We know that as of May 20, 2026, World of Hyatt is completely overhauling award pricing, by introducing a new five tier award chart (compared to the current three tiers). On the high end, this has the potential to be awful.
However, that’s not the only change happening as of that date. World of Hyatt has also just revealed hotel category adjustments for 2026, impacting which hotels are in which categories (and in turn, impacting how many points are required for free night redemptions). This is something that Hyatt does annually, and it’s separate from the overall award chart changes.
I’d like to go over the details of this year’s changes, which admittedly pale in comparison to the other change happening as of that date, which is the huge new variance in award pricing.
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the total number of properties changing categories isn’t as bad as in some past years. The bad news is that the percentage of properties increasing in category (rather than decreasing) is high.
136 Hyatt hotels changing categories on May 20
World of Hyatt’s 2026 hotel category changes will be kicking in for bookings made as of 8AM CT on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
As of that date, 136 hotels will be changing categories, with 113 hotels shifting to a higher category and 23 hotels shifting to a lower category. You can find a full list of hotels changing categories here.
In terms of booking logistics:
- All reservations made prior to May 20 will follow the current award chart, even if you stay on a subsequent date
- Members who have stays booked at hotels that go down a category will receive an automatic one-time refund of the points difference; these points will be returned starting May 20
- Any adjustments made to bookings after the changes go into effect will follow the new pricing
Let me again emphasize that there’s a bit of a double penalization here, potentially. On May 20 we’re seeing some hotels shift categories, and we’re also seeing a larger overhaul of Hyatt’s award pricing.
Some notable Hyatts changing categories in 2026
As mentioned above, we’re seeing 136 hotels shifting categories, with 113 hotels shifting to a higher category and 23 hotels shifting to a lower category. That’s rough, as 83% of hotels changing category are getting more expensive, while only 17% are getting less expensive.
On the plus side, at least the total volume of hotels changing categories isn’t as extreme as in some recent years. While you’ll want to take a look at the full list of properties for yourself, let me share what I consider to be some notable category changes.
Here are some of the World of Hyatt category increases that stand out most to me:
- Andaz 5th Avenue New York goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Hotel du Louvre Paris goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Hyatt Regency Aruba goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Park Hyatt London River Thames goes from Category 7 to Category 8
- Alila Mayakoba goes from Category 6 to Category 7
- The Beekman New York goes from Category 6 to Category 7
- Hotel Figueroa Los Angeles goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Coral Gables goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Grand Cyprus Orlando goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Jersey City goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Hyatt Regency Seattle goes from Category 4 to Category 5
- Andaz Capital Gate Abu Dhabi goes from Category 3 to Category 4
- Grand Hyatt Athens goes from Category 3 to Category 4
Here are some of the World of Hyatt category decreases that stand out most to me:
- Park Hyatt Sanya goes from Category 7 to Category 6
- Hyatt Centric Delfina Santa Monica goes from Category 6 to Category 5
- Andaz Macau goes from Category 5 to Category 4
- Dream Nashville goes from Category 5 to Category 4
- The Standard Singapore goes from Category 5 to Category 4
- Hyatt Centric Playa Del Carmen goes from Category 4 to Category 3
The thing that stands out to me most is the number of new Category 8 properties, due to the increases. Andaz 5th Avenue, Hotel du Louvre, Hyatt Regency Aruba, and Park Hyatt London? These really aren’t “flagship” properties that should be in the highest categories, if you ask me. The Park Hyatt Paris and Hotel du Louvre will really not be in the same category?!?
The economics of World of Hyatt awards
If you want to make sense of these hotel category changes, it’s worth understanding how the economics of hotel loyalty programs work. Keep in mind that most Hyatt hotels are independently owned, so Hyatt’s loyalty program has to compensate individual hotels for each redemption. As a general rule of thumb, here’s how it works:
- When the hotel isn’t full, the loyalty program compensates the hotel at some reimbursement rate that’s slightly above the marginal cost of servicing a room, etc.
- When the hotel is full (think 90-95%+ occupancy), the loyalty program compensates the hotel close to the average daily rate, in recognition of the fact that the room may have otherwise been sold
For example, if a hotel has high rates but low occupancy, it might be in a disproportionately low category. Meanwhile if a hotel has lower rates but consistently high occupancy, it might be in a disproportionately high category. It’s all about World of Hyatt’s redemption costs.
In recent years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the average cash rates at hotels, especially for luxury, leisure oriented properties. So it’s not surprising to see points redemption rates increase as well, reflecting that trend.
Bottom line
World of Hyatt has revealed its hotel category changes for 2026. As of May 20, 2026, we’re going to see 136 properties shift categories, with 83% of those properties going up in cost, and 17% going down in cost.
The annual category changes we see from World of Hyatt is ultimately the equivalent of a soft devaluation. Then again, the cash cost of many of these properties are increasing as well, so it’s really only a devaluation compared to previous points redemption rates, rather than compared to cash rates.
The much bigger devaluation is World of Hyatt moving from a three tier award chart to a five tier award chart, which will no doubt lead to a lot of awards getting a lot more expensive.
What do you make of these World of Hyatt changes?
