Just about every major hotel chain has some form of a best rate guarantee deal that let’s you save money on your hotel expenses. Usually the process goes something like this. You book a room online through a hotel’s website and the hotel chain claims they are offering your the absolute lowest rate (hence best rate guarantee). They don't want you to shop around and book through a OTA (online travel agency) in which they will have to pay commission.
If you do find a cheaper rate for the exact same reservation on a discount travel site on the same day you are entitled to submitting a best rate guarantee. If everything matches across the two reservations and the room you booked with the hotel directly isn’t the best rate out there, then hotels promises to honor a better deal varying from a discount to a free night.
Hotel Best Rate Guaranteed offer a great way to save money and/or get a free night on a reservation you may already be making. Often if I have a upcoming trip I will check a few of the free night BRG options first deciding on a hotel, well, because a free night is a free night.
In either case, it never hurts to double check that you are getting the best rate on the hotel’s website and submitting a BRG is possible.
Hotel Groups that have a Best Rate Guarantee Offer:
- InterContinental Hotel Groups -- Free Night
- Hilton -- Match Rate + $50
- Hyatt -- Match Lower Rate AND 20% Off Your Entire Stay
- Choice Hotels -- Free Night
- Marriott -- Match Lower Rate AND 25% Off Your Entire Stay
- Radisson Blu -- Match Lower Rate AND 25% Off Your Entire Stay
- Starwood Hotels -- 10% Off Lower Rate OR 2,000 Preferred Guest Starpoints
- Best Western -- Match Lower Rate + $100 Check
Why Bother with BRGs?
If you’re able to find a lower hotel rate on an online travel agency's website either before or after making a reservation direct on the hotel's website you can submit a Best Rate Guarantee claim. If the claim is approved you’re will save money and potentially get a full free night. Across the board all of the BRG’s do not require you to stay more than one night, but each hotel chain has it's own set of rules. Depending on what the hotel’s BRG agreement is and how lenient they are in accepting claims, using BRG's could save you a lot of money especially if you’re traveling a lot. In this post I've compiled a list of the major hotel brand's Best Rate Guarantee programs and rules.
It’s not necessarily easy to find a lower rate for the exact same room details so you will have to be patient and search for it on different OTA’s. With that said, in case you do not find a exact match for a lower rate you should always reserve a room that is refundable. This way you can cancel for free and are not stuck paying for the night if you decide not to stay.
InterContinental Hotel Groups
Best Rate Guarantee: Free Night
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
Intercontinental Hotel Groups includes all Holiday Inn hotels, Intercontinental, Crowne plaza, Hualuxe, Hotel Indigo, Even Hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites so if you find a better online rate for any of these hotels after making a reservation, you can submit a BRG claim. The better rate has to be at least $1 less than the rate on the IHG Hotel’s website and in the same currency. For example, if you find a better rate on Orbitz.com after booking a reservation on Holidayinn.com, you can submit a BRG. The best part about IHG's BRG is that if you make a successful BRG claim, then your first night will be free!
What is the Claims Process?
The better rate has to be found online, it can’t be one that was quoted over the phone. Once you find a cheaper rate, go to the IHG BRG page here, and fill out all of the questions. Within 24 hours of submitting the claim, you will receive an email response determining whether or not the claim was approved and you will see the price adjustment by looking up your reservation. Lately IHG has had a delayed response time and on recent claims it has taken up to 48-36 hours. If you feel a need to receive a response sooner or more than a day has past you can email the BRG department at bestpriceguarantee@ihg.com.
In order for the claim to be approved, every aspect of the reservation has to match the one you find for less including whether or not breakfast is included, whether the room is refundable or not and whether the currency that the rate is quoted in is the same. If it doesn’t match up 100%, then you are likely to have your claim denied.
Hilton
Best Rate Guarantee: Match Rate + $50
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
Hilton promises its guests that if you find a better rate somewhere else after you make a reservation, then they’ll give you $50 in addition to matching the better rate. In order for your BRG claim to be approved, the better rate must be found on a travel booking website and every part of your reservation’s details must match including room type, cancellation policy, date of reservation and length of stay. To be eligible the reservation must also be for a stay at least 24 hours away.
What is the Claims Process?
If you find a better rate on an online booking site, you must submit a claim within 24 hours. Then within 24 hours of submitting your application you should receive an email from Hilton either approving or declining your claim.
Hyatt
Best Rate Guarantee: Match Lower Rate AND 20% Off Your Entire Stay
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
Hyatt has great properties all around world which offer a variety of opportunities to use their Best Rate Guarantee. If you do submit a BRG claim with Hyatt and the BRG claim is approved, then Hyatt will match your rate to the lower rate AND take 20% off your entire stay.
Hyatt requires that in order for a BRG to be verified, the lower rate found on an online travel agency to match all of the reservation’s terms and agreements including length of stay, cancellation policies, type of room and whether breakfast is included, to name a few details. One good thing is that the currency does not have to match, so if your reservation was booked in Thai currency, but the better rate was found in USD, Hyatt will convert both rates to the same currency and as long as the difference is at least 1% greater, then it’s possible for the BRG to be approved.
What is the Claims Process?
With Hyatt, you must submit a claim within 24 hours of making a reservation, but along with your claim you need to submit a screenshot of the better rate in addition to a link to the web page. After you submit the claim, you will be notified by a Hyatt rep whether your claim has been verified or not.
Hyatt Residence Club, Hyatt Vacation Club properties or any residential or extended stay apartment properties are not eligible for Best Rate Guarantee.
