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Late last year, World of Hyatt announced that select Destination Residences properties would soon join its Homes & Hideaways platform. And true to its word, nine Destination Residences properties scattered across the Hawaiian islands now belong to a new collection.
So, what does this mean? For starters, you can't access Homes & Hideaways properties with free night certificates, and the value for using points is abysmal. Here's what you need to know about Hyatt's Hawaiian shakeup.
9 Destination Residences in Hawaii Are Now Homes & Hideaways Properties
At this time last year, there were 10 Destination Residences properties in Hawaii. And now, there's one. Nine properties joined Hyatt's vacation rental platform and rebranded as Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt.
So, no, the properties didn't leave the Hyatt ecosystem. However, they're now much more expensive to book — especially if you use points. Plus, if you've got free night certificates you want to burn on a Hawaiian vacation, Homes & Hideaways won't accept them.
Related: How To Use Points and Miles for Vacation Home Rentals
Which properties moved into Homes & Hideaways?
Before we showcase just how much more expensive these properties are, it's helpful to run through the complete list of properties that rebranded. Here's the list of former Destination Residences that are now only bookable through Homes & Hideaways:
- Destination Residences Kona-Kohala — Kamuela
- Mauna Lani Point — Kamuela
- Kauai Luxury Vacation Villas — Koloa
- The Lodge at Kukui’ula — South Shore
- Destination Residences Wailea — Wailea
- Kaanapali Alii — Lahaina
- Lahaina Shores Beach Resort — Lahaina
- Puunoa Beach Estates — Lahaina
- Wailea Beach Villas — Wailea
The one holdout that hasn't yet become a Homes & Hideaways property is the Hana–Maui Resort. It's a Category 7 property and, presently, is still bookable through World of Hyatt — not Homes & Hideaways. Even better, you can book it for as little as 25,000 Hyatt points per night — a steal compared to what Homes & Hideaways charges.
You'll get poor value for your Hyatt points at Homes & Hideaways
One of the best aspects of the World of Hyatt program is its reasonable award charts for free nights. Plus, Hyatt points are worth a lot. On average, AwardWallet users redeem Hyatt points for 2.19¢ apiece.
However, your points won't go as far on Homes & Hideaways bookings. Here's an example.
The Lahaina-located Kaanapali Alii luxury condos formerly belonged to Destination Residences. Now, it doesn't. But if you pull up Homes & Hideaways, you'll see that you can book a stay at this property for at least three nights. The price tag? On average, it's around $2,900 or 240,000 points for a three-night stay.
According to the calculator, your World of Hyatt points are worth about 1.2¢ apiece on this redemption. Compared to what AwardWallet users generally redeem Hyatt points for, this redemption is worth avoiding. Your points would be worth about half as much.
So, just how much more expensive did the Kaanapali Alii get? In its heyday, it belonged to Category 7, which was bookable for as little as 25,000 points per night. Now that the going rate is 80,000 points per night, it got 220% more expensive. That's a massive difference.
You can still earn towards Hyatt status on Homes & Hideaways stays
However, poor value for your points doesn't mean you should avoid Homes & Hideaways properties at all costs. They're still worth visiting, but more so if you save your points and pull out your travel rewards credit card instead.
On paid stays, you'll still earn towards World of Hyatt elite status. For every dollar spent, you'll earn 5 base points. Plus, if you currently hold Hyatt status, your elite tier bonuses will apply.
Each night you spend at a Homes & Hideaways location also counts as an elite qualifying night.
And remember, Homes & Hideaways properties don't count as “Hyatt Hotels.” So, if you use The World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card to pay for your stay, you'll only earn 1 bonus point per $1 spent.
Related: How To Earn Hyatt Globalist Status: What You Need to Know
Final Thoughts
At one point in time, there were several Destination Residences properties in Hawaii. And now, there's just one. World of Hyatt didn't rid these properties from its collection entirely but moved them to Homes & Hideaways.
The consequence of this change is that Hyatt's former Destination Residences properties are now far more expensive to book with points. On top of that, you can't use free night certificates at Homes & Hideaways locations.
However, Hawaii is still doable with Hyatt points. But to make your points go as far as possible, you'll want to avoid redeeming them for Homes & Hideaways stays.
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