I'm puzzled why you state that devaluation affects only a couple of hotels in French Polynesia. Have you been following the thread? Have you tried to do some test rewards bookings at other desirable properties (say, Paris, Hong Kong, various locations in Italy, elsewhere)?

The lack of standard rooms rewards availability at various times (high season, etc.) are obvious. This is at variance with the programs T&Cs. My recent certificate clearly states "Hotel Rewards are not subject to capacity controls". This is no longer true.

Why would anyone appreciate the changes in the program? Golds and Diamonds (that's most of the folks who have enough points to redeem for award stays) already generally get upgraded. I always have. Why would I want to pay or fork out more points for the privilege?