Choice Hotels
Best Rate Guarantee: Free Night
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
Choice Hotels are spread throughout the United States and include Rodeway Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econo Lodge, and Ascend. You can also find many international Choice properties, but will be limited to select brands. While these are not necessarily luxury hotels by any means, they are convenient for road trips or visiting cities that don’t have big name hotel chain nearby. Choice Hotels will honor a BRG by giving the first night free and will adjust the rest of the nights that booked to the lower rate.
In order for the Best Rate Guarantee to be considered, the lower rate has to be at least $1 less than the rate you booked. If it is less and all of the reservation details match including room amenities and cancellation policies, then you have 24 hours to submit a BRG claim with Choice Hotels. Each household is limited to only one BRG stay every 30 days.
What is the Claims Process?
If you believe your reservation should be qualified as a BRG reservation, then submit an online claim within 24 of making your reservation. You must submit the whole link, shortened URL’s will not be accepted nor will screenshots. Within 48 hours of making your claim, you should hear back from Choice hotels letting you know whether it was verified.
Marriott
Best Rate Guarantee: Match Lower Rate AND 25% Off Your Entire Stay
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
Marriott has great locations and properties all over the world that are eligible for Best Rate Guarantee: Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, AC Hotels by Marriott, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Vacation Club International, Autograph Collection, Gaylord Hotels, or Marriott Executive Apartments. If you make a BRG claim that is verified by a rep, then Marriott will match the lower rate you found plus discount your entire reservation by 25%.
What is the claims process?
You have 24 hours after making a reservation with Marriott to submit a BRG claim and within 24 hours you should hear back from a Marriott rep. When you’re making the claim, you need to provide the URL of the web page you found the lower rate on. A nice aspect of their BRG program is that you can also submit a claim over the phone by calling (800) 771-5665.
Radisson
Best Rate Guarantee: Match Lower Rate AND 20% Off Your Entire Stay
What Qualifies for a Best Rate Guarantee?
If you successfully claim a Best Rate Guarantee reservation for Radisson they will match the better rate you found plus discount your entire reservation by 25%. Radisson has great properties around the world so it would be great savings if you are able to make a successful BRG claim especially if it is in addition to booking award nights with the Club Carlson Visa and taking advantage of its 2-for-1 Bonus Award Night perk.
If you find a better rate than what you paid for on Radisson.com that is an exact match to your already booked reservation, then you can submit a BRG claim through Radisson. The better rate has to be at least $1 less per night than your reservation and the better rate has to be found within 24 hours of making your reservation.
Radisson Blu hotels that qualify: Radisson Blu, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM hotels worldwide
What is the Claims Process?
Radisson is multi-platform when it comes to submitting BRG claims. First you can submit a claim online here if the reservation is attached to your Club Carlson account. You can also submit by downloading the claim form and emailing it to BPG@carlsonrezidor.com or by calling or faxing +353 1 706 0225 within 24 hours of making your reservation. However, this complicates things because if you don’t have a fax machine or printer, you’re not going to be able to fill out the BRG claim form because it’s a PDF.
Best Western
Best Rate Guarantee: Match Lower Rate + $100 Check
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
While Best Western hotels in the US may not be all the rage, international Best Western properties are usually a step above what we find in the US and can often be 4 star hotels. Claiming a successful Best Western BRG for either in the US or abroad will save you money, though it may not be as easy. I recently submitted several BRG claims for a Best Western in SE Asia and was denied because even though the room matched, the claim was denied because I did not choose the cheapest room option. If this is the case it is different than IHG's program which allows you to match any rooms. I have heard more reports about Best Westerns BRG program being very difficult to and receiving unreasonable denials. I got the impression that Best Western just wants to avoid honoring BRG claims.
If they do honor your claim, Best Western will adjust the rate to the lesser rate and after you complete your stay they will mail you a $100 check, which could be enough to pay for a night or even two at a lower tier hotel.
What is the Claims Process?
In order for a reservation to qualify as a Best Rate Guarantee, the claim must be made within 24 hours of making the reservation and the competing rate must be at least $1 less than the rate you reserved the room for. However, in my experience, this was not the case. The better rate I had found was $8 less, but because I didn’t choose to reserve the cheaper room through Best Western, they denied my claim.
Starwood Hotels
Best Rate Guarantee: 10% Off Lower Rate OR 2,000 Preferred Guest Starpoints
What Qualifies a Reservation for a Best Rate Guarantee?
Starwood Hotel properties include the Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, W Hotel, Le Méridien, Four Points, The Luxury Collection, Aloft, or Element hotels around the world. If you do make a successful BRG claim with Starwood Hotels, you are given two options. You can either have your nightly rate adjusted to 10% off of the competition’s nightly rate or you can earn 2,000 Preferred Guest Starpoints.
Starwood Hotels may honor a BRG claim if all of the reservation's conditions are an exact match to a lower rate you found on an OTA including cancellation policies and room amenities. The lower rate must be at least 1 % less than your reservation made through the Starwood Hotels website.
What is the Claims Process?
In order to submit a BRG claim through Starwood, you must do it through their website within 24 hours of making a reservation. Within 24 hours you should receive a response from a Starwood rep determining whether or not your claim was approved. If you are submitting a claim for a non-English Starwood website, then you will have to wait 48 to receive a response.
Bottom Line
Anytime you can take advantage of successful Best Rate Guarantee, you are doing your wallet a favor. Personally, They are not always easy to find, but depending on the hotel's BRG offer the time and effort you put into finding a match between a hotel rate you find on its website and one that you find on an OTA may be well worth it. I really value BRG for IHG hotels because for one, they are great hotels, and two, the first night of the reservation is comped. Even if you are receiving a discount matching the lower rate offered on an OTA that can still be valuable to you. Just remember that BRG's take time and patience and to book and to make sure that the room(s) you book are refundable in case your BRG claim is denied.
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