Marriott Announces New Hotel Categories – Book Amazing Properties from 60,000 Points

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We’ve known about the new Marriott award chart (kicking in from 1 August 2018) for some time but it hasn’t really meant all that much up until now because Marriott hadn’t confirmed what categories its hotels would be placed in.

The hotelier gave us an indication of what to expect back in April but, as I noted at the time, there was quite a bit they left out.

In its examples Marriott didn’t include all the properties in each city/region that it was using to explain how things would look, we weren’t told how peak- and off-peak seasons would be split and there was still uncertainty over how all-suite properties would be treated.

Now some of those blanks have been filled in – Marriott has released a full listing of all its properties showing what category they will fall into come 1 August 2018.

As a reminder here’s what the new Marriott award chart will look like (click to enlarge):

From the remainder 2018 Marriott will only operate its award chart with 7 categories with the 8th being added in 2019.

What this means is that, from 1 August 2018, there will be a window of opportunity in which travelers can book what will be Category 8 properties for the cost of a Category 7.

If you thought that was good news wait until you read this….

Marriott has included the all-suite properties in the new chart it has released and has confirmed that these will be bookable at Category 7 pricing (60,000 Marriott Points Per Night) through the rest of the year!

Properties like the amazing-looking St Regis Vommuli in the Maldives will be available to book for just 60,000 points per night….that’s equivalent to 20,000 Starpoints in today’s currency!

We’re going to have to wait and see just how much award availability is offered at properties like the St Regis Vommuli but, for now, I have to hold my hand up and admit that I got it wrong when I wrote that we shouldn’t expect this to happen.

There’s more good news too – some good hotels will cost less going forward as will a few useful ones too.

• In Sydney, both the Sydney Harbour Marriott (reviewed here) and the Pier One Sydney Harbour property will both cost just 35,000 points.night (a decrease of 12.5%)
• 4 of Marriott’s LAX properties will cost less going forward with 3 costing 25,000/night (~17% decrease) and one moving down to 35,000 points/night (a decrease of 12.5%).
• My favorite London Marriott – the London Marriott West India Quay – is going to cost 5,000 points less (35,000 points/night – a 12.5% reduction)

• Al the all-suite properties (Bora Bora, Maldives etc..) will cost 5,000 fewer points next year than they do right now – not a big percentage decrease but a decrease nonetheless.
• The W Bali Seminyak is seeing a huge decrease in award cost as it moves from an exorbitant 90,000 points/night to 60,000 points/night (a ~33% decrease)
• The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne seems to be one of the few RC properties moving down as it goes from 60,000 to 50,000 points per night (a ~17% decrease).

There’s more out there but I’m sure you get the idea.

Unfortunately it’s not all good news.

The Bad News

I’ve taken a look at a few more hotels I know and which I think readers may be interested in and some are showing significant increases in the cost of an award night.

• In London the at Grosvenor Square, the two Marriotts on Park Lane and the Marriott County Hall are all going to cost 60,000 points/night (an increase of 33%)

• In Singapore the JW Marriott South Beach (reviewed here) will cost 50,000 points/night (an increase of 25%)
• In Los Angeles the JW Marriott at LA LIVE is going to cost 50,000 points/night (an increase of 25%)
• In Miami the Miami EDITION and the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour are both going to cost 85,000 points/night next year (an increase of ~21%)
• In San Francisco the Westin St Francis will cost 50,000 points/night (an increase of ~39%)

• In New York the JW Marriott Essex House going up in cost by ~33% while the Sheraton Times Square will cost  ~39% more and the Ritz-Carlton Central Park will cost ~21% more.
• In Tokyo the Ritz-Carlton will cost 85,000 points/night from next year (up ~21%) and the Price Sakura Tower and the Tokyo Marriott will both cost 25% more going forward.

These are by no means the only examples of bad news out there but they illustrate the point I’m trying to make – what Marriott may be giving with one hand it’s taking away with the other (in some cases, with interest).

Bottom Line

Short-term there’s clearly good news here as the ability to book some truly luxurious resorts for the equivalent of 20,000 Starpoints or 60,000 Marriott Rewards Points is a great benefit to have…but that’s only a benefit we’ll be enjoying for a few months.

Going forward a lot of the more aspirational properties will cost more than they do now…and some will cost a lot more. Yes, it’s nice that the all-suite properties will cost a little less but, when you have good properties in London, Singapore, New York, Tokyo and in other major cities increasing in cost by up to 39%, it’s hard to claim that we should all hold a street party and thank a benevolent Marriott.

Anyway, those are my thought so far….but I still await Marriott’s news on what peak- and off-peak seasons will look like and what award availability at the all-suite resorts will look like too.