Details Released of Which 200+ Marriott Hotels are Moving to Dynamic Pricing March 29, 2022

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Marriott Bonvoy just released details of 200+ hotels that are moving to dynamic pricing on March 29, 2022. We have a list of the hotels that will increase in price, plus how many extra points you will need. Other news includes what we can expect for 2023 and when you will be able to add points to free night awards for high-priced bookings.

There's a lot to digest, so here we go.

Background on Marriott Moving to Dynamic Pricing

Before digging into the new details, let's make sure everyone is on the same page.

In October of 2021, Marriott announced a move to dynamic pricing and said that only 3% of its hotels would adopt this new pricing model in 2022. And we knew it would come sometime around March 2022. This move is said to put points bookings more closely in line with cash rates at properties, similar to what Hilton Honors does.

The positive is that hotels have fewer blackout dates or “you can't use your points” situations, since you can always use your points. You'll just need more of them. The downside is that you would need more points if you have school-aged children and can only travel during school holidays. For example, expect high award pricing during spring break as it's a peak travel period.

JW Marriott Grosvenor House

Marriott Bonvoy Dynamic Pricing Changes Come on March 29, 2022

Marriott's announcement last year had a lot of “we don't know yet”, and now we know a lot more. Marriott is calling this new booking model “flexible point redemption”, which means the amount of points you need can change. And for the hotels that will move to this new model, we know the date: March 29, 2022.

Remember that not all hotels are moving to this model in 2022. Marriott originally announced that 3% of its hotels would move to the new dynamic pricing model in 2022, while about 97% would stay on the current award chart. Then, in 2023, all hotels will move to the new “flexible point redemption” / dynamic pricing model.

Number of Hotels Impacted

Marriott has over 7,900 hotels worldwide. There are 218 hotels on the list that will change to dynamic pricing on March 29, 2022, which represents 2.76% of Marriott properties.

While only 218 hotels are changing to the new pricing model on March 29, 2022, remember that all hotels will move to this model in 2023.

How the Change Works

Prices at these hotels will now more closely mirror cash prices, though not exactly 1:1 in how they change. Marriott has said, though, that staying a property with lots of open rooms means you can expect to pay fewer points for an award night. Conversely, staying at a hotel that's mostly full means you will need more points to make a reservation.

How Many More Points Will You Need?

Marriott has published a chart here, outlining the hotels moving to dynamic pricing in 2022 and how the price will change. The chart can be broken down into 4 categories:

• 37 hotels will increase by up to 5,000 points per night
• 60 hotels will increase by up to 10,000 points per night
• 79 hotels will increase by up to 20,000 points per night
• 42 hotels will increase by up to 30,000 points per night

As you can see, some hotels will increase by up to 5,000 points per night, while others will increase by as much as 30,000 points per night. How significant that is really depends on the hotel and its current category.

• A current category 8 property can charge 100,000 points per night. That means 30,000 additional points represents a 30% increase.
• Category 8 off-peak pricing is 70,000 points per night. So, 30,000 more points per night is a 43% increase during off-peak periods.
• The Westin Maui is a Category 7 hotel and is on the 30,000 points per night increase list.
  • This is a 43% increase over the peak pricing from the current award chart.
  • This is a 60% in crease over the off-peak pricing from the current award chart.
• Despite being limited-service hotels, we will see the following properties increasing in points pricing:
  • 10 Residence Inn properties
  • 10 Courtyard properties
  • 14 SpringHill Suites properties
• And over 40 properties will be able to charge beyond the current limits for category 8 properties (currently 100,000 points per night).

Hotels with Award Pricing Increasing by up to 5,000 Points Per Night

There are 37 hotels in this list, grouped by region.

Hotels with Award Pricing Increasing by up to 10,000 Points Per Night

There are 60 hotels in this list, grouped by region.

Hotels with Award Pricing Increasing by up to 20,000 Points Per Night

There are 79 hotels in this list, grouped by region.

