Originally Posted by
sorka
I stayed at Sonoma Marriott 2 years ago with points: it was a category 6.
Just checked recently, it is now a category 7. I am not aware of any renovation that may have taken place recently. So that's a 17% increase in points to be redeemed, for no added benefits
Categories are based on a number of factors. Geography, demand, and award demand. Some fallout from the Cat 4 Megabonus is the influx of people seeking the best cat 4 hotels. After the first year, a bunch of those properties were catapulted to category 5.
Your property may have a lot of award demand.