limelight

Oh, it looks like some hotels are not happy with this...

BRG for Paris, Le Grand. Sent in yesterday. Confirmed and approved by email: 'We have verified the lower rate you found... We have contacted the hotel and requested your reservation be changed to complimentary one night stay with breakfast.'

This morning, and they've clearly been on the phone with some Parisians: 'Following our message a day ago, we would like to inform that the hotel was not able to provide complimentary stay.'

The rate in question was (and remains) publicly available to anyone on the internet, bookable by anyone without restrictions or affiliation requirements. I've written back (the excuse in their email was that the rate wasn't available to the general public - nonsense, but clearly the real reason was that said Parisians told them in no uncertain terms they wouldn't honour the guarantee). We'll see how it goes.

IHG should be careful, though - especially about making free-night promises before they talk to hotels. If hotels aren't on board, and do push back, this could end up costing them goodwill, rather than generating it.

limelight

And the plot thickens. Le Grand, where my BRG was first approved, then denied (post above) has now been pulled from the site where I found the lower rate. No rooms/no rates/no dates. They're quite determined when they want to be, these folk.

Errata

How strange. I also noted that Le Grand has been pulled from my BRG site.

I have, however, had more luck with my claim. Less than a day after the generic BRG "contacting the hotel" email, I received an amended reservation confirmation from IHG with:

for my stay at Le Grand in December.

Good luck to anyone having trouble with this one though - I would suggest you get on the phone to the BRG people and ask for an explanation. Once they verify it then in theory the hotel should not be able to decline it provided the BRG agent hasn't messed up the claim somehow (which I highly doubt as they seem to be incredibly meticulous). Regardless, in my opinion you should get your complimentary first night no matter whether IHG or the hotel loses out: it's not the guest's problem and you have simply taken advantage of their guarantee, to which you have remained within the terms and conditions.

My surmisal is that they have been inundated with BRG requests over the last week and are taking a stand against giving their supposedly high-value rooms away for zero centimes. Sacrebleu.

tinkybelle

Thank you for contacting our office regarding Best Price Guarantee in reference to rates at the InterContinental MELBOURNE THE RIALTO. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you with this matter.

Per the terms of the program, your reservation needs to be booked at the best available rate on a InterContinental Hotels Group website. As there is a lower rate available for this hotel on our website, it does not qualify for the Lowest Rate Guarantee.

In order to qualify, please change your reservation to an Advance Purchase rate. Please be reminded that this is a non cancelable and non refundable reservation. Please reply to this email once you already changed the reservation to an Advance Purchase rate with 24 hours.

Shimon

After them finally accepting hotels in the Greater China region are eligible for the BPG. My ambassador status kicked in and upgraded my room.

Now they are denying me for booking the wrong room level. Moral: take screenshots of everything including the IHG website.

You know, the harder they try and deny us, the harder we are going to push to other people to make the same BRG. So it is just going to back fire on them. This will be very short lived. Maybe we should go easy on the claims just so management keeps this policy alive for more than 1 week?

al613

May be we'll start posting BRG successes in similar to Marriott format?

zerafa

good program, i don't think i will ever find a rate that will work, as i book the company discount rate with special conditions

bsb21

I think the problem here is that BRG agents must contact the hotel to comp the night.

With Wyndham and the other major chains, the BRG agent is the one who changes the reservation (either applying a discount or comp).

No need to involve the hotel and no suprise that the people at Le Grande are pissed about this.

paulmoscow

It's one of the few IHG-owned hotels. Once again the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

bsb21

Didnt know that! Interesting.

However, its not a matter of knowing, its a matter of doing.

Corp tells you, you carry it out. End of story.

The situation where the BRG agent confirmed a free night and then latter (after probably talking to the hotel) decided that the free night would not be offered, speaks very badly of IHG.

Sad

bsb21

Just recieved this email:

"Thank you for contacting our office regarding the Best Price Guarantee in reference to rates at the InterContinental ***. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you. We have documented your comments under reference number InterContinental *** and would like to review the rates available on the website you mentioned. Please allow some time for us to process your claim. We will contact you via e-mail once we have completed the verification process."

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Btw, my booking is for a very, very, nice suite!

blindman

I think each individaul agent responds differently. I've had two different confirmations
BTW
I hope you took a screen shot of the 3rd Party web-site page.

Errata

Am I right in thinking that if there is a room type cheaper than a suite then that must be booked?

For example, there is a superior (€300), deluxe (€380) and suite (€800) available on AP with breakfast rates. I book the suite. If I find a cheaper rate on a third party site for a suite with breakfast then would I qualify as I haven't booked the cheapest available rate?

I was under the impression that the single cheapest rate had to be booked regardless of room type (either on an inclusive or non-inclusive breakfast rate), but other FTers seem to be booking suites! Maybe these were the cheapest available at the given time? If anyone has any tips for IC suite booking or hotels where they've tried it on please PM me, as I would love to have an excuse for renewing my AMB membership given that I don't stay at IC that much any more...

hann

It seems that booking sites where a voucher is involved are no longer accepted

frankxinyu

from my experience today, i can tell you

This policy does NOT work! absolute bull$hit!

booked a room at Holiday-Inn Brisbane (AUS) for $230 on priorityclub.com.

then i went on to Qantas.com and found the exact same room available for $179..so i thought, okay time to give them a call.

after calling the number listed, was transfered to HK. The agent could barely speak any english, after 40 minutes on the phone showing her every step of booking the room on Qantas.com, she started throwing questions like how Qantas settles their booking etc.

I told her it is none of my concern, all i want is to book the room.

another 20 minutes on the phone with her, she told me 'sorry we can not match the price as Qantas.com is a different company to us (damn right it is) '

and she had the audacity to tell me if i like the price on qantas.com, why dont i cancel the booking and book through them?

I did cancel the booking and i booked sofitel instead.

ICH, you have lost my platinum PC business forever!