World of Hyatt announces hotel category changes for 2025

World of Hyatt has just unveiled their annual hotel category adjustments for 2025, which impact how many points are required for free night redemptions. These will come into effect for bookings made from 25 March 2025. 

In one sense, the changes this year are less significant than last year, with 151 hotels moving categories compared to 183 in 2024. However, the percentage of hotels moving up a category this year is 78%, compared to 75% last year. 

There’s still time to lock in your reservations at the current prices, so read on for what’s changing.

World of Hyatt 2025 category changes

World of Hyatt 2025 Category Changes

World of Hyatt’s 2025 category changes kick in from 25 March 2025, 10 p.m SGT.

All bookings made prior to this date will follow the current award chart, even if your stay dates fall after the new chart kicks in.

• If you’ve booked a stay at a hotel moving down a category, you’ll receive an automatic one-time refund of the points difference from 25 March
• If you’ve booked a stay at a hotel moving up a category, no further payment will be required. However, if you subsequently change this booking from 25 March, you’ll need to pay the new prices

As a reminder, here’s World of Hyatt’s current award chart. 

Unlike Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt uses fixed peak and off-peak dates, decided at the start of each year. This means that a peak date will always be a peak date (versus Marriott, where a given date might be peak when you check this week, then switch to off-peak when you check the following week).

What’s changing?

A total of 151 hotels are changing categories worldwide:

• 118 hotels are moving to a higher category
• 33 hotels are moving to a lower category

Here’s a breakdown of changes by region:

Just like last year, North America and Europe get hit hard, with a significant number of increases relative to decreases.

But Asia isn’t spared either. Last year it was more or less a wash (at least in quantitative terms), with 24 hotels increasing and 20 hotels decreasing. This year, 25 hotels are increasing with only 12 hotels decreasing. Those travelling to Bali and Japan will be particularly affected

Some noteworthy hotels moving down a category include:

• Grand Hyatt Amman down from Category 2 to Category 1
• Park Hyatt Jakarta down from Category 4 to Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Yokohama down from Category 4 to Category 3
• Grand Hyatt Jeju down from Category 5 to Category 4
• Park Hyatt Doha down from Category 5 to Category 4
• Park Hyatt Busan down from Category 6 to Category 5
• Thomson Hollywood down from Category 6 to Category 5

Some noteworthy hotels moving up a category include:

• Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur up from Category 1 to Category 2
• Caption by Hyatt Namba Osaka up from Category 1 to Category 2
• Studios at Alila Seminyak up from Category 1 to Category 2
• Grand Hyatt Bali up from Category 2 to Category 3
• Hyatt Regency Bali up from Category 2 to Category 3
• Alila Ubud up from Category 3 to Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort up from Category 3 to Category 4
• Hyatt Regency Koh Samui up from Category 4 to Category 5
• Hyatt House Tokyo Shibuya up from Category 4 to Category 5
• Hyatt Regency Tokyo up from Category 4 to Category 5
• Alila Seminyak up from Category 5 to Category 6
• Andaz Bali up from Category 5 to Category 6
• Grand Hyatt at SFO up from Category 5 to Category 6
• Hyatt Regency Kyoto up from Category 5 to Category 6
• Hotel Toranomon Hills up from Category 6 to Category 7
• Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo up from Category 6 to Category 7
• Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills up from Category 7 to Category 8
• Grand Hyatt Tokyo up from Category 7 to Category 8
• Park Hyatt Tokyo up from Category 7 to Category 8

It’s important to remember that categories aren’t purely an indicator of quality; occupancy is also a key driver of movement. When a hotel isn’t full, World of Hyatt reimburses the property at a rate that just covers the marginal cost of a stay, e.g. housekeeping, utilities. When a hotel is running close to full, World of Hyatt reimburses the property close to the daily average rate, in recognition of the opportunity cost incurred.

Therefore, moving up a category suggests that World of Hyatt believes that occupancy rates will increase, and hence the cost of compensating hotels for redemptions in the upcoming year. 

What should you do now?

If a hotel you’re interested in is moving up a category, be sure to lock in your reservation by 25 March 2025. Since points reservations are generally flexible, you can always cancel it later if you change your plans. Remember, you can book stays up to 13 months in advance. 

If a hotel you’re interested in is moving down a category, hopefully your stay dates fall after 25 March 2025, because you’ll get an automatic refund.

Conclusion

World of Hyatt will be implementing its annual category changes from 25 March 2025, and more than three hotels are moving up for every hotel moving down.

While Asia escaped relatively unscathed last year, it’s a different story for 2025, with Bali and Tokyo seeing numerous properties moving up. In fact, there’s not a whole lot to cheer this year, unless perhaps South Korea was on your list.

This basically amounts to a soft devaluation, but it is largely in line with the increase in cash prices we’ve seen at many popular hotels. At the very least, World of Hyatt still has award charts, which bring some measure of transparency to the programme.

What do you make of World of Hyatt’s 2025 category changes?