UVC's Communication, or Lack of It, Part I

UVC's communication with members ranges from poor to non-existent. That is, unless they're trying to get us to spend more money. They're all over that! In the next four posts, I'll provide examples of just how poorly UVC communicates with its members.

1.  There were price increases for reservation fees and other basic club services in October 2023. UVC gave no notice to members that the price increases were coming, which prices were increasing or what the new prices were going to be. Especially with their loyalty customers, most businesses give advanced notice of price increases. That didn't happen in Hyatt's UVC. Members were just supposed to figure out for themselves what prices were increasing and when it was going to happen. I found out about these increases in my Owners' FB groups, so I asked UVC in the Official UVC FB group back in October 2023 if there was going to be an announcement of what services were getting price increases and what the new prices were. 

The Official UVC FB group didn't answer my question. They wouldn't even publish it to the group.  It's a basic question that most businesses would consider of obvious interest to a loyalty member. I think most businesses wouldn't have to be asked a question like this. They would volunteer the information to their customers. UVC wouldn't answer it. This is Hyatt's UVC.

2. Information on new resort openings has become increasingly vague since Hyatt bought ALG. In most cases, Hyatt announces new resorts and major renovations when construction starts and gives an estimated completion date. UVC posts links to these Hyatt press releases in the Official UVC FB group. Rarely, does Hyatt provide updates on openings after the initial announcement even though resorts rarely open in the month that's originally projected. Eventually, Hyatt begins taking reservations based on the projected opening, but more often than not, even the date they begin accepting reservations get delayed and folks who made reservations have to cancel or get re-booked. Hyatt does a poor job of estimating construction completion and a worse job or communicating extended opening dates with members.

3. Hyatt doesn't even communicate with UVC members when new resorts become available for booking. Not too long ago, Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana and Secrets Mirabel Cancun were made available to members, but there was no notice from UVC to its members that those resorts were available for booking on the members' website. 

Pre-opening pricing for both of those resorts was very good. A normal business would be trumpeting things like this to its loyalty members. UVC doesn't. They were completely silent with members about these new openings. Even when it's in UVC's interest to do so, they choose not to communicate with members. Members are just supposed to figure it out for themselves. I don't get it.

4.  Hyatt doesn't communicate with members on failed openings, or on resorts leaving the UVC inventory. Zoetry Halkidiki and Breathless Sunny Beach were both announced to be opening more than a year ago. Neither has opened, and Hyatt hasn't informed its members of their status. AluaSoul Alcudia Bay and AluaSoul Costa Malaga used to be part of the European Collection but no longer are. They just disappeared from the UVC inventory without any notice to members. In Feb 2024 Hyatt announced a new Breathless would open in Puerto Vallarta in 2025.  It didn't. The project was supposed to be a renovation and rebranding of the existing Krystal Grand Puerto Vallarta.  2025 has come and gone, but there's been no further communication with members on the Breathless project.

The inventory of UVC properties is of paramount interest to members. Someone in an authoritative position in the Hyatt organization should be communicating with UVC members whenever that inventory changes.

5.  I can find better information on new UVC resorts from travel agents on YouTube or in FB fan groups than I get directly from UVC. The travel agents posting on social media tell their followers that their information comes directly from Hyatt. Hyatt treats travel agents better than its loyalty UVC members. Why is that? Why aren't UVC members given the same information, and on the same timing, that Hyatt gives travel agents? Why doesn't Hyatt allow UVC members, or their representatives, to attend the same video conference updates on new resort openings that Hyatt invites travel agents to? Deliberately excluding UVC members from receiving information that's of obvious interest to them, and that's willingly shared with travel agents, is another example of Hyatt's contempt for its UVC members.

Hyatt Sells a Majority Interest in UVC

Hyatt purchased ALG, including the Unlimited Vacation Club, in November 2021. At the time of the purchase, Hyatt already had a loyalty program called World of Hyatt (WoH). With the acquisition of ALG, they suddenly had two: UVC, which was specific to AMResorts properties, and WoH, a broader program that gives its members discounted prices at almost all Hyatt properties, including AMResorts properties. Did Hyatt need two loyalty programs? Did they want two?

