Marriott's Look No Further-Best Rate Guaranteed Master Thread
May 24, 2018, 2:14 pm
#586
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: SNA and BNA depending on work and time of year
Programs: UA Silver/ AA EXP/Hyatt Globalist/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,189
Is this new?
"Per the terms and conditions we are only able to give the 25% discount to 3 rooms per stay, more than 3 rooms will be a matched rate of comparison rate."
I've booked for family events before and never seen the 3 room max.
"Per the terms and conditions we are only able to give the 25% discount to 3 rooms per stay, more than 3 rooms will be a matched rate of comparison rate."
I've booked for family events before and never seen the 3 room max.
May 24, 2018, 3:10 pm
#587
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NYC - upper West Side
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 1,597
I submitted a valid BRG claim which was rejected for the above reasons.
I resubmitted my claim a second time with an admittedly snarky remark telling them they either didn't really look to verify my claim, or didn't look hard enough. It was again rejected with the same wording as before.
This afternoon I re-submitted my claim for a third time. However, this time with a screen shot photo of the lower price from the third party website. And again I ended my e-mail claim with another sarcastic remark (to the effect that if they don't approve it this time, they need to go back to kindergarten to learn how to read).
We'll see what happens now.
NEWMAN
Last edited by hhoope01; Jul 9, 2018 at 12:56 pm Reason: Fixed Signature to fit FT guidelines.
May 27, 2018, 10:48 am
#588
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 1,716
Under the new LNF terms, where the cancellation policies must be identical the Marriott rate and the external site, so this effectively rules out even non-refundable rates since Marriott usually has a 24-hour no penalty cancellation while most OTAs do not. So why continue with the farce of a LNF?
PS. On second thoughts, "look no further" is right, since there is no point in looking at any other sites, you will never be able to get in a claim. Boo
PS. On second thoughts, "look no further" is right, since there is no point in looking at any other sites, you will never be able to get in a claim. Boo
May 28, 2018, 1:46 am
#589
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,071
Got mine approved with no issue, maybe because I haven't done it for a long time.
How straight are they about multiple claims in one city?
With the old Marriott rules you can basically file as many claims as you like and get the discount.
I did my first claim and didn't realize that the lower rate is found on the second night as well. So I filed a second claim for 2 nights and both claims are approved.
How straight are they about multiple claims in one city?
With the old Marriott rules you can basically file as many claims as you like and get the discount.
I did my first claim and didn't realize that the lower rate is found on the second night as well. So I filed a second claim for 2 nights and both claims are approved.
Jun 5, 2018, 10:06 am
#590
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 55
Just received a denial -- I had compared the best available flex rate against a third party flex rate. There was a (minimally) lower Marriott Rewards rate, which in the past was excluded from LNF.
The Marriott agent told me that Marriott Rewards rate is now considered in assessing whether an LNF claim is valid, as Marriott Rewards membership is free (aligning with SPG's interpretation of BRGs vis-a-vis "SPG Members Only Rates" ).
The Marriott agent told me that Marriott Rewards rate is now considered in assessing whether an LNF claim is valid, as Marriott Rewards membership is free (aligning with SPG's interpretation of BRGs vis-a-vis "SPG Members Only Rates" ).
Jun 6, 2018, 11:04 am
#591
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,071
Just received a denial -- I had compared the best available flex rate against a third party flex rate. There was a (minimally) lower Marriott Rewards rate, which in the past was excluded from LNF.
The Marriott agent told me that Marriott Rewards rate is now considered in assessing whether an LNF claim is valid, as Marriott Rewards membership is free (aligning with SPG's interpretation of BRGs vis-a-vis "SPG Members Only Rates" ).
The Marriott agent told me that Marriott Rewards rate is now considered in assessing whether an LNF claim is valid, as Marriott Rewards membership is free (aligning with SPG's interpretation of BRGs vis-a-vis "SPG Members Only Rates" ).
Jun 9, 2018, 6:40 am
#592
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: SPG Platinum, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 235
Anyone encountered this before?
