To be honest, my own answer to this question is no, yet I want some feedback from the folks here.

I am continuously monitoring a set of competing websites for my upcoming vacation, and as of yesterday one of them did something strange: They changed the way they display the price. Previously they quoted the price as anybody else does, i.e. base-rate and then add the local taxes and some other fees on top of that - and in fact have such a display for one of the five rates shown for the property in question.

However, the other four rates are $10 a night - and then a boatload of taxes, bringing the total to an almost identical amount after taxes as with the other way of displaying rates. This type of rate-display is not shown for all hotels or all dates, yet for quite a few - mostly Residence Inn and Sheraton hotels.

So looking at the T&C of the Look-no-further-Guarantee, this is what Marriott stipulates in regard to the comparison rate:

So given this pretty clear statement and the fact that the payable total (i.e. including tax) is of an amount that makes it very likely that the competing site does this way of displaying intentionally (so it is not a typo or input-error when loading rates), would not the Look no further guarantee apply to the $10 base-rate?

FWIW, the total rate with tax based on the $10/night base-rate on the competing site is higher than the total rate with tax on marriott.com and lower than marriott.com when displayed the "classic" way.

So - what's your stand on this? Should one try to pick up the fight for the $7.50/night Look-no-further rate, or just let it be? I'm very interested in what you would do in such a situation...

Greetings - Dirk

when I use a comparison website that only displays NETT, I just file the LNF NETT (w. taxes from Marriott.com) and then put in the comparison sites NET amount, then in the notes below say, compared NETT to NETT........... never had an approval problem (yet).............

I don't see any reason not to, unless the amount is too small. In the very worst case you get a 'no'.

Well. I thought that in the end pushing this through might damage the LNF-procedure as whole, given that Marriott certainly never intended to give away a room for $7.50 a night just because another website decided to display an extremly low base-rate and then overly inflate taxes&fees to make up for that...basically lifting the total rpice to be paid all things included to or even above the total price of the marriott.com rate.

Greetings - Dirk

I once had a $0.02 rate for the Marriott Grand in Moscow....... decided not to put in an LNF and also decided to notify MC and the prop of what was obviously (at least I thought so) an incorrectly inputted rate............... low and behold, the prop confirmed that it was a valid rate, only not a publically available rate even though it was found on Marriott.com!
Weird things do happen.........

Dirk, thanks for your efforts in preserving the LNF

I didn't realise it was $7.5. I thought it was a 'random' figure, I guess I won't push it through since the rate is so low already.

So what about the taxes and fees? I'm really wondering how much it would be to make the rate becomes 'expensive'.

Dirk,

Even if you suceed in getting the base reduced by 25% to $7.50., would not the taxes and fees still present the same problem as the standard $10.00 rate = very high taxes and fee, evaporate most of the BRG saving?

What is the overall savings if the rate was approved?

To make it more clear, here's the real-number sample. For a three-night weekend-stay, these are the rates that are displayed on

marriott.com:

$129 per night = $387 plus $38.70 tax => $425.70

competing site:

$10 per night = $31 plus $410 tax => $441

Hope this clarifies things a little...

Greetings - Dirk

huh, the rates and taxes literally look backwards in the comp site.......

Err...no, since Marriott always charges the actual taxes once the LNF is approved, so nightly with tax would be in the $8 range with vs. $143 without LNF...

@BKKLEE: It indeed looks like that, but there is no stringent path there. As said it's just an example, I also have a Westin that has $27 rates with over $300 tax daily when the rates start at $279 plus tax on westin.com.

Greetings - Dirk

Dirk, I see what you said about not wanting to ruin LNF. However the tax from the comparison site is insane and if you file a claim it will definitely catch some attention.

However I think the comparison site is also very misleading - even if Marriott removed them afterwards it's not that bad.

Sounds like one of those shady sides trying to bait people with a really low rate on the search, then throwing all the fees on... pretty much like how airlines were doing before the law was passed to make it up front including all taxes/fees. That nasty airline Spirit was particularly bad about it... a $9 "ticket" ends up costing a couple hundred after they get done fleecing you.

Actually no. It's a rather reputable site that is around for a long time and part of a group of travel-providers that has a very decent reputation. And as said, it changed for some of the hotels they offer just recently...I'd rather guess they have some database-mixup.

Greetings - Dirk

I understand your concern about damaging the LNF program. While I'm the first to say 'go for it' when it comes to LNF claims, this does give one pause... Although, my instincts say that Marriott is more likely to go after the site and the way they display their pricing rather than change their LNF policy.

I would love to know the site to see what's going on with that pricing - could you PM it to me?

Moi aussi, Dirk?