Marriott's 2020 category shake-up moves 1,686 hotels up, only 499 down
Marriott Bonvoy's 2020 category refresh repriced 29% of its portfolio: 1,686 hotels moved to pricier categories against 499 that got cheaper, and 95 properties crossed into the 100,000-point top tier.
Marriott’s annual category refresh landed today, and the arithmetic is brutal: 1,686 properties jump to a pricier category, just 499 get cheaper. That’s nearly 3.4 hotels moving against you for every one moving in your favour, with 29% of the global portfolio repricing.
The top end is where it stings most. Ninety-five hotels crossed into the 100,000-point top tier — a 34% jump in the count of six-figure redemptions — and even the New York Marriott Marquis got bumped a full category.
The collateral damage is free-night certificates. Card-attached certs like the Amex Brilliant’s instantly stopped covering dozens of properties they’d worked at the day before. Same certificate, same annual fee, shorter list of doors it opens. That’s a fee hike wearing a category chart as a disguise.
Our take: Bonvoy runs this play every year and every year the ratio favours the house. Value your Marriott points on what they buy after March 4, not before, and burn balances ahead of the next “refresh” — there will be one.