Apparently, not. 

In February 2024, Hyatt issued a press release reporting their 4th Qtr 2023 results.  Buried in the report, is this bit on UVC:

Transactions and Capital Strategy

On February 14, 2024, the Company completed a transaction that resulted in the restructuring of the entity that owns our Unlimited Vacation Club (“UVC”) business by selling 80% of the entity to an investor unaffiliated with Hyatt for $80 million. Hyatt will continue to manage the Unlimited Vacation Club business under a long-term management agreement and license and royalty agreement, ensuring a seamless transition for colleagues, UVC members and hotel owners. As a result of the transaction, the Company will receive management fees and royalty fees in relation to the exclusive arrangement between the Hyatt Inclusive Collection brands and UVC, and the Company will no longer report Net Deferrals and Net Financed Contracts.

The official explanation for the sale was investor confusion. Apparently, the Unlimited Vacation Club business required accounting that Hyatt's hotels business didn't and that confused investors. Hyatt's sale of their majority interest in UVC apparently ended the need for the confusing accounting. That's what they told us anyway.

Hyatt maintains a 20% ownership interest in UVC and continues to manage the club. However, Hyatt's revenue from UVC, as it is with most of its businesses, is now derived primarily from management fees rather than sales.

I don't know the deal the new majority owner has with Hyatt, but part of that deal seems to be the majority owner remains on the sidelines and lets Hyatt run the UVC business. The majority owner hasn't even been named in any press release I've read. He seems happy on the sidelines. He's a silent majority owner.  Hyatt still runs UVC.  In their social media accounts, UVC continues to identify itself as a "Hyatt Company." 

Here's one example from the UVC-Unlimited Vacation Club Facebook page:

Here's another from Instagram:

And from X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter: 

 

Legally, the Unlimited Vacation Club business and Hyatt are two different companies with different owners, but there is no practical distinction between them. They act as one organization. Hyatt is UVC. UVC is Hyatt.

Not All Facebook Groups are the Same

The UVC Facebook group that I find the least useful is UVC-Unlimited Vacation Club. Official Group.  This is UVC's Official group. Its admins and moderators are UVC staff. Currently, it looks like this although they change their cover photo pretty regularly:

 

The Official UVC FB group is in a position to provide a useful service to members, but they don't.  UVC prefers to use the group to market its resorts and to give existing members new ways to spend more money. Like the Owners' groups I belong to, the Official UVC FB group allows only UVC members to join. 

Here are some ideas that the Official UVC group could implement that would be beneficial to members:

1. Respond to all member questions promptly, accurately and clearly. You'd think this would be obvious, but it's not for the Official group gang. As you'll see in future posts here, they've been known to approve a post asking a question and then not answer the question. Other times (I have a couple personal experiences with this), they won't approve a questioning post at all.  Questions that do get approved rarely get answered publicly in the group so all members can learn. The admins' preferred method of responding to member questions is to direct the member to FB Messenger to address the issue one-on-one rather than in the group. That approach may help the one member, but there are another 8,000 or so members in the Official group who could be learning from that one member's experience. Apparently, that's a bad idea to UVC. In the best case, the way the Official group addresses member issues helps members only one at a time.

2. Advocate for members' interests with the resorts. This is probably a lost cause in a Hyatt-run UVC. In addition to managing UVC, Hyatt also markets and provides other management services to the resorts. There are times, and there will always be times, when a member's interests conflict with a resort's  interests. More often than not, Hyatt will support the resort (their larger revenue source) before they support a UVC member. In Hyatt's UVC, members don't have a reliable advocate with the resorts and probably never will.

3. Provide members with updates on what's happening in the club.  Since Hyatt's purchase of ALG, there have been a lot of changes at UVC. Hardly any of them get communicated to members (there will be a lot more on how poorly UVC communicates with members later). There have been a number of significant business transactions Hyatt has made recently that have implications for UVC members. Hyatt's UVC won't discuss the future of the club with members. I've tried. I know. They won't. 

