Originally Posted by
Tommys888
I think the reason for refusal is that the agent compares only the rate w/o taxes and fees... If you compare all included rates, the rate on expedia is indeed lower that the rate on SPG... No idea which rate is supposed to be used in the case of BRG...
Originally Posted by
Tommys888
Booked a non-refundable/non-changeable rate of 92 USD at a Sheraton, then I found on expedia.com a rate of 82 USD (same type of room, same condition), but SPG website now offers a rate of 87 USD (same type of room, same condition). I BRG the 92 USD rate and got refused. How possible? This is what I got from agent - it seems that she only looks at the rate w/o taxes - I thought we should looked at rates all included, right?
I have reviewed the rates for our Sheraton Sao Paulo WTC Hotel for the dates of your claim on our website and found a rate of $74.48 USD plus all taxes and fees which is lower than the rate of $78.40 USD plus all taxes and fees found on the expedia app. Since the rate is lower on our website, I am not able to honor your claim. However, for your future booking convenience I have enclosed a live link, that will allow you to view and book our best available rates.
You have an interesting situation.
In general, yes you do look at the "all-included" rate, but then you have to deduct the taxes
and fees from both to get the final rates which will be compared against each other. So it's not just comparing the final rates.
In your particular case, I noticed:
1. SPG has 2 taxes - a service tax (ISS) of 5% and a room tax of USD$9
2. Expedia has only 1 tax - they don't state the amount and what it consists of but a simple calculation shows that it is 5% ie the service tax (ISS)
Using your rates of $82 for expedia and $87 for SPG:
a. Expedia: $82 less 5% = $78.09
b. SPG: $87 less $9 and then less 5% = $74.28
which is what the BRG agent quoted you.
Now, this is the fun part:
. by right, the BRG agent should have deducted 5% and $9 from the Expedia rate. That would have made it even lower than the SPG rate
. But they only deducted 5%
. I'm not sure if they are supposed to vet the OTA rates for missing fees etc which they appear to have done in this case - I've never personally encountered this sort of situation
Anyway, I would clarify with the hotel and Expedia, asking if the Expedia rate includes the Tourism Tax of USD$9. If you can get in writing that it IS included, then you can send that back to the BRG team and request that they review the claim.
However, I personally feel that the hotel and Expedia will tell you that you have to pay the $9/room/night at the front desk...
Good luck!