So you’ve probably heard by now that SPG and Marriott just announced their 2018 hotel category changes. At SPG, 8% of hotels are moving up a category, while 7% are moving down, but at Marriott 21% are moving up, while only 5% will be coming down. These changes are in line with the overall economy improving, but still come as a huge disappointment to the points, miles, and travel world. Some aspirational properties and great value redemptions are taking the beating both at Marriott and Starwood. These changes kick into gear on MARCH 6, 2018 so book accordingly!
Also SPG is eliminating the ability to book hotel rooms more than 350 days ahead, which is nice if you like to redeem points early for vacations.
The Marriott Changes can be found here.
The SPG Changes can be found here.
Here are some of the SPG changes that stand out to me:
Notable/Good Value SPG Properties moving up a category:
- Westin Palace Madrid (Category 5–> 6)
- Westin Dublin (Category 5 –> 6)
- King George Hotel in Athens ( Category 5 –> 6)
- Sheraton Porto Hotel & Spa (Category 3 –> 4)
- St Regis Osaka (Category 6–> 7)
- The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya (Category 4 –> 5)
- Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok (Category 4–> 5)
- Great Northern Hotel, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, London (Category 5 –> 6)
- Sheraton Prague Charles Square Hotel (Category 3 –> 4)
- Westin Taipei (Category 4 –> 5)
- Westin Valencia (Cat 4 –> 5)
- Walt Disney World Dolphin (Cat 4 –> 5)
- Element Amsterdam (Cat 3 –> 4)
Notabale SPG Properties moving down in category:
- Grosvenor House, Dubai (Cat 6 –> 5)
- Sheraton Zurich Hotel (Cat 5 –> 4)
- St Regis Dubai (Cat 7 –> 6)
- St. Regis Istanbul (Cat 6 –> 5)
- W New York (cat 6 –> 5)
- W Miami (cat 6 –> 5)
–> This is the first time in a very long time that I’ve seen so many hotels in INDIA move up categories with 9 out of a 11 hotels moving up. here are some notable ones:
- ITC Grand Chola (2–>3)
- ITC Royal Gardenia (3–>4)
- Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway (review coming up soon) (3–>4)
- The Westin Mumbai Garden City (3–>4)
- Le Méridien Mahabaleshwar Resort & Spa (4–>5)
Here are the Notable Marriott changes :
Notable Marriott Properties moving up a category:
- Residence Inn Edinburgh ( Cat 7 –> 8)
- The Glass House Edinburgh (Cat 8 –> 9)
- London Mariott Hotel West India Quay (Cat 7 –> 8)
- St. Ermin’s Hotel, Autograph Collection (London) (Cat 8 –> 9)
- Ritz Carlton Dubai Intl Financial Centre (2 –> 3)
- Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel (Cat 6 –> 7)
- Ritz Carlton – Hotel de la Paix (Cat 3 –> 4)
- The Shelbourne Dublin, A Renaissance Hotel (8 –>9)
- Ritz Carlton Sarasota (3 –> 4)
Notable Marriott Properties moving down a category:
- Ritz Carlton Berlin (Cat 3 –> 2)
- JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro ( 8 –> 7)
- The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami (5 –>4)
- The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, Miami (3–>2)
–> Again we see a considerable number of properties move up in India and China
- JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa (6 –> 7)
- Jaipur Marriott Hotel (3 –> 4)
- JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru (4–>5)
- Kochi Marriott Hotel (3 –>4)
- JW Marriott Hotel Beijing ( 4–> 5)
- Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre (3 –> 4)
- Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel (2 –> 3)
Here are the notable ones no longer eligible for the Marriott Annual Free Night Certificate (this is what hurts the most) (Category 5 –> 6 moves)
- Renaissance Paris La Defense Hotel
- Courtyard Bridgetown Barbados
- The Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by-the-Sea, Autograph Collection
- Courtyard Duesseldorf Hafen
- Courtyard Duesseldorf Seestern
- Lisbon Marriott Hotel
- Moscow Marriott Grand Hotel
- Makkah Marriott Hotel Jabal Omar
- African Pride 15 On Orange Hotel (South Africa)
- AC Hotel Som (Spain)
- AC Hotel Malaga Palacio
- Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel
- Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa
- JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa (Vietnam)
- Residence Inn San Diego Del Mar
- Residence Inn San Diego Oceanside
- Residence Inn San Diego Sorrento Mesa/Sorrento Valley
- Renaissance Austin Hotel
- Courtyard St. George (Near Zion National Park)
- SpringHill Suites Portland Airport
Takeaways/Bottom Line:
I would get to booking my room soon because there seems to be a ton of properties, which are now moving out of reach for Marriott Credit Card holders’ annual free night. It is such a pity that Marriott is doing to this to its credit card holders without at least increasing the category allowance by one for its annual free night. A lot of properties people actually want to stay at are now getting out of reach. However, the SPG changes are easier to swallow given that there are some notable ones coming down in category. This really makes me a little worried about what will happen to SPG and SPG hotels when Marriott “eats it whole.” <Sigh> We’ll just have to wait and see.
P.S: I was surprised to find that India/China SPG/Marriott hotels consistently moved up this year, which is a first in a while. I guess this just stands to show how much the economy has improved across the globe. Do note that many hotels in Brazil have moved down though.
HT: Pizza in Motion
