WoH 2023 Category Changes to Take Effect on Mar 28
 

Full list here, changes will take effect at 8am CT on Mar 28. Book now!

Spoiler alert: this year isn’t good, not by a long shot. Out of 372 change-pending properties only 158 moved down, and the rest of 214 properties are all going up, with a few all-inclusive properties jumping up multiple categories, nearly doubling the points required.

A few Cat. 7 to 8 jumps I deemed noteworthy include:

• PH Zurich
• PH Beaver Creek
• Alila Marea Beach
• Carmel Valley Ranch
• Hotel Martinez Cannes
• Hyatt Carmel Islands
• HC Key West (!)

And these are the Cat. 4 to 5 jumps I deemed notable:

• PH Saigon
• Thompson Madrid (not surprising)
• Andaz San Diego
• The Eliza Jane
• Chicago Athletic Association
• GH Seoul
• GH Jeju
• GH Sanya
• HR Amsterdam
• HP Moab

A few other mentionable category hikes:

• Bangkok: GH (2 to 3), PH (5 to 6)
• Bali: GH & HR (1 to 2)
• LA: The Shay & Andaz West Hollywood (5 to 6)
• Oceanside: Mission Pacific + Seabird Resort (5 to 6)
• Dubai: HR Deira (1 to 2), PH (5 to 6)
• Andaz 5th Ave (6 to 7)
• PH Aviara (6 to 7)
• Andaz London (5 to 6)
• GH Baha Mar (5 to 6)
• tommie Austin (3 to 4)

The all-inclusive properties receiving multiple category hikes:

• Hyatt Ziva + Zilara Cancun (C to E, 25k to 40k)
• Hyatt Ziva + Zilara Cap Cana (C to E, 25k to 40k)
• Secrets Moxché Playa del Carmen (C to E, 25k to 40k)
• Secrets Impression Moxché (C to F, 25k to 50k!!)
• Zoëtry Casa del Mar Los Cabos (C to E, 25k to 40k)

And the very few favorable changes I deemed noticeable:

• Thompson Denver (6 to 5)
• Thompson DC (5 to 4)
• HR Suzhou (2 to 1)
• Hotel Eclat Taipei (3 to 2)
• Kyoto: HR (6 to 5) & HP (4 to 3)

Thanks for posting. A lot of changes I don't like in California. But to be fair, hotel prices in Cali have been pretty nuts. It could be worse.

Wow, that is a lot of very unfortunate changes.

GH Kauai and The Cape going to Category 7 really sucks, Cat 1-4 continues to be devalued with CAA / Eliza Jane / HP Moab / PH Saigon / GH Seoul & Jeju gone. Carmel Valley Ranch and the Alila Marea also really don’t deserve to be Category 8…

Some brutal changes. The AIs in Mexico must be popular.

This is pretty bogus - specifically sad to see Thompson Madrid move out of reach of Cat 1-4 certs, and it still bites despite being an inevitability. Quite a few overly-aspirational Cat 8s, and the general upward hike of the legacy Hyatt properties vs. SLH spells out what isn't being explicitly said: devaluation.

Sigh... nothing stays the same.

khabah

Andaz SD will be Cat. 5 but not Manchester GH San Diego?!

Lots of the AIs are going up, some double jumps.

Two properties caught my eyes are the Kyoto HR and HP that are going down a level.

None of these are unexpected, but it does suck.

In a weird way it makes the Cat 7 award feel like it has some value again, because Cat 7 is no longer a wasteland of expensive but undesirable (to me) properties.

I was expecting to lose MGH availability on certificates. MGH is by far the better experience but I suspect Andaz has a higher ADR given they have less rooms to fill.

Madrid goes up, Japan goes down. I am unlikely to visit the all inclusives but 100% of changes being increases does sting.

a hyatt place a Cat 6. wow. that must be a luxury version...
ridiculous

My local Hyatt Regency is going to a Cat 3 AND the 2 next closest Hyatt Regencies are too…not happy, there’s no bang for my buck anymore. At least we still have charts.

MGH might as well be out of reach if you want to stay over a weekend. I looked for award availability for a 2-3 night stay from March - August and there was basically no "standard" rooms available other than the occasional ADA room.

SHOCKED that the Andaz West Hollywood is going up to a 6. I was expecting them to go down to a 4.

It's a glorified Holiday Inn....

My guess is Manchester Grand had a lot of rooms go empty last time they went to CAT5.

Not too unexpected, but a few of the new category 8s are head-scratchers. Chatwal not dropping to a 7 is crazy considering it's rates, although I was presently surprised to see HR Austin stay at Cat. 4. That and the Bellevue in Philadelphia are two of my go to options for those certs.

I'm disappointed they didn't bump the certificates up to Cat. 1-8 since clearly that's just an extra (non-special) category and those certificates were always pitched as being good at any property (*other than the super special and unique ones). I'll probably still drop my personal Hyatt card and just keep the business card with the further reduction in Cat. 4 options though.