Questions and Answers

What indications does the “category” of a SPG hotel give? I thought that the category gave an indication of the quality of the hotel (and obviously of its price). However, during a recent trip to the USA, I made a reservation in a SPG hotel that turned out to be terrible (we stayed one night instead of the planned two). We then spent the second night in another SPG hotel of the same city that was enormously better. And yet both hotels had the same SPG category.

I sent a message to the SPG and a gentleman told me that the “category” gives an indication of the “turnover” of the hotel. I did not want to argue on a what is, after all, a minor point, but I do not see what is the point of giving indications about the “turnover” of an hotel. What I would appreciate is a “category” that gives me a better indication of the classic “stars”. But SPG told me that this is not the purpose of their “categories”. I remain very perplexed.

Thanks for any comments you may offer.

Fabio Colasanti

Hi Fabio! With most loyalty programs, the points categories are based off of occupancy and annual revenue for the hotel. So you could have a stunning Category 2 hotel in a cheaper area (like many properties in SE Asia), or a disappointing Category 6 in New York.

Obviously, over time a poor hotel will have lower occupancy and revenue, and may eventually drop a category, but the point of the categories is to determine how much SPG reimburses the property when a member pays for a room using points, so it has nothing at all to do with “niceness”, just math.