World of Hyatt 2026 Category Changes
Hyatt announced today its annual hotel category changes, with 136 hotels and resorts shifting to different award categories in late-May.
We already know that Hyatt will change its award chart at the same time. Each hotel category will have Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper and Top redemption levels. Currently, World of Hyatt has three different redemption levels for each Category, Off-Peak, Standard and Peak.
When the change goes into effect, standard rates in each category will be 20% to 38% more expensive. Peak rates will be up to 67% more expensive once we start calling them Top rates in May. That means that even if a hotel is staying in the same category, it may still be more expensive.
Hyatt Hotels Category Changes 2026
Effective as of Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. CDT, World of Hyatt members will see updates made to the number of points required for a free night at 136 hotels . 24 of those properties (12 in China) will shift to a lower award category and 112 hotels will shift to a higher award category.
Hyatt notes that “several favorites like Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin, Dream Nashville by Hyatt, The Standard, Singapore and Andaz Macau will shift down in category.”
But there are also many favorites that are moving up, and also out of reach for Cat 1-4 certificates. Let’s go through the full list of Hyatt Hotels category changes for 2026, broken down by region.
United States
| State | Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Hyatt House Anchorage | 3 | 4 |
| Arizona | Hyatt Place Tucson-Central | 1 | 2 |
| California | Hyatt Centric Delfina Santa Monica | 6 | 5 |
| California | Andaz West Hollywood | 6 | 5 |
| California | Hotel Figueroa | 4 | 5 |
| California | Hyatt Place Santa Barbara | 6 | 5 |
| California | The Laurel Inn | 5 | 6 |
| California | Hyatt Place Santa Cruz | 4 | 5 |
| Colorado | Hyatt Centric Downtown Denver | 4 | 3 |
| Connecticut | Hyatt Regency Greenwich | 3 | 4 |
| Florida | Hyatt Regency Coral Gables | 4 | 5 |
| Florida | Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale | 4 | 5 |
| Florida | Hyatt House Orlando International | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Orlando/I-Drive/Convention Center | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Across From Universal Orlando Resort | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Sarasota/Bradenton Airport | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Sarasota/Lakewood Ranch | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Tampa/Busch Gardens | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Tampa/Wesley Chapel | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Place Lakeland Center | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort | 4 | 5 |
| Illinois | Hyatt Lodge Oak Brook Chicago | 2 | 3 |
| Illinois | Hyatt House Chicago / Oak Brook | 2 | 3 |
| Illinois | Hyatt Place Chicago/Schaumburg | 1 | 2 |
| Kansas | Hyatt Place at Wichita State University | 1 | 2 |
| Kansas | Hyatt Regency Wichita | 1 | 2 |
| Kentucky | Hyatt Place Cincinnati Airport/Florence | 1 | 2 |
| Kentucky | Hyatt Regency Lexington | 2 | 3 |
| Louisiana | Hyatt Place Baton Rouge/I-10 | 1 | 2 |
| Louisiana | Hyatt Regency New Orleans | 3 | 4 |
| Maryland | Hyatt Place Baltimore/BWI Airport | 1 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | Hyatt House Boston/Waltham | 2 | 3 |
| Michigan | Hyatt Place Flint/Grand Blanc | 1 | 2 |
| Nebraska | Hyatt Place Lincoln/Downtown-Haymarket | 2 | 3 |
| Nevada | Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino | 5 | 6 |
| New Jersey | Hyatt Regency New Brunswick | 2 | 3 |
| New Jersey | Hyatt House Jersey City | 4 | 5 |
| New Jersey | Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson | 4 | 5 |
| New Jersey | Hyatt House Mt. Laurel | 1 | 2 |
| New Jersey | Hyatt Place Mt. Laurel | 1 | 2 |
