Hilton HHonors has announced the list of hotels that will be changing award categories this year. A total of 447 hotels have moved categories, some up, some down. Hilton HHonors has over 3,800 hotels so the majority of hotels are staying in the same category as last year and will require the same number of points for an award stay. Of the roughly 12 percent of hotels that changed categories, 330 hotels moved up a category compared to 117 hotels that moved down. While all Hilton brands are affected, the Hampton Inn brand will experience the most shifting of categories. Twenty eight hotels will move up to Hilton’s highest award category 7 and include several hotels in London (Courthouse DoubleTree by Hilton London, DoubleTree by Hilton London West End, Hilton London Canary Wharf, Hilton London Kensington, Hilton London Metropole and Hilton London Olympia) along with Hilton Palm Springs Resort, Hilton Myrtle Beach, DoubleTree by Hilton Durango, Embassy San Luis Obispo, Hilton Perth and others. To view all of the changes, visit http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?6432

Bottom line: Hotel category changes happen regularly and both Starwood and Marriott announced their changes earlier this year. According to the FAQ on Hilton’s website, hotel categories change because, “Each year we complete an analysis to decide categories based on reward redemption volume from the previous year, brand, location and other factors.” The fine print also mentions that hotel categories are subject to change.