Originally Posted by
iahphx
These are some bizarro changes. Is IHG offering the rate guarantee on their foreign websites? So if booking.com wants to quote a rate in London in GBP, can I go to IHG's UK website and book there for the BRG?
I suppose yes. The
terms and conditions mention the same-currency-rule explicitly. In other words, if both rates are in GBP, the guarantee may qualify.
Originally Posted by
iahphx
Not including the tax is just mean. It just excludes some very reasonable BRG based on other websites doing "the right thing" and including all costs.
When I did my claim last week, the agent deducted the tax part from the rate at the third-party website for comparison. The tax rate was not listed on the third-party website, but the agent simply assumed the same tax rate as shown on IHG. Assuming they use the same tax rate, having tax excluded is always a disadvantage for us because the tax magnifies the difference by some percents. It may happen that this small discrepancy helps cross the USD 1 threshold.
Originally Posted by
iahphx
What's still unclear is whether I can get a BRG on a refundable IHG rate if the other website offers a lower refundable rate, or whether that other website has to also beat any IHG non-refundable rate. This is the current annoyance, as IHG keeps requiring me to change my refundable rez to a non-refundable rez to get the guarantee.
The answer is clearly negative. According to the
terms and conditions, you must book the room at the lowest available rate on IHG websites. It means that whenever there is a lower (non-refundable) rate available, you must book with that rate for the guarantee. The related clause is as follows:
- Guest must book the lowest available price on the “Best Available Rate” search - for the same hotel, the same type of accommodations, the same number of guests, and the same dates - in order to qualify for the Guarantee.
Originally Posted by
iahphx
As I indicated earlier, this whole thing wasn't well thought out before being launched. I'm sure there will be more revisions and then probably the abandonment of the free night's stay promise.
I agree. The first version of terms and conditions are poorly written and contain a lot of ambiguity. I am confident that I would not end up with these vague clauses If I were to write the rules. I believe that the writer of the first set of rules must suffer a lot from their internal meeting, mainly because of the grievance of the best price guarantee team and concerned hotels.
As of 4 October 2011, the revised version seems more clearly phrased. Despite its clarity, I am so disappointed that they exclude currency exchanges. It truly voids the guarantee for most travelers. I hope they will change it back in the next revision (if they won't remove the guarantee).
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There is one more thing to ask. If the rates given by IHG and a third-party website are in the same currency other than USD, how should the difference be converted to USD? It is not mentioned in the terms and conditions, either implicitly or explicitly. For example, if the difference is GBP 0.65, it can be above or under USD 1 depending on the exchange rate to use. The doubt must be cleared. I believe that they will use the rate on OANDA, but it should be stated clearly.
I have another question. Are there any good websites to challenge the IHG rates in CNY or HKD? Please PM me if you have some. Thanks!