Join Date: May 2002
Location: Pittsburgh
Programs: MR LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus, HH Gold, Hertz PC, National Executive, etc.
Posts: 31,618
I believe someone from Marriott has stated at one point that it was based on demand for award redemption. Makes sense - supply and demand driving the price (award level). And room rate, as SPG says they use, is a pretty good proxy for demand, so the two are roughly analogous.
It makes more sense to me than "water view", "spa", etc.