E ffective as of Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 33 of the 54 hotel and resort properties of Hilton Worldwide which will be changing categories will decrease at least one category; while the remaining 21 hotel and resort properties will increase by at least on category.
Hilton HHonors Hotel Category Changes Fall 2016
The changes in category for hotel and resort properties in the brand portfolio of Hilton Worldwide are as follows:
|
HOTEL NAME
|
CITY
|
STATE
|
COUNTRY
|
PREVIOUS
|
NEW
|
|
| Hampton by Hilton St Petersburg ExpoForum | St Petersburg | Russian Federation | Category 6 | Category 3 | ||
| Hampton Inn by Hilton Istanbul Atakoy | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 2 | Category 1 | ||
| Hampton by Hilton Samsun | Samsun | Turkey | Category 2 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Ankara Gimat | Ankara | Turkey | Category 2 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Mardin | Mardin | Turkey | Category 2 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Kayseri | Kayseri | Turkey | Category 2 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Izmir Bayrakli | Izmir | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Konya | Konya | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Sanliurfa | Sanliurfa | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Erzincan | Erzincan | Turkey | Category 5 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Istanbul Ataturk Airport | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 5 | Category 1 | ||
| Hilton Adana | Adana | Turkey | Category 3 | Category 2 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Izmir Alsancak | Izmir | Turkey | Category 3 | Category 2 | ||
| Hilton Mersin | Mersin | Turkey | Category 3 | Category 2 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Istanbul Golden Horn | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 2 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Istanbul Avcilar | Avcilar | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 2 | ||
| DoubleTree Istanbul Tuzla | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 2 | ||
| Hilton Izmir | Izmir | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 2 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Avanos Cappadocia | Nevsehir | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 2 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Van | Van | Turkey | Category 5 | Category 2 | ||
| Hilton Ankara | Ankara | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 3 | ||
| Hilton Bursa Convention Center & Spa | Bursa | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 3 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Kusadasi | Kusadasi | Turkey | Category 4 | Category 3 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Istanbul Piyalepasa | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 5 | Category 3 | ||
| Hilton Istanbul Kozyatagi | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 5 | Category 3 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Istanbul Sirkeci | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 5 | Category 3 | ||
| DoubleTree by Hilton Istanbul Old Town | Istanbul | Turkey | Category 6 | Category 5 | ||
| Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Mall of the Emirates | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | Category 6 | Category 4 | ||
| Hampton Inn Miami South Beach 17th Street | Miami Beach | Florida | United States | Category 9 | Category 8 | |
| Hilton Cabana Miami Beach | Miami Beach | Florida | United States | Category 9 | Category 8 | |
| Vintro Hotel South Beach Curio Collection | Miami Beach | Florida | United States | Category 9 | Category 8 | |
| Hilton Garden Inn Miami South Beach | Miami Beach | Florida | United States | Category 9 | Category 8 | |
| The Saratoga Hilton | Saratoga Springs | New York | United States | Category 9 | Category 8 | |
|
HOTEL NAME
|
CITY
|
STATE
|
COUNTRY
|
PREVIOUS
|
NEW
|
|
| DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing | Beijing | China | Category 2 | Category 3 | ||
| Hilton Yuxi Fuxian Lake | Yuxi | China | Category 3 | Category 4 | ||
| Hilton Alexandria King’s Ranch | Alexandria | Egypt | Category 1 | Category 2 | ||
| Hilton Dublin | Dublin | Ireland | Category 5 | Category 6 | ||
| Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Israel | Category 9 | Category 10 | ||
| Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | Category 8 | Category 9 | ||
| Embassy Suites Anaheim – South | Garden Grove | California | United States | Category 5 | Category 6 | |
| DoubleTree by Hilton San Francisco Airport | Burlingame | California | United States | Category 5 | Category 6 | |
| Homewood Suites by Hilton San Francisco Airport | Brisbane | California | United States | Category 5 | Category 6 | |
| Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport/Burlingame | Burlingame | California | United States | Category 6 | Category 7 | |
| Hampton Inn & Suites Albany | Albany | Georgia | United States | Category 3 | Category 4 | |
| Hilton Garden Inn Olathe | Olathe | Kansas | United States | Category 4 | Category 5 | |
| Hampton Inn & Suites Raleigh Downtown | Raleigh | North Carolina | United States | Category 4 | Category 5 | |
| Doubletree By Hilton Hotel North Salem | Salem | Oregon | United States | Category 3 | Category 4 | |
| Hampton Portland | Portland | Oregon | United States | Category 4 | Category 5 | |
| Embassy Suites Hotel Portland Airport | Portland | Oregon | United States | Category 5 | Category 6 | |
| Hampton Inn & Suites Cleburne | Cleburne | Texas | United States | Category 1 | Category 2 | |
| Hilton Garden Inn Houston Northwest / America Plaza | Houston | Texas | United States | Category 3 | Category 4 | |
| Home2 Suites By Hilton Lubbock | Lubbock | Texas | United States | Category 4 | Category 5 | |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Vancouver | Vancouver | Washington | United States | Category 3 | Category 4 | |
| Hilton Bellevue | Bellevue | Washington | United States | Category 5 | Category 6 | |
Here is a list of how many Hilton HHonors points are needed to be redeemed for hotel and resort properties in each category:
STANDARD ROOM REWARDS |
|
| HOTEL CATEGORY | HILTON HHONORS POINTS REQUIRED |
| 1 | 5,000 Points per night |
| 2 | 10,000 Points per night |
| 3 | 20,000 Points per night |
| 4 | 20,000 to 30,000 Points per night |
| 5 | 30,000 to 40,000 Points per night |
| 6 | 30,000 to 50,000 Points per night |
| 7 | 30,000 to 60,000 Points per night |
| 8 | 40,000 to 70,000 Points per night |
| 9 | 50,000 to 80,000 Points per night |
| 10 | 70,000 to 95,000 Points per night |
Both the Hilton Garden Inn Erzincan and Hilton Garden Inn Istanbul Ataturk Airport hotel properties in Turkey dropped — no, plummeted — from Category 5 to Category 1. This means that you can save as much as 35,000 Hilton HHonors frequent guest loyalty program points — that is a discount of as much as 87.5 percent off of your redemption — per night at those two hotel properties.
Summary
The latest category changes are not terrible — unless, of course, the hotel and resort properties at which you plan to stay in the future are the ones which will become more expensive in terms of the use of your Hilton HHonors points.
Of the 33 hotel and resort properties which will require fewer Hilton HHonors points to redeem for an award stay, 17 of them — slightly greater than half — decreased by greater than one category; while all of the hotel and resort properties which will require more Hilton HHonors points to redeem for an award stay increased by only a single category.
The recent events in Turkey apparently has had a significantly negative effect on tourism to see hotel and resort properties drop by as many as four categories — and you should not feel guilty about what could be your opportunity to take advantage of what has become discounted redemptions on those hotel and resort properties.
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