Questions from members about the future of the club are the ones that don't get approved and published to the group, or do get approved but don't get answered, or (and this seems to be the preferred approach) get approved and get a response that doesn't answer the question. Such behavior from the group that presents itself as UVC's "official" voice does members, and Hyatt, more harm than good. Periodic question and answer sessions led by knowledgeable Hyatt staff (not the admins and moderators of the FB group) would be welcome. Hyatt's UVC seems to take a "let members figure it out for themselves" approach to the club's future.

4. Advise members of construction and renovation schedules for all resorts. When a new resort breaks ground, or an existing resort begins renovations, Hyatt releases a press statement notifying the world of the project. Soon after, if I want to follow what's happening on the project, I'll join a FB fans group for that resort. Unfortunately, FB fan group intel is the best way to keep up with what's going on with construction projects. UVC offers members no updates on projects under construction. Many of the fan groups are started and run by travel agents seeking new business. The travel agent admins of those groups share info on construction status and resort amenities, etc. that they tell group members has been given to them by Hyatt. Why Hyatt won't share this same info with its UVC members, who serve as their own travel agents, is a head scratcher. It seems like it would be beneficial to Hyatt to generate interest in the resort, especially among loyalty members, while the property is still in construction. Deliberately excluding UVC members from the same information they willing share with travel agents is another example of Hyatt's contempt for its UVC members.  Hyatt should be giving UVC members the same information at the same time it's given to travel agents. The Official UVC FB group is an obvious place to share that information, but it doesn't happen.

5. Provide members with UVC rep contact information at each resort. UVC's social media managers did this for a short time and posted email addresses for UVC reps at each resort on their blog. They didn't keep the data current. When new resort staff arrived or old resort staff departed, when new resorts opened or old resorts closed or rebranded, the email addresses on the UVC blog didn't get updated. Quickly, the published data was unreliable. Members could try using an email address from the blog, but they never could be sure if it was correct. Often, it wasn't. Ultimately, UVC gave up and removed the contacts page from their blog entirely. It was useful when it was accurate. For UVC, it was too hard to keep accurate. I have some ideas I could share.

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In Hyatt's UVC, the Official FB group doesn't exist to help members. It  exists to make Hyatt more money. Most posts made by its admins are advertising resorts, or other travel products: Amstar (A Hyatt company providing ground transportation and excursions), Funjet (A Hyatt company providing chartered air travel), travel insurance (through a non-Hyatt company UVC partners with). In Hyatt's UVC, the main purpose of the Official group is to increase members' spending. 

If UVC focused on member satisfaction with the club, members might choose to spend more money on their own. Just a thought.

Wow, There is a Good Use for Facebook!

I'm not sure when or how I was introduced to Facebook as a source of information about UVC. Maybe I was talking to someone at Secrets St. James, or Secrets Royal Beach. Maybe I just did my own search of FB to see if there was anything out there that would be helpful. I don't remember, but I'm glad I found it. The UVC Owners' Facebook groups I belong to are the best source of UVC info I've found anywhere.  They help in understanding what the membership is about, how to find value in it, what to watch out for and what the future holds for the club. These groups fill the void that UVC creates by not communicating with members.

A common come-on I hear from UVC reps at a resort when they're trying to  get me to an upgrade meeting is they want to update me on what's happening in the club. I have never gotten information on the club from a UVC sales rep that's as truthful or as useful as what I get from other members in my FB groups. Sales reps don't know what's going on with the club. Their job is to get your money. Most have only a superficial knowledge of how the club works. Some sales reps do want to be helpful, but if they don't understand the club, and if they've never tried to use the club, their helpfulness is limited.  Sincere and helpful sales reps provide information laced with conjecture and hope. The ruthless ones use half-truths and lies. None provide members with very useful information. If you want to learn how to find value in the club, do yourself a favor and join one (or several) of these Owners' FB groups. Read them regularly, ask questions about things you don't understand. Never rely on a sales rep for club information.

There are many experienced members in all my UVC Owners' FB groups who are willing to share their knowledge, experience and wisdom with new members. I'm thankful for them. I've benefited greatly from other members' participation in these groups.

There are several others that are active, some with a very specific focus, but the groups I belong to and participate in are:

Unlimited Vacation Club Owners

 

Unlimited Vacation Club - We Love It!!!!

