So What is the Point of Announcing the Wyndham Rewards Award Category Changes 2020?

In an announcement from Wyndham Rewards earlier this week pertaining to the annual category changes, approximately 91 percent of the greater than 9,200 hotel and resort properties will not change category tiers — and of the nine percent of hotel and resort properties which will be affected, greater than 300 of them will increase in category; and fewer than 500 of them will decrease in category.

So What is the Point of Announcing the Wyndham Rewards Award Category Changes 2020?

Of the 300 hotel and resort properties which will increase in category, greater than 80 hotels will move to the tier at which 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points will be required to redeem for an award night. The remainder of the hotel and resort properties will increase in category to the tier at which 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points will be required to redeem for an award night.

That sounds like good news — except for one minor detail: which specific hotel and resort properties will be affected by the aforementioned changes have not been publicly announced…

While we’re not able to share specifics about which hotels are moving to which tiers, any members with questions, or seeking assistance with upcoming reservations, are encouraged to reach out to our Member Services team via WyndhamRewards.com or by calling 866-996-7937.

…and the changes are to take effect on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 — which is only eleven days from today; but if you book your reservations prior to that date, your reservations will automatically be adjusted in your favor with no action required on your part.

For example, if you book your reservations at a hotel or resort property which drops to a lower category tier, you will have the difference in Wyndham Rewards points returned to your membership account; and if you book your reservations at a hotel or resort property which moves to a higher category tier, the original reservation — and the original amount of Wyndham Rewards points required to be redeemed for an award night — will be honored.

Portfolio of Hotel and Resort Brands

The 19 hotel and resort brands which participate in the Wyndham Rewards frequent guest loyalty program — excluding partner, club, vacation or destination properties — include:

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
• Wyndham Grand Hotels and Resorts
• Dolce Hotels and Resorts
• TRYP by Wyndham
• Esplendor Boutique Hotels
• Dazzler Hotels
• Trademark Collection by Wyndham
• La Quinta
• Wingate by Wyndham
• Wyndham Garden Hotels
• Hawthorn Suites
• AmericInn
• Ramada
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Microtel Inns and Suites
• Days Inn
• Super 8
• Howard Johnson
• Travelodge

Summary

This process is anticipated to occur once per year in the future.

While knowing that greater than 800 hotel and resort properties will change in category next month, what is the point of the announcement if no specifics are given? How are members of the Wyndham Rewards frequent guest loyalty program supposed to properly prepare for the changes and arrive at informed decisions without the necessary information?

Staying at many of the lower-end hotel properties is not worth the effort, in my opinion — I have stayed at a few of them over the years, which were barely one level above being dingy and dumpy places — but at least Wyndham divested itself of the Knights Inn brand.

Whatever you might think about the changes which were announced, remember that we are discussing the frequent guest loyalty program in which a number of members have lost trust — such as when the following shenanigans occurred with no notice, announcement or advance warning of any sort whatsoever to members:

• In addition to what was once the universal redemption rate at any hotel or resort property for approximately four years of 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points which were required to be redeemed for an award night, two additional new tiers were added through which 7,500 or 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points were required to be redeemed for an award night
• Wyndham Rewards changed the rules on this promotion in February of 2018
• The number of Wyndham Rewards frequent guest loyalty program points needed to convert to airline frequent flier loyalty program miles had doubled
• At least one hotel property was “upgraded” to a new redemption level known as Tier 9
• A redemption increase of almost 282 percent was reported in January of 2013 for the Wingate by Wyndham Manhattan Midtown located on West 35 Street in New York
• A bizarre promotion from Wyndham Rewards was cancelled before it even started, with which if you donate all of your Starpoints to charity, you will earn quadruple the amount of Wyndham Rewards points in return; and you would also receive a match to your current elite level status in the Starwood Preferred Guest program

Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.