Across the board, we’ve seen a growing number of hotels try to find loopholes in order to avoid having to deliver all elite perks. It’s an area where not all hotel groups are created equal, and historically, Hyatt has done much better than the competition.
Unfortunately here’s a trend that’s really disappointing to see, and I hope Hyatt leadership seriously reconsiders allowing hotels to go down this path…
The Park Hyatt Sydney is now a resort, not a hotel
The MileLion flags how the Park Hyatt Sydney has recently made a subtle change — as of May 2026, the property is being categorized as a resort, rather than as a hotel. This is even reflected on the hotel’s website — under the “Amenities” section, you’ll now see “Resort Property” listed as one of the features.
The Park Hyatt Sydney is now a resort, apparently
I’m really scratching my head as to how anyone could reasonably consider the Park Hyatt Sydney to be a resort. Yes, this is one of the flagship properties in the Hyatt portfolio, but it’s a boutique city hotel, and I don’t think anyone would consider this to fit the traditional definition of a resort.
So, why would this hotel make this change? The primary difference I can come up with is that World of Hyatt Globalist members get guaranteed 4PM late check-out at hotels, while at resorts, it’s subject to availability. So this seems like a really customer unfriendly move that’s intended to circumvent the spirit of the rules.
Please, Hyatt, put a stop to this, or something
In isolation, you might not think much of this change. However, several weeks ago I reported how the Park Hyatt Tokyo also decided that it’s a resort. So we now have a pattern whereby arguably the world’s two most iconic Park Hyatt city hotels have decided that they’re resorts.
If you ask me, what has long made World of Hyatt stand out from the competition was the program’s genuine intent to deliver value to members, and also to make sure hotels are following the spirit of the rules. Honestly, no one is loyal to Hyatt because their points earning rates are great (especially after the devaluation), but instead, it’s really about on-property treatment.
So if Hyatt has just decided to give up on that and wants to go the direction of Marriott, that sure would be a shame. This is the kind of garbage we typically expect from Marriott, where hotels make random exceptions for themselves, and corporate doesn’t do anything to stop it.
The other thing is that you know that if nothing is done about this, it’ll catch on. Before we know it, all Park Hyatts in the world will suddenly be resorts.
World of Hyatt members choose to earn Globalist status in exchange for some promised perks. So when we’re promised guaranteed late check-out at non-resorts, that should be based on a reasonable definition of what constitutes a resort, and not just what a hotel feels like calling itself on a particular day.The Park Hyatt Sydney is now a resort, apparently
Bottom line
The Park Hyatt Sydney has started classifying itself as a resort rather than a hotel. This is the second Park Hyatt city hotel in recent weeks where that has happened, as we’ve seen something similar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.
The intent here is clear — the hotels don’t want to give 4PM check-out to Globalist members. It’s just unacceptable to let hotels carve out these kinds of baseless loopholes, as it really starts to undermine the value of status, and feeling like a hotel is acting within the spirit of the rules.
What do you make of the Park Hyatt Sydney’s resort transformation? 😉
