Feb 27, 2015, 9:38 am
Last edit by: ekozie
We are trying to collate a list of the websites that Hilton's Best Rate Guarantee team consider eligible for the BRG. Please update the following wiki with you successful/rejected BRG claims.
^Successful BRG claims have been made against:
muchoviaje.com - 26/09/2016
expedia.co.uk - 26/09/2016, Jan 2018
Expedia.com (US) - 18/09/2017
Expedia.ca - 1/20/18
happyrooms.com - 30/09/2016, 25/Jan/2017, 28/Jan/2017, 27/Feb/2017, 23/July/2017
hotelscombined.com - 17/Jan/2017
priceline.com (standard booking, not a bid or express booking)- 05/Oct/2016, 15/May/2017, 22/Apr/2018, 22/Oct/18, 25/Nov/18
prestigia.com - 24/Jan/2017
orbitz.com - Dec 2017
prestigia.com - Dec 2017, January 2018
nustay.com - Feb 2020
Unauthorised Sites for BRG Claim:
roomertravel.com - 16/09/2016
prestigia.com - 27/09/2016 - 'does not instantly confirm'
hoteltravel.com - August 2016 - " there have been discrepancies in the way the website has been displaying prices recently, and we are not satisfied that the website's processes are fair and transparent."
destinia.com - 29/09/2016 - 12 EUR Administration Fee for any cancellation vs Hilton Fully Flex
Travel.AmericaExpress.co.uk - 29/09/2016 Amex Card holders only
Bedfinder.com 6/8/17 - The third party site bedfinder.com is no longer considered to be valid
skoosh.com - denied 10//4/18
BRG claims on non-refundable rates are a gamble at best. Hilton can ask 3rd party sites to remove rates when they "sell unbundled wholesale rates", and screenshots are no longer sufficient proof. You will end up with the non-refundable rate booked, if the rate is gone when your claim is being reviewed.
On 18 November 2014 (see post #1261 of the archived thread), the HHonorsRepresentative listed 15 third-party websites that were 'no longer authorized to distribute our hotels’ static rates':
However, on 19 December 2014 (see post #3 of this thread), the HHonorsRepresentative announced a change of policy, stating that:
The HonorsRepresentative has not issued any subsequent statement suggesting another change of policy and a return to the previous 'blacklist'.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the late 2014/2015 BRG thread - for the original thread please check here
Hilton Best Rate Guarantee, or BRG: The Definitive Thread
Thanks!
Squeakr
for the HH Mod Team of squeakr, Canarsie and Kiwi Flyer
--------
^Successful BRG claims have been made against:
muchoviaje.com - 26/09/2016
expedia.co.uk - 26/09/2016, Jan 2018
Expedia.com (US) - 18/09/2017
Expedia.ca - 1/20/18
happyrooms.com - 30/09/2016, 25/Jan/2017, 28/Jan/2017, 27/Feb/2017, 23/July/2017
hotelscombined.com - 17/Jan/2017
priceline.com (standard booking, not a bid or express booking)- 05/Oct/2016, 15/May/2017, 22/Apr/2018, 22/Oct/18, 25/Nov/18
prestigia.com - 24/Jan/2017
orbitz.com - Dec 2017
prestigia.com - Dec 2017, January 2018
nustay.com - Feb 2020
Unauthorised Sites for BRG Claim:roomertravel.com - 16/09/2016
prestigia.com - 27/09/2016 - 'does not instantly confirm'
hoteltravel.com - August 2016 - " there have been discrepancies in the way the website has been displaying prices recently, and we are not satisfied that the website's processes are fair and transparent."
destinia.com - 29/09/2016 - 12 EUR Administration Fee for any cancellation vs Hilton Fully Flex
Travel.AmericaExpress.co.uk - 29/09/2016 Amex Card holders only
Bedfinder.com 6/8/17 - The third party site bedfinder.com is no longer considered to be valid
skoosh.com - denied 10//4/18
BRG claims on non-refundable rates are a gamble at best. Hilton can ask 3rd party sites to remove rates when they "sell unbundled wholesale rates", and screenshots are no longer sufficient proof. You will end up with the non-refundable rate booked, if the rate is gone when your claim is being reviewed.