OTA rate is inclusive of service charge and VAT, only city/tourism tax excluded. This is actually how things work in the EU and Middle East.
However the website itself had this sentence mentioning "All taxes included.Any additional city tax (if applicable) to be charged by hotel",
LNF team get back to me, approved my claim but only remove the VAT and not the service charge. I am absolutely sure this is the wrong way to calculate thus i am still fighting this issue with them. Anyone had any prior experience in dealing with this scenario?
OTA rate is inclusive of service charge and VAT, only city/tourism tax excluded. This is actually how things work in the EU and Middle East.
However the website itself had this sentence mentioning "All taxes included.Any additional city tax (if applicable) to be charged by hotel",
LNF team get back to me, approved my claim but only remove the VAT and not the service charge. I am absolutely sure this is the wrong way to calculate thus i am still fighting this issue with them. Anyone had any prior experience in dealing with this scenario?
Jun 10, 2018, 3:34 am
#593
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: EDUU
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, HH Diamond, PC Plat Amb, BA EC Gold, Asiana Diamond, TK Elite
Posts: 193
Anyone encountered this before?
OTA rate is inclusive of service charge and VAT, only city/tourism tax excluded. This is actually how things work in the EU and Middle East.
However the website itself had this sentence mentioning "All taxes included.Any additional city tax (if applicable) to be charged by hotel",
LNF team get back to me, approved my claim but only remove the VAT and not the service charge. I am absolutely sure this is the wrong way to calculate thus i am still fighting this issue with them. Anyone had any prior experience in dealing with this scenario?
OTA rate is inclusive of service charge and VAT, only city/tourism tax excluded. This is actually how things work in the EU and Middle East.
However the website itself had this sentence mentioning "All taxes included.Any additional city tax (if applicable) to be charged by hotel",
LNF team get back to me, approved my claim but only remove the VAT and not the service charge. I am absolutely sure this is the wrong way to calculate thus i am still fighting this issue with them. Anyone had any prior experience in dealing with this scenario?
Jun 10, 2018, 4:27 am
#594
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,071
Same here - you need to find a rate that's excluding taxes if it's possible, otherwise it's totally under their discretion on how they want to deal with it.
Jun 11, 2018, 8:17 am
#595
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,038
Do any of you veteran users of LNF know if MR changed the LNF T&C on the 25th of May and if they did what did they change?
Jun 14, 2018, 2:14 am
#596
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: SIN/BNE
Posts: 814
Anyone gotten their claim approved for a ~$1.35 price difference?
($229.91 vs $228.55)
($229.91 vs $228.55)
Jun 14, 2018, 3:00 am
#597
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: IAH and ORD
Programs: United 1K, Marriott Titanium and LTT
Posts: 163
I just got one approved for a 5,000 JPY difference over 6 nights (so less than $8/night) at the Tokyo Marriott. Worth a try.
Jun 16, 2018, 8:49 pm
#598
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 211
I have. And it's verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry frustrating.
I submitted a valid BRG claim which was rejected for the above reasons.
I resubmitted my claim a second time with an admittedly snarky remark telling them they either didn't really look to verify my claim, or didn't look hard enough. It was again rejected with the same wording as before.
This afternoon I re-submitted my claim for a third time. However, this time with a screen shot photo of the lower price from the third party website. And again I ended my e-mail claim with another sarcastic remark (to the effect that if they don't approve it this time, they need to go back to kindergarten to learn how to read).
We'll see what happens now.
I submitted a valid BRG claim which was rejected for the above reasons.
I resubmitted my claim a second time with an admittedly snarky remark telling them they either didn't really look to verify my claim, or didn't look hard enough. It was again rejected with the same wording as before.
This afternoon I re-submitted my claim for a third time. However, this time with a screen shot photo of the lower price from the third party website. And again I ended my e-mail claim with another sarcastic remark (to the effect that if they don't approve it this time, they need to go back to kindergarten to learn how to read).
