Originally Posted by
moondog
Have any of you guys successfully gotten IHG, Hilton, Hyatt, or Marriott to match a ctrip/trip rate? If so, what chain, and what was your secret? I've tried Hilton twice and Marriott once...all strikeouts based on de minimis differences (e.g. pool view v resort view). I might give up on chasing status altogether this year unless I can crack the code (for even one chain) because the price differences are typically far greater than the cost of breakfasts and evening lounge visits, which rarely avail of anyway.
My understanding is that trip/ctrip, along with Agoda, instead of acting purely as agent, buys outright remaining inventory of rooms of particular type at some hotels/resorts more often than other OTAs, in order to offer more competitive rates at these hotels/resorts. When they offer significantly lower rates than competing OTAs, that's probably the reason. In such cases, price matching probably wouldn't work.