Hyatt - Best Rate Guarantee - Experiences - MASTER THREAD - WIKI
 

Hyatt just refused to honor the BRG for a low Hyatt rate quote on gtahotels.com, claiming a booking made there wasn't "immediately bookable" despite the "Immediate Confirmation" on the gtahotels page when I clicked on the Grand Hyatt San Antonio. Hyatt claimed that, despite the requested credit card information at the gtahotels site, I would get only a voucher which could be exchanged later for a booking.

Unless gtahotels is really shady, this logic seems pretty tortured. And rates below Hyatt's have to be pretty rare on the mainline booking sites. So...I have to ask.....has anyone filed a successful BRG claim recently? Any details you'd like to share?

interesting.. i just had a similar experience.. easyclicktravel.co.uk was giving buy 2 nights get 1 free @ the hyatt andaz london. Called up BRG, told it was a 'package' deal, though i fail to see the package as i'm only getting the hotel. Called up the diamond line, was told easyclicktravel.co.uk is a wholesaler and hyatt does not match their price because they are similar to priceline.

My first bad hyatt CS experience. I always thought hyatt and bad CS was an oxymoron, i guess i was wrong :)

gtahotels.com is indeed a voucher site - I've run into that with the old Wyndham BRG. See link and emphasis added below - note they say the reservation is guaranteed with them, not the hotel.

http://www.gtahotels.com/customercare/main.php

My biggest beef with the Hyatt Best Rate Policy is that Hyatt CS considers a rate that bundles taxes as a "package rate". So if I find a rate on Expedia that is lower, Hyatt will not invoke the best rate guarantee because Expedia bundles taxes into their rates.

this doesn't make any sense to me since the taxes are a fixed charge and the same whether you pay for them upfront or when you check out.

Hyatt Regency Warsaw on hyatt.com 65 Euro

Hyatt Regency Warsaw on hrs.com 55 Euro including breakfast

Was advised that the hrs rate cannot be considered, because it is a package deal....in other words, a property is significantly cheaper on another site ( 15 % in this case ) and gives you free breakfast ( around $ 20 as well per person at the HR Warsaw ) and Hyatt can wiggle out of it, claiming this is a package...

Wow.. that might be worse than what i was told.. because hyatt themselves are inconsistent when it comes to taxes.. Hyatt London (UK) do not include taxes in the prices they list.. Hyatt Birmingham (UK) do include taxes.. so does that mean the hyatt rate on their website is a "bundle"..

Had a bad experience as well with Hyatt BRG. Wasn't really looking to do this, but happened to notice the rate on AAVaations.com was $10 lower than my already-booked Hyatt rate; plus with the 20% discount on the lower rate, I figured it was worth a quick call. This was booking only hotel, not a package. AAVacations site said they absolutely guaranteed the room & price once I put in my cc. Called Hyatt and ended up spending 50 minutes on the phone, which was insane but it become the principal of the thing for me.

When I first called, CSR told me AAVacations is one of their "300" web sites listed as not qualifying for BRG. Agent spent 20 minutes trying to recreate what I found on AAVacations' web site, put me on hold to speak with supervisor, then they called AAVacations. Final determination was AAVacations issues a "voucher" and that their price and room confirmation is not guaranteed when I book; therefore not eligible. He said as a good-will gesture Hyatt would give me the room at the $10 lower price (no mention of the 20%). I asked if that rate would be an eligible rate and he said no; I said forget it. A few minutes later my phone rang, it was the CSR saying they didn't realize I was a Diamond so another goodwill gesture--they would insure that $10 lower rate would be an eligible rate. I'm thinking I must need my head examined to spend so much time on this, but thanked him.

Today I decide to call AAVacations and they tell me emphatically that when I book with them, the room and rate are absolutely guaranteed. Yes, they send me a voucher which I take to the hotel as proof that I've paid.

Anyway just wanted to agree that this Hyatt experience smacks of the Hilton BRG experience, which surprised me. Even worse, I spent nearly an hour on the phone--at least the other brands do it via a quick form & e-mail.

Hotel Best Rate Guarantees are a source of confusion not limited to Hyatt. One rule of thumb is if you are immediately paying a third party, which sounds like what is happening in the examples, its probably not eligible. If they are instead just making you a reservation and you pay upon arrival, it probably is.

Wow...not a single successful BRG claim reported to date.

BRG: booking.com vs. Hyatt
 

Hi!

I just found a good offer for the Hyatt Place Miami (by the airport). $70+$9 taxes for a fully flexible double or king room including breakfast and WiFi (i.e. 12/18, 12/19, 12/20).
As it is a flexible rate I simply booked it, read the best rate guarantee rules and called the hotline.

