THE BIG WELCOME FROM HYATT GOLD PASSPORT™
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many promotions can I participate in?
There are two promotions running 1) The Big Welcome Sweepstakes From Hyatt Gold Passport™ and 2) The Big Welcome Contest From Hyatt Gold Passport. You can participate in both, but must register for each promotion independently via TheBigwelcome.com
- How long do the promotions run?
Registrations and participation in the online promotions start at 12:01 a.m. Central Time (“CT”) on April 2, 2009 and ends at 11:59 p.m. CT on May 13, 2009.
- Who is eligible for the promotions?
There are six separate promotions occurring during the Promotion Period. Residents of the below areas will have access to enter the Sweepstakes and the Contest for their region.
North America:
Participants must be 18 years of age or older or the age of majority in their state / province, and a legal resident of the 50 United States (including District of Columbia) and Canada (excluding Quebec), and a current or new member of the Hyatt Gold Passport program.
Europe
Participants must be 18 years of age or older or the age of majority in their country of residence, and a legal resident of the EU, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey or Ukraine and a current or new member of the Hyatt Gold Passport program.
Asia & The Pacific
Participants must be 18 years of age or the age of majority in their country of residence, and a legal resident of Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, and a current or new member of the Hyatt Gold Passport program.
- Are there separate prizes for each region?
Yes – there are separate prize packages for each region – North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
One Grand Prize Contest Winner will be selected for each region (3 total). Each winner will receive 365 Hyatt Gold Passport Free Night Awards valid through June 30th, 2014 at Hyatt Hotels worldwide of winner’s choice and 1 million frequent flyer airline miles to be applied to a Hyatt Gold Passport travel partner program of winner’s choice.
Sweepstakes: Sweepstakes prize is one Hyatt Gold Passport Free Night Award valid through June 30, 2010 at a Hyatt hotel of winner’s choice, awarded to 10,000 members in each region (30,000 total).
- How will the prizes be awarded?
Sweepstakes: Winning consumers will receive notification by email only approximately one day after winners are selected. Daily Prizes will be credited to the prize winner’s Hyatt Gold Passport account approximately four (4) to five (5) business days after winner is confirmed.
Contest: A representative designated by Hyatt will be specially-assigned to the winner for assistance with booking the Hyatt Gold Passport Free Night awards throughout the validity of the awards. Free Night Awards will be credited to the prize winner’s Hyatt Gold Passport account approximately four (4) to five (5) business days after winner is confirmed. One million frequent flyer airline miles to be applied to a Hyatt Gold Passport travel partner program of winner’s choice.
If the Grand Prize winner is not already a member of the frequent flyer program, he/she will be required to enroll in the program.
- Is there a limit to the number of times a person may enter?
Limit one entry per Hyatt Gold Passport account number per promotion.
- Is there a cap on the number of times one may win?
Yes – a consumer can win once for the Sweepstakes and once for the Contest. If a consumer wins a Sweepstakes prize, they are still eligible to win the Contest Grand Prize and vice versa.
Consumers must visit TheBigWelcome.com during the Promotion Period, enter their Hyatt Gold Passport account number (or enroll in the free Hyatt Gold Passport program), complete the necessary entry form and hit submit. Consumers must enter both the Sweepstakes and the Contest separately to be entered for both – entry into one promotion does not automatically enroll a consumer into the 2nd promotion.
- Do you have to be enrolled in Gold Passport to enter?
If a consumer is not a current Hyatt Gold Passport member, they will need to enroll in the free, no obligation program at TheBigWelcome.com. New members will receive a confirmation email with their Hyatt Gold Passport number after successfully enrolling in Hyatt Gold Passport.
If a consumer is a current Hyatt Gold Passport member, they will need to enter their Hyatt Gold Passport number to enter the promotion. No members will be automatically entered in any promotion.
- Are there any restrictions on how the prizes can be used?
