FlyerTalk Forums - Announcing SPG’s 2015 Category Changes : effective March 10, 2015

When did the 2015 Starwood hotel category changes go into effect?

The changes took effect on March 10.

What's the breakdown of properties going up/down?

Based on the initial list of changes--see below for more on this--22% of hotels are changing category. Of these, 10.49% are moving up and 11.78% are moving down.

Where can I find the list of changes?

The initial list can be found here.

Note that the initial list is not final or authoritative, and that additional changes (or even reversal of changes proposed in the initial list) have been made & may continue to occur. To date, these include

The Royal Palm going up to 6
Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa going up to 3
W Bangkok remaining 4
Le Méridien Taipei remaining 6
Sheraton Mahwah remaining 4
Heathrow Sheraton remaining 3
Westin LAX remaining 4
Le Westin Montreal remaining 5
Aloft Buffalo Airport going down to 2
Aloft Tampa Downtown going down to 3
Sheraton Gran Canaria going up to 4

I booked a property before the category went up, but a) now my online reservation prices my stay at the higher category and/or b) I'm getting followup emails showing the higher rate? Is this problem?

As explained in post #118,

Quote:

there is often a system-generated change that makes it look like the price will go up when checking reservations online and on any reservation confirmation emails for existing bookings that are re-sent after the change takes place. You will be charged what you booked originally, however.