It turns out booking.com is not eligable because it does not show the room price but a package price (for which the BRG does not apply as per T&C).
It shows $70 for the room plus taxes. Problem is that when searching for a two night stay it shows a package for the nights plus taxes and not a nightly price.

I put in three one-night stays and not one three-night stay because I might be somewhere else on the 19th (and simply cancel that stay). He claimed that I knew the 'package' issue and tried to work around it.

Is there any chance to get the 20% off? I usually play by the rules but the Hyatt BRG T&Cs seem to have too many loopholes so just on basic principle I should follow up on this ;)

Hyatt BRG has denied such rates even though Booking.com explicitly states that its price is for the room only -- which is exactly what Hyatt requires. Moreover, when one moves your cursor over terms and conditions and limitations of the rate on Booking.com, it further notes that tax is not included -- therefore, their rates are not package rates -- Hyatt's decision to disallow is unprincipled.

I recently had three BRG agents deny a similar claim of mine.

First, they stated that it was a package rate because tax was included -- lie #1.

Another agent then allowed that although tax was not included in the rate as first displayed, the amount of tax was not calculated -- it was only listed as a percentage of the room rate -- and therefore, unlike Hyatt's website, which displays the $ amount of the tax, booking.com does not -- therefore, the BRG claim was disallowed. I countered by noting that one could very easily figure out the tax and that in any event, that tax would be displayed at the end of the transaction if you were to purchase the room.

I then spoke to the supervisor on duty and I asked him to read to me verbatim what the BRG stated. He reluctantly did so and given the terms and conditions of the BRG the claim should have been upheld -- instead, it was denied because the final amount one would have to pay was not displayed in the same manner that Hyatt does, and therefore, the claim was denied.

I advised that this was an unprincipled argument and well beneath the standards set by the hotel chain and its usually customer focused Consumer Affairs Department.

I advised that I would expect a phone call from the head of the BRG department on Monday when he and I will be in the office. If they persist in a denial I will go to the press.

We are on very very solid ground on this one.

Those who remember the names/organizations that have responded to traveler complaints please e-mail me.

I have advised Hyatt that it would be a shame that their org will be tarnished by this, but if they should adopt this ridiculous denial of booking.com quotes, I have little choice.

They have had a couple of days to mull this over.

If you can’t solve your issue (please mind Hyatt's Consumer Affairs Department assists us at 1-800-323-7249) here are some other resources:

Sound Off

• Contact Consumer Traveler (my pick: Christopher Elliott)
• Consumer Tools (My3cents.com is a leading source of consumer advice)
• Post a complaint for public vier
• Conumer Comment Form (please mind: If you file a complaint it becomes property of “Consumer Affairs” and they are not obliged to remove it if you solve the issue)

Conde Nast's Traveler's "Ombudsman" column features a traveler's complaint column. Send in your complaint to Ombudsman, Conde Nast Traveler, 4 Times Square, New York, NY 10036.

Legal Options

• File a complaint at you state's attorney general's office
• Small Claims Court (link provides also a helping hand on how to resolve problem without going to small claims court)
• Federal Trade Commission (The FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints.)

What would I do if I like to take advantage of FFN and BRG?
 

Hyatt guarantees to provide the lowest on-line bookable rate for room reservations at Hyatt Hotels available to the general public on the Internet and their T&C are quite specific: The rate you found on booking.com was a “Competitive Rate” in their terms and Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee Representative was wrong.

Reading NJ Up in the Air’s experiences, I don’t know if he gave me a chance to close the deal, but I had act differently. Here is why:

If I like to stay at a Hyatt property on a weekend in December to earn FFN and choose Miami as my place to be, I would stay at HR Peer 66, HR Miami and HR Bonaventure. Your $ 70 Rate at HP MIA was a great catch (Hyatt Daily Rate: $ 149) I had missed (there is still one room available at the time of writing this entry). I had booked one Friday and one Sunday night at Hyatt.com and had asked Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee Representative to make appropriate adjustments to my rate (= $ 56). If s/he had refused to honour my claim, I had asked him/her about he name and made it clear, that one of HP brand feature is to offer daily complimentary continental breakfast. If I was still unsuccessful, I had asked to transfer me to a supervisor. If necessary, Consumer Affairs came into play.

I always like to solve issues and not create difficulties: To book three different reservations for a three night stay I never intend to use under this given circumstances and to ask to book (three separate reservations??) one stay with reference to three reservations I made (please remember: The Hyatt Best Rate Guarantee Representative will go to the web site where the lower rate was found and ensure it is for the same terms and conditions as the Hyattsummerfieldsuites.com, HyattPlace.com or Hyatt.com rate and for the same length of stay. If the claim qualifies, they will apply the 20% discount.) might spin the wheel to an off topic spot.

