bobbybrown

Thanks for sharing your positive case. I won't worry about it, then.

shadowline

Successful BRG vs hotels.com

But I've since been getting 1-3 emails a day from them;

Quite annoying. Anyone else?

studentCPH

No and your chances of success with a non-refundable booking are slim.
Best advice is do not book non-refundable, unless you are happy with the rate they quote.

They can ask the third party site to remove the rate and then your claim is invalid, as the rate has to be available when they review it.

puchong

Thanks for your response. This kills BRGs for me because I have found that the lowest rate is ALWAYS non-refundable; so you either book that (and risk that the claim is denied) or book some other hotel chain.

Marriott15

That is not true! Couple months ago I was booking a hotel stay and I called the property and they said they had one room available! I then called corporate and told them the situation! That it is cheaper on Expedia and hotels.com for about $125 cheaper and was the last room. The representative told me to print both websites out with the price on them. He then advised me to take a picture of my computer showing the rate and also have the time and date in the bottom right hand corner.

I submitted my claim and they got back to me saying it was denied of course since it was not still up! Then I sent in the pictures and copies of the pieces of paper i printed out and I got it approved!

studentCPH

I completely agree. They lost my faith like this

Interesting. I tried doing the same about a month ago, but was denied. My screenshots had everything you mentioned, and it was on booking.com. I had previously emailed them and they told me nothing they could do til I had booked. Rate was available for 3 days before and at least 7 hours after submitting my claim (and then I went to bed). And I did try several follow up emails, but they don't want to honor it. I suggested that they refunded the rate if they don't honor their best rate guarantee, but they deny that too.

If your case was more recent, perhaps you just have to be lucky. If it's older, they might have changed their practices. I would really advise against booking non-refundable rates and count on this, I complied with every term in the T&C they sent me, when i inquired. But of course they do state on their website that the rate has to be available when they verify the rate.

BigFlyer

Yes, but their website is contradictory and intentionally misleading.

It says in the non-fine print: "Booking directly with Hilton is quick, easy and guarantees best value" and "We guarantee you always get the lowest price when you reserve a room through an official Hilton booking channel... or we'll match the lower price and give you an extra 25% discount"

The fine print then contradicts that clear language by saying that they only guarantee lowest price and guaranteed best value if the pricing discrepancy remains in effect for 12-24 hours after you report it to Hilton. It is one thing if the fine print clarifies, but something else when the fine print entirely changes the meaning.

Marriott15

SS
I think mine got messed up! I got denied then accepted after I sent all that info in and never got charged to this date for the stay! Stay was over two months ago!

This just doesn't seem to be working for them! They should just let you book through the third party and give you points for your stay! Maybe never let one of these sites go lower then the price on the hilton website!

It always seems like the lower price for me is the night before the stay were you can't cancel!

studentCPH

It's a shame big business get away with things like this, but I appreciate the confirmation. I was surprised to see people defend Hilton for doing this, when I posted my experience about a month and a half ago.

That's pretty sweet!
And I guess it's working the way they want, when people believe it's working. I mean I rarely check prices elsewhere as I think I'm better off booking AAA rate or similar.
Your solution would be great, but as they have to pay the commission to the third party, probably not in their interest.
I have experienced it once as you mention close to the stay where it's past the cancellation deadline, and didn't bother trying to claim it. This booking was far in advance, so I thought I'd have time to prove that it was cheaper, but it made no difference.

Gnopps

I found a lower rate on hotels.com for a handicap-room at a hotel I was looking at. Took a screenshot, booked (with a note that I don't need a handicap-room) and submitted a BRG-claim that was denied since the room was no longer available.
As I had booked the last room of this type it was obvious that it was no longer available and so I sent the screenshot to Hilton who then approved the claim. Great to see that they can be flexible (but within the rules) in such a situtation, don't know how I could otherwise prove the claim if there is only 1 room bookable.

studentCPH

That's great - I'm assuming it was a flexible rate?

The inconsistency is ridiculous.

Gnopps

Yes

Marriott15

Yep which is the issue! That was my argument with the agent that well its the last room available! That's when he said to copy the hotels.com and Expedia page! Also to take a picture with my phone that shoes the date and time in the bottom right hand corner! Just advice for people that run across the same issue moving forward!

dwn4crwn

I never check the other sites after booking normally as Hilton sales seem to be the lowest in town. Booked 2 rooms in Prague for 2 nights (came out to just over 200 Euro a night which is a bit on the high side, but we're celebrating our 10th anniversary with my parents so we wanted to take them some place we liked) However lower rates caught my eye in a random search with google and investigated. Found lower rates through kayak which directed me to amoma and prestigia. I should have read this site better, however decided to request a claim. I was shocked to get a message that amoma was an invalid site (I don't understand as you can book through these sites for the rooms) and over the phone while talking to the representatives (who found the price quotes for 129 Euro) stated that their system was blocked from letting them go through with the price matching because Prestigia was also invalid. Talked to a supervisor who I could tell really didn't care and kept trying to spin the conversation.

Wrote to Erin to see if she could help out, as I really want to take my parents to Prague. This is one of the few disappointments that I've had.

AleTrail

Another option (if you're booking cancellable stays) is to book the cheaper rate you've found elsewhere after booking the Hilton rate, i.e. have 2 bookings at the hotel pending the BRG being honored.