747LWW

Has anyone on this board been advised of a Golden Circle promotion that involves a free night stay after several paid stays? If so, when did you receive your announcement? What are the details?

Thanks in advance for advising us Shangri-la customers who were informed of the promotion only months after the promo begain.

747LWW

Bump!

747LWW

As a matter of policy, could we Golden Circle members be advised of promotions via this thread given at least some of us are not notified directly?

I hope someone from GC could respond to this post.

Thanks in advance.

jhm

747LWW,

The details are given in the Exclusive Offers section of the Shangri-La website:

Free nights are redeemable up to 15 December. If they count nights spent prior to joining GC, it seems I've stayed enough for a free night!

747LWW

Hi jhm:

I thank you for the info and trust you will be proactive in soliciting your free night! I really think you deserve some special consideration given that you are a "special guest" who changed your travel reservations to stay in Shangri-la properties at their more expensive rooms. My recommendation is to contact some of the Shangri-la folks you have met during your current trip and if you do not receive the answers you seek, contact Golden Circle directly by email or phone, and if that does not provide you with a satisifactory resolution of your rather unique situation, send me a PM.

In my opinion, you should qualify now that you have become a Golden Circle member, a Shangri-la "regular", your influential position and your frequent travels, and your demonstrated loyalty to Shangri-la---where warranted, of course.

I hope all is well with your present travels and trust you will report on some of your memorable moments at Shangri-la properties as time permits.

747LWW

747LWW

travler18:
Hi---what happened to you? Please post what action you took and the response of the Shangri-la or Golden Circle so you can help all of us learn the "system".
Thanks
747LWW

dmf_singapore

I made a reservation to stay at Trader's Hotel in Yangoon, Myanmar in December via the Shangri La website for a rate of US$70++. Later that day I found a rate for US$56 on another website that includes tax, service and breakfast. Since the other website had a lower rate, I made a claim that via the online "Best Rate Guarantee" page. I received the following reply:

---------

Warmest greetings from the Worldwide Reservations Centre Kuala Lumpur!

Thank you for your Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) claim submission.

We regret to informed that we are unable to honor the claim because the rate offered by [the competing site] is inclusive of breakfast. Please be informed that the BRG claim is only valid for room only (please refer to the BRG Terms and Conditions). However, hotel has agreed to give you a complimentary buffet breakfast for this visit only.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

---------

I thought there must be some confusion. Yes the other rate includes breakfast but is also $14 a day cheaper (about $30 per day cheaper if you consider the other site included tax and service). I sent the following message in reply:

---------

Thank you for your message, but I must admit being confused. Are you telling me that if another website offers a lower room rate that includes items in ADDITION to what is included in your rate (i.e., includes tax, service and breakfast) that you don't consider the competing rate to be lower?

Your website offer for a room is US$70++ not including breakfast
Their website offer for a room is US$56 and includes service and tax, plus a free breakfast

I just don't understand how you can advertise that the "Shangri-La guarantees to provide the lowest room rate available on www.Shangri-La.com for any Shangri-La hotel or resort on the Internet" and then say that another internet rate which is both lower AND includes additional free services is not considered lower.

Could I respectfully ask that you pass this on to a manager or corporate headquarters for another opinion? I truly don't get it. Thank you for your follow-up.

---------

I received a reply from the same person who basically quoted the terms and conditions from the website (i.e., "Both the original Shangri-La online booking room rate and the Competing Rate must be room only without inclusions like meals, transportation, other services, etc.")

I'm obviously going to cancel the hotel reservation and I've already booked the lower rate. Is it just me, or is this nuts? At this point, it's just the principle of the thing since it feels like the best rate guarantee is a bit of a farce. Any thoughts? Let it drop? Get a life?

747LWW

Great goodness, how can anyone tell you such a thing without laughing? This would be funny if it was not really sad.