On 18 November 2014 (see post #1261 of the archived thread), the HHonorsRepresentative listed 15 third-party websites that were 'no longer authorized to distribute our hotels’ static rates':
- Alpharooms.com
- Amoma.com
- Cleartrip.com
- Despegar
- Elvoline
- Galahotels
- Hotelpronto.com
- Jumbotours
- LMT.com
- Secretescapes
- Simplytravel.de
- TravelRepublic
- Wego
- Worldwideholidays.com.au
However, on 19 December 2014 (see post #3 of this thread), the HHonorsRepresentative announced a change of policy, stating that:
Moving forward, we will approve claims from these sites as long as the offered rates meet the other BRG requirements we have in place, as we recognize that this is in the best interest of our members.
The Best Rate Guarantee exists so that our guests feel confident going to Hilton Worldwide channels to find the best rates that we offer. We strive for pricing accuracy in all our channels, and the BRG helps identify when that is not the case.
The Best Rate Guarantee exists so that our guests feel confident going to Hilton Worldwide channels to find the best rates that we offer. We strive for pricing accuracy in all our channels, and the BRG helps identify when that is not the case.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the late 2014/2015 BRG thread - for the original thread please check here
Hilton Best Rate Guarantee, or BRG: The Definitive Thread
Thanks!
Squeakr
for the HH Mod Team of squeakr, Canarsie and Kiwi Flyer
--------
Hilton Best Rate Guarantee or BRG
Feb 10, 2019, 10:54 am
#46
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Atlanta Metro
Programs: DL , AC, BA, Hhonors Diamond, IH Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,350
Embassy Suites New Orleans Conv. Ctr
8/29-9/2
Hilton.com: $119 (long weekender rate)
Priceline.com: $111.11
Final rate: $83.33
No problem whatsoever. It did take overnight this time, instead of getting a response in under an hour.
An advisory about using Priceline rates for this purpose: if you use Priceline regularly and have a profile, you'll get cookies on your computer that will bring up special rates even without your being logged into your Priceline profile. That's why sometimes Hilton will respond with "we can't find this rate." Now, you can still get them to honor it, by using screenshots, but you'll have to argue with them. Make sure your screenshots do NOT show you logged into your account (it'll say "Hello, Suzy Q" up at the top of the Priceline page). The Hilton team will see that and tell you it's not a publicly available rate. You'll also see notes by some rates saying, "Thank you for booking a rental car [or whatever] with Priceline." This is a clue that those cookies are affecting the rate. In this present case, I went to the trouble of finding another browser that had no cookies and looking up the Priceline rates there. This Embassy Suites had the same low rate; many other properties did not. Thus, the PMG people were able to find it and approve my claim easily. But if you find a fantastic deal, it might be worth trying to use the "special" Priceline rate to make a claim. I'm pretty sure that a couple of mine were based on this--in both cases I had to submit screenshots and argue. But I try to find the "accessible" rate first.
I'm now 5 for 5 on these PMG claims, all using Priceline.
8/29-9/2
Hilton.com: $119 (long weekender rate)
Priceline.com: $111.11
Final rate: $83.33
No problem whatsoever. It did take overnight this time, instead of getting a response in under an hour.
An advisory about using Priceline rates for this purpose: if you use Priceline regularly and have a profile, you'll get cookies on your computer that will bring up special rates even without your being logged into your Priceline profile. That's why sometimes Hilton will respond with "we can't find this rate." Now, you can still get them to honor it, by using screenshots, but you'll have to argue with them. Make sure your screenshots do NOT show you logged into your account (it'll say "Hello, Suzy Q" up at the top of the Priceline page). The Hilton team will see that and tell you it's not a publicly available rate. You'll also see notes by some rates saying, "Thank you for booking a rental car [or whatever] with Priceline." This is a clue that those cookies are affecting the rate. In this present case, I went to the trouble of finding another browser that had no cookies and looking up the Priceline rates there. This Embassy Suites had the same low rate; many other properties did not. Thus, the PMG people were able to find it and approve my claim easily. But if you find a fantastic deal, it might be worth trying to use the "special" Priceline rate to make a claim. I'm pretty sure that a couple of mine were based on this--in both cases I had to submit screenshots and argue. But I try to find the "accessible" rate first.
