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šØ I'm living in a Hyatt hotel
Plus, we're back with a fun FareDrop deal (and a new sharing feature you'll want to know about!).
Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 13 seconds
āļø JetBlue is holding a last-minute flash sale that ends today! Use promo code FALL2024 to save 25% on flights between September 7th and November 20th. Again, this is only valid if you book flights directly with JetBlue today! Go, go, go!
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Good morning, folks. Welcome back to Daily Drop, the one-stop-shop for all things travel. Weāre like Costcoā¦ but even cheaper. š
Hereās what Iāve got for you today:
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šØ Iām living in a Hyatt hotel (without points)
Alrightā¦ this is a fun one.
A few weeks ago, I told you about a hotel I was staying at here in Indonesia. It was a Hyatt hotel.
I also made a joke:
![Snapshot of an old Daily Drop newsletter](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/b68be12a-89d2-4289-805c-152643d7d00f/Screenshot_2024-07-09_at_10.28.36_AM.png?t=1720497479)
You see, at a price of just $44-65 per night, this hotel was even cheaper than my rent in Toronto.
But then I got to thinkingā¦
What if I actually lived in a Hyatt hotel? What would the cost look like? How could I make it cheaper than my rent? How much value would I get?
So hereās the story of how and why Iām living in a 5-star, luxury Hyatt hotel for one and a half monthsā¦ and how itās saving me money.
![A house graphic with a boy and cat inside](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/380cdab7-295c-48d8-b08e-e218d5929e1d/I_m-living-in-a-hyatt-hotel.jpg?t=1720547874)
First, let me tell you about my rent in Toronto.
Between my apartment, utilities, internet, insurance, local gym membership, and other costs, I shell out $2,174 Canadian dollars per month (welcome to life in North Americaās most expensive city, folks), or $1,594 USD.
Thatās the monthly cost that, having given up my apartment, I have to play with every month for living expenses.
The hotel in question, the Alila Solo, is freaking AMAZING.
The cost is also amazing. š
When I ran a search on Hyattās website for the dates I wanted, I saw a monthly cost of just over one million rupiah per night.
This month-long stay would cost ~$1,950, which is not a bad price, considering:
I get free breakfast as a Globalist
I get lounge access with free lunch, dinner, and drinks every day
I get gym and spa access
Iām earning Hyatt points on the stay
Now, letās talk about that last pointā¦
As a Hyatt Globalist, I earn 6.5 points per dollar on my stays.
Because I use the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]] to pay for the stay, I earn 3x points on travel purchases, which can be transferred to Hyatt, for a total of 9.5 Hyatt points per dollar.
Iām currently sitting at 63 Hyatt elite nights, too.
That means my long stay will also unlock three more milestone rewards (70, 80, and 90 nights), each earning me 10,000 more Hyatt points.
It also means Iāll finish this stay with over 90 nights, just a few away from earning 10,000 more points AND a Category 1-7 Free Night Award.
But letās get back to the costā¦
$1,950 is a pretty good price for a month in a 5-star hotel.
But Iām still a stingy piece of crap, so I wanted to do better. š
So, I asked the front desk if they could have the manager of the hotel text me on WhatsApp.
She did, and I sent her the following message:
Selamat pagi, mbak! I love your hotel so much, and love the city of Solo. Iām thinking about booking a long-term stay for around 30 nights and am wondering if you might offer me a special long-term rate as a Hyatt Globalist. Terima kasih banyak!
She was happy to receive my message (and got a kick out of my minimal use of Indonesian) and responded with the following:
Sure, bud.
It wasnāt quite like thatā¦ but she did send me a long message that resulted in a special offer for a nightly rate of ~$56, or ~$1,680 for the month.
I accepted, of course.
So, for $86 more than my Toronto rent, hereās what Iām getting:
$1,680 x 9.5 points per dollar = 15,960 Hyatt points
Three milestone rewards = 30,000 Hyatt points
Free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks
Gym membership and spa access
They also threw in free laundry every day š
Letās say breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a cold beer are worth $20 per day (which is comical compared to the cost of food in Canada).
This alone is āworthā ~$600 per month.
Traveling with just a backpack, I have to do a lot of laundryā¦ As you can imagine, I canāt fit many clothes in my bagā¦
This is everything I own right now, all in my 21-liter bag
So, letās say this perk is worth ~$30 per month (though itād cost much more than that if I used the hotelās laundry service).
Letās say Hyatt points are worth $0.02 each (I generally get two and a half to three cents, but letās keep it conservative).
The points Iām earning (45,960 total) are worth $919 in this case.
Ultimately, my $1,680 purchase is yielding $1,549 of valueā¦ and it also puts me very close to another important Hyatt milestone (Category 1-7 FNA).
And best of all, I get to live in complete luxury in one of my favorite places in the world: Solo, Indonesia.
I get to keep meeting new friends, exploring the markets, hiking around the volcanos, learning Indonesian, and having a unique and super special travel experience in a stunning part of the worldā¦
![A photo of Central Java Island](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/6397fe67-22b2-4a86-8e7f-57e78df91abb/Borobudur.jpeg?t=1720497587)
So here are the takeaways:
You can get creative with your hotel stays. If you have a unique situation, talk to a manager - they can do literally whatever they want.
If you are a student, teacher, seasonal worker, or remote worker and have the ability to get away for a month, consider doing slow travel in this way.
You can get to know a place, save money, get outsize value, earn a ton of points, and still achieve your loyalty goals - all without breaking the bank.
Whatās the longest hotel stay youāve ever had?I'm curious to see these responses... |
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š Where in the World Wednesday
Oh hey, FareDrop. Welcome back to the chat. Seriously, long time no see.
Itās been a hot minute since weāve featured a FareDrop dealā¦ So today, weāre finally headed to Zurich, Switzerland, for just $425 š¤Æ
But before we highlight a few fun suggestions of what to do when youāre there, I wanted to point out a super cool new feature that comes with each FareDrop.
You now have the ability to share each deal with friends, family, pets, and strangersā¦ Basically anywhere that you can drop a link, you can share a deal š
But what if that pet, family member, or stranger doesnāt have a FareDrop account? No problem!
Theyāll be prompted to sign up and can opt in for a free account or upgrade for a paid plan.
But now that we all know how to share, letās do a quick rundown of what you should do in this very pretty city.
A couple of my personal favorite things to do in Zurich include taking the ferry around Lake Zurich.
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Courtesy of yours truly.
Youāre at the base of the Alps, so yeah, the views are stunning.
Plus, the very BEST stop on that ferry ride is the stop that takes you to the largest Lindt Chocolate factory and store in Switzerland.
Trust me, get off on that stop. Just do it. The smell of chocolate will lead you right to the factoryās front door š¤¤
And if you havenāt indulged enough, I would highly recommend trying some racletteāa traditional Swiss dish where they scrape heaps of melted cheese onto your plateā¦ā¦
Need I say more.
And if youāve only got a few days in the city, donāt skip hiking to UetlibergāZurichās very own mountaināfor incredible views of the city and onward.
So if youād like to get personalized alerts for cheap flights to destinations all over the world, sign up for FareDrop today!
We promise, you wonāt regret it š
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Did you know you can book a night in a 900-year-old castle with points? How about a luxury yacht? Yep, you can book that, too.
In this weekās Daily Drop YouTube video, Brendan showcases some of the ways to use points from popular loyalty programs to book super unique properties around the world.
Check it out. š
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Thatās all for today, my friends! I hope you enjoyed some of the more unique travel tips from todayās newsletter.
It just goes to show that there are endless possibilities for earning and redeeming points and miles when thinking outside the box! š
Take care and see you tomorrow,