Hyatt Makes Improvements to Best Rate Guarantee

Hyatt just announced updates to their best rate guarantee, which one returning reward and a new option that is great news for World of Hyatt points enthusiast.

Hyatt has adjusted their best-rate guarantee in the last few years but just announced a new policy on April 16 to ensure customers get the best possible rates on Hyatt properties while booking through the Hyatt website. The updated policy states that Hyatt will match cheaper room rates found on other booking sites within 24 hours of booking a stay on the Hyatt site, as long as the booking site is publicly available. In addition, Hyatt will give you the choice to either take 20 percent off the lower rate found or credit your account with 5,000 World of Hyatt points 72 hours after hotel checkout. That many Hyatt points are worth around $75-100, depending on how they’re used. The rate discount only applies to the room stay, and can’t be applied to extras like room service, hotel restaurants, or spa treatments.

Hyatt is a renowned global hotel chain, with more than 750 hotels worldwide. The brand is known for having a range of hotels that feel unique from one another, ranging from the more clean-cut brand to luxurious properties that appeal to vacation travelers. They released their revamped World of Hyatt rewards program in 2017.

With so many booking sites or alternatives to hotels available, maintaining trust with guests and helping them feel like they are getting a good value for their money is a constant challenge. In addition, the hotels themselves retain all the profits when customers book directly through their site instead of through various booking engines. As one of the various measures used to encourage customers to book directly through hotel sites, most major hotel chains have the best rate guarantees or BRGs.

Best rate guarantees allow customers to submit listings or advertisements that list lower rates (i.e. better deals) than the rate on the hotel’s site. In order to encourage customers to book on their own websites, hotels will match the lower rate and/or offer extra incentives such as points, upgrades, and other perks. The BRG process almost always involves submitting the lower rate information via a form on the hotel website and working with their customer service team to make sure the lower rate or rewards are honored.

The previous iteration of Hyatt’s BRG was a $50 discount on a future stay that did not apply to the stay involved in the BRG claim. That was the effective policy for the last couple of years. Before that, Hyatt offered the 20 percent discount for a successful BRG claim, which is the returning reward for the BRG.

Hyatt’s policy is unique in that they will accept lower price claims from booking websites that require a membership, as long as that membership itself is free. Most other hotel chains will only accept claims from sites that are completely public facing, i.e. you don’t need to log in to a site in order to view the rate or book. However, the fact that Hyatt’s policy includes any membership sites gives customers a higher chance of submitting a claim that will actually be approved.

Before double checking for a lower rate, make sure all the stays you book are refundable. That way, in case you want to cancel and get a lower rate, you aren’t locked into the stay or pay a fee in order to cancel.

Customers can go to the Hyatt website or call 877-247-3909 to submit a best rate guarantee claim.

Have you ever submitted a best rate guarantee claim with Hyatt or any other hotel?

[Image Source: Getty]