Crime Scene: Marriott’s 2018 Hotel Category Changes, and What You Should Do About Them

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Just after Starwood released their 2018 hotel category changes, Marriott has announced they are changing award prices for 1,300+ Marriott hotels beginning March 6, 2018.  And it’s NOT good news.

Over 1,000 hotels are going up in category, and the rest are dropping.  Most of the affected hotels are in the US.  But if you make a reservations before March 6, 2018, you’ll still get the current award price.

I’ll explain more about these changes.  Because for certain hotels, it’s best to book now.  But for others, it’s better to wait!

What’s Happening?

Link:   List of Marriott Hotel Award Changes

Effective March 6, 2018, award prices of 1,300+ Marriott hotels will either increase or decrease.

Marriott hotels include:

• AC Hotels by Marriott
• Autograph Collection Hotels
• Bulgari Hotels
• Courtyard by Marriott
• Delta Hotels
• EDITION
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
• Gaylord Hotels
• JW Marriott
• Marriott Executive Apartments
• Marriott Hotels
• Marriott Vacation Club
• Moxy Hotels
• Protea Hotels
• Renaissance Hotels
• Residence Inn by Marriott
• Ritz-Carlton
• Springhill Suites by Marriott
• TownePlace Suites by Marriott

If you want to lock-in the current prices, you MUST make your reservations before March 6, 2018.

Hotels Increasing in Price

1,000+ hotels are going up in price.  Some notable increases are:

• The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre
• Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel
• JW Marriott Washington, DC
• Las Vegas Marriott
• Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort & Spa
• Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center
• Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa

This also means you’ll have fewer hotels you can redeem your Chase Marriott annual free night with.  Because there are ~130 Category 5 hotels that are jumping to Category 6.  And just ~45 Category 6 hotels that are dropping to a Category 5.  And the annual free night is only valid at Marriott Category 1 through 5 hotels.

Here’s the full list of changes.

Hotels Decreasing in Price

There are ~250 hotels moving to a lower category.  That’s a shameful amount compared to the number of hotels increasing in price.  A few that caught my eye were:

• Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Central Park
• JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro
• The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami
• L’Hermitage Gantois, Autograph Collection
• The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin
• Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Kissimmee/Celebration

Want More Marriott Points?

Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

With both the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier card, and the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Small Business card, you can earn 75,000 Marriott points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

And don’t forget, you can transfer Marriott points to Starwood at a ratio of 3:1 (3 Marriott points = 1 Starwood point).

Bottom Line

Bad news for most of us who collect Marriott points!  Over ~1,300 Marriott hotels are changing award prices effective March 6, 2018.  And ~1,100 of those hotels are going up in price!

Any reservations made before March 6, 2018, will be honored at their current rates.  So if you have a hotel in mind that’s scheduled to increase, book soon.  

Do these changes complicate or help your upcoming travel?