249/night

When:
No time restriction (based on availability)

How:
1) Go to https://www.certificates.hyatt.com/WorldValidHotels.aspx to verify what is the lowest level of certificate your selected Hyatt hotel will accept (a Classic level hotel, for instance, will indicate that it will accept Classic, Choice, Premier or Elite certificates).

2) Verify that your Hyatt hotel is available. First, go to http://www.hyatt.com. After selecting a hotel to search for availability, enter the following in the box marked “Offer Code”:
HSCLN# (for Classic level hotel; replace # with the number of nights you want to stay)
HSPRN# (for Premier level hotel; replace # with the number of nights you want to stay)
HSCHN# (for Choice level hotel; replace # with the number of nights you want to stay)
HSELN# (for Elite level hotel; replace # with the number of nights you want to stay)

3) Book reservation using the relevant offer code (see step 2).

4) Go to https://www.certificates.hyatt.com/products/CertsStay.aspx to purchase non-refundable Hyatt Stay Certificates or call Hyatt at (800) 555-9655 to purchase the certificate. Allow adequate time to receive the certificate via mail.

The Inside Scoop:
1) While a city hotel that discounts its rates on the weekend may be offering a lower rate on the weekend than would be available if using a Hyatt Stay Certificate, other hotels - such as the Hyatt in Kauai - offer rates that are almost always much higher than the $249/night rate you can obtain using the Elite level Hyatt Stay Certificate.

2) The certificates are non refundable. While you can usually cancel the reservation you made for a hotel when using the Hyatt Stay Certificate, the certificate itself cannot be returned for a refund so you must use it before the certificate expires.

More Information:
The terms and conditions listed above are only a partial list of the terms and conditions that apply - full terms and conditions are available at:

https://www.certificates.hyatt.com/terms/TermsStayCerts.aspx