scubaccr

I have always interpreted IHG Hotels "cancel until 6pm" as that 6pm is too late to cancel

The term "until" will however be interpreted how they like by the company that wrote the actual terms as the meaning , as to when 1759 ends

until 1759 would by any fair minded and reasonable person be taken to include 1759 and not include 1800 ; and similarly until 1800 taken as meaning not to include 1800 due to the significance of the clock hour changeing

Either way IHG management will not want to have IHG brand damaged by using such Sophistry over 1759 v 1800 to deny a BPG claim

nacho

I'm not sure if they care - I have had BRG turned down with all sorts of bogus reasons. I think this is just their way of making sure that the BRG claim doesn't go through, as their terms said everything has to be identical so there is 1 minute difference between 17:59 and 18:00.

If it was me I'd probably publish that paragraph on IHG's social media pages.

iggyray

What a flop of a policy. The price difference is $50 mind you...

We have verified the website www.booking.com and were able to locate the corresponding rates for your stay. Our records show that the reservation you have booked can be cancelled before 6:00 PM (local hotel time) on Wednesday, 7 October, 2015 without any penalty. On the other hand, the rate posted on the third-party website only allows free cancellation up until 07 October, 2015. Please be advised that this would make the lower rate being claimed more restrictive than the reservation you have booked and as such we are unable to compare the two rates for the purpose of the Guarantee.

IAN-UK

Of course it's annoying, but the cancellation business has always been crucial in comparing flexible bookings.

Your consolation is that you are free to cancel the IHG stay, and book at $50 cheaper with booking.com: or go elsewhere. Those trying the BRG on advanced-purchase bookings don't have that safeguard.

want2fly4less

An easy and fast success with IHG for an Hotel in Dusseldorf.

I`ve found a new ota for my shortlist.

Ps.: It was really faster than the SPG BRG ...

iggyray

So, you're saying that they may deliberately place a different cancellation time for different OTAs even within a couple of hours difference and then claim the rate ineligible?

Pseudo Nim

So my father claimed a BRG, and was approved. The hotel charged him the rate, he paid, and now he has to get reimbursed by check. Unfortunately, he had the wrong address on his profile. Anyone has experience with this? I offered them a bank account, but they refused and insist on sending it to the (wrong) address. He updated the address on his profile, but that's forward-going, and not retroactive. Any ideas?

patgarrett

They're very strict about this in my experience. Can you not arrange for the check to be forwarded?

Pseudo Nim

Sadly, no. It was through my own negligence, but since I never get (useful) paper mail, I assumed neither would my father, so I never told him to update his address after he moved on. Whoops. This is going to be an expensive lesson to keep profiles up to date...

patgarrett

The check is mailed from IHG in the US -- I would pursue it with their Corporate department.

mitpat474

Could you not tell them you had just moved home after your stay?

Pseudo Nim

That might work. Any idea where to reach them, or just email IHGCare?

They told me to call USPS to arrange for mail forwarding.

mnelson

I've had good response times lately. Got a BRG on a nonrefundable rate approved in 4 1/2 hours. Mid-priced Crowne Plaza that I would've been okay paying for anyway (even if it wouldn't have been my #1 choice paying cash), so risk was small.

Also, I've had better luck with nonrefundable rates. Gotten really unusual to find flex rates whose terms actually match up 100%. But nonrefundable vs. nonrefundable you can find BRG opportunities even on the big / well-known OTAs. I've only done this with sub-$200 properties, though; I don't want the risk of paying out of pocket for a $500 room.

In fact the particular property I BRGd is still showing a discount on lots of other sites, days later. The prices go up and down on both ihg.com and elsewhere, but the OTA rates are consistently discounted 10-15%. Not sure what this property's game is, but it seems deliberate. Maybe they make enough money from the strategy of overpricing on ihg.com and discounting on OTAs that they just blatantly ignore IHG's best-rate policy, and don't care if they have to pay out a few BRG claims? I don't even feel like I'm gaming the system in this case, because the BRG guarantee is exactly intended to deal with these kinds of properties who refuse to offer their best rate on the official site.

jonathanev

Interesting you had a response in 4.5 hours. I put a claim in on Saturday and nothing back 4 days later.
Given the phone number has been discontinued is there any way to chase up a claim if they never get back?

babypuwet

I had the same situation earlier this year. I had to wait about 4 months for them to make sure that I did not receive the first check and then another two months for the customer care to contact their accounting department to change my address. So, around 6 months total, but in the end, I did receive a check. However, since my hotel was in France and the euro had such a big fall compared to USD, my reimbursement check was significantly less than what I had actually paid for the room.