 

UVC Members Using RCI

 

UVC Price-matching Renegades

 

You have to be a UVC member to join all of these groups. Requiring proof of UVC membership precludes non-members with a genuine interest in learning about the club from joining, but I get it. Facebook is a cesspool of scammers, spammers and data harvesters. Group moderators have to find a way to eliminate that if they want their group to flourish. Requiring evidence of UVC membership is a good way, maybe the only way, to eliminate most of the riffraff from the group. Maybe this blog can fill the gap for the genuinely inquisitive traveler who wants to know and understand the club before making a buying decision. That's my hope.

A Timeline of Significant Events

Hyatt's communication with and treatment of its UVC members is bad and getting worse. More importantly, member benefits have been eroded since Hyatt's purchase of ALG in November 2021. I'll be providing examples of all that as the blog develops, but let's start with an overview of where the club is and how it got here. In my time, these are the most significant events that have shaped the club:

Dec 2018  ALG Buys Majority Interest in Alua Hotels and Resorts - This event precedes our time in UVC by just over a month, but it started ALGs European operations which eventually evolved into its European Collection of resorts. Originally, Alua was the only European Collection brand. Since then, European Collection resorts have opened under the flags of Secrets, Dreams and Zoetry.

Jan 2019  My wife and I joined UVC at Secrets St. James, Montego Bay, Jamaica. I signed a contract with UVC Global Panama, S. de R.L.. We paid tens of thousands for the Gold+ level. I received Premier Nights, VIP Weeks, an RCI membership, preferred club benefits and other privileges, but the centerpiece is what I'm told is a 25% discount on any of the hotels operated by AMResorts.

May 2019  ALG Opens its First Secrets Resort in Europe - Secrets Mallorca Villamil opened in May 2019. It was ALG's first European property to open with an original AMResorts brand.

Aug 2021  ALG introduces the AMR Collection - ALG formed the AMR Collection only weeks before it announced it had agreed to sell to Hyatt. As noted in the press release, the AMR Collection includes all the AMResorts brands that operated hotels at the time: Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Zoëtry, Alua and Sunscape.

Aug 2021 Hyatt Announced it Reached an Agreement to Buy ALG -  This was a $2.7 billion USD deal. As noted in the story: 

The Hyatt acquisition includes all of ALG's other businesses, including its well-known brands in packaged travel: Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions, Funjet Vacations, CheapCaribbean, Southwest Vacations, United Vacations, BlueSkyTours Hawaii and BeachBound. 

Hyatt also becomes the parent of technology company Trisept Solutions, ALG's Unlimited Vacation Club and Amstar, a provider of transportation and excursions in resort destinations.

Nov 2021  Hyatt Closes on Its Purchase of ALG - The Unlimited Vacation Club gets a new owner. Hyatt begins its management of the resorts, the brands and the club. The club begins to change under Hyatt's leadership.

May 2022 Hyatt Rebrands Its AMR Collection as Inclusive Collection - Hyatt adds Ziva, Zilara and Vivid brands to the original six brands included in ALG's AMR Collection and rebrands the new portfolio as its "Inclusive Collection."

The new Inclusive Collection of luxury all-inclusive resort brands cater to every guest and member’s wish to create more meaningful and rewarding experiences with best-in-class luxury resort brands, including Hyatt Ziva resorts, Hyatt Zilara resorts, Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas, Dreams Resorts & Spas, Vivid Hotels & Resorts (coming soon), Alua Hotels & Resorts and Sunscape Resorts & Spas.

The Ziva and Zilara properties were all-inclusive resorts all owned and managed by Playa Hotels & Resorts. Hyatt owned and managed the Ziva and Zilara brands before they purchased ALG. Vivid was an all-inclusive brand launched by ALG that had no operating properties at the time of ALG's sale to Hyatt. The first Vivid property, Vivid Grand Island in Cancun, was under construction when the AMR Collection was rebranded as the Inclusive Collection. Hyatt Vivid Grand Island opened in April 2024.