| New York | Hyatt Place Albany/Downtown | 2 | 3 |
| New York | Hyatt Place Saratoga/Malta | 2 | 3 |
| New York | Hyatt Place Buffalo/Amherst | 2 | 3 |
| New York | Hyatt Place Garden City | 3 | 4 |
| New York | The Time New York | 6 | 5 |
| New York | The Beekman, A Thompson Hotel | 6 | 7 |
| New York | Andaz 5th Avenue | 7 | 8 |
| North Carolina | The Carolina Inn | 4 | 5 |
| North Carolina | Hyatt House Raleigh Durham Airport | 1 | 2 |
| North Carolina | Hyatt House Raleigh/RDU/Brier Creek | 1 | 2 |
| North Carolina | Hyatt Place Chapel Hill / Southern Village | 2 | 3 |
| North Carolina | Hyatt Place Durham/Southpoint | 1 | 2 |
| North Carolina | Hyatt Place Raleigh-Durham Airport | 1 | 2 |
| Ohio | Hyatt Regency Columbus | 2 | 3 |
| Ohio | Hyatt House Columbus OSU/Short North | 2 | 3 |
| Ohio | Hyatt Place Columbus/Dublin | 1 | 2 |
| Ohio | Hyatt Place Columbus/OSU | 2 | 3 |
| Ohio | Hyatt Place Columbus/Worthington | 1 | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | Hyatt House Pittsburgh/ Bloomfield/Shadyside | 2 | 3 |
| South Carolina | Hyatt Place Sumter/Downtown | 1 | 2 |
| Tennessee | Dream Nashville | 5 | 4 |
| Tennessee | Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria | 2 | 1 |
| Texas | Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin | 5 | 4 |
| Texas | Hyatt Place Waco – South | 1 | 2 |
| Texas | Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport | 3 | 4 |
| Texas | Hyatt Place DFW | 2 | 3 |
| Texas | Hyatt Place Houston NW Vintage Park | 1 | 2 |
| Virginia | Hyatt Place Blacksburg/University | 2 | 3 |
| Washington | Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport | 3 | 4 |
| Washington | Hyatt Regency Seattle | 4 | 5 |
| Puerto Rico | Hyatt Place Bayamón | 2 | 3 |
| Puerto Rico | Hyatt Place Manatí | 2 | 3 |
Canada, Caribbean & Latin America
| Country | Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aruba | Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino | 7 | 8 |
| Canada | Hyatt Place Edmonton-West | 1 | 2 |
| Canada | Hyatt Place Windsor | 1 | 2 |
| Canada | Hyatt Place Moncton / Downtown | 1 | 2 |
| Chile | Hyatt Centric Las Condes Santiago | 2 | 3 |
| Chile | Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura | 1 | 2 |
| Costa Rica | Hyatt Place San Jose/Pinares | 1 | 2 |
| Guatemala | Hyatt Centric Guatemala City | 2 | 3 |
| Honduras | Hyatt Place San Pedro Sula | 1 | 2 |
| Honduras | Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa | 1 | 2 |
| Mexico | Hyatt Centric Playa Del Carmen | 4 | 3 |
| Mexico | Alila Mayakoba | 6 | 7 |
| Mexico | Hyatt House Monterrey Valle/San Pedro | 1 | 2 |
| Mexico | Hyatt Place Monterrey Valle | 1 | 2 |
| Mexico | Hyatt Place Saltillo | 1 | 2 |
| Saint Lucia | Secrets St. Lucia Resort & Spa | C | D |
Europe
| Country | Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | Hyatt Place Rouen | 1 | 2 |
| France | Hôtel du Louvre | 7 | 8 |
| Germany | Me and All Hotel Ulm | 1 | 2 |
| Greece | Grand Hyatt Athens | 3 | 4 |
| Greece | Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki | 2 | 3 |
| Portugal | Hyatt Regency Lisbon | 4 | 5 |
| Spain | AluaSoul Ibiza | A | B |
| Spain | Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada | B | C |
| Spain | Dreams Jardin Tropical Resort & Spa | B | C |
| Spain | The Standard, Ibiza | 6 | 7 |
| Spain | Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid | 4 | 5 |
| Spain | Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa | B | C |
| Sweden | Story Hotel Stockholm North | 1 | 2 |
| Switzerland | Hotel Fluela Davos | 7 | 8 |
| United Kingdom | Park Hyatt London River Thames | 7 | 8 |
| United Kingdom | Hyatt Place London City East | 4 | 3 |
Africa & Middle East
| Country | Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethiopia | Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa | 3 | 4 |
| Kuwait | Grand Hyatt Kuwait Residences | 4 | 5 |
