scubaccr

If you only ever stay at IHG branded hotels on a single night BPG free night then sooner rather than later IHG will decide you are not a customer they need and they will end your account
You do not need to have IHG @rewards account to w in a BPG but if your account is killed off you are also blocked from BPG program

If your brg is a multinight stay with first night free then you have some value to IHG

If you also make paid stays each month on top of your BPG you also have value to IHG

mitpat474

Just had the fastest response from IHG brg team - 11 minutes! but not for a claim was in reference to a reimbursement.

mgn2000

I got a reply, noted below. In the past if iwas denied, they stated denied.
Does the reply below mean, it will be approved ??

Thank you for contacting our office regarding our Best Price Guarantee in reference to rates at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites XXXXXXXX. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you with this matter.


We would like to inform you that we are still researching the room accommodation you found on www.XXXXXXX.com. Once we have checked the lower rate and room accommodation you have found on the third party website; and have verified that all the Terms and Conditions have been met, you will receive a confirmation from our office.



Please allow additional time for a response regarding your claim, and thank you for your patience.



If you require further assistance or have additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

nacho

I have received something like this before and it has nothing to do with whether they accept or reject your claim.

kuhnja

What is the best time to start looking for price differences for BRG in your experience? 2 weeks, 1 week, 3-4 days?

travelingjewel

I found a room on IHG that was $30 more than the room on priceline.com (the normal site, not the bidding portion of the site). I sent in the BRG form, and got an email a few hours later that listed both the wrong hotel name, wrong city, and wrong room cost. The email said that the rate on IHG was the same as on Priceline (it wasn't). I emailed back and said there had been an error, that they had investigated the wrong hotel.

Several hours later I got a response from a different person saying their agents are carefully trained, and they apologize for the name mix-up, but still it's a no-go. I replied and sent screen shots I'd taken.

Five emails in, and they keep saying they're right. Even now the rates are still available on both websites.
Any advise? Oh, and I'm currently staying at the hotel on the night in question, and yes, I did make the reservation more than 24 hours in advance.

JDavis625

At this point, the best tip I could give you would be to not get your hopes up about this one. From my experience, if you're not getting the issue resolved favorably after the first few messages, you probably won't. Add on the fact that the stay is already taking place and will likely be over by the time the BPG team gets back to you, and I'd say it probably isn't looking too good .

IAN-UK

After 5 email exchanges I guess both sides have made their positions clear. It's their game, their rules - so probably a sensible time to fold gracefully

There can be discrepancies between "points of sale" on third-party websites. Expedia.de (for example) might give a different rate to the Expedia version natural to the BRG office. So you need to be specific as to how they need to conduct the search to match the result you are getting.

The BRG blurb says quite specifically that they won't accept screenshots as evidence.

Geoggy

if anyone stumbles across a BRG in a Crowne Plaza in the North West of England next Saturday do let me know

Usual sites coming up with nothing

b1m9t0

Could anyone tell me if I'm missing something here?

Intending to book 3 nights at Intercontinental Sydney, price on IHG site is $835.35 AUD for 1 KING SUPERIOR CITYSIDE ROOM, average nightly rate $274.33 AUD.

Booking.com has Superior Room, 1 King Bed (Cityside) for $823.00 AUD, average nightly rate $249.40 AUD.

I've never done a price match before so this is all new to me, but having read the terms and conditions, it appears to be the same room, the same cancellation policy (as in no cancellations allowed) for the same dates (31 August - 3 September).

I did a live chat and the lady was fairly unhelpful and despite asking if she could confirm it would be a legit price match, offered a 'better rate' of $793.58 AUD. In the end could not confirm so yeah.

lhwjud

IHG has the same rate as Booking.com, except that IHG also has a 1.5% "service charge". It is possible that brg desk could argue the rate is same and deny your claim.

AP brg is always a risky attempt though.

b1m9t0

So they do, each room type adds up to the same price before adding tax. Knowing them they would decline it.

Seems unfair you can't really know for sure until after you've booked a (non-refundable) room, in which case you could have booked a far better value for money room at another hotel. But I'm sure that's be discussed ad nauseam..

Thanks for the reply.

scubaccr

Difference is so very small so you are not exactly going to be out of pocket if bpg is declined unless without a bpg you would book a cheaper hotel, so assuming you would stay there anyway you really have nothing to lose by booking non-refund rate and trying bpg claim

So if that is the case do not risk it and book something price wise you are comfortable with

As mentioned you need to add on the Aussie compulsory 1.5% CC percentage on to the OTA rate AND still be be cheaper by n% to win your BPG stay

The only time to go with OTA is if saving is substantial on ones room, not just saving maybe $1-3/night

kexbox

I've heard rumors about a new way to interpret the T&Cs.

The clause

(https://www.ihg.com/hotels/gb/en/cus...rms-conditions)
is supposed to be subject to "nonobservance" by BRG staff.

Has anyone been confronted with this issue recently (end of last week)?

Lotfi070

Yes I got so many problems with them this week !

I can mention this terms and they answer me that it should be the exact rate !

Impossible to let them understand this sentence..

Dear M. XXX,

Hope this e-mail finds you well.

Please be informed that as long as the Terms and Conditions of the Best Price Guarantee are met, we keep our promise of honoring the lower rate to free night and match the succeeding nights to lower rate.

Per the Terms under clause no. 5 on Matching Terms - All terms of the comparison room reservation, including, but not limited to pre-payment, deposit, number of guests, or other requirements must be equal in all respects to the terms found on an IHG website for your claim to be valid. For example, when you book a room that may be cancelled without penalty on an IHG website, you may not compare it to a room with a pre-paid or non-refundable price on a non-IHG website. At all IHG hotels globally, pre-paid rates on non-IHG sites will be compared with the IHG hotel's lowest available rate on IHG websites. The Guarantee is not available for bookings on websites where the booking details are unknown until after purchase. Sites that do not reveal the hotel brand name until after the payment has been completed (including bidding sites) do not qualify for this Guarantee.

Since the lower rate does not have the same rate restriction as IHG’s, your claim won't be extended for the Guarantee.