World of Hyatt Announces Award Category Changes For 2019

It’s that time of year.  The groundhog didn’t see his shadow, so there’s hope that winter is coming to a close in the cold portions of the US.  In DC, people will begin forecasting when the cherry blossoms will bloom.  And, in the hotel industry, it means that hotel chains are announcing their award room category changes for 2019.  Radisson was the first one I reported on, just over a week ago.  Those changes didn’t seem to be too painful.  Marriott was up next.  That one was a bit of a tale of two cities. On the one hand, only about 5% of the hotels were affected.  On the other, virtually all hotels affected got pricier when it came to redeeming your points.  Now, Hyatt is out with their changes.

Hyatt Award Category Changes

Hyatt’s list is much more balanced between properties getting more expensive and properties getting cheaper.  Personal kudos to Hyatt for continuing to release a list separated by increases and decreases so I don’t have to make a nerdy spreadsheet that tallies such things.  First, let’s look at the properties getting more expensive.

There are a handful of properties that I’m a bit bummed to see on the increase list.  Hyatt House Anaheim Resort is a perfect place to stage a Disneyland vacation using points.  The Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center is one of my favorite Hyatts.  I’m actually kind of shocked it was still a category 3.

Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country and Hyatt Regency Bellevue were great values at category 3 (though I’d choose Hyatt Regency Lake Washington if the geography worked in Seattle).  Grand Hyatt DFW consistently has high room rates, so seeing it move to a category 5 isn’t a huge shocker.  Bit of a bummer that you can’t use Cat 1-4 free night certificates there any longer.  Grand Hyatt Seattle and Olive 8 are two of my faves in Seattle.  Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe is a great location for ski bums.  And, places like Park Hyatt Mallorca are very high on my list for future visits.

Hyatt Hotels Getting Cheaper (On Points)

Interesting to see Hyatt Regency Chicago, New Orleans and Orlando dropping to category 3.  I’m really surprised to see Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort as a category 3.  That property is an absolute gem, and a steal as a category 3.

Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach dropping a category is notable.  Same with the Hyatt Regency Jersey City.  That property sees some pretty high room rates based on its location.  I had a reservation booked at Park Hyatt Istanbul-Macka Palas a few years ago.  Alas, I had to cancel.  Still eager to get back there.

It’s been a number of years since I stayed at Grand Hyatt New York.  And, there’s news that it will be torn down in the near future.  A category drop here seems to make sense given the quality of the property balanced against the demand in NYC.  Hyatt Herald Square is a neat little property that gets cheaper.

The Final Two Pennies

The list of properties moving around is very well-balanced, with 130 getting pricier and 129 getting cheaper, from a points perspective.  That’s a much higher percentage of properties being adjusted (about 22%) versus the 5% at Marriott.  But, it’s obviously more balanced.  And, it seems to match up well with where the market is now.  Plenty of hotels are seeing occupancy and rate go up, but not all of them.

Hyatt has given us until 11:59pm EST on March 18th to make bookings at the old rates for properties going up in category.  They also plan to automatically refund guests the difference in points if they have a stay at a hotel that’s going down in category.  That’s absolutely the right way to do things.

Overall, I don’t really have any major issues with these changes.  There are a few I’m a little sad about, and some I’m happy about.

How do you feel about these Hyatt category changes?

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