And why not do just that? It's certainly not "retail fraud" to ask for a better deal. Admittedly, rate rules are in place for a reason. But if you survey 100 guests from the same hotel you're likely to find as many different room rates.

Otherwise, if one guest is satisfied with the room rate they've paid knowing that there is another guest who was able to get a better rate for the same room type, everyone is still satisfied.