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What They Are, When to Use Them, and When to Save Them
If you’ve ever wished you could share your elite hotel perks with someone you love, Hyatt is one of the only programs that officially lets you do it.
That’s exactly what the Guest of Honor Award is designed for.
It’s not a coupon or a discount code. It’s a certificate that turns another person’s stay into a Globalist-style experience, even if they’ve never stayed with Hyatt before.
They get your perks. You keep your points. And you don’t even have to be there.
What Does a Guest of Honor Stay Include?
When you gift someone a Guest of Honor Award and use your points or cash to book their stay, they receive nearly all in-hotel Globalist-level perks, including:
✅ Free breakfast for everyone in the room
✅ Waived resort and parking fees (on award stays)
✅ Room upgrade at check-in (up to standard suites, when available)
✅ Late checkout (up to 4 p.m., when available)
✅ Club Lounge access at participating hotels
Your guest checks in like a VIP. You get the credit for making it happen, and a little bonus for your generosity.
How Do You Earn Guest of Honor Awards?
Guest of Honor Awards are part of Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards, not tied just to end-of-year status. You automatically earn them as you hit certain night thresholds:
| Milestone Nights | Guest of Honor Awards Earned |
|---|---|
| 40 nights | 1 Guest of Honor Award |
| 60 nights (Globalist) | 2 Guest of Honor Awards |
| 70 / 80 / 90 nights | 1 award at each level |
| 110 / 120 / 130 / 140 / 150 nights | 1 award at each level |
Each award is valid through the end of the year you earned it + 14 months. So if you earn one in 2025, you can use it through early 2027.
How to Use a Guest of Honor Award
It’s simpler than it sounds:
When You Can Use Guest of Honor for Yourself
Even though the award was designed for gifting, you can apply a Guest of Honor to your own stay in a few situations:
✅ You earned a GOH at 40 nights but haven’t reached Globalist yet
✅ You’re traveling later in the year after your Globalist status expires
✅ Your spouse is checking in without you and needs the perks in their name
Hyatt allows this: it’s your award, and you can use it however you choose.
When You Should Gift Guest of Honor
This is where it gets fun. Some of the best ways to gift a GOH:
| Scenario | Why It’s Smart |
|---|---|
| Send your parents on an anniversary trip | Breakfast + upgrade = VIP treatment without them lifting a finger |
| Gift a honeymoon stay to your sibling or friend | Instant travel-hero status |
| Don’t have plans but the award’s expiring | Better to use it than lose it |
| Gift it for a high-end resort (Alila, Park Hyatt, Ventana, etc.) | Maximize value without being there yourself |
When to Save It Instead
Hold onto your Guest of Honor if:
- You’ve got a big family trip coming where suite upgrades + breakfast really matter
- You’re planning a Hyatt Ziva or Zilara all-inclusive resort stay because perks are extra valuable there
- You’re close to earning Suite Upgrade Awards and want to pair those later (for your own stay)
FAQs
Can You Stack Guest of Honor With Suite Upgrade Awards?
No. Currently Hyatt does not allow stacking a Suite Upgrade Award and a Guest of Honor Award on the same reservation.
If you’re the one staying, you can choose to use one or the other, but not both at once.
Does the Guest of Honor guest earn points or elite nights?
Yes! The guest staying earns the elite-night credits and points for the stay, just like any other booking. The member who gifted the award also earns one bonus elite night after the guest’s stay posts.
Can the guest call Hyatt to modify or manage the stay?
Usually, yes. Once the reservation is in their name, they can manage preferences or standard changes directly with Hyatt. For major modifications, it’s safest if both names are noted on the reservation.
Can you use Guest of Honor on cash bookings?
Yes — Hyatt updated this rule. Guest of Honor Awards now work on eligible paid or points stays booked directly with Hyatt (not third-party sites).
What perks does the Guest of Honor receive?
They get nearly all Globalist benefits: free breakfast, waived resort + parking fees (on award stays), room upgrade up to standard suite, late checkout (when available), and Club Lounge access where offered.
Do you lose any benefits when you gift a stay?
Not at all. Your own status stays intact. You just share the perks, and you still earn one elite night credit after your guest’s stay posts.
✨ The Rewards Mom Takeaway
Guest of Honor Awards are one of the most meaningful perks in the points world; they let you turn points into something more than a free stay.
They turn them into gratitude. The kind you can actually gift.
Use them strategically, save them wisely, and don’t be afraid to spread the love a little.
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