Marriott 2019 Hotel Category Changes, 346 Properties Get More Expensive
Marriott recently unveiled Marriott Bonvoy, the new loyalty brand replacing and unifying Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). Last week they also announced the first annual hotel category changes under the new program. This is an annual tradition, but changes this year are much worse than what we usually see.
View from the Wing reports that there’s a total of 383 hotels that are changing categories this year. Increases outnumber decreases 346 to 37, which means that 90 of these changes are negative. You can see all the Marriott Hotel Category Changes For 2019 here.
Analysis
These category changes go into effect March 5th, 2019. So you have some time to look at the properties that might be part of your future plans and decide if you need to book now or later. Only about 5% of their properties are changing categories, so this could only affect a small number of people. If the hotel where you plan to stay is going up in price, then you should book it now, before March 5th. Otherwise you can wait.
The top hotels are the ones that will be affected the most. Those going from Category 7 to the new Category 8 could see jump in price of 40,000 points for peak pricing. That’s a huge price increase.
Conclusion
This year’s Marriott category changes are full of bad news. Over 90% of hotels changing categories are moving in the wrong direction. Anyone planning to stay at any properties that are changing categories this year? Let us know which ones.
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