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Announcing SPG’s 2015 Category Changes : effective March 10, 2015

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Old Mar 10, 2015, 4:40 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: daiseee
When did the 2015 Starwood hotel category changes go into effect?
The changes took effect on March 10.
What's the breakdown of properties going up/down?
Based on the initial list of changes--see below for more on this--22% of hotels are changing category. Of these, 10.49% are moving up and 11.78% are moving down.
Where can I find the list of changes?
The initial list can be found here.

Note that the initial list is not final or authoritative, and that additional changes (or even reversal of changes proposed in the initial list) have been made & may continue to occur. To date, these include
  • The Royal Palm going up to 6
  • Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa going up to 3
  • W Bangkok remaining 4
  • Le Méridien Taipei remaining 6
  • Sheraton Mahwah remaining 4
  • Heathrow Sheraton remaining 3
  • Westin LAX remaining 4
  • Le Westin Montreal remaining 5
  • Aloft Buffalo Airport going down to 2
  • Aloft Tampa Downtown going down to 3
  • Sheraton Gran Canaria going up to 4
I booked a property before the category went up, but a) now my online reservation prices my stay at the higher category and/or b) I'm getting followup emails showing the higher rate? Is this problem?
As explained in post #118,
there is often a system-generated change that makes it look like the price will go up when checking reservations online and on any reservation confirmation emails for existing bookings that are re-sent after the change takes place. You will be charged what you booked originally, however.
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Announcing SPG’s 2015 Category Changes : effective March 10, 2015

 
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Old Mar 10, 2015, 9:03 am
  #136  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: AA, BA, SPG Gold
Posts: 665
Starwood Lurker

I rebooked London Skyline. Now Category 3 instead of 4. Haven't cancelled 1st reservation yet. Funny thing. My 1st reservation, which is on the site, says I paid 7,000 pts. I looked back in my acct at the points when they were removed from my acct in Oct. and 10k were removed. Did SPG change the actual reservation confirmation to reflect the new points? Will I get the correct number of points returned when I cancel?

THX.
slhansen219 is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 9:09 am
  #137  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: CEB - primary/YVR -secondary
Programs: AC*Super Elite (100K) / PR*Elite / AY*Platinum (OWE) / SPG*Bonvoy Titanium (LTT)
Posts: 2,272
Originally Posted by slhansen219
Starwood Lurker

I rebooked London Skyline. Now Category 3 instead of 4. Haven't cancelled 1st reservation yet. Funny thing. My 1st reservation, which is on the site, says I paid 7,000 pts. I looked back in my acct at the points when they were removed from my acct in Oct. and 10k were removed. Did SPG change the actual reservation confirmation to reflect the new points? Will I get the correct number of points returned when I cancel?

THX.
Yes, exact same thing when i checked my LM Budapest rez. From cat 4 to 3.

- cancel rez
- log off
- log back on (you will see your 10k points back unto your account). But must log off first as your account will show 7k additional points after rez has been cancelled and not 10k.
supatight80 is online now  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 9:14 am
  #138  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: AA, BA, SPG Gold
Posts: 665
Originally Posted by supatight80
Yes, exact same thing when i checked my LM Budapest rez. From cat 4 to 3.

- cancel rez
- log off
- log back on (you will see your 10k points back unto your account). But must log off first as your account will show 7k additional points after rez has been cancelled and not 10k.
Thanks. Was going to check the copy of the Rez saved on my computer befor I did anything... Just in case I needed proof!
slhansen219 is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 10:21 am
  #139  
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Toronto,Ontario,Canada
Posts: 132
Aloft Buffalo Airport dropped to a Cat 2. This was not on the original list of changes.

Any other properties with unexpected changes today?
gregv is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 10:24 am
  #140  
Company Representative - Starwood
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Originally Posted by slhansen219
Starwood Lurker

I rebooked London Skyline. Now Category 3 instead of 4. Haven't cancelled 1st reservation yet. Funny thing. My 1st reservation, which is on the site, says I paid 7,000 pts. I looked back in my acct at the points when they were removed from my acct in Oct. and 10k were removed. Did SPG change the actual reservation confirmation to reflect the new points? Will I get the correct number of points returned when I cancel?

THX.
Yes. I mentioned this anomaly yesterday: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24478945-post118.html

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Starwood Lurker is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 10:29 am
  #141  
Company Representative - Starwood
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Originally Posted by gregv
Aloft Buffalo Airport dropped to a Cat 2. This was not on the original list of changes.

Any other properties with unexpected changes today?
There are a few. Some went up, some went down, some are remaining where they are. These are the ones that I am personally aware of at the moment:

The Royal Palm up to 6
Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa up to 3
W Bangkok remaining 4
Le Méridien Taipei remaining 6
Aoft Buffalo Airport down to 2
Aloft Tampa Downtown down to 3

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Last edited by Starwood Lurker; Mar 10, 2015 at 5:30 pm
Starwood Lurker is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 10:59 am
  #142  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 50
The Le Meridien Taipei is showing as Cat 6 today, when it supposed to drop to Cat 5. When will the system be updated to reflect this?
hockeyfan12 is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 11:01 am
  #143  
Company Representative - Starwood
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Originally Posted by hockeyfan12
The Le Meridien Taipei is showing as Cat 6 today, when it supposed to drop to Cat 5. When will the system be updated to reflect this?
That one is also remaining Category 6. I will update my list above.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Starwood Lurker is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 11:11 am
  #144  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 50
Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker
That one is also remaining Category 6. I will update my list above.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Well I guess the original list having it moving down was just a tease...

Thanks for the quick response, beats me reloading the spg site hourly to see if the update would happen.
hockeyfan12 is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 11:20 am
  #145  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: AA, BA, SPG Gold
Posts: 665
Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker
Yes. I mentioned this anomaly yesterday: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24478945-post118.html

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Thanks!! I missed that!!!
slhansen219 is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 11:32 am
  #146  
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DCA ZWU
Programs: AGR WOH
Posts: 1,785
Originally Posted by CPRich
An attempt at a quick analysis.
Interesting that the median property remains at Cat 4, but the mode has now shifted from Cat 3/Cat 4 (tie) to Cat 4. Of course, since there are 7 categories, 4 should the midpoint.
paytonc is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 4:17 pm
  #147  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker
That one is also remaining Category 6. I will update my list above.
William,

Will the docs on the SPG website also be updated, or is the list here the sole compilation? If the latter, I think I will put it in a wiki (or at least put a link to the list in the wiki).
beltway is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 4:24 pm
  #148  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: Hyatt Glob; UA 1K; BonVoyage LTT (RIP SPG); HH Dia; JX Insighter
Posts: 1,642
Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker
The Royal Palm up to 6
This was surprising to see, since the hotel had been announced as joining SPG at Cat 5 just a few weeks ago. Probably reaching here, but can you comment on why such a quick change?
CLEguy is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 4:27 pm
  #149  
Company Representative - Starwood
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Originally Posted by CLEguy
...Probably reaching here, but can you comment on why such a quick change?
Not really, no. Especially as far as specific properties go. Suffice to say that some data was proven wrong and it got corrected.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Starwood Lurker is offline  
Old Mar 10, 2015, 4:28 pm
  #150  
Company Representative - Starwood
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Originally Posted by beltway
William,

Will the docs on the SPG website also be updated, or is the list here the sole compilation? If the latter, I think I will put it in a wiki (or at least put a link to the list in the wiki).
I would link it in the wiki, if it was me. I'll attempt to keep the post updated in so far as I am able.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]
Starwood Lurker is offline  



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