I really do not know much about the guaranteed rate plan so I hope others will comment on that. What I do know is you are not nuts...but apparently some CS agent is misguided to say the least. Maybe this person was just having a "bad hair" day but gosh, how could they have even read you a quote from a script without laughing themselves?

One observation is that you seem to have started with a pretty good fare and ended up with a truely outstanding one. I need to get you to help me with rates! (Just kidding).

This for sharing this story...it really made my day!

747LWW

PS Is part of the guarantee a payment to you if you find a lower rate? If so, is the amount equal to the difference or is it a flat fee?

peter42

Unfortunately this is the same with all major hotel chain, had the same problems with SPG, booked it there, found a different website with lower rate (incl. BF) and they told me too, that as it was a "package", they cannot honor it - nice way to get away with it.

747LWW

Thanks for sharing, peter42.

I guess this is some consolation for me as I really like Shangri-la and in my experience they employess are quite cordial, sincere, and helpful. At least most of their properties are quite good and I always enjoy my stays.

I also believe they are quite ethical and I am somewhat suprised, therefore that the previous poster had the problem he reported. I really hope that there was a misunderstaning rather then policy issue involved. By the way, who do you rate *wood vs Shangri-la? Any general or specific comments?
Happy travels,
747LWW

jhm

The T&C are here:

http://www.shangri-la.com/reservatio.../en/index.aspx

i.e. an amount equal to the difference plus a further 10% discount.

dmf_singapore, if I were you and wanted to take the principle further, I would mention it to someone (e.g. the duty manager) at Trader's Yangon when you stay there. Perhaps mention that you're not after the discount per se (given the small amount involved) but just wanted to draw this ridiculous situation to their attention which is hopefully down to misunderstanding (or the CSR being on auto-pilot when handling the e-mails). I think it'll be far better to handle it face to face with someone at the hotel who has the power to do something about it if they wish. If you do raise it, do let us know how you got on!

dmf_singapore

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. It's a relatively small amount of money $70 vs $56 (a US$90 difference for three days once the service and tax are figured in) and I feel almost silly making a big deal out of it. They are probably paying the other site something like a 10% commission (not unusual in Asia) so in reality their best rate guarantee - giving me the same rate minus 10% - doesn't cost them a thing.

The response to my claim came from their office in Kuala Lumpur. Having lived in Asia for 17 years, I know that thinking outside the box is not a part of the culture here. I'm sure the person who replied thinks he just following the letter of the terms and conditions and believes he is doing the right thing. It appears that this is all being handled at the corporate - rather than hotel - level. If I happen to see the manager while I'm in Myanmar, I'll bring it up as suggested.

Of course if I was a real jerk, I would write to Conde Nest or other travel magazine and let them have some fun with it. Hmmmm.

meremale

I was in Yangon just last month. Didn't stay at the Traders Yangon though. But I was told by my friends that some hotels have 2 rates. One for the foreigners and one for the locals. Maybe the other website managed to get the local rates.

747LWW

Hi dmf_singapore:

I forgot to extend the customary "welcome" to you for your FT membership and this thread

Many happy travels
747LWW

747LWW

I hope all the Golden Circle members are less confused/ unaware of the rules of this program than I remain. However, a response from Golden Circle to a recent email helped clarify this soon-to-end event. I quote below some of the more revealing e-mail statements from Ms. Ng of Golden Circle regarding some questions I rasied:

(1) Please be informed that qualifying rates are public rates and corporate
rates booked directly with Shangri-La hotels and resorts. Bookings made
through third parties, travel agents, or on special promotional rates,
long stay packages etc. do not qualify for free nights.

(2) Please also take note that due to data processing time, it requires
approximately 4-5 days from date of check-out to process the qualifying
nights. As such, your stays at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore for the
period of 12-15 August,2006 and ....have not been counted in this email statement yet. Rest assured that the said qualifying nights will be reflected in your next email statement.

I trust this post is of value to the present and perhaps future Golden Circle members as I think this is a reoccurring promomotion that Shangri-la offers.