Best Western Rewards - Best Western Rewards Diamond Benfits

Good morning fellow travelers. I hold the BW Diamond status and I got often nice upgrades, sometimes also suite upgrades.

When I recently wanted to stay at the BW Wengen (Switzerland) I got to hear from the hotel: "Sorry, if you book with Expedia, you won't get anything" :(

I was not amused at all and decided to book with another hotel.

Was the hotel right to deny an upgrade? I did not find anything in the T&Cs saying I must book with BW in order to get an upgade.

It doesn't surprise me at all if they don't want to upgrade you from a bargain site booking. For things like points/miles and upgrades for most hotel chains it is uncommon that expedia/priceline/orbitz rates are recognized.

It doesn't surprise me at all if they don't want to upgrade you from a bargain site booking. For things like points/miles and upgrades for most hotel chains it is uncommon that expedia/priceline/orbitz rates are recognized.

Surprised or not - that was not my question. I cannot find any such exclusions in the Best Western Terms & Conditions. I have the impression that it doesn't matter where one books the night.

Bargain site booking? Well, the prices are similar to the BW websites.

Uncommon to upgrade 3rd party bookings? - Not at all! HHonors does, Marriott Rewards does, Hyatt does... SPG excludes elite benefits by T&Cs for 3rd party bookings but in reality, I was only once denied the benefits in the Planet Hollywood (which no longer belongs to SPG).

Was the hotel right to deny an upgrade? I did not find anything in the T&Cs saying I must book with BW in order to get an upgade.
Well, I don't find anything in the T&Cs saying that you can get an upgrade in the first place! Can you please show me where the word "upgrade" is in the T&Cs? (My browser couldn't find it!)

However, with the exception of BW reward nights, I would find it reasonable for a hotel to disallow upgrades if you booked a rate that doesn't qualify for BW points. And on that the T&Cs do say:

Effective February 28, 2008, all rate programs qualify for earning points, except Leisure Club (LC), House Plan (HP), Employee/Member (E), European Employee (EE), Preferred Net (DI/D2), Priceline (PL/PN), Travelocity Promotional (D3), Orbitz Promotional (44), Expedia (FIT), Net/FIT (FI), Travel Agent Discount (TA), Tours (Group Tour Operator), Group (OF/OG), Crew and Deeply Discounted Extended Stay and Hotel Negotiated (greater than 20 percent discount), GCCI (FX), Dynamic Net Tour (X2), Dynamic Vacation Packages (WB), Amenity Packages, Unit Card (UC), Site 59 (59) and other locally negotiated hotel discount rates for crew or extended stays for longer than one week.

And are you sure that upgrades on third-party bookings are the policy at HHonors? I seem to recall (from FT discussions in the HHonors forum) that they're not, that it's just something some (many?) hotels may "let slip by". But that's not the same as a guaranteed benefit.

HHonors: Yes, I am 100 % sure, since I have been diamond member for years. The T&Cs have not changed for a long time regarding the elite benefits. One gets the elite benefits if one books via a 3rd party site. I am not talking about opaque websites, which I never use.

Stays that are booked via third party websites are not Eligible Stays irrespective of rate paid, for the purpose of earning points, miles or stay credit toward Elite tier status. Stays booked via "opaque" channels where the brand is unknown at the time of purchase are not Eligible Stays for the purpose of earning points, miles or stay credit toward Elite tier status, or the receipt of Elite tier benefits such as upgraded accommodations / amenities or access to health clubs. Source (http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/diamond.do)


Best Western Rewards

The benefits, diamond members get an upgrade upon request, are pretty clear to me. And therefore, I never had problems but now in the Best Western in Wengen (Switzerland).

Platinum und Diamond Mitgliedschaft
54. Sobald das Mitglied innerhalb von 12 Monaten 15 Nächte in Best Western Hotels verbracht hat, wird die Mitgliedschaft automatisch in Platinum aufgewertet und nach 30 Nächten innerhalb von 12 Monaten automatisch in Diamond.
55. Um den Platinum beziehungsweise Diamond Status über ein Kalenderjahr hinaus zu halten, muss das Mitglied innerhalb des folgenden Kalenderjahres wieder 15 beziehungsweise 30 Nächte in Best Western Hotels verbringen.
56. Platinum Mitglieder erhalten 10 % Bonuspunkte pro qualifizierten Aufenthalt, Diamond Mitglieder 15 %. Auf Anfrage und nach Verfügbarkeit erhalten Platinum und Diamond Mitglieder ein Zimmer-Upgrade, früheren Check-in oder späteren Check-out. Weitere Vorteile für Platinum oder Diamond Mitglieder können von Hotel zu Hotel variieren.
57. Um in den Genuss der Vorteile zu kommen, muss bei Reservierung auf den besonderen Status hingewiesen und die Karte bei Check-in vorgelegt werden.
58. Best Western behält sich das Recht vor, jederzeit die Konditionen für Platinum und Diamond
Mitglieder zu ändern. Source (http://www.bestwestern.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/bw_rewards/BWR_TermsConditions_D_WEB_11oct2010.pdf)

Good morning fellow travelers. I hold the BW Diamond status and I got often nice upgrades, sometimes also suite upgrades.

When I recently wanted to stay at the BW Wengen (Switzerland) I got to hear from the hotel: "Sorry, if you book with Expedia, you won't get anything" :(

I was not amused at all and decided to book with another hotel.

Was the hotel right to deny an upgrade? I did not find anything in the T&Cs saying I must book with BW in order to get an upgade.

International Best Western properties are required to upgrade elite Best Western Rewards members (based upon availability), however, they are not required to provide an elite recognition gift (bonus points or drink/snack)

Take a look at https://goldcrownclub.bestwestern.com/members/levels.asp for a full list of benefits depending on elite membership level.

There are different Best Western Diamond Level descriptions worldwide:

Bestrewards.com: "best available room"

Bestwesternrewards.de: "one level upgrade (upon availability)"

Bestwesternrewards.ch: "one level upgrade (upon availability)"

Bestwesternrewards.at: "upgrades are possible"

http://youhavebeenupgraded.blogspot.com/2012/03/wozu-gibt-es-eigentlich-in-deutschland.html