Last month, Jeff Zidell, VP of Hyatt Gold Passport, hosted a dinner at NoMI Kitchen, the newly renovated restaurant at Park Hyatt Chicago that is considered one of downtown Chicago's best restaurants. The dinner was held for 11 guests that are also members of our private online community. These guests were given the chance to sign up for the event and were then selected at random.  Given their overall familiarity with NoMI Kitchen and the chance to speak in person with Jeff Zidell, they jumped at the opportunity! The event was the first of many we hope to host, and it was deemed to be a great success by all who attended.

Launched in April 2011, the online community is a private, invitation-only forum of approximately 500 Diamond and Platinum Gold Passport members. The community is available to qualified customers and to Hyatt on a 24/7/365 basis.  Discussions and surveys are initiated by both Hyatt facilitators and members  – it is an easy tool to get a quick peek into what is top of mind for our best customers.

The event was highly anticipated –  so much so that members flew in from Los Angeles and Boston just to join us! Members were given the opportunity to meet and interact with Hyatt VPs and, of course, eat some amazing food at the newly renovated NoMI Kitchen -- make sure to check out the amazing menu below.

Aside from the 11 members of the online community, the Hyatt VPs in attendance included:

• Jeff Zidell, VP of Hyatt Gold Passport
• Chris Brogan, VP of Marketing Analytics
• Ellen Hahn, VP of Brand Communication and Advertising
• Kristine Rose, VP of Brand for Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites
• Ty Helms, SVP of Revenue
• Susan Santiago, VP of Food & Beverage
• Bill Bernahl, VP of E-Commerce

This mix of specialties provided the perfect forum for the members to ask any question they could think of. Ty Helms was impressed with how knowledgeable our members are of Hyatt, "I was absolutely blown away by how well they know Hyatt... it is as if they were tied in to our rumor mill...it was amazing."€

Susan Santiago was glad to hear of examples where Hyatt is exceeding, "The three gentlemen I sat with all were very excited about the Andaz Brand, [they provided] great feedback--[I] was encouraged to hear that there is a 'loyalty' building around this brand."

And finally, Jeff Zidell continues to be amazed at the dedication of the community members: "It was great to spend time with a terrific group of Hyatt enthusiasts and learn more about what delights and disappoints them in their travel journeys. I am truly humbled by the thoughtfulness and commitment these members have shown to our brand.  It speaks volumes about the partnership that we look to build and maintain with our best customers."€

We are especially excited to host more events of this nature in the future. Members live all across the globe, so stay tuned  – we could be coming to your city next!