Apr-Dec, 2022 Hyatt Makes the AMR Collection Available to WoH Members - Hyatt rolled it out over a period of eight months, but within about a year of its purchase of ALG, World of Hyatt members could use their membership benefits at all AMResorts brands acquired in the ALG purchase. In contrast, UVC members still have not been given access to the eight original Ziva and Zilara properties that Hyatt added to the Inclusive Collection in May 2022.

Dec 2023  Hyatt makes Ziva Riviera Cancun and Zilara Riviera Maya available to UVC Members.  On December 15, 2023, Hyatt announced, in an email to UVC members, that management of Ziva Riviera Cancun and Zilara Riviera Maya changed from Playa Hotels & Resorts to Hyatt. As a result, Hyatt made those two properties available to UVC members.

At this time, we are pleased to share that the management of both Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun & Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya has transitioned from Playa Hotels & Resorts to Hyatt on December 15, 2023. This means that both Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun and Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya are now part of the Unlimited Vacation Club® portfolio and are now available to book as part of your UVC membership.

UVC members can now receive all the on-property benefits you know and expect when booking through official UVC channels. UVC members enrolled in World of Hyatt will also be able to earn points for qualifying stays at these resorts. ...

Only these two Ziva and Zilara properties were made available to UVC members. Notably, both were former AMResorts properties that were purchased and renovated by Playa before re-opening as Ziva and Zilara. Playa's original eight Ziva and Zilara properties have never been available to UVC members. 

Feb 2024  Hyatt Sells 80% Stake in UVC but Continues to Manage the Club - About 15 months after closing on its purchase of ALG, Hyatt sold 80% of UVC to an unnamed "investor unaffiliated with Hyatt." Hyatt retained a 20% interest. Despite the sale, Hyatt continues to manage the club under a "long-term management agreement."

Dec 2024  Hyatt Executes JV Agreement with Grupo Piñero to Manage Bahia Principe - In late 2024, Hyatt completed a couple of business deals that significantly expanded its inventory of all-inclusive properties. This was the first. This deal wasn't a purchase, but a 50/50 joint venture with a Spanish company, Grupo Piñero, "to manage Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts-branded properties and own the Bahia Principe brand." 

This press statement does say, "Details regarding when and how Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts will participate in the World of Hyatt loyalty program will be shared at a later date," but doesn't mention if the Bahia Principe properties will ever be included in the UVC portfolio. As of December 2025, neither World of Hyatt members nor UVC members have access to Bahia Principe resorts.

Dec 2024  Hyatt Recasts Its Portfolio of Collections - This press release was pretty unassuming. There was no obvious connection to UVC, so no reason to pay attention to it.  There wasn't a whole lot of detail, but it announced the addition of two new portfolios and a shuffling of properties within those newly expanded portfolios. The new portfolios were:

The Luxury portfolio features the finest places for the most refined tastes, enriched with unparalleled service, unmatched amenities and high design. These ultraluxe escapes are designed to delight the luxury seekers who delight in the rare and thoughtfully curated, and includes brands such as Park Hyatt, Alila and Miraval.

The Lifestyle portfolio is for guests and visitors who are always at the center of culture, no matter where they are. Encompassing brands such as Andaz, Thompson Hotels and the newly acquired Standard International brands including The Standard and Bunkhouse, these hotel hot spots offer originality in design, dining, and cultural programming, with immersive experiences that transport guests and visitors somewhere else. 

Shortly after this press release, I noticed this image appearing in Hyatt marketing materials. You can find it, among other places, at the bottom of hyattinclusivecollection.com.

This image shows that Impression by Secrets is no longer an Inclusive Collection brand. It's now a Luxury Collection brand. Also, Breathless is no longer an Inclusive Collection brand. It's now a Lifestyle Collection brand.

What does it mean to UVC members when entire AMResorts brands are removed from the portfolio of brands where we can use club benefits? No one from Hyatt is willing to engage me on this and other questions I have on where Hyatt is taking the club. Members are in the dark on how these changes will affect the value of their membership.