Why don’t make it plain & simple?

Did all. Supervisor was of no help -- essentially reading a script. What it came down to essentially was Hyatt stating that the way the ultimate rate one has to pay is displayed differently -- therefore, Hyatt does not need to accept the claim.

The above position is ludicrous. Booking.com states it is only a room rate, nothing else, although it does note free cont'l breakfast -- a standard feature of all HPs -- so that is not a deal killer either.

The website makes clear that tax is not included in the rate, so not a package rate.

Essentially, they claim that Hyatt calculates the tax, whereas Booking.com does not -- it only states that the tax is not included and what the applicable tax rate will be -- so they said not acceptable -- even though if you were to purchase, the tax is calculated at the end point.

As I have stated above, it essentially boils down to Hyatt claiming that how the rate and tax is displayed is different from the way Hyatt displays it, and therefore they have no obligation to accept the claim. This penultimate statement on behalf of a supervisor at the BRG desk is, at best, ludicrous.

That is why I have requested that the head of the BRG department contact me on Monday and failing resolution I intend to contact those who SS has identified -- many thanks.

As many know on this and other boards, I have been among many of you who counsel to live within the rules, i.e., no phantom stays, no two hotels on one night, etc.

Although we have an obligation to live within the parameters set forth by GP for promotions and earning points, etc., they have an equal and like obligation to be validly guided by those very same rules -- not to make up new rules or to torture existing rules into oblivion. Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with organizations doing the latter.

This they have done with respect to Booking.com rate quotes and this must not be permitted to stand.

The only positive aspect I see on these desperate issues you had is this: As Hyatt’s T&C are specific:

1. A "Competing Rate" is a publicly available and immediately online bookable room-only rate for a Hyatt Hotel that is lower than the room rate available for the same reservation on www.hyatt.com (i.e., same hotel, same type of room, same number of guests, same dates of stay and same length of stay). There are two notable exceptions*):
   
   • Opaque Travel Inventory
   • Any HVC or any residential or extended stay apartment property does not participate.
   
   
2. To qualify for a 20% discount on “Competing Rate” (and to receive stay credit within GP) we have to call either prior to or within 24 hours of booking the reservation on http://www.hyatt.com.

If an associate excludes booking.com - Europe’s leading online hotel reservations agency by room nights sold, is available in 24 languages and offers over 73K hotels in 71 countries (parent company: Priceline) – because the rate is displayed differently s/he is out of touch. Booking.com is very specific what is and is not included in the room rate and lists this immediately below the room type. While it’s habitual that taxes are included in Europe, the contrary is true for North America.

I hope Hyatt’s Consumer Affair’s department will investigate.

*) Package Holidays & packaged Rates are not Room Only Rates. Qualified Discount Rates & Unpublished, Negotiated Rates are not publicly available.

On every major third party booking site I found a $ 119 room rate (72h cancelation policy), while hyatt.com quotes an APR for $ 118.15 (Hyatt Daily Rate: $ 139). A very friendly Hyatt associate denied my claim because BRG works by comparing prices (it is non an subject, if one rate has to be prepaid and the other can be cancelled). He suggested if I prefer cancellable rates, I should book elsewhere (what I don’t because I booked AAA rate).

I am happy to report that at least with respect to my matter -- where the price of a room without any added extras not offered by the hotel, and where the tax was not included in the rate (and was advertised on the competing website as such) -- that Booking.com rates are to be accepted for the BRG from Hyatt.

The Hyatt agents that I had spoken with had been misinterpreting the Hyatt BRG policy with respect to the above situation and I have been advised that this error is in the process of being rectified.

So, you all should feel comfortable submitting Booking.com rate quotes to the Hyatt BRG department if they are circumscribed within the above parameters.

This is yet another example of Hyatt being extremely responsive to its members' needs and this sort of customer service ought to be applauded. ^^

Many thanks also to SS who identified the next step I needed to take this in order to obtain a just resolution short of publcizing this to a wider audience. ^@:-)

There are ways for them to get out of the BRG.

I consistently can find cheaper rates on a Japanese website (jtb.jp) for Hyatt hotels in Japan. It satisfies all the stipulations that the T&C of BRG has. But they failed to honor it because the website is in Japanese and none of them can read it.:eek:

But it is not in the T&C that the booking website has to be in English.:confused:

I gave up!

