I received another clarification from BW:
The guarantee is that you will find the lowest non-qualified rates on our site,
www.bestwestern.com, so even an "Internet Only" rate would be applicable. If you book on our site, then find a lower advertised non-qualified rate on a competing website within the allowed timeframe, we will match the price plus give you a $100 gift card.
A non-qualified rate is a rate that does not require a membership or affiliation with a specific organization (ie AAA/AARP) to receive the discount. In the example you gave above, the low rate guarantee would qualify, our program does not take payment method or cancellation policy into consideration when qualifying a claim.
I have a distinct feeling they're really cracking down on this and not many BRG claims are being honored these days. At least what I'm seeing is that most BW hotels I look at have some "Internet Only" pre-paid rate that is a good 10-15% lower than even an AAA rate, say, and certainly lower than other travel websites.
Also, according to
this manual, the hotel gets penalized quite heavily for having a cheaper rate available outside of bestwestern.com:
Charge for offering publicly available rates through any distribution channel, which are lower than those offered on bestwestern.com, within the month:
$50 for each day a violation occurs; if accumulate 100 occurrences, fine is $75 for each additional occurrence; if accumulate 200 occurrences, fine is $100 for each additional occurrence
Charge for offering publicly available rates as reported by a consumer, which are lower than those offered by bestwestern.com:
Hotel will match the lower rate and consumer is given a $100 Best Western Travel Card. In each fiscal year, hotel will be charged for each issued Travel Card:
First 3 Travel Cards - $0
Next 5 Travel Cards - $75
All subsequent Travel Cards - $100
Ouch!!
I know nothing about running a hotel, but I would imagine there must be a very strong incentive to stick with the BW brand to put up with so many rules, regulations and especially, fees.