11 Hyatt Properties Will Move Hotel Categories On 25 March (7 More Than Expected)

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Back in October, twelve Hyatt properties moved award categories, Hyatt confirmed that it would be introducing peak and off-peak award pricing from July 2021, and we were told that a further four Hyatt properties would be moving award categories this month.

Now, in a new update, Hyatt has said that a further 7 properties will be move award categories in a couple of weeks’ time taking the total number of properties moving award categories to 11.

What We Already Knew

We already knew that the following 4 properties would be moving World of Hyatt award categories in mid-March 2021:

• Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport is moving from category 2 to 3
• Hyatt House Nashville/Downtown-SoBro is moving from category 4 to 5
• Mar Monte Hotel (part of The Unbound Collection) is moving from category 4 to 5
• Park Hyatt Aviara is moving from category 5 to 6

At the time that these hotel category changes were announced, we didn’t have an exact date that the changes would take place. Now we do.

Hyatt’s Update

Hyatt has now said that from Thursday, 25 March 2021, at 8:00 am CDT, a total of 11 hotels will be chancing World of Hyatt award categories – 10 hotels will shift into a higher award category and one will shift to a lower award category. The newly announced category changers are as follows:

• The Hyatt Place Houston Downtown is moving from category 3 to 2
• The Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows is moving from category 5 to 6
• The Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico is moving from category 3 to 4
• The Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort is moving from category 2 to 3
• The Hyatt Place Delano is moving from category 1 to 2
• The Hyatt Place Fair Lawn/Paramus is moving from category 1 to 2
• The Hyatt Place Palm Bay/Melbourne is moving from category 1 to 2

It’s probably fair to say that although these changes are coming with very little notice, most are not exactly very important movers (the Andaz Scottsdale’s move is a little disappointing).

Important To Know

• All free night award bookings and Points + Cash bookings made before 8:00 am CDT on Thursday, 25 March will follow the current Award Chart regardless of stay dates, even if the hotel is shifting to a higher award category.
• Any free night award bookings and Points + Cash bookings booked on or after Thursday, 25 March at 8:00 am CDT will follow the new Award Chart.
• Members who have existing award bookings as of 8:00 am CDT on Thursday, 25 March for a night on or after Thursday, 25 March at Hyatt Place Houston Downtown, which is moving to a lower award category, will receive an automatic one-time refund on the point difference. Points will be refunded in members’ accounts starting Friday, 26 March.
• Once changes go into effect on Thursday, 25 March at 8:00 am CDT, any adjustments made to existing reservations will follow the terms of the new Award Chart.

The key takeaway from all of this is that if you have been considering making a reservation at one of the 10 properties that will be moving up a World of Hyatt award category in a couple of week’s time, now is the time to make your booking(s).

Bottom Line

11 World of Hyatt properties will be moving award categories on 25 March 2021 with 10 properties moving up a category and 1 property moving down. It’s a little disappointing to see the Andaz Scottsdale moving up to Category 6 (costing 25,000 points per night for a standard room) but given how generous Hyatt’s promotions have been over the past 6 months and given how relatively benign these hotel category changes are, it would be a little churlish to complain.