Award Travel Vacations is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation when you use these links through MileValue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on the site. This site does not include all financial offers. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.
Hyatt just announced their annual review of hotel categories. During this review, hotels may go up in category. They might also go down in category. No one really knows the criteria that Hyatt uses during this review, but I suspect that its heavily influenced by the amount of points redeemed at each property.
Let’s take a look at the changes for the most notable.
In this Post:
Hotels Moving from 4 to 5
Hotels Moving from 7 to 8
Hotels Increasing in Category
Hotels Decreasing in Category
Why This Stinks
Hotels Moving from 4 to 5
The Confidante Miami Beach | Courtesy: Hyatt
Hotels Moving from 7 to 8
Park Hyatt New York | Courtesy: Hyatt.com
Hotels Increasing in Category
- Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas – moves from Category 6 to 7
- Carmel Valley Ranch – moves from Category 6 to 7
- Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa – moves from Category 6 to 7
- Park Hyatt Busan moves from Category 5 to 6
- Park Hyatt Zanzibar – moves from Category 4 to 5
- Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island, Okinawa – moves from Category 4 to 5
- Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress – moves from Category 3 to 4
- Hyatt Regency Tokyo – moves from Category 3 to 4
- Hyatt Place Moab – moves from Category 2 to 4
- El Capitan Hotel – moves from Category 2 to 3
Hotels Decreasing in Category
- Hyatt Regency Guam – moves from Category 5 to 4
- Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia – moves from Category 5 to 4
- Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui – moves from Category 5 to 4
- Hyatt Regency Sydney – moves from Category 5 to 4
- Hyatt Regency Amsterdam – moves from Category 5 to 4
- Hyatt Centric Downtown Portland – moves from Category 4 to 3
- Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong – moves from Category 4 to 3
- Hyatt Centric Las Condes Santiago – moves from Category 4 to 3
- Alila Ubud – moves from Category 3 to 2
- Grand Hyatt Bali – moves from Category 2 to 1
- Hyatt Regency Bali – moves from Category 2 to 1
Why This Stinks
You might be wondering why I split the changes up between specific categories and a more broader overview. The hotels changing from Category 4 to 5 and 7 to 8 are some of the biggest losers.
Hotels changing from Category 4 to 5 represent places that you can no longer use free night awards earned from holding the World of Hyatt Credit Card. Some of these hotel represented fan favorite for the locations or excellent family value.
Hotels changing from Category 7 to 8 represent losses for Globalists. Previously, Hyatt said the new Category 8 pricing would only be for Small Luxury Hotels. This is disappointing to see them back track on this. I’d like to see Hyatt adjust these FNA to include Category 8 hotels.
Changes to Hyatt’s Hotel Categories Bottom Line
These are overall disappointing changes. If you are considering any of these properties, I would recommend booking now to lock in prices. You won’t be charged any additional points when the changes go in affect on March 22, 2022. On the flip side, if you have stays booked at properties decreasing in cost, you’ll be given a one time credit for the difference.
I did not include every hotel that is changing. Just the ones that are the most notable. You can take a look at the full list for yourself here.
What do you think of these changes? Let me know in the comments!
These opinions in this article are the author’s not those of a bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.