Oct 5, 2018, 3:54 pm
Last edit by: margarita girl
Marriott's Best Rate Guarantee Discussion Thread
This thread is about Marriott's BRG. If you don't know what BRG is - here's the Marriott BRG and here's the claim form.
If you're not satisfied with the outcome of your claim and wish for a second review you may reply back by email or call Marriott's BRG hotline 1-800-771-5665. A human is available at this number beginning at 9 am EST.
If you are new to this, and would like to ask fellow FTers questions regarding BRGs, then this thread is the place to start.
Hotel Name:
Date of stay:
Number of Guests:
Room Type:
Marriott Brand Website Rate:
Competing Rate:
Actual Approved Rate:
This thread is about Marriott's BRG. If you don't know what BRG is - here's the Marriott BRG and here's the claim form.
If you're not satisfied with the outcome of your claim and wish for a second review you may reply back by email or call Marriott's BRG hotline 1-800-771-5665. A human is available at this number beginning at 9 am EST.
If you are new to this, and would like to ask fellow FTers questions regarding BRGs, then this thread is the place to start.
Hotel Name:
Date of stay:
Number of Guests:
Room Type:
Marriott Brand Website Rate:
Competing Rate:
Actual Approved Rate:
Marriott BRG Best Rate Guarantee (formerly LNF) Success, failure & discussion thread
Dec 5, 2018, 1:43 am
#286
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,046
SPG BRGs used to work this way. (I suppose they still do)
The headline rate is set to $1 and the actual BRG rate is mentioned in the reservation notes. Eventually the hotel will update the rate to the correct one. Maybe 1 time out of 50 they won't and you get a nearly free stay...
The headline rate is set to $1 and the actual BRG rate is mentioned in the reservation notes. Eventually the hotel will update the rate to the correct one. Maybe 1 time out of 50 they won't and you get a nearly free stay...
Dec 5, 2018, 2:48 am
#287
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 902
This shouldn’t be happening anymore after the migration on Nov. 26.
Dec 5, 2018, 3:28 am
#288
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: perth
Programs: SPG(LTG), QANTAS gold, Korean, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,500
Dec 5, 2018, 4:10 am
#289
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,482
Dec 5, 2018, 10:59 am
#291
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 902
If they fail to update the rate, you’re in the luck. I’ve had that happen to me once, long time ago.
Dec 5, 2018, 10:33 pm
#292
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 4
I'm a little puzzled about how LNF works when the hotel charges for an extra person per room.
I found on Otel a total (inclusive of taxes) of $825 AUD for a room at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in April for a Standard room, and found it was more expensive direct on the Marriott site. So I booked on Marriott directly, lodge a LNF, and was successful. However looking at the total, it's about $50 AUD more expensive still because of this extra person charge.
I have been back and forth via email, and they explain that they divided the $825 AUD per night by 3, and then took the 25% off which is fine, but the extra person charge bumps it up over $825. If I book with Otel, I'm not going to suddenly get the additional person charge when I arrive at the hotel right?
I found on Otel a total (inclusive of taxes) of $825 AUD for a room at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in April for a Standard room, and found it was more expensive direct on the Marriott site. So I booked on Marriott directly, lodge a LNF, and was successful. However looking at the total, it's about $50 AUD more expensive still because of this extra person charge.
I have been back and forth via email, and they explain that they divided the $825 AUD per night by 3, and then took the 25% off which is fine, but the extra person charge bumps it up over $825. If I book with Otel, I'm not going to suddenly get the additional person charge when I arrive at the hotel right?
Dec 6, 2018, 2:40 am
#293
In memoriam
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: MAN
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, IHG Spire, UA Silver, Dennis The Menace Fan Club
Posts: 1,457
Sorry, Milky, but this is a Marriott forum, not an Otel forum. How individual OTAs sell rooms varies by each travel agent, but generally ordinary hotel policies apply to bookings, so the Marriott supplement will probably apply to the Otel one too. But I don’t have your booking confirmation and am certainly not inclined to read through Otels pages of T&Cs either, I’ll leave that task to you, it’s enough trouble mastering Marriotts T&Cs!
Of course you could call Otel, but whatever reply you get make sure you get it in writing!
Of course you could call Otel, but whatever reply you get make sure you get it in writing!
Dec 6, 2018, 8:30 am
#294
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: ANA,Qantas,asiamiles,Royal Skies,Enrich
Posts: 198
I'm a little puzzled about how LNF works when the hotel charges for an extra person per room.
I found on Otel a total (inclusive of taxes) of $825 AUD for a room at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in April for a Standard room, and found it was more expensive direct on the Marriott site. So I booked on Marriott directly, lodge a LNF, and was successful. However looking at the total, it's about $50 AUD more expensive still because of this extra person charge.
I have been back and forth via email, and they explain that they divided the $825 AUD per night by 3, and then took the 25% off which is fine, but the extra person charge bumps it up over $825. If I book with Otel, I'm not going to suddenly get the additional person charge when I arrive at the hotel right?
I found on Otel a total (inclusive of taxes) of $825 AUD for a room at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in April for a Standard room, and found it was more expensive direct on the Marriott site. So I booked on Marriott directly, lodge a LNF, and was successful. However looking at the total, it's about $50 AUD more expensive still because of this extra person charge.
I have been back and forth via email, and they explain that they divided the $825 AUD per night by 3, and then took the 25% off which is fine, but the extra person charge bumps it up over $825. If I book with Otel, I'm not going to suddenly get the additional person charge when I arrive at the hotel right?