Jun 2025  Hyatt Closes on the Purchase of Playa Hotels & Resorts - Immediately after purchasing Playa, Hyatt rebranded five former Playa properties to AMResorts brands, and immediately after the rebranding, those five properties were made available to World of Hyatt members. Today, more than six months after the purchase and rebranding of those Playa properties, none of them is available to UVC members even though my contract says I can use club benefits at all AMResorts brands. This continues a consistent and troubling history where Hyatt gives preferential treatment to their World of Hyatt members, who pay nothing for their membership, over their UVC members, who pay thousands for theirs. 

This transaction includes the acquisition of 15 all-inclusive resorts previously managed and owned by Playa. Of these, eight were already represented within Hyatt’s system as Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara properties. As part of the transaction, Hyatt expands its all-inclusive portfolio with the addition of several resorts located in premier beach destinations, including Secrets La Romana and Dreams La Romana in the Dominican Republic; Dreams Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen and Sunscape Cancun in Mexico.

Hyatt crossed a line in denying UVC members the ability to book AMResorts-branded properties. Hyatt is, now, willfully and brazenly violating my contract.

I can tick off the benefits that come with my UVC membership. I can even tell you where I can use those benefits today.  But in Hyatt's UVC, I can no longer be confident of where I'll be able to use those benefits in the future. In the UVC Hyatt has created, I have no way to value my membership anymore.  A UVC membership is only as valuable as Hyatt will allow it to be, and Hyatt is actively engaged in reducing that value.

In ALG's UVC, I always knew what resorts were and would be available to me: All AMResorts-branded properties were available to UVC members all the time. There was never an AMResorts property where I couldn't use my club benefits when ALG owned UVC. 

In Hyatt's UVC, there are currently eight properties with AMResorts brands that Hyatt denies me access to: the five former Playa properties identified above and another three Alua properties (more on Aluas later).

If you add the eight Ziva and Zilara properties that Hyatt denies to its UVC members, there are currently sixteen Inclusive Collection properties that Hyatt won't allow UVC members to use:

AMResorts branded resorts not available to UVC members

1. Secrets La Romana Resort & Spa
2. Dreams La Romana Resort & Spa
3. Dreams Rose Hall
4. Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen
5. Sunscape Cancun
6. AluaSoul Sunny Beach
7. Alua Calas de Mallorca Resort
8. AluaSoul Sunny Beach

Additional Inclusive Collection Resorts not available to UVC members:

9. Hyatt Zilara Cancun
10. Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana
11. Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall
12. Hyatt Ziva Cancun
13. Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
14. Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
15. Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
16. Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall

My recent communication with two different staff members in UVC's Quality Assurance group suggests that Hyatt's view of the contract is that Hyatt, unilaterally, gets to name the resorts that are in and not in the club, and they can change that list whenever and to whatever they want. Hyatt's interpretation means members can no longer count on any property being included in the UVC inventory.

I've been a UVC member for about seven years now. Using my Premier Nights, my VIP Weeks, my RCI membership and the few discounts I've received booking with Unlimited Nights, I've recovered more money than I spent to join UVC. I'm out of Premier Nights and VIP Weeks now, but my discount will last the rest of my active traveling days.  Any future savings using that discount is additional value for me.  

New members are in a different place. In the current state of UVC, unless and until something authoritative is issued by Hyatt to the contrary, new UVC members will be spending thousands on a club that two UVC staff have told me can be reduced to next-to-nothing by Hyatt unilaterally. It's not worth next-to-nothing now, but Hyatt has started down that road, and there's no telling where that road will lead. 

No one in any sales office will tell a prospective member how Hyatt is denying members club privileges at resorts that members used to be able to count on. The sales teams are just going to talk about the benefits. If you get great benefits but can use them at only a shrinking inventory of properties, is the club worth the thousands you'll be asked to spend? How do you know you're getting a reasonable contract price if you don't know where you will be able to use your benefits in the future? New members, even upgrading existing members will be asked to spend thousands on a UVC contract. Given Hyatt's behavior, how do you know you'll be getting commensurate value?

I've tried to talk to someone authoritative at Hyatt about their intentions for the future of the club. I've told them they were violating my contract. They won't talk to me. So I started this blog. If I can't correct Hyatt's recalcitrance, at least I can expose it.