Jul 8, 2013, 11:43 am
Last edit by: FLYGVA
Recent discussion (After January 01, 2016) could be found in this thread.
Most important points to consider for a valid BRG:
1. The comparison website MUST bill in the same currency as the hotel .
2. The cancellation terms must be equal or better, than the terms by the hotels.
3. The Website needs to provide INSTANT confirmation.
4. The room names should match, but if you can demonstrate, that the room is comparable, it will also work with discrepancies in the name.
5. The price difference has to be more than either USD 1 or 1% (whichever is higher).
5.b In regards to hotels located in australia and New Zealand the price difference must be greater than 3% .
Hotels for which you will get reimbursed:
(Note: There have been significant problems with getting full reimbursements from IHG, especially for reimbursements in other currencies than USD)
IC Istanbul ( BRG claim from the 17.05.2013/ "Technical Difficulties")
IC Frankfurt ( BRG claim from the 20.08.2013/ "Technical Difficulties")
Link to the Terms and Conditions : https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/cus...rms-conditions
Most important points to consider for a valid BRG:
1. The comparison website MUST bill in the same currency as the hotel .
2. The cancellation terms must be equal or better, than the terms by the hotels.
3. The Website needs to provide INSTANT confirmation.
4. The room names should match, but if you can demonstrate, that the room is comparable, it will also work with discrepancies in the name.
5. The price difference has to be more than either USD 1 or 1% (whichever is higher).
5.b In regards to hotels located in australia and New Zealand the price difference must be greater than 3% .
Hotels for which you will get reimbursed:
(Note: There have been significant problems with getting full reimbursements from IHG, especially for reimbursements in other currencies than USD)
IC Istanbul ( BRG claim from the 17.05.2013/ "Technical Difficulties")
IC Frankfurt ( BRG claim from the 20.08.2013/ "Technical Difficulties")
Link to the Terms and Conditions : https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/cus...rms-conditions
New IHG Best Rate Guarantee - Discussion & Feedback
Jul 16, 2013, 12:58 pm
#4261
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N/A
Programs: 100m swimming certificate level 5
Posts: 1,456
Indeed, but that wasn't the scenario I was setting.
Get a BRG for hotel 1 on August the 1st. Get a BRG for hotel 2 on August the 3rd (the 2 hotels are only a few miles apart). Do a points booking in hotel 1 for august 2nd.
Hotel may turn the BRG booking and the points booking into 1 stay on arrival. This will then effectively be a stay including a BRG, which will be consecutive with another BRG stay, in hotels that are less than 50 miles apart.Hotel 2 might say, you've just checked-out of a hotel today which was a BRG stay.
BRG T&C talk about nights not stays, but it might be viewed as trying to circumvent the intention of the guarantee.
Get a BRG for hotel 1 on August the 1st. Get a BRG for hotel 2 on August the 3rd (the 2 hotels are only a few miles apart). Do a points booking in hotel 1 for august 2nd.
Hotel may turn the BRG booking and the points booking into 1 stay on arrival. This will then effectively be a stay including a BRG, which will be consecutive with another BRG stay, in hotels that are less than 50 miles apart.Hotel 2 might say, you've just checked-out of a hotel today which was a BRG stay.
BRG T&C talk about nights not stays, but it might be viewed as trying to circumvent the intention of the guarantee.
Jul 16, 2013, 1:34 pm
#4262
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Tyrone,EU
Programs: Avios Hunter
Posts: 2,811
Did you ask about paying for the middle night? Seems counter-productive that their BRG terms stops them from having any opportunity to get a paid middle night from me, either directly in cash, or via getting paid for the reward night from IHG.
Jul 16, 2013, 2:46 pm
#4263
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N/A
Programs: 100m swimming certificate level 5
Posts: 1,456
Yep cash/points/brg you cant "bridge" the stay within 50 miles, only way to counter is put middle night in partners name..
Jul 16, 2013, 3:30 pm
#4264
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Tyrone,EU
Programs: Avios Hunter
Posts: 2,811
I'll give it a go anyhow. I know that it was me that raised this as a potential issue, but in practise, unless one or other hotels really look at your account for some reason, it won't be noticed. Assuming both BRGs are adv purchase (really the only ones I find these days), I'll try and get both hotels to refund the cc payment prior to booking the points night. At this stage they'll be resigned to giving the free night and unlikely to be looking for a reason to back out. Will only be an issue if one or other hotel doesn't want to honour the BRG and IHG is doing a refund. I could see IHG looking for a reason to retrospectively not pay out.