Well done, NJUPINTHEAIR, hopefully on all our behalf! And thank you, Smart Shopper. I think that the BRG, LRG, LFG are a slimy game by many of the travel industry companies.

BTW, FWIW, I recently got some very nice rates on booking.com. For the first time - as I was going to be away from Hyatt- and Hilton-country in Italy and France - I shopped in TripAdvisor. They seem, on the surface, to search like Kayak, and pop up several booking portals with their prices for several hotels in a city. Booking.com consistently came up cheapest for the same hotel(s). Then, when one hotel's portal dropped below the booking.com rate, I contacted booking.com re their BRG. Return email said it had been changed. It was $5 difference, but the point here is that they honored it for that amount.

(I know... sorry for going outside the church, but I had to. :o)

For rate shopping, I use Tripadvisor.com; Kayak.com and occasionally hotelscombined.com

I requested a BRG and quoted a (cheaper) rate I found on booking.com. At the beginning of our conversation Hyatts very friendly & talkative associate questioned booking.com as comparable site when it comes to BRG. She said that as I am not able to book immediately, she has to refuse may claim and quoted this sentence of booking.com's T&C:

As I was not able to made my point I let it go and will contact Hyatts excellent Consumer Affair Department.

Any timely additional advice is more than appreciated!

OK -- I will do what I can to help you.

As I noted above, I confirmed with the liasion in Hyatt's Consumer Affairs Dep't that Booking.com is indeed a valid site for them to do a BRG comparison.

What's more, I was told that the Hyatt BRG department has to follow your steps as to how you obtained that rate -- this was signficant for as I recall, in the past, I found another website's rate that I arrived at via Kayak.com, provided a breakdown of taxes and the room rate as separate items, but if you went directly to the wholesaler's website, it only provided an aggregate rate -- and my claim was rejected. Sorry for digressing, but I thought this perahps important.

Now, I am somewhat unclear about the facts you relate.

What do you mean by the rate was not bookable? Were you unable to book it or was the BRG department not able to book it? If it is not available and can't be booked by you, then they are not obligated to find that rate for you.

But somehow, I think, there is a miscommunication as to what you are trying to convey, as I doubt you are asking for help on a rate that is not bookable, so can you please go over the facts and please watch the possessive pronouns, as I want to be clear as to who was unable to do what.

Thanks and looking forward to you response. :)

Sorry for being vague, and thanks very much for your input: Here is my second approach:

• The APR rate I found on booking.com was (considerably) cheaper than the APR rate at hyatt.com.
• The first question Hyatt’s associate asked me: Does the competing rate I found at booking.com includes taxes? I denied.
• On the contrary to your information, she questioned if booking.com is an eligible site when it comes to BRG claim. She looked up booking.com’s T&C and presented to me this sentence:
  
  Quote:

  ---

  From the point at which you make your reservation, we act solely as an intermediary between you and the hotel, transmitting the details of your reservation to the relevant hotel and sending you a confirmation email for and on behalf of the hotel.

  ---

• She said, that as booking.com don’t let me immediately book online, she has to refuse to accept my claim.
• I replied that I don’t understand why I should not be able to book immediately at booking.com as I enter into a direct (legally binding) contractual relationship with Hyatt.
• She responded that has nothing to do as booking.com acts solely as an intermediary between me and Hyatt.
• I asked about the difference between other third party sites & booking.com
• Her replay: Believe me, I am doing this for nine years.
• At this point I whished her a nice evening.

Unfortunately we did not reach the point if booking.com will pull the rate (which sometimes is the matter eg at travelocity) when hyatt do book, as my request did not qualified: According to Hyatt’s associate my competing rate did not qualified because booking.com don’t let me immediately book online.

OK -- this is my response for you and anyone else who has trouble with a BRG for this or any other website.

Take the name of the agent down and escalate it to a supervisor if necessary, and get that person's name, as well.

As to your inquiry, the BRG agent is plain flat wrong -- what Booking.com does -- and by the way, i think uppthread it is identified as a corporate affiliate and owned by Priceline, hardly a fly by night compay -- is pre-negotiate with various hotels for a discount.

If the rate appears on Booking.com, it is available to be booked and confirmed by booking.com electronically -- no wiait, etc. It is instantaneous and is no different that if you booked via expedia, travelocity, etc.

In sum, she is wrong -- Booking.com does let you book immediately online.

I would call up BRG again, reference this very thread - they have the ability to see this since they have access to the outsiide world by checking other websites.

If they don't relent, get their names and escalate this to Corporate Customer Service.

Also, PM Karen about this -- this was supposed to have been taken care of when I had the issue with the agent and her supervisor and I was assured that a directive had been issued to the staff.