| Kuwait | Hyatt Regency Al Kout Mall | 4 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | Jabal Omar Hyatt Regency Makkah | 4 | 5 |
| Saudi Arabia | Grand Hyatt The Red Sea | 7 | 6 |
| Saudi Arabia | Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya | 4 | 5 |
| Saudi Arabia | Hyatt Place Riyadh Al Sulaimania | 2 | 3 |
| South Africa | Hyatt Regency Cape Town | 1 | 2 |
| United Arab Emirates | Andaz Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi | 3 | 4 |
| United Arab Emirates | Hyatt Place Dubai Jumeirah | 1 | 2 |
Asia & Pacific
| Country / Region | Hotel | Current Category | New Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | Grand Hyatt Dalian | 4 | 3 |
| China | Hyatt Regency Beijing Shiyuan | 2 | 1 |
| China | Andaz Nanjing Hexi | 3 | 2 |
| China | Commune by the Great Wall | 3 | 2 |
| China | Hyatt Place Chongli | 2 | 1 |
| China | Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort | 7 | 6 |
| China | Grand Hyatt Shenzhou Peninsula | 4 | 3 |
| China | Grand Hyatt Sanya Haitang Bay Resort & Spa | 4 | 3 |
| China | Hyatt Regency Sanya Tianli Bay | 3 | 2 |
| India | Hyatt Centric Hebbal Bengaluru | 1 | 2 |
| India | Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore | 1 | 2 |
| India | Hyatt Regency Dehradun Resort & Spa | 2 | 3 |
| India | Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort | 5 | 4 |
| India | Ronil Goa | 1 | 2 |
| India | Hyatt Place Goa Candolim | 1 | 2 |
| Japan | Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay | 3 | 4 |
| Japan | Caption by Hyatt Namba Osaka | 2 | 3 |
| Japan | Hyatt Place Kyoto | 2 | 3 |
| Japan | Hyatt House Tokyo Shibuya | 5 | 6 |
| Macao | Andaz Macau | 5 | 4 |
| Malaysia | Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort | 1 | 2 |
| Singapore | The Standard, Singapore | 5 | 4 |
Important Strategy Reminders
- All free night award and Points + Cash redemptions booked before 8:00 am CDT on Wednesday, May 20, will follow the current Award Chart regardless of stay dates, even if the hotel is shifting to a higher award category.
- However, members who have existing award or Points + Cash bookings as of 8:00 am CDT on Wednesday, May 20 for a night on or after Wednesday, May 20 at a Hyatt hotel that moved down to a lower category, will receive an automatic one-time refund on the point difference. Points will be returned to members’ accounts starting Wednesday, May 20.
- Any free night award and Points + Cash redemptions booked on or after 8:00 am CDT on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, will follow the new Award Chart.
- Once changes go into effect on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. CDT, any adjustments made to existing reservations will follow the terms of the new Award Chart.
Guru’s Wrap-up
There’s no denying that these World of Hyatt 2026 category changes are a significant devaluation for the average traveler. Even if they didn’t shift any hotels to a higher category, we already know that a devaluation is coming on May 20 due to the new award chart structure.
With the vast majority of shifting properties moving to higher categories and the introduction of new pricing levels, your points simply won’t go as far as they used to. Between the loss of several popular Category 4 and 7 sweet spots and the increasing difficulty of using Free Night Certificates at flagship properties, members are being squeezed from both ends. If you have been hoarding points for a dream stay, the window to book at a more reasonable rate is closing fast. Lock in your reservations now before these changes go into effect.
Some notable properties that are shifting to a higher category are Andaz 5th Avenue (New York), Park Hyatt London River Thames, Hotel du Louvre (Paris), and Hyatt Regency Aruba which are all going to Category 8.
Let me know in the comments if any of your favorite properties are getting more expensive, or join the discussion in out Facebook Group.