Please see the Official Rules for the Contest and Sweepstakes for more details.
- What are you doing with the sign-up information gathered?
Hyatt will communicate with consumers who have signed up for the promotions based on their Hyatt Gold Passport communication preferences. Consumer information will not be provided to Hyatt partners / third parties for communication purposes unless the consumer has opted in to receive such communication.
- How do I know if I have won a sweepstakes prize?
Winning consumers will be selected on Mondays and notified on Tuesdays every week during the Promotion Period. For example, winning consumers from the time period 4/13 – 4/19 will be selected on Monday 4/20 and notified by email on Tuesday 4/21.
Exception: Winning consumers from Canada (excluding Quebec) will be sent an email notifying them that they are a POTENTIAL sweepstakes prize winner. Canadian potential winners will be directed to a website to complete a mathematical skills test. They will have three (3) business days to correctly complete the skills test. Failure to answer the question correctly, or within the time period allowed will result in the prize being forfeited.
- How do I know if I am a Contest semi-finalist or finalist?
Contest semi-finalists (up to 20 per region) will be notified on or about May 15th, 2009 by phone and/or email. Semi-finalists will be required to complete a Publicity Release and return to the Contest Administrator by May 22, 2009.
Contest Grand Prize winners (one per region) will be determined by a judging panel consisting of Hyatt and agency personnel and notified via phone and/or email on or about June 5, 2009.
- How do you pick the winners?
Sweepstakes: Random drawings will occur each week for the daily sweepstakes prizes.
Contest: All entries will be judged by Hyatt’s agency personnel in a Preliminary Round on or about May 14, 2009, and up to 20 entries will advance to the Semi-Finals Round. In the Semi-Finals Round, visitors to TheBigWelcome.com will select the Top Five entries through online voting from 12:01 a.m. CT on May 26, 2009 through 11:59 p.m. CT on June 2, 2009. LIMIT ONE (1) VOTE PER HYATT GOLD PASSPORT ACCOUNT NUMBER PER DAY. Based on vote totals, the Top Five will then be judged in a Finals Round on or about June 4, 2009 by a second judging panel consisting of Hyatt and agency personnel, using the same criteria as the Preliminary Round. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on TheBigWelcome.com on or about June 12, 2009.
CONTEST TIMING:
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Preliminary Round Judging: |
May 14, 2009 |
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Notification of Top 20 (Semi-Finalists): |
May 15, 2009 |
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Semi-Finals Voting by Consumers: |
May 26 – June 2, 2009 |
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Top Five (Finalists) Determined: |
June 2, 2009 |
Second Round Judging/
Grand Prize Winner Selected: |
June 4, 2009 |
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Grand Prize Winner Confirmed/Announced |
June 12, 2009 |
- Will I have to pay taxes on my prize?
Hyatt will provide the Contest winner from the U.S. with a one time cash payment intended to cover any tax liability associated with the prize. A potential U.S. winner will be responsible for the payment of taxes to the relevant taxing authorities for all federal, state and local income taxes and any other taxes associated with the Grand Prize and the related Tax Gross-Up Payment.
Winners who reside in other locations will be responsible for the payment of taxes to the relevant taxing authorities for all federal, state and local income taxes and any other taxes associated with the Grand Prize.
- What is the judging criteria for the Hyatt Big Welcome Contest?
In Preliminary and Final rounds, essays will be awarded a maximum of 40 points for originality; 40 points for creativity; 10 points for incorporation of Hyatt brand attributes and 10 points for organization/clarity and grammar. You may also earn up to five (5) Contest Bonus points for attaching a photo, original drawing, video, or audio file that embellishes your essay.
- Where can I find the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy?
For complete information on the data collection and use practices of Hyatt, please read the full privacy statement by clicking on the following link. Hyatt Privacy Statement Link
- Where can I find the Official Rules for The Big Welcome Contest and Sweepstakes?
For Official Rules, click here.