I'm now 5 for 5 on these PMG claims, all using Priceline.
Last edited by hotturnip; Feb 10, 2019 at 10:59 am Reason: Clarify a point
Feb 10, 2019, 11:04 am
#47
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Atlanta Metro
Programs: DL , AC, BA, Hhonors Diamond, IH Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,350
Glad to report a success as follows:
Hotel: Hilton San Francisco Union Square
Dates: March 25-29, 2019
Room type: 2 Double beds
Original hilton.com rate: USD294 plus taxes prepaid
Competing rate: USD270 plus taxes
Actual confirmed rate: USD202.50 plus taxes prepaid
Phoned it in since this was a prepaid rate.
Hotel: Hilton San Francisco Union Square
Dates: March 25-29, 2019
Room type: 2 Double beds
Original hilton.com rate: USD294 plus taxes prepaid
Competing rate: USD270 plus taxes
Actual confirmed rate: USD202.50 plus taxes prepaid
Phoned it in since this was a prepaid rate.
Feb 10, 2019, 3:43 pm
#48
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Vancouver
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 39
I'm so frustrated right now. I've found lower rates on Priceline.com and Booking.com -- cancellable until 4 days before arrival. Hilton's has cancellable rates 3 days and 5 days before arrival. Both of those rates (and all of Hilton's rates) are higher than Priceline.com and Booking.com rates, and Hilton refuses to give the additional 25% off. I've never had this much trouble from Marriott or Hyatt. Is there any way around this with Hilton?
Yes, I understand the terms aren't exactly the same, but this really goes against the spirit of the policy. Why bother having a best rate guarantee if there's no common sense that can be applied?
Yes, I understand the terms aren't exactly the same, but this really goes against the spirit of the policy. Why bother having a best rate guarantee if there's no common sense that can be applied?
Feb 12, 2019, 12:21 am
#50
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: Hilton Honors Diamond, Marriott Gold Elite, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 8
Success my brethren. Called in a price match on prepaid rate that I havent booked yet. I tried the normal phone number listed on BRG page and the representative said Agoda was an invalid site -_-
I then called Hilton Honor Diamond direct line on my Aspire card and the representative proceeded to price match w/ the Agoda price within 8 mins from start to finish.
Hotel: Hilton London Bankside
Dates: May 3-7, 2019
Room type: 1 King
Original hilton.com rate: Ł563.11/$724.47
Competing rate: Ł430.21/$553.51 (HHonor Rep didn't include the Ł86.04 tax and service fee that site was adding at checkout) Agoda.com
Actual confirmed rate: Ł325.76/$419.12
I then called Hilton Honor Diamond direct line on my Aspire card and the representative proceeded to price match w/ the Agoda price within 8 mins from start to finish.
Hotel: Hilton London Bankside
Dates: May 3-7, 2019
Room type: 1 King
Original hilton.com rate: Ł563.11/$724.47
Competing rate: Ł430.21/$553.51 (HHonor Rep didn't include the Ł86.04 tax and service fee that site was adding at checkout) Agoda.com
Actual confirmed rate: Ł325.76/$419.12
Feb 14, 2019, 3:46 pm
#51
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 107
Hilton's BRG really went downhill since I tried it a year ago, I tried to match via travelup.com and they keep arguing with me about the cancellation policy for 4 days, eventually the rate changed and so allows them to reject the BRG that way, is there an escalation point? Do we still have a Hilton rep on flyertalk?
I booked on Hilton's website on a non-refundable reservation, at first they say they could not locate the cancellation policy of travelup.com, after I send the screenshot they then claim the cancellation policy is different as travelup.com has a cancellation policy that says the booking will be charged at 100% if cancellation is made after a date in the past (ie. not refundable), but Hilton argue because it doesn't spell out the booking is non-refundable, they will not honour the BRG as the cancellation policy is different...
I booked on Hilton's website on a non-refundable reservation, at first they say they could not locate the cancellation policy of travelup.com, after I send the screenshot they then claim the cancellation policy is different as travelup.com has a cancellation policy that says the booking will be charged at 100% if cancellation is made after a date in the past (ie. not refundable), but Hilton argue because it doesn't spell out the booking is non-refundable, they will not honour the BRG as the cancellation policy is different...
