Best Rate Guarantees are one of the best ways to get discounts off online rates by finding lower rates on competing sites. Most chains offer 10-25% off the competiting rate.
Back in the day, IHG Best Price Guarantees were one of the best ways to get free nights as the IHG program offered the first night free if you find a lower rate. This was taken advantage by many, so eventually IHG started “playing games” with actually satisfying the guarantee through denying claims for erroneous reasons.
IHG Best Price Guarantee
However, getting a best rate guarantee has been harder (but not impossible), because chains have added member discounts when booking direct on their site.
I was looking at staying at the all-inclusive Hyatt property in Cancun and thought I had found a competing site which was a slam dunk. Apparently, it wasn’t. This was the hilarious and erroneous response that I got:
Hyatt BRG Response
I’m pretty sure here you don’t have to be a citizen of a specific country to make a reservation…
Unfortunately, responding to these emails usually does absolutely nothing, so it looks like I’m going to submit another request with my backup website. 😉
What’s the craziest reason you’ve ever been denied a BRG?
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I have been denied because one website said that the room had a clock in, and the other one did not (neither had clocks).
I have been denied because one room supposedly had a balcony, the other did not (no rooms at the hotel had access to private balconies, but all had access to a balcony for the entire hotel).
I have been denied because one rooms cancellation policy was expressed differently than the others (one said before midnight , the other said after 2359, in fact the identical cancellation policy existed for both rooms to the second)
I have been denied because they just unilaterally cancelled my booking — on a non sold out hotel– and then said cancelled bookings were not eligible for brg claims.
All of these are with an online travel agency.
Didn’t know ihg still worked — I have never tried ihg or other hotel chains .
Jeff,
What is your email address? Met you at the Vancouver do a couple of years ago , I think it was in may or June. Want to apply for a credit card using your link (again) but have a related question, thanks.
Or feel free to email me at the email listed in this comment
canadiankilometers [at] gmail.com