Wyndham Rewards - Wyndham refuses to honor guarantee

I just had the following experience when trying to take advantage of Wyndham's lowest-price guarantee before the program changes on April 1.
I booked a room at a Travelodge, using the Wyndham site, for an upcoming trip to Arizona. I noticed the lowest-price guarantee, so immediately after making the booking I looked on Travelocity and found a lower rate. I filled out Wyndham's online claim form. Several hours later I got a reply from Wyndham saying they could not find the Travelocity rate I cited. I went back on Travelocity, and sure enough it had disappeared. So I looked on Expedia and also found a lower rate ... and this time I booked it! I then filled out another online claim form, including details of the Expedia booking. I did all of this within 24 hours after the initial Travelodge booking. Once again, though, I got a reply from Wyndham saying they "could not find" a lower price on Expedia. I replied to this e-mail with a forwarded copy of my Expedia booking...no reply whatsoever from Wyndham to this! Obviously there is not a lot of money involved in a 1-night stay at a Travelodge, but I think it's outrageous that they simply refuse to honor their guarantee. Anyone else had this problem? Any advice on what to do?

I just had the following experience when trying to take advantage of Wyndham's lowest-price guarantee before the program changes on April 1.
I booked a room at a Travelodge, using the Wyndham site, for an upcoming trip to Arizona. I noticed the lowest-price guarantee, so immediately after making the booking I looked on Travelocity and found a lower rate. I filled out Wyndham's online claim form. Several hours later I got a reply from Wyndham saying they could not find the Travelocity rate I cited. I went back on Travelocity, and sure enough it had disappeared. So I looked on Expedia and also found a lower rate ... and this time I booked it! I then filled out another online claim form, including details of the Expedia booking. I did all of this within 24 hours after the initial Travelodge booking. Once again, though, I got a reply from Wyndham saying they "could not find" a lower price on Expedia. I replied to this e-mail with a forwarded copy of my Expedia booking...no reply whatsoever from Wyndham to this! Obviously there is not a lot of money involved in a 1-night stay at a Travelodge, but I think it's outrageous that they simply refuse to honor their guarantee. Anyone else had this problem? Any advice on what to do?

If the lower rate on Expedia had disappeared by the time they got to your claim, the fact that you had an Expedia reservation in hand would be irrelevant to them. Not sure how long you've been using the program, and it's a bit of a moot point as it's over, pretty much, but while the BRG program used to accept screen shots, etc., that policy changed some months ago.

If they can't find the lower rate when they look for it, you're out of luck.

Without more details, that's the only assumption I can make.

Well, that's a VERY convenient arrangement for Wyndham. Even if the customer has found and booked a cheaper rate, Wyndham can wriggle out of the guarantee simply by asserting that it "can't find" that rate, and of course there is no way to verify if they are telling the truth. I know the program is about to end, but it's hard to escape the conclusion that they have simply lied.

The problem that caused them to stop accepting screen shots, etc. was that a few people were sending in doctored screen shots. They're the ones that ruined it for the rest of us.

I'm assuming that, although you booked a room at the lower rate, the rate on Expedia had changed when you got your rejection and could not be verified by them. If that's the case, they've followed their protocols. We can like it or not, but that's how they do things.

On the flip side, I've gotten literally hundreds of rooms over the last years on this program, and although I've not always been happy with a decision, I've in general never had a situation where I felt the BRG people were trying to "scam" me.

Just my .02 worth.

I have had a few where the BRG staff "lost" the claims email, or rejected a claim for a minor difference in the room type. But for the most part, I think BRG played it straight and I am really sad to see them go.

Where I have seen Wyndham franchisees NOT play it straight is with super-low fares on their internet website. Tuesday, I noted a $1.09 daily rate for a double room at the Days Inn, Homestead, Florida good between Jan. 22nd for the following two weeks of 2010. Booked two weekend stays: one at the refundable rate, and one weekend at the even lower prepaid "no changes" rate. Later that day hotel management called me screaming that the rate was a mistake and I would be charged $109 a night even though I have the confirmation emails showing a completed sale for one weekend at less than a dollar a day.

Anyone else who booked at this low rate for January 2010 might want to PM me as we explore our legal options. In the alternative, if anyone knows how to contact the Days Inn regional manager for Dade County, please PM me with the information.