Last edited by tangey; Jul 16, 2013 at 3:37 pm
Jul 16, 2013, 5:33 pm
#4265
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,088
I'll give it a go anyhow. I know that it was me that raised this as a potential issue, but in practise, unless one or other hotels really look at your account for some reason, it won't be noticed. Assuming both BRGs are adv purchase (really the only ones I find these days), I'll try and get both hotels to refund the cc payment prior to booking the points night. At this stage they'll be resigned to giving the free night and unlikely to be looking for a reason to back out. Will only be an issue if one or other hotel doesn't want to honour the BRG and IHG is doing a refund. I could see IHG looking for a reason to retrospectively not pay out.
How smoothly a BRG goes depending on how the hotel handles it IMO. As long as you don't start to request this and that to catch their attention, you should be ok.
Jul 17, 2013, 2:24 am
#4266
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 727
I have a valid BRG claim for 2 adults for 1 night in December including breakfast. After a few days the rate got ammended to house comp, then a week later it got changed to an adv purchase room only rate for 3 adults and is over Ł100 per night....
I contacted the BPG team and they say they are waiting to hear back from the hotel and worst case scenario is that I will be charged and then need to claim it back.
I've got printouts of the BPG claim response email, the original reservation and luckily also when it was house comp (from the mobile site)
Obviously the hotel is playing funny buggers
I contacted the BPG team and they say they are waiting to hear back from the hotel and worst case scenario is that I will be charged and then need to claim it back.
I've got printouts of the BPG claim response email, the original reservation and luckily also when it was house comp (from the mobile site)
Obviously the hotel is playing funny buggers
Jul 17, 2013, 2:38 am
#4267
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N/A
Programs: 100m swimming certificate level 5
Posts: 1,456
I have a valid BRG claim for 2 adults for 1 night in December including breakfast. After a few days the rate got ammended to house comp, then a week later it got changed to an adv purchase room only rate for 3 adults and is over Ł100 per night....
I contacted the BPG team and they say they are waiting to hear back from the hotel and worst case scenario is that I will be charged and then need to claim it back.
I've got printouts of the BPG claim response email, the original reservation and luckily also when it was house comp (from the mobile site)
Obviously the hotel is playing funny buggers
I contacted the BPG team and they say they are waiting to hear back from the hotel and worst case scenario is that I will be charged and then need to claim it back.
I've got printouts of the BPG claim response email, the original reservation and luckily also when it was house comp (from the mobile site)
Obviously the hotel is playing funny buggers
Jul 17, 2013, 4:01 am
#4268
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,088
Another FTer got it reimbursed through bank transfer (he lives in the US and his bank charged him for receiving $ from IHG), and IHG does not cover the cost of transfer.
The easiest is to get a cheque from them if it's possible - it's the fastest way.
Jul 17, 2013, 8:14 am
#4269
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N/A
Programs: 100m swimming certificate level 5
Posts: 1,456
Any thoughts/experiences of booking a classic (IHG) vs Standard (3rd party) room would be ok?
Jul 17, 2013, 8:29 am
#4270
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Tyrone,EU
Programs: Avios Hunter
Posts: 2,811
Can't help, I've only ever gone with exact room description matches. wWould say its highly likely to physically be the same room type, but I definitely wouldn't risk it on a adv pur BRG claim.
Jul 17, 2013, 8:37 am
#4271
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
Another possibility: book flex, call and explain and while on the phone, if theoretically approved, rebook as prepaid.
Jul 17, 2013, 8:43 am
#4272
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N/A
Programs: 100m swimming certificate level 5
Posts: 1,456
Don't do it on prepaid but go ahead if it's flex. Reason being, they follow descriptions word for word - UNLESS you can convince them to phone the hotel and ask, sometimes that works - then this would be valid. The problem is that if you booked a nonref, you've committed already so it's not worth it.
Another possibility: book flex, call and explain and while on the phone, if theoretically approved, rebook as prepaid.
Another possibility: book flex, call and explain and while on the phone, if theoretically approved, rebook as prepaid.
I got what your saying
, if I get the right kind of agent that might work, other wise its like blood outta stone!! 
ta
Jul 17, 2013, 9:12 am
#4273
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
I kind of do wonder how that website's customers would have felt were they to book it with no explicit cancellation options only to find out it's nonref after... then again, since it was a major Middle Eastern airline, they'd probably just eat the fee and not blink.
Jul 17, 2013, 10:30 am
#4274
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: N/A
Programs: 100m swimming certificate level 5
Posts: 1,456
its best flex so ill try..try and try till it works 
Jul 17, 2013, 10:34 am
#4275
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Amsterdam, Asia, UK
Programs: IHG RA (Spire), HH Diamond, MR Platinum, SQ Gold, KLM Gold, BAEC Gold
Posts: 5,072
Unless you have an expanded description on ATP site that matches the description on IHG Hotels site, if the headline 'short room descriptions' are differently worded, only book if on flex.