Hotels with Award Pricing Increasing by up to 30,000 Points Per Night

There are 42 hotels in this list, grouped by region.

How This Impacts Travelers

There are several elements that can affect the way you use your Marriott Bonvoy points and free night awards under this new dynamic pricing. So, let's look at what's happening for 2022 and beyond.

Pricing is Tied to Availability

Marriott has reiterated that award pricing will be tied to both availability of rooms and to cash prices. During busy seasons, expect to need more points when the hotel is almost full. Conversely, if you can travel any time of year, expect to need fewer points when the hotel has a lot of empty rooms.

Flexible Booking Policies are Your Friend

Flexible booking policies will become extremely important. Firstly, if the hotel you are considering for a future trip has a good price, you should book it with your points. The price might go up later. Your plans also might change, so you can cancel. No harm, no foul.

On the flip side, Marriott will allow you to cancel and re-book if the price goes down later. Imagine you book a property for 25,000 points per night, staying there later this year. After the change to dynamic pricing on March 29, 2022, you later see that hotel offering stays for 20,000 points per night — it's not a busy time at that Marriott hotel, maybe. Using your flexible change or cancellation policy on the booking, you could re-book for the lower price.

Major Effects on Which Hotels You Can Book with Free Night Awards

Remember that Marriott free night awards are capped at 35,000 points or 50,000 points, depending on how you earn them. You can use those awards to cover the following hotel categories:

• 35,000-point awards
  • Any time: category 1, category 2, category 3, category 4
  • Off-peak and standard only: category 5
  • Can't use the certificate: category 5 peak pricing, category 6, category 7, category 8
• 50,000-point awards
  • Any time: category 1, category 2, category 3, category 4, category 5
  • Off-peak and standard only: category 6
  • Can't use the certificate: category 6 peak pricing, category 7, category 8

As Frequent Miler pointed out, here's how these changes can effect the use of your free night awards:

• Adding 5,000 points per night
  • Category 5 standard pricing is now out of reach for 35,000-point awards.
• Adding 10,000 points per night
  • Category 4 peak pricing is now out of reach for 35,000-point awards.
  • All category 5 hotels are out of reach for 35,000-point awards.
  • Category 6 standard pricing is now out of reach for 50,000-point awards.
• Adding 20,000 points per night
  • Category 3 standard, category 3 peak, category 4 (all the time), and category 5 (all the time) are out of reach for 35,000-point awards.
  • Category 5 standard and peak pricing are now out of reach for 50,000-point awards.
  • Category 6 hotels are always out of reach for 50,000-point awards.
• Adding 30,000 points per night
  • Only a category 1 “off-peak” night could be booked with a 35,000-point award if we add 30,000 points to the current prices in the chart.
  • Only a category 1, category 2, and category 3 properties could be booked with a 50,000-point award if we add 30,000 points to the current prices in the chart

Note that this is a worst-case scenario, and not all hotels will go up by maximum amounts. However, it shows how much this affects your ability to use free night awards when prices increase.

Reminder About Points Advance

In case all of this is making you think about Marriott's “Points Advance” feature, this is worth discussion. If you don't have enough points in your account for a reservation right now, you can put the room on hold until you have the points. However, that does NOT lock in the rate you see right now. You will pay the rate Marriott is charging at the time you actually confirm & pay.

Here's an example: let's say you see a great rate for a property in San Diego in November. Let's say it costs 30,000 points per night. You want to book it, but you don't have enough points. You can put the room on hold, so it doesn't disappear. Once you get the Bonvoy points you need (from a credit card sign-up bonus or transferring points from Chase Ultimate Rewards / American Express Membership Rewards), you are ready to book. The room is still on hold for you. However, maybe the price is now 35,000 points per night. Just because you saw it and put the room on hold at a cheaper price doesn't mean you pay the cheaper price. You pay the “today” price.

Thus, using Points Advance won't help us lock in cheaper rates right now by putting a bunch of bookings on hold for hotels going up in price. If you don't have the points to confirm the reservation, you will pay the later (maybe higher) price.

