In October 2021, Marriott announced their move to eliminate award charts and introduce dynamic award pricing in 2022. There have been further updates with respect to the actual move to the changed system, and let us go over these details now.

Marriott will introduce dynamic award pricing on March 29, 2022

Marriott has stated that a new award pricing will be implemented as of March 29, 2022, onwards, and it will percolate through the system within a day. Marriott stated that with this system, they intend to align award redemptions more closely to the cost of the stay and will also factor in occupancy.

However, for stays in 2022, roughly 97% of the hotels will be still priced for awards in terms of the current range set for minimum and maximum number of points required, and only about 200 hotels (3% of the portfolio) will require more points than their current requirements. In 2023, however, the ranges go away, and no longer will there be no floor/peak points required at a particular hotel.

While it is not known how many points will be required for stays in 2023, Marriott has introduced a list of the hotels which will cost more in 2022, once the new system kicks in. Here are some interesting properties that will change their pricing, with a special focus on Indian ones, and those I know personally are great properties.

• Hotels that will go up/down by a maximum of 5,000 points per night
  • Four Points by Sheraton Srinagar
  • ITC Kakatiya, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hyderabad
• Hotels that will go up/down by a maximum of 10,000 points per night
  • ITC Royal Bengal, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kolkata
  • The Westin Pushkar Resort and Spa
  • W Goa
  • Le Metropolitan, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Paris
• Hotels that will go up/down by a maximum of 20,000 points per night
  • The Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa, Mauritius
  • JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa
  • Le Meridien Maldives
  • The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
  • The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
  • Westin Goa
  • The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort
  • Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai
  • The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Beach
• Hotels that will go up/down by a maximum of 30,000 points per night
  • The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui
  • Paris Marriott Champs Elysees Hotel
  • Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel
  • Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel
  • The Bodrum EDITION
  • The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection
  • The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert

Here is the complete list of hotels that will change the pricing for stays in 2022, for those who want to look it up.

Topping off Free Night Awards will be introduced in April 2022

Marriott had also announced that Free Night Award Certificates will soon be topped off with up to 15,000 points to stay at a more expensive property. So, if you have a free night certificate, for instance, worth 40,000 points, you will be able to redeem it for a property worth 55,000 points after tacking on the remaining points from your account. Marriott states that the topping off capability will be introduced in the second half of April 2022. There is no firm date on this, so far.

My Take

Marriott is certainly dipping its toes in 2022 with the dynamic pricing bit, and not going all in. But many of the places on the list are places which are favourites for a variety of reasons with the members of Bonvoy. It could be that Marriott course corrects its current planned approach going forward after seeing the reaction to this limited approach. Time will tell. But if you intend to book at certain properties, now is the time to block for the rest of 2022. If you don’t have enough points, there is a buy miles promotion going through March 23, 2022, as well.

Bottomline

Marriott Bonvoy’s dynamic award pricing will launch for bookings as of March 29, 2022. However, for 97% of properties, you won’t pay more than the current maximum number of points for the remainder of 2022. For the other 3% of properties, you’ll pay up to an additional 30,000 points per night, and around 40 properties will have pricing that can be over 100,000 points per night.

What do you think of this latest development with Marriott Bonvoy?

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