2019 Marriott Bonvoy Annual Hotel Category Changes
The new loyalty program for Marriott International – Marriott Bonvoy™ – will launch next week. Since the new program name was announced on January 16, hotels across the portfolio have been preparing to activate the new program name and collateral on February 13. Teams across Marriott are also working to plan and execute activities related to marketing, social media, and co-brand partnerships.
In addition to the preparation activities underway related to the launch of Marriott Bonvoy, the program is also announcing which properties are changing categories as part of the annual review of all hotel categories. The changes being announced are effective for all redemption reservations booked on or after March 5, 2019.
The Marriott Bonvoy categories will be 1 to 8 with the formal launch of Category 8 occurring on March 5, 2019. The points values are not changing. Cash + Points rates will be updated centrally for hotels with a category change.
Below is a summary of key upcoming dates as well as details regarding Hotel Categories and Cash + Points for 2019:
Key Dates
- February 8, 2019:
- Announcement of changes on Marriott.com
- Direct communication to hotels with category change
- February 11, 2019 – Reminder of 2019 Category Changes via Weekly Update
- March 5, 2019 – Hotel Category changes to be updated across all reservation touch points and Cash + Points Reimbursement Rates are updated
Hotel Categories
Hotel Categories are based on each hotel’s overall average reimbursement rate. This rate is the average of all redemption roomnights reimbursed at the hotel’s blended rate and all redemption room nights reimbursed at a percentage of ADR under the Marriott Bonvoy Reimbursement Policy. Hotel category changes will impact the points required by members to redeem at hotels but will not impact the Marriott Bonvoy reimbursement rate.
Cash + Points Reimbursement Information
The Cash + Points redemption option provides revenue opportunities for hotels during need times, increasing revenue potential with incremental paid nights, food & beverage, golf, spa, etc.
As a reminder, hotels will be reimbursed with the cash from the member and a separate reimbursement from the program only if the cash portion is lower than the hotel’s blended rate. Nights redeemed for Cash + Points will count fully toward the blended rate calculation. Hotels are encouraged to consider opening Cash + Points as often as possible when projecting less than 90% occupancy.
Hotel Category questions may be directed to the Property Support desk at propertysupport@marriott.com.