We'll see what happens now.
Also was your 3rd claim ever get approved ?
Jun 17, 2018, 11:29 pm
#599
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,038
I have a question to which I would like to hear all your views:
Some background:
With respect to BRG programme goes the major chains have gone down the route of making their BRG programmes less accommodating to the customer.
(1) Hyatt have on a constant basis devalued their BRG program from being very useful to now being pretty much something that you disregard as a meaningless ploy, now Hyatt match the rate +50 USD discount voucher in addition to unrealistic expectations on matching booking conditions
(2) IHG BRG has more or less gone the same route from being very useful to now being an empty shell of what it was, now IHG match rate + some points in addition to unrealistic expectations on matching booking conditions
(3) Hilton still offers 25% off but nowadays requires an exact match of booking conditions which makes it very hard for us who needs to stay flexible, and of course creates the risk you get locked in with a non-ref reservation if you go down that route.
(4) Accor has probably one of the more opaque BRG programmes which offer 10% off but involve lengthy response times (1M+ has been reported in the Accor forum) and approved claims rejected by the property.
I know there are others out there but these are the ones I have some experience with.
So my question becomes:
What are the odds that MAR will go down the same path or have they found a for themselves a winning formula?
Maybe other chains will start to look at MAR and try to copy them?
It might be that what governs which BRG programme that becomes most successful for your bottom line is a function of how much leverage you have over the properties you manage. It certainly look like an industry trend to make a BRG programme more like window dressing than anything else, but like all trends these things can change.
Anyway any thoughts on this?
Some background:
With respect to BRG programme goes the major chains have gone down the route of making their BRG programmes less accommodating to the customer.
(1) Hyatt have on a constant basis devalued their BRG program from being very useful to now being pretty much something that you disregard as a meaningless ploy, now Hyatt match the rate +50 USD discount voucher in addition to unrealistic expectations on matching booking conditions
(2) IHG BRG has more or less gone the same route from being very useful to now being an empty shell of what it was, now IHG match rate + some points in addition to unrealistic expectations on matching booking conditions
(3) Hilton still offers 25% off but nowadays requires an exact match of booking conditions which makes it very hard for us who needs to stay flexible, and of course creates the risk you get locked in with a non-ref reservation if you go down that route.
(4) Accor has probably one of the more opaque BRG programmes which offer 10% off but involve lengthy response times (1M+ has been reported in the Accor forum) and approved claims rejected by the property.
I know there are others out there but these are the ones I have some experience with.
So my question becomes:
What are the odds that MAR will go down the same path or have they found a for themselves a winning formula?
Maybe other chains will start to look at MAR and try to copy them?
It might be that what governs which BRG programme that becomes most successful for your bottom line is a function of how much leverage you have over the properties you manage. It certainly look like an industry trend to make a BRG programme more like window dressing than anything else, but like all trends these things can change.
Anyway any thoughts on this?
Last edited by X-ON; Jun 18, 2018 at 8:50 am
Jun 26, 2018, 5:50 pm
#600
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 211
Don't think MAR will tighten the policy anytime soon. Just like matching SPG Gold to MAR Gold for 2+ years, you think the lounge is full of people and MAR are too generous? I rather see this as a marketing strategy.
Also, the # of people who submit BRG claim is relatively much smaller. MAR doesn't lose too much on the approved claims. (Just like CC churners, this is always a very small community. A lot people isn't willing to spend their time on playing these games. Human nature)
As long as it is profitable, MAR doesn't care that much. Compare their stock price with other chains and you will know..
To answer your question, my view is that "they found a for themselves a winning formula"
Also, the # of people who submit BRG claim is relatively much smaller. MAR doesn't lose too much on the approved claims. (Just like CC churners, this is always a very small community. A lot people isn't willing to spend their time on playing these games. Human nature)
As long as it is profitable, MAR doesn't care that much. Compare their stock price with other chains and you will know..
To answer your question, my view is that "they found a for themselves a winning formula"