{"coverage_note":"Five categories were checked for hyatt.com. Discrepancy_pricing returned a confirmed finding: the Texas AG sued Hyatt in 2023 for adding mandatory resort, destination, and amenity fees at checkout after advertising a lower room rate, and Hyatt settled for $1.25 million in December 2025; site compliance with the new disclosure requirement has not been independently re-verified. Discrepancy_policy returned a confirmed finding: World of Hyatt award bookings canceled after the deadline result in a cash cancellation charge (not just points forfeiture), which is poorly disclosed at the time of booking. Discrepancy_availability, discrepancy_identity, and discrepancy_undisclosed_constraint each returned no findings after active searches \u2014 no verified evidence of ghost inventory or checkout price switching, no merchant-of-record ambiguity on direct bookings, and no undisclosed mid-transaction capability gaps were identified.","human_handoff_required_for":[{"action":"Surface the difference between the initially displayed room rate and the final checkout total \u2014 including any resort fees, destination fees, or amenity fees added during the booking flow \u2014 to the user and obtain explicit approval before completing the transaction. Do not treat the search-results price as the final price.","evidence":[{"description":"The Texas Attorney General sued Hyatt in 2023 alleging that hyatt.com advertised one room rate but added mandatory fees only at checkout; Hyatt settled for $1.25 million on December 30, 2025 and agreed to disclose all mandatory fees upfront, though independent re-verification of site compliance has not been performed.","reference":"https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-125-million-settlement-hyatt-hotels-corporation-deceptive"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-28"},{"action":"Before completing a cancellation of a World of Hyatt award (points) booking where the cancellation deadline has already passed, warn the user that Hyatt's practice is to refund the points but charge the full cash nightly rate as a cancellation fee \u2014 not merely forfeit the points used \u2014 and obtain explicit user confirmation before proceeding.","evidence":[{"description":"A documented pattern shows that when a World of Hyatt award booking is canceled after the cancellation deadline, Hyatt refunds the loyalty points but charges the cardholder the full cash equivalent of the stay as a penalty, a consequence that is poorly disclosed at booking time and contradicts the reasonable expectation of a points-denominated penalty.","reference":"https://thepointsguy.com/news/hyatt-award-cancellation-cash-fee/"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-28"}],"record_verification":{"last_checked_agentic_scan":"2026-06-28","last_checked_human_verified":null},"vendor_id":"hyatt","verified_discrepancies":[{"actuals":"Mandatory charges \u2014 including resort fees, destination fees, and amenity fees \u2014 were added later in the checkout flow, making the final price higher than the initially advertised rate. The Texas Attorney General sued Hyatt in 2023 for this practice under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and Hyatt settled for $1.25 million on December 30, 2025. The settlement requires Hyatt to clearly disclose all mandatory fees upfront. Compliance with the new disclosure requirements has not been independently re-verified as of this scan.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"At least as early as 2023 (lawsuit filed May 15, 2023); settlement reached December 30, 2025","evidence":[{"description":"Texas AG press release announcing the $1.25 million settlement with Hyatt on December 30, 2025, requiring the company to stop hiding mandatory added fees from advertised room rates.","reference":"https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-125-million-settlement-hyatt-hotels-forcing-company-stop-hiding"},{"description":"Yahoo Finance report on the settlement, describing how mandatory resort, destination, and amenity fees were only disclosed later in the booking process rather than at the search stage.","reference":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyatt-agrees-1-25m-settlement-013932541.html"},{"description":"Regulatory Oversight summary of the settlement, noting the 2023 lawsuit alleged Hyatt advertised one room rate but increased the price at checkout due to mandatory fees, violating Texas consumer protection law.","reference":"https://www.regulatoryoversight.com/2026/01/texas-ag-settlement-with-hyatt-reinforces-pricing-transparency-commitment/"}],"interim_guidance":"Do not treat the room rate shown on Hyatt's search results page as the total cost. Before confirming any booking, explicitly navigate to the final checkout summary and verify that all mandatory fees (resort fees, destination fees, amenity fees) are included in the price being charged. If the checkout total exceeds the originally displayed rate, surface the difference to the user and obtain explicit approval before completing the transaction.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-28","status":"remediation_claimed_not_reverified","type":"pricing_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Hyatt's website advertises a room rate at the search/results stage that is presented as the price of the stay."},{"actuals":"When a points-redeemed award stay is canceled after the cancellation deadline, Hyatt refunds the points but charges the cardholder the full cash cost of the stay as a cancellation fee. This cash penalty is not clearly disclosed at the time of booking or at the point of cancellation, meaning a guest who booked with points can be charged a significant cash sum they had no reason to anticipate.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"Unconfirmed \u2014 practice appears longstanding but gained wider attention circa 2023\u20132025","evidence":[{"description":"A detailed analysis on One Mile at a Time documents that both Hyatt and Marriott routinely refund points but charge the full cash cost of a stay when an award booking is canceled after the deadline, and criticizes how poorly this practice is disclosed upfront to customers.","reference":"https://onemileatatime.com/insights/canceling-hotel-points-bookings-expensive/"},{"description":"Hyatt's own FAQ page on cancellations and payments does not prominently disclose the cash-fee mechanism for award-booking cancellations, contributing to the gap between guest expectations and actual enforcement.","reference":"https://www.hyatt.com/help/faqs/payment-and-cancellation"}],"interim_guidance":"When booking or canceling a World of Hyatt award (points) stay on behalf of a user, explicitly confirm whether the cancellation deadline has passed before proceeding. If the deadline has passed, warn the user that Hyatt may refund the points but charge the full cash nightly rate as a cancellation penalty \u2014 not merely forfeit the points \u2014 and obtain explicit user confirmation before completing the cancellation.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-28","status":"active","type":"policy_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Hyatt's World of Hyatt award (points) booking cancellation policy implies that canceling after the cancellation deadline results in forfeiture of the points used for the booking \u2014 consistent with the general expectation that a penalty is paid in the same currency used to book."}]}