Stealthmode

Thanks for reassuring me EDI.

thenpc

Can someone PM me some websites that have had some success with price matching.

Crowne Plaza Milan is much cheaper (~$100) everywhere else I looked ...but the refund policies are different enough that the claims have been denied for for amoma and alpharooms.

Thanks

pr0digy25

Seriously the response times are just getting worse and worse.

Should get enough people to get a nice AG look at this "guarantee" and slap them with the appropriate penalties, I'm sure IHG is doing something that is deceptive.

amit1978

Took 36 hours to get a reply. Had to cancel as the deadline was approaching rapidly. Previous claim was rejected despite being available on third party website up till 10 minutes before I received my rejection e-mail

yule_boy

Their best rate guarantee was great when it first started but has gradually gotten worse over the last couple of years. I had a successful BRG at the IC Century City the first week it started.

I rarely use it anymore after the multiple changes to the T&C and the decline in the response times have rendered the whole process a farce. It does make for a great tag line on their marketing materials though.

Pseudo Nim

Are we seriously complaining about a gift horse here

I agree the BRG has gotten harder in recent years, but I also know people who milked it so hard they'd basically live in free hotels. Imagine they went with the same BRG as SPG or Hyatt? Much less restrictive but only a price beat by 10%. Imagine the uproar that would cause?

I'll take the current BRG program over the others', thanks. I've successfully used it for inconvenient overnights, and though I won't wax lyrical about their response times, I'd be loath to crap on it, too.

Amyrlin

I also agree. Despite the problems it is still a decent guarantee.

I have used BRG's but it is prob. only in the spirit it was intended, it has been for genuine stays, along paid stays, and where I would have been staying anyway.

I also have to say that although there have been some delays to the responses, I have not had any turned down.

notahappycamper

Their response time for my last two claims was over 50 hours. I miss the old days of calling it in, thanks again Dan (...).
An update since IHG closing my account a year ago. I realize they probably closed my account because I registered for every code, I could, listed on the IHG Master Promo thread. Of course to this date no one has let me know why. I have done hundreds of successful BRGs for myself and friends and family. Shoving it up IHG's hindquarters has become a leisurely past time for me. May they burn in hell forever and have their name wiped from the face of the earth.

mitpat474

+1 , people want easy BRGs free nights.

shonamac

For those of us who do not know, please do tell

mitpat474

A blogger who posted a brg link to the IC in NY and basically had 100s of claims put in for the same hotel. Also the brg department were flooded with calls taking hours to answer which resulted in a change to T&Cs and removal of the option to call in for claims.

heythere55

wow, so it's true.. The lower price on the 3rd party website dissapeared for me as well just before I got the rejection email... so that is how they operate...can we complain anywhere?

IAN-UK

I've managed to use it a couple of times a year, and it works just fine for me.

Not as straightforward as it first was, but there you are.

jaykayham

Hi, can anyone PM me successful webpages for the BRG in Belgium/Finland?

All my claims have been turned down so far as the hotel description was not matching, e.g.
Standard Twin bathroom opposite Standard Twin shower...

dgt37

Has anyone else had an issue in NZ or aus with the 1.5% rule? Logic would suggest that as the 1.5% is a compulsory charge for the advance purchase rate, it is effectively already 1.5% more expensive than most OTAs. I then found a cheaper rate by more than 1% and they denied it saying it needs to be more than 1.5% of the original rate without the service fee... so in effect the service fee has nothing to do with it. Am I missing something here?

The rate from IHG is $648, add the compulsory service fee and its $657.72

Competitor is $639.50 all in so its about $18 cheaper or over 2.5% when you include the compulsory fee..

Here is the reply:

"we were able to see the rate you were claiming listed and available. However, please be advised that the minimum difference between the two prices must be 1.5%. As checked, the 1.5% equivalent of IHG site’s rate is NZD 9.72 (1.5% of NZD 648). On the other hand, the difference between the two prices is NZD 8.50.

COMPUTATION

Computation A [1% or Benchmark]: NZD 648 * 0.015 = NZD 9.72

Computation B [USD 1 or Difference]: NZD 648 - NZD 639.50 = NZD 8.50

The minimum difference should at least reach the benchmark of NZD 9.72 to meet 6. e. Matching Prices - Australia/New Zealand. In Australia and New Zealand, due to credit card transaction fees that are applied at the hotel, there must be a minimum difference of 1.5% in the nightly room price and the nightly total room cost or the average nightly room price and the average nightly total room cost, to have a valid claim.

Given the above, it is with regret to inform you that we will not be able to extend the Guarantee for this particular reservation"