Marriott Hotel Category Changes For 2020

Most hotel chains reshuffle hotels into new categories every year. Marriott is one of them and today they published the list of hotels that are changing categories in 2020. And it is bad news. Most of the Marriott Bonvoy changes are in the wrong direction, with many hotels getting more expensive.

A total of 2,185 Marriott properties are changing categories. That makes up about 30% of the total hotel portfolio. Here’s how many properties are moving up and down:

• 7% of Marriott hotels (499) are decreasing in price
• 23% of Marriott hotels (1,686) are increasing in price

If you’re wondering how these changes affect your 35K points certificates from Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card, it’s bad:

• 216 Marriott hotels move from Category 5 to 6
• 15 Marriott hotels move from Category 6 to 5

And for 50K points certificates from Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card and Ritz-Carlton Card, it’s bad as well:

• 95 Marriott hotels move from Category 6 to 7
• 9 Marriott hotels move from Category 7 to 6

And here’s the movement in the top Category 8:

• 28 Marriott hotels move from Category 7 to 8
• 4 Marriott hotels move from Category 8 to 7

The new changes go into effect March 4, 2020. So you have some time to do your research and decide if you need to book now or later. If the hotel where you plan to stay in the near future is going up in price, then you should book it now, before March 4th. Otherwise you can wait till later to book. You can see the full list here and the remdption chart below:

Guru’s Wrap-up

A big devaluation of Marriott Bonvoy points. Almost a quarter of all their hotels are going up in price. This is by far the worst annual category changes announced by Marriott. Anyone planning to stay at any properties that are changing categories this year? Let me know how this affects you.