I am pretty sure that I read in another thread that the reimbursement rate depends on hotel occupancy at check-in and has no relation at all to the points you spent.
In addition, if I remember correctly, the base reimbursement is very low-something on the order of 10% of rack, and increases dependent upon occupancy rate.

Yes, that is known to be the case with IHG and is likely to be true for Hilton too.

That would seem to me to fly in the face of any valuation of points for the purpose of determining Hilton Honors' exposure for financial purposes. But you very well may be correct.

It appears as though the La Romana AI's have increased their award prices without notice sometime the past couple of weeks. It's been 80K/night for a quite a while with 2 adults, 2 kids - its now pricing at 100K or more for all dates. The Hilton Rose Hall seems to be pricing 100K+ for standard dates even when only 2 adults (and almost all '24 dates are pricing at Premium with no standard room). Has anyone else noticed anything? I thought maybe I missed an announcement, but Hilton has done this in the past too.

Following the full introduction of dynamic pricing and the removal of price caps quite some time ago, the use of the term "devaluation" is devoid of meaning further on. Irrespective of whether we as consumers like it or not, hotels do not function in a plan economy with fixed prices, and I have no economic reasoning to object their ability to adjust prices, be it based on supply / demand considerations, inflation rates or even discretionary if this fits their business model. (As you noted yourself, other hotels, especially in the high end of the spectrum, and not only Hilton ones, have done that repeatedly in the past years, be it through point per night changes, category changes, and so on.) For me as consumer, the choices are obvious - continue to have my business with Hilton, move it to a competitor or opportunistically decide where to stay on discretionary basis, taking into consideration all relevant factors like location, comfort, hardware, etc. (and of course, price). I personally chose the latter, and currently have points pools with both Hilton and IHG, which I will avail of when and where it best fits my needs, I have zero pressure in that respect. My last remark here would be that over the recent years I have been more and more inclined to staying with IHG rather than Hilton - what I have been getting back as IHG 1R Diamond Ambassador has far outweighed what I have been getting back as Hilton Honors Diamond (and for the record, both status have been achieved and maintained through regular stay activities, no credit cards, no promo gaming, etc.)

Absolutely. Conrad Bora Bora went from 89k/Night to 120k/Night. It is simply ridiculous how Hilton is stealthily devalueing everything. But for some reason it barely gets reported (as opposed to devaluations of other points programs) so they get away with it.

Inflation is a cheap excuse, because the point increases are usually much higher than the cash rate increases due to inflation. And points collection rates, be it via member benefits or credit cards, are not increasing either but still the same 2 points per Euro in Europe that it has been forever.

Agreed on your IHG comments. A significantly more rewarding experience as a Diamond Ambassador than a Hilton Diamond.

OTOH Hilton has more generous points earning promotions, the 5th night free on award stays are often an excellent deal and largely the only time I choose Hilton over IHG these days.

I have also noted that 'dynamic pricing' no longer exists for many properties.
Many hotels now charge the maximum amount of points even on the 'cheaper nights'.

I think within the last few days WA Cancun has jumped from 95K to 105K for most/all nights.

The Hilton Garden Inn Bali went from 5K to 15K points per night (some nights are 12K points) :-(

Yeah that was quite a steal for a long time. Sad to see that go. Usually cash nights there go for 600k IDR which is around $35-$40 so 12k seems a tad on the high side. At that price I might still do a night there when i land and leave as its right by the airport, but otherwise its a little bit far from where I'd prefer to be.

I spent a month this year and last at the Hampton Bucaramanga, which was 5000pts. That has also jumped up to 15k.

Not sure what kept them low so long. I suspect Hilton liked to say they had hotels at 5000 pts. Was great while it lasted.

Is there any way to see if the total points required for a property is lower when you don't have enough points to redeem? I used all my points for an upcoming redemption but saw cash rates are now lower. I guessed that the total points for the 5 nights is also lower, yet I am not allowed to see the total points required (Hilton now only shows me cash and points). I even tried to modify the reservation and the same thing occurred. I took the chance and cancelled the points reservation and then I saw the total points required for redemption did drop by 14,000 points. So I booked the new points reservation. Is this the only way to do it? It's risky (as once I cancel I lose the room and may not get it back again, depending on occupancy levels). Any tricks here to see if less total points are avail for previously booked award stays?

Simply don't sign into your account. When you're in your account, it "knows" how many points you have. If you look without signing in it will tell you what all the points rates are.

You can always search for price in points without event being logged in. If a standard room reward rate is offered, this is eligible for 5-4-4 redemption - otherwise, if only premium room reward rates are offered, these will be due for every night during your desired stay period. By way of reminder, when you search for one specific hotel and select that your dates are flexible, you will see the entire availability and price calendar (this does not work when you search by destination).

What is "5-4-4 redemption"?