Dec 6, 2018, 10:53 am
#295
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Iowa City, IA
Posts: 337
Not really, it’s more of a tail wagging the dog. Design hotels was an independent group of properties playing together under the Design name. Eventually after decades of independence Starwood took a majority stake and hence that passed to Marriott. The problem is the detail here, the hotels are all independent each one signing up to Design hotels which in its turn signed up to Starwood, who in its turn took a majority stake which then ended up in Marriotts hands.
The final contractural mishmash clearly doesn’t give Marriott the control it would dearly like to exercise and the Design hoteliers clearly dislike the LNF scheme, indeed its limited participation in SPG and now Marriott Rewards indicates that the hoteliers themselves are pretty lukewarm about the benefit of the program itself. It is noticeable that all the brands Marriott controls are on LNF but Design, a brand it inherited from SPG on an indirect structure is proving able to flex its semi-independent muscles.
This is proof of Marriotts lack of control rather than its icy grip!
I mean I get all of that, and as PointWeasel mentioned, the brg process before was sketchy at best, but Marriott either needs to remove them from the Portfolio or do something that further segregates them from the other hotels. I'm currently looking at the Hotel Habita in Mexico City, its $200 a night on marriott, $250 a night on Design Hotels website, and $140 a night on every single OTA. Its my understanding that while these hotels are part of the Design Hotels group, they individually can decide whether to participate in the SPG (now Marriott) rewards program. The way this system is run it obviously provides no benefits to anyone booking on the Marriott site. Its like whats the point? At least pre-merger SPG did a decent job of relaying that the Design Hotels came with a different set of rules. Now that its Marriott you have to dig through the fine print. I shouldn't have to read halfway through the terms and conditions to see that Design Hotels aren't even covered anymore
Dec 6, 2018, 12:37 pm
#296
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
I have noticed in the last month or so that the cancellation policies available from marriott.com rather that OTA's are varying ever so slightly on old SPG brands when they never used to. Often just 24 hours difference but sometimes a week at resorts, so cancel within 7 days in Marriott.com and 14 days on the ota's. I am feeling this is the new tactic by Marriott to make sure LNF claims can be refused and give the hotels a way to get round things!
I get it's their choice but I am certainly finding it pushing me away from Marriott brand properties! I just wondered if others had noticed a similar trend?
I get it's their choice but I am certainly finding it pushing me away from Marriott brand properties! I just wondered if others had noticed a similar trend?
Dec 6, 2018, 5:00 pm
#297
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: perth
Programs: SPG(LTG), QANTAS gold, Korean, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,500
I have noticed in the last month or so that the cancellation policies available from marriott.com rather that OTA's are varying ever so slightly on old SPG brands when they never used to. Often just 24 hours difference but sometimes a week at resorts, so cancel within 7 days in Marriott.com and 14 days on the ota's. I am feeling this is the new tactic by Marriott to make sure LNF claims can be refused and give the hotels a way to get round things!
I get it's their choice but I am certainly finding it pushing me away from Marriott brand properties! I just wondered if others had noticed a similar trend?
I get it's their choice but I am certainly finding it pushing me away from Marriott brand properties! I just wondered if others had noticed a similar trend?
Dec 7, 2018, 12:50 am
#298
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
Dec 7, 2018, 2:42 am
#299
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,038
This is my experience as well, the practice employed at LNF is to classify the comparing rate as "flexible" not nitpicking at the details in the booking conditions, i.e. refundable deposit, x days before arrival etc.
This is in my view one of the more positive aspects of the LNF program. I would argue that it in some aspects is better than the SPG BRG program, which also was a strong program, since you can play the flex premium on marriott.com, which was not possible in the SPG BRG program. I have always wondered why marriott have this very liberal interpretation of flexible OTA rates. I guess it must be a business reason of sorts perhaps trying to get the properties to funnel more business through marriott.com.
If you compare to Hilton, Hyatt and IHG the Marriott LNF program stands out in the sense that it actually aims to funnel more business to the web page than just act as a cover for a marketing slogan.
I for one have 94 nights YTD with marriott and all have been flex LNF rates... none had exact matching booking conditions.
This is in my view one of the more positive aspects of the LNF program. I would argue that it in some aspects is better than the SPG BRG program, which also was a strong program, since you can play the flex premium on marriott.com, which was not possible in the SPG BRG program. I have always wondered why marriott have this very liberal interpretation of flexible OTA rates. I guess it must be a business reason of sorts perhaps trying to get the properties to funnel more business through marriott.com.
If you compare to Hilton, Hyatt and IHG the Marriott LNF program stands out in the sense that it actually aims to funnel more business to the web page than just act as a cover for a marketing slogan.
I for one have 94 nights YTD with marriott and all have been flex LNF rates... none had exact matching booking conditions.
Dec 7, 2018, 4:56 am
#300
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
A quick question, if on Marriott.com there is package that includes breakfast and parking that cancellable and is cheaper than a room only rate but I wish to compare to a room only rate on a OTA is that not allowed? Do I have to book the package on Marriott.com and compare against the package with OTA?
Basically the Package rate on Marriott is cheaper than the Member Room only rate.
I can find a room only rate on an OTA that is cheaper than either marriott rate, but I have submitted a LNF claim againt the Marriott Room Only Rate but been denied as they say I didn't book the cheapest rate on marriott.com
Basically it means I have no way to claim against the cheaper OTA rate.
Basically the Package rate on Marriott is cheaper than the Member Room only rate.
I can find a room only rate on an OTA that is cheaper than either marriott rate, but I have submitted a LNF claim againt the Marriott Room Only Rate but been denied as they say I didn't book the cheapest rate on marriott.com
Basically it means I have no way to claim against the cheaper OTA rate.