Feb 15, 2019, 12:03 am
#52
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,033
Hilton's BRG really went downhill since I tried it a year ago, I tried to match via travelup.com and they keep arguing with me about the cancellation policy for 4 days, eventually the rate changed and so allows them to reject the BRG that way, is there an escalation point? Do we still have a Hilton rep on flyertalk?
.
.
Feb 15, 2019, 11:10 am
#54
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 77
Online travel agencies excluded!
I consistently find Hilton properties to be a few dollars cheaper on Expedia. Usually, I just book them on Expedia. However, after a recent bombardment of TV ads touting their BRG, and featuring the lovely Anna Kendrick, I thought I would finally make a claim. Before doing so, I read the fine print (see attachment), where they clearly state that "Accredited Travel Agents does not include online travel agencies." Where the heck else would somebody make a hotel booking? Apex Travel Agency on Main Street? They have basically excluded all the competition. I will still go through the motions of filing the claim, but it sounds to me like an empty promise, and I am not holding my breath that they will "HHonor" it.
Last edited by jrpallante; Feb 15, 2019 at 11:11 am Reason: spelling
Feb 15, 2019, 8:12 pm
#55
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 23
I consistently find Hilton properties to be a few dollars cheaper on Expedia. Usually, I just book them on Expedia. However, after a recent bombardment of TV ads touting their BRG, and featuring the lovely Anna Kendrick, I thought I would finally make a claim. Before doing so, I read the fine print (see attachment), where they clearly state that "Accredited Travel Agents does not include online travel agencies." Where the heck else would somebody make a hotel booking? Apex Travel Agency on Main Street? They have basically excluded all the competition. I will still go through the motions of filing the claim, but it sounds to me like an empty promise, and I am not holding my breath that they will "HHonor" it.
**Official Hilton Booking Channels
- Any official Hilton website
- Any official Hilton call center
- The Hilton Honors App
- Directly at a Hilton hotel
- Directly through an Accredited Travel Agent***
Feb 21, 2019, 8:56 am
#56
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: ANA,Qantas,asiamiles,Royal Skies,Enrich
Posts: 198
Guess this is the 1st time my claim is rejected
Hilton PJ
hilton rate: MYR 290++
competing rate 1: MYR 287++
note:was rejected as difference is only 1%
competing rate 2: MYR 253++
note:Again rejected as the rep says this is a member rate but it’s a public rate so I replicated and explained the steps to find the rate thru Hotelscombined
again got rejected as bed type was not specified and they cannot see the rate on their end.As an “apology for frustration” caused they gave 5000 points.
competing rate 3:MYR275.44 nett
note:again rejected and offered 5000 points as goodwill
Bed type is the same,cancellation policy is more favourable than my Hilton’s rate
Hilton PJ
hilton rate: MYR 290++
competing rate 1: MYR 287++
note:was rejected as difference is only 1%
competing rate 2: MYR 253++
note:Again rejected as the rep says this is a member rate but it’s a public rate so I replicated and explained the steps to find the rate thru Hotelscombined
again got rejected as bed type was not specified and they cannot see the rate on their end.As an “apology for frustration” caused they gave 5000 points.
competing rate 3:MYR275.44 nett
note:again rejected and offered 5000 points as goodwill
Bed type is the same,cancellation policy is more favourable than my Hilton’s rate
Last edited by teo1991; Feb 21, 2019 at 9:31 am
Feb 22, 2019, 4:57 am
#58
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: ANA,Qantas,asiamiles,Royal Skies,Enrich
Posts: 198
After numerous attempts finally BPG honoured
Hilton Petaling Jaya
room:King Deluxe Plus
hilton rate: MYR290++
competing site:trip.com via skyscanner
competiting rate:MYR 257++
actual rate after 25%:MYR193++
Hilton Petaling Jaya
room:King Deluxe Plus
hilton rate: MYR290++
competing site:trip.com via skyscanner
competiting rate:MYR 257++
actual rate after 25%:MYR193++
Feb 22, 2019, 12:32 pm
#59
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
I have also had those kinds of rejections, but I have also had successes occasionally in these situations. So I think it depends which agent you get. Bottom line is I sometimes try BRG knowing that it's hit or miss. If hit, then great, if not, oh well.