Hotels do not get anywhere near best available room rate for award reimbursement unless the hotel occupancy is close to being full (95 % of rooms sold is usually when it kicks in). If that threshold is met, they will be reimbursed at a rate that is a small percent off of the average room rate for that night. Otherwise, the normal reimbursement rate is usually somewhere between $15-70/night depending on the award category of the hotel. I have gotten bill copies by accident before of the amount the hotel was getting from Marriott for my award night, and it was usually $15-20 for category 2-4 hotels.