Lastly, remember that Points Advance reservations can only be put on hold for 60 days or up to 14 days before check-in — whichever comes first.

The St. Regis Mumbai, courtesy of Marriott.com

Adding Points to Free Night Awards Coming in April 2022

As 218 Marriott hotels move to dynamic pricing on March 29, 2022, we will see another change “by the end of April”. Previously, Marriott announced that you would be able to add up to 15,000 Bonvoy points to your free night awards to book a more expensive property. Thus, if you have a 50,000-point free night award, you could book something that costs up to 65,000 points for a night.

I tried asking Marriott's Twitter team for an update on this on February 21, 2022, and Marriott's reply was:

“Unfortunately, we still don't have an exact date. Please be assured that we'll announce it as soon as you can start using the Free Night Award Top-Off.”

Now, we know Marriott will roll out this feature at some point in April 2022. Unfortunately, that means it will hit after the 2022 peak pricing goes into effect at the hotels we mentioned. Thus, prices at a hotel you want to book might be higher once the feature becomes available.

When looking for awards, this feature will allow you to use a free night certificate and add up to 15,000 points maximum onto it to book a more expensive property. The booking process should remain the same as what we are used to.

What's Not Changing with Marriott Bonvoy?

While there's a lot that is changing, there are some things we should highlight that are not changing.

The process for how you earn points with Marriott Bonvoy is not changing. And the process through which you redeem points / free night awards is not changing. Additionally, how you earn elite status with Marriott Bonvoy isn't changing.

Additionally, the ability to use a flexible change / cancellation policy isn't changing. Thus, if you book a property and then see a lower price (either cash or a points award night) later, you can change to take advantage of better pricing.

Things We Don't Know

An honest assessment means there are also things that no one knows right now.

We don't know if any properties will become cheaper as Marriott movies to dynamic pricing in 2022. We haven't seen any list of properties where points pricing is going down, indications of more “off-peak” dates, or any clarity on how often the “up to (x) points” increase may apply. Every day? We don't know.

Loyalty Lobby specifically asked Marriott whether conversions from Marriott points to airline programs would change. The response from Marriott was “We have nothing new to announce.”

Most importantly, Marriott said that the properties NOT moving to dynamic pricing in 2022 will not having any nights higher than the current “peak” pricing limits for current award categories. That sounds nice, but there's something to read between the lines there: there's no guarantee that a hotel can't have “peak” pricing every night. Using peak pricing for the remainder of 2022 would still honor this “no higher than current limits” commitment. Do we know that won't happen? We don't.

2023 and Beyond with Marriott Bonvoy

Remember that only 218 hotels are moving to dynamic pricing on March 29, 2022. The remaining ~97% of Marriott hotels will stay within the current award chart. However, all limits will go away in 2023, and all hotels will move to fully dynamic “flexible point redemptions” in 2023.

And there are no guaranteed minimum or maximum prices for award nights in that model.

The ability to gain outsized value by using a few points at a cash-expensive property will become much more difficult.

Our Take

For those looking to get outsized value or maximize redemptions, these changes will be tough to swallow. I, for one, always look for properties that cost 35,000 points when using a free night award. I don't want to “waste it” on lower-redemption properties. Guaranteeing what properties I will find available for these bookings will become much more of a mystery.

It would be dishonest to say that there aren't people who will like these changes. People who can only travel during peak periods, such as school breaks or major holidays, will be happy to know that they likely can ‘use their points no matter what'. Sure, how many points you need could go up, but there won't be blackout dates to deal with. That could be a net positive for people who don't always ask “what's my cents per point redemption here?” and just want to use their points to save cash.

For those of us who like to maximize our points redemptions, many properties on the list are disappointing to see. The actual impact of the changes will remain to be seen. How often the maximum points increases or peak pricing categories are implemented is a mystery, but at least we have a certain date now. 218 Marriott properties are moving to dynamic pricing on March 29, 2022, and they represent some of the most popular destination cities + most rewarding Marriott properties.

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