Quite baffled that Marriott think it is somehow appropriate to map multiple old certs onto the same new one without reimbursing the unnecessary extra that customers paid.

Also find it difficult that the hotel cat mapping (eg old 6 to new 5) wasn't applied to the vouchers too.

For those saying folks should just have attached to a redemption - that only applied to Marriott properties, in many locations there is only an SPG option!
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Bought 3 cat 6 travel package thinking most decent hotels are at least a cat 6 prior to the conversions. Now that it is valid for the new cat 4, I feel short changed. I do hope Marriott can refund the difference and give us the option to upgrade. That would be fair IMHO.

The MAJOR unfairness is Marriott is using PEAK pricing on the conversion table when peak pricing is not even in effect until early 2019. Those who intend to use their certs THIS YEAR could have spent 30K LESS for their hotels if Marriott is forthcoming in its communication to their members.
The whole handling has one goal in mind - to create the most breakage and to reduce as much as possible the liability of carrying the redemption value, at the least cost possible, regardless how the members are screwed now that we have so many properties, many would have no choice but still stay at our properties. This is it.

No more loyalty to Marriott. To take revenge at Marriott, I will complain about slightest thing during my future award certificate stays and demand compensation in the form of refund or points.

Some observations of implications beyond the cat mapping:
1) Floaters become the same as new TP certs - good, simple, no 'peak' blackouts by doing a points based cert or 'standard rates' only cert.
2) Converted certs can book SPG properties - assumed, but good to confirm
3) These new TPs are now bookable and usable immediately, but the converted equivalent certs are blacked out for a month. Attaching a cert if a manual process, and the backend for the new certs must exist if they are bookable and usable as Marriott has communicated. Floater mapping presumably finalized (although not through official communications to affected members). So why the blackout if the instrument, mapping and manual reservation process are effectively all in place? Block all the aspiration SPG properties while others swoop them up? Provide time to assess the blowback and change course if necessary? Strange in retrospect.

No specific official advanced notice of a devaluation, and the presumably unnecessary blackout are a bad look, very un-Marriott from past precedent. No need for the 'Lurker said X' or 'That's what you get for gambling on a windfall' responses. Marriott's only communication did not insinuate any devaluation, only "conversion". I'm just "still trying to plan that perfect trip".

I'm going to speculate that this isn't over.

I think Marriott has lost a ton of goodwill over their handling of this aspect of the transition. There is no reason why they could not have informed us on how they were going to handle the packages rather than trickle down bits of conflicting and ambiguous information. What is puzzling to me is how the executives in management determined this was in their own best interest? One would think that carefully communicating to those that presumably are their most valued customers would be a priority. Maybe the thought was that since they effectively have such a disproportionate advantage in market share that they could simply get away with this decision because it would affect such a small proportion of their overall customer base. If that were the case, I think that this was short sighted of them. It wouldn't have cost much to be generous to make up for the operational mistakes in failing to communicate effectively - and I think that would have less of an impact on future revenue growth but this is clearly going to be a driver of customer attrition. Even this latest communication is flawed, because if they do go make people whole for their 30k losses, it still will always be remembered for their handling of the situation and at bare minimum lead to less customer engagement.

1. The speculation that Marriott didn't disclose because there would be windfalls to be had turned out to be true.
2. The casual Marriott member who was not looking to how to game the system sees absolutely no loss across the board. None lost value. Some received windfalls.
3. The windfalls were: (i) Old Cat 1-5 (with hotel point value of 150k) being bumped to New Cat 1-4 (with hotel point value of 180k), (ii) Old Cat 7 (210k) to New Cat 5 (240k), (iii) Old Cat 9 (270k) to New Cat 6 (360k), and (iv) T1-3 (300k) to New Cat 6 (360k).
4. The complaints come from people who were looking to maximize value. I think Marriott can live with that. "I paid 300k points for 360k points in value, but someone else paid 270k points to get the same deal." Marriott can legitimately say "We were generous to both of you. The certificate Old Cat 8s were given costs 60k more than the certificate they had. We were more generous to someone else. So what?"
5. To those who do not think it is "fair" to use peak pricing, there is no basis for the complaint. As of today (and as announced for some time), new travel packages are based on peak pricing. Old certificates are being converted to new certificates. The peak pricing is consistently applied.
6. Outrage really shouldn't be directed at Marriott but at bloggers who fueled unreasonable expectations. All the gamblers knew that, as mentioned in point 1, the speculation that turned out to be true was that windfalls were to be had, which explains the timing of the announcement. Had people been on the right side of the gamble, they would have understood the reason for and excused the timing. The speculation that was proved fantasy (and unreasonable, in my opinion, to begin with) was to promote "Old Cat 7 equals New Cat 7" or baseless "C-2" theories.

Has there been any announcement as to how attached certificates for subsequently cancelled reservations will be handled?

I look forward to Marriott refunding the 30k points I wasted on a Cat 6 cert. Or bumping it up to new Cat 5 so it's useful.

...they would never be so underhanded as to intentionally leave their most loyal customers with such a negative impression, right? Because that would be foolish in the middle of a merger that already has so may people grumbling... and Marriott leadership is not short-sighted, is it? ...........

EDIT: In fact, I personally think the conversion chart is logically fair for the most part, but as so many on FT demonstrate every day, loyalty has an emotional component as well...

Glad that I kept all my TPs at 1-5 category. The hotels I have in mind migrated from category 5 to 3 and 4 respectively in the new program, meaning no-loss and no-gain here but 14 nights at my favorite hotels. :)

exactly. i spent 540,000 ___ing points to guarantee I had access to top tier on Thursday. i could have spent substantially less to have the same thing AND... i do NOT have access to top tier come January 1. plans change, stay dates change. i just got marriot-ted. that, and bc they decided to keep all details from us, i was nervous that i'd be screwed with a cat 1-5 purchased a year ago, so i paid 30,000 points yesterday to upgrade it to a cat 6. i even told the platinum rep why i was doing it. marriott (but not necessarily the rep) knew i was lighting 30,000 points on fire- but they're fine with that.

this is our future. us spg people knew from the start. it's like the app and website. marriott thinks they 'marriott way' is the right way even when confronted with overwhelming facts to the contrary. the hubris to throw away a very good spg app that is light years ahead of the marriott app; simply because 'it's marriott. it's better' mentality. you can't even book a room in the app ffs! i can have a room booked within 30 seconds of launching the spg app. same with the desktop sites.

3 levels of platinum where the new criteria to be platinum makes everyone platinum. even if the upgrade verbiage changes back- it's the hilton problem of when everyone is diamond, nobody is. i'd posit that marriott is quite fine with that. they know we have nowhere else to go- and THAT is exactly why they bought starwood. hotels are the new airlines...