haledjian

Can the BRG agent price match against Hilton's Honors Discount rate? I told them that shouldn't be allowed because I would have to sign up for a Hilton Honors account to get that rate. They should compare the lower rate I found on Priceline against the "Best Available Rate" instead.

Cat88L3

I'm Diamond. All of my price matches have been against the Hilton Honors discounted rate or the Hilton Honors semi flex rate.

hotturnip

Yes, this is common with Priceline. I described this phenomenon a few pages back. Even if you're not logged in to your account, cookies evidently remember who you are and pull up these discount rates.

Having said that, I have successfully gotten Hilton to honor the PMG twice with such rates by sending in screenshots (but those rates didn't specifically attribute it to having booked a rental car--they were just random discounts).

hotturnip

Hotel: Hampton Inn Dallas Ctrl Expwy/N. Park
Dates: 6/20-25/2019
Room type: 1 King
Original hilton.com rate: $127 Hhonors rate
Competing rate: $110.84 on Priceline
Actual confirmed rate: $83.13

I'm six for six on these claims now.

hotturnip

OK, I had to cancel the reservation above because I had to change the dates. But boy, getting this new reservation was an ORDEAL!

Hotel: Doubletree Dallas Campbell Center
Dates: 6/21-26/2019
Room type: 1 King
Original hilton.com rate: $116 Hhonors Advance Purchase, no cancellations
Competing rate: $106.53 non-refundable rate on Priceline
Actual confirmed rate: $79.90

This was a CRAZY one. It was my first time trying to use the PMG on a prepaid rate, but the savings were fairly significant (at least from my perspective), so I thought it was worth it to call in instead of doing the claim form.

First call was dropped a few moments into a hold.

Called back a couple of nights later. Second call initially confirmed the Price Match, then put me on hold for 25 minutes, then disconnected.

Called back immediately. This agent's accent was so thick I could barely understand her. After talking for 5 minutes and being on hold for 10, she came back and said, "Now I need to check Priceline's rate." A 15 minute hold. She came back and said, "Sir, I've checked with my supervisor. We can't honor a Price Match Guarantee because the street address listed on Priceline is different. It says 'Southern Methodist University/North Park." My jaw dropped. "That's not the address, that's Priceline's zone identifying the neighborhood. This is ridiculous; you can look at the picture and tell they're the same. You're just trying to avoid honoring the Price Match. Now, are you on Priceline.com? Go to the page with the different rooms and rates listed. Now scroll to the very bottom. See the map? There's the street address on the top of the map." "OK, please hold again." 10 minute hold. "OK, sir, we'll price match that for you." And a few minutes later she confirmed the reservation and sent an email which initially looked correct, so I bid her farewell. No such luck. On closer examination, the agent got the dates wrong! It was also booked as a semi-flex instead of pre-paid, probably because of the different dates. What a C.F.

Called back. Agent sounded much more professional. So naturally, I was disconnected inside of 5 minutes.

Called back. "Allen" turned out to be the best agent so far, even though I still had to explain everything twice. He got a supervisor to help him, and since I complained about the disconnects, he never put me on hold. He was able to figure it out in under 10 minutes, and had everything finished in another 15. He took the time to explain that doing PMGs was really complicated on their end, and that's why it took so long. He also didn't offer bogus excuses for not honoring it.

All told, this was about 2 hours on the phone for about $60 in savings (vs. just doing an online claim against a refundable rate). Hmmmm.

So I offer this as an example of what you're up against when trying to Price Match over the phone. You have to have incredible persistence. You have to be able to interpret impenetrable accents. You have to talk to the agents as though they are not-so-bright second graders. You have to be ready to counter every lame excuse for not honoring the guarantee. But you CAN win out.

(And now I'm 7 for 7 on PMGs.)

escape4

has someone ever been successful on a BRG where the third party website was for room type = "room selected upon arrival"?

hotturnip

Interesting question! I've never attempted it. Who wants to be the sacrificial guinea pig?

My guess is that Hilton would reject this out of hand. "This option is not offered by Hilton.com."

ExpatSomchai

hotturnip

Hotel: Palmer House Hilton Chicago
Dates: 7/4-8/2019
Room type: 1 dbl
Original hilton.com rate: $113 Hhonors Long Weekender
Competing rate: $105.53 on Priceline
Actual confirmed rate: $79.12

This one was no problem. Confirmed via online claim form in 30 minutes.

Still batting 1000

escape4

I just attempted it and was denied. No surprise, they said room type is not the same.

If I had booked a suite on hilton.com then of course it should be denied because on the third party website I might actually get a lesser room. But if I book the basic room type on hilton.com then "room assigned at check-in" can only be worth at least as much as the basic room on hilton.com which is why I thought perhaps using some logic it can be approved. Otherwise, they could be selling "room assigned at check-in" for $1 on the third party website and we will NEVER be able to be successful on any kind of BRG, full stop. That does not sound logical but I think it is what it is.

IAN-UK

Don't expect logic to enter BRG discussions. Don't expect logic to be anywhere close to the fringes of those discussions. Leave logic behind when you open the BRG door.

pmarrsouth

If a 3rd party site is selling a room for $1 (and assuming that the rate on Hilton.com is in excess of $50 or so) then you book on the 3rd party site, that is simple logic. You pay for breakfast out of your own pocket if needed, forgo the potential upgrade and the few HH points you would earn

Hopefully you can see why

escape4

Mate, it is not logical to not use logic Just kidding - indeed you are right...

Well I was making this extreme example just for the sake of the argument. Not that I want to plant ideas in their mind, but if Hilton is intent on not approving BRGs then the best route for them is to simply let lots of third party websites use "room assigned at check-in" on a grand scale and that way no need to worry about BRG anymore! Whatever the price is will not matter, all BRGs are dead in the water.

Or they can use logic such that if someone books the entry level room on Hilton.com, then BRG remains possible against "room assigned at check-in"

piaopiao

It seems that Hilton recently updated their BRG terms. Now, they have much tougher terms.

Failed attempt example follows:
Please accept our sincere apology for any confusion of the PMG. We've reviewed your reservation and compared it to the rate listed on the screenshot provided. Regrettably, we are unable to honor your claim as it did not meet the criteria to qualify for the Hilton Price Match Guarantee. The screenshot includes an Easter discount, not eligible for this program. The screenshot is incomplete, immediate confirmation is not confirmed, the rate requires prepayment and is not comparable to the rate booked and confirmed through Hilton. The confirmed booking is immediate and does not require pre-payment.

Official terms follow:
Difference in terms You booked a fully refundable room but this price is for a room with a 100% credit card deposit required upfront

So maybe all prepay but refundable are not accepted anymore? As in Hilton refundable rate will be paid at hotel.

IAN-UK

In not sure I follow this. You have a refundable booking with Hilton and you're trying to match it with a non-refundable rate from elsewhere. I thought this has always been outside the scope of the BRG.