In addition, ask for points for compensation for your wasted time -- you deserve it!!!

Let us know how it ends.

Good luck!

NJ

Thanks very much for your kind replay, I will report back about the outcome!

Thanks guys for bird-dogging this very important matter.

Curious what you think of this situation:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...-recently.html

Could I have pursued the BRG successfully with CS?

Not fullyagree with your statement. The key behind BRGs is to compare the very same things with each other (e.g. "Deluxe room prepaid" against "Deluxe room prepaid" or "Junior Suite incl. breakfast cancellable" versus "Junior Suite incl. breakfast cancellable").

Please bear in mind that if you have a "better room" at the third party website (e.g. "Deluxe room with 14 days free parking") against a "worse room" on the hotels website (e.g. "Deluxe room") it is not a valid BRG.

Also, bear in mind that the cancellation policies have to be the very same.

Finally, it is to say that some BRG programs are well run (e.g. SPG) versus some very badly run programs (e.g. Hilton or Marriott for non-US hotels).

If you really compare same with same, escalate your case up to the top management and also don't forget to involve the BBB. Good luck with your BRG claims ^

I've given up trying to use the BRG with SPG as well, despite meeting their requirements. Interestingly a bonus offer on another site giving free breakfast as part of the deal with a lower rate, cannot be claimed against a rate on spg.com.

I think technically they are correct but I have not read their BRG terms lately. Some explicitly reject vouchers, however, I believe that SPG permits GTA price matches if that is any consolation.....


The voucher exclusion is directed explicitly against some Asian sites like Asiarooms.com? I believe, but also with GTA in mind, as well.

But see: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13131148-post12.html

Hey all

Just to lighten it up, i've made two BRG's this week.

First one was with gtahotels.com for a price that was around 2/3 of the hyatt price.

Second one was with expedia for a price that was 90 cents of the hyatt price.

Both were approved (40 minute wait though =\ ), I haven't checked in but it seems okay!

@ Explore:

I can confirm from my own experiences that Met Global sites (gtahotels.com & otel.com) are good for BRG claim (OT: Not usable for Marriott properties outside USA & Canada), because there is no flag if a voucher or other form of pre-paid certificate is involved.

@ NJUPINTHEAIR:

Finaly, my claim was accepted, but I am still under the impression that some associates like to flag booking.com (maybe the read that this is a priceline company). However, I will follow this up with CA department. Once again, thanks very much for your support as I felt much more confident to argue!

I would like to thank you and others in this thread. Your efforts have made life easier for at least some of those who came after you in asking Hyatt to apply the BRG rules to covered rates advertised by booking.com and other websites that were previously being refused. The wait on the phone is a little longer than some may like, but it now got done on one phone call in the manner it should.

Thanks again. ^^

I am not sure if this problem is completely resolved -- a fix over a weekend isn't common but I seem to be having luck this weekend -- or if it is just that BRGs are handled differently by different agents when it should be the same for everyone all of the time.

A successful claim for me after about 5 min on hold. ^
I am VERY pleased with Hyatt CS.

I also had a very successful claim with BFG this week. Dropped my rate significantly.

While the overall hold time was a bit long, I thought the customer service provided was outstanding.

In my (albeit limited in this area) experience, it appears that Hyatt honors this guarantee.

I've had a few this year, including some that resulted in hyatt.com's $149+ rates being adjusted down to under $70. Including tax, the BRG-adjusted rate's room was cheaper than if booked even via Priceline.

ive used the BRG 2x. Once on expedia and once and a different website. Both dropped the rates quite significantly! the expedia one was quite quite and the other one took quite a while they had to call me back. hotel was still advertised as the AmeriSuites however had been a HP for a few years already, they tried telling me it wouldnt work. they called back the next day to say they beat the rate.

20 minutes on hold so far...imagine the policy is to leave the person on hold for 15+ minutes hoping they hang up ;)

It *seemed* pretty simple to me. Easyclicktravel had a Hyatt Place room for $125 and it was selling for $150 on Hyatt.com.

Update: To Hyatt's credit they just approved the rate and I saved $50 /night! Worth the 25 minutes on hold

The handling times are rather long. It's too bad that the mainline reservation agents cannot just do it themselves too, for then the time to get it done would be a lot faster for customers calling in to Hyatt for BRGs.

I've done it twice, and twice successfully, through German CS. The agent checked the website offering (hotels.com) while on the phone, and told me to call back on the same day. Worked perfectly, resulting in substantial savings both times.^

I'm glad to hear Hyatt actually enforces their BRG. I haven't tried booking from other sites yet but definitely going to start checking prices and try this next time. ^