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What is the Best Rate Guarantee (BRG ?)
If a lower rate at a Starwood Hotel is made available on a non-Starwood website or non-Starwood mobile application, upon its receipt of a claim that satisfies these Best Rate Guarantee terms and conditions, Starwood will honor that Competing Rate and provide the individual that submitted the valid claim one of the following rewards: (1) an additional 20% discount off the Competing Rate per room per night (up to a maximum of three rooms); or (2) 2,000 Starwood Preferred Guest® Starpoints® per room per stay (up to a maximum of three rooms).
BRG Wiki on Flyertalk
• You cannot BRG against a rate on a Starwood Website/App (hot escapes, promos, Gov. Rate etc.). It has to be a 3rd party website/App.
• Cancellation policy has no bearing on a BRG claim with one exception if the rate difference is within 1%.
"Starwood may deny claims where the difference between the Competing Rate and the rate on the Starwood Website is less than one percent; provided that Starwood will not use the fact that the difference between the Competing Rate and the rate on the Starwood Website is less than one percent to deny such claims if the cancellation policy for the Competing Rate is more favorable to the guest than the cancellation policy for the rate on the Starwood Website."
• A valid Starwood website reservation is required to submit a BRG
• If a room category is available on an external website but not on Starwood, you may still make a claim. You still need to make a booking with Starwood using any other category of room - if your claim is approved the room type in the booking will be modified to match the room type you are claiming for
• Only one claim may be submitted per reservation number (If your first claim is denied, you may submit a new claim for that reservation if you find another lower rate after you receive the denial email)
• Make sure to book a flexible rate on SPG.com. This will allow you to then cancel this booking if you find a lower Starwood rate later (like the hot escapes etc.) or if your travel plans change.
• You can BRG with a flexible rate against a prepaid rate. In other words, if expedia is offering a room for $100 prepaid, and spg.com shows a prepaid room for $150 or a flexible room for $200, you can book the FLEXIBLE spg.com rate and BRG it against the PREPAID $100 expedia rate. And you will receive the flexible cancel terms if the BRG is approved.
• If your comparable rate includes extras like breakfast or parking, make sure there is a room available on spg.com that includes the exact amenities. If there is the same room type with the same amenities on SPG.com, they will compare and if lower on third party, the claim may be approved for the room type and with the amenities. If there is the same room type available but no/different amenities offered, the claim may still be approved, but the rate will be room only.
• Room types must be the same for a BRG.
• If you have an approved and finalized claim and you find an even cheaper rate later, then you may submit a new BRG claim that is not connected to any existing reservation. If this BRG claim is approved, you will need to make a new flexible reservation on SPG.com. Once the process is completed, you will then email the BRG desk to cancel your first reservation, if it is within the cancellation deadline.
• If you find availability for the room type you want on a third party website/app but there is no availability for that room type or no availability for any room type on the Starwood Website, then this may be an approved claim if it meets all other terms and conditions. You will need to make sure that you specify the room type you actually want on the Starwood Website section and enter 0 in the rate and currency. This will ensure that the processing associates know that the room type you want is not available on the Starwood Website. You may also add additional comments near the end of the claim form indicating that there is no availability on the Starwood Website to help clarify.
• Per the FAQ, "Any questions regarding claims should be directed to [email protected] or call 1-866-500-0368." A human is available at this number beginning at 9am EST.
OTAs not eligible because they do not confirm instantly:
Special Conditions for BRG & Design Hotels
Differing currencies
• "The Best Rate Guarantee department will approve a claim if there is a difference of 2.5% or greater where the currencies are different or a difference of 1% or greater if the currencies are the same."
Link to T&C
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/bestrate/terms.html
Practicalities During/After Stay
• Reconfirm your rate at check-in; normally the hotel will have the correct BRG rate in your reservation, but sometimes you will need to remind them.
• If you choose points, they will be credited after the stay; check in one week to see if they have posted. If not contact the BRG office to arrange to have them posted.
How to add a SNA to a BRG reservation
• Log into your SPG account
• Click on your stays to view our your current reservation
• Look for your BRG reservation and click on "send confirmation" link for the BRG reservation
• reload the page and you should be able to now select "apply SNA to this stay" link
POSTING FORMAT
Hotel Name:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Number of Rooms:
Number of Guests:
Room Type:
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate:
Company Room Provider:
Other Company Room Provider:
Competing rate:
Comments:
Q: Are SPG benefits honored for BRG stays?
A: Yes. You should receive the same SPG elite member benefits and stay/night credit as for a normal paid stay.
What is the Best Rate Guarantee (BRG ?)
If a lower rate at a Starwood Hotel is made available on a non-Starwood website or non-Starwood mobile application, upon its receipt of a claim that satisfies these Best Rate Guarantee terms and conditions, Starwood will honor that Competing Rate and provide the individual that submitted the valid claim one of the following rewards: (1) an additional 20% discount off the Competing Rate per room per night (up to a maximum of three rooms); or (2) 2,000 Starwood Preferred Guest® Starpoints® per room per stay (up to a maximum of three rooms).
BRG Wiki on Flyertalk
• You cannot BRG against a rate on a Starwood Website/App (hot escapes, promos, Gov. Rate etc.). It has to be a 3rd party website/App.
• Cancellation policy has no bearing on a BRG claim with one exception if the rate difference is within 1%.
"Starwood may deny claims where the difference between the Competing Rate and the rate on the Starwood Website is less than one percent; provided that Starwood will not use the fact that the difference between the Competing Rate and the rate on the Starwood Website is less than one percent to deny such claims if the cancellation policy for the Competing Rate is more favorable to the guest than the cancellation policy for the rate on the Starwood Website."
• A valid Starwood website reservation is required to submit a BRG
• If a room category is available on an external website but not on Starwood, you may still make a claim. You still need to make a booking with Starwood using any other category of room - if your claim is approved the room type in the booking will be modified to match the room type you are claiming for
• Only one claim may be submitted per reservation number (If your first claim is denied, you may submit a new claim for that reservation if you find another lower rate after you receive the denial email)
• Make sure to book a flexible rate on SPG.com. This will allow you to then cancel this booking if you find a lower Starwood rate later (like the hot escapes etc.) or if your travel plans change.
• You can BRG with a flexible rate against a prepaid rate. In other words, if expedia is offering a room for $100 prepaid, and spg.com shows a prepaid room for $150 or a flexible room for $200, you can book the FLEXIBLE spg.com rate and BRG it against the PREPAID $100 expedia rate. And you will receive the flexible cancel terms if the BRG is approved.
• If your comparable rate includes extras like breakfast or parking, make sure there is a room available on spg.com that includes the exact amenities. If there is the same room type with the same amenities on SPG.com, they will compare and if lower on third party, the claim may be approved for the room type and with the amenities. If there is the same room type available but no/different amenities offered, the claim may still be approved, but the rate will be room only.
• Room types must be the same for a BRG.
• If you have an approved and finalized claim and you find an even cheaper rate later, then you may submit a new BRG claim that is not connected to any existing reservation. If this BRG claim is approved, you will need to make a new flexible reservation on SPG.com. Once the process is completed, you will then email the BRG desk to cancel your first reservation, if it is within the cancellation deadline.
• If you find availability for the room type you want on a third party website/app but there is no availability for that room type or no availability for any room type on the Starwood Website, then this may be an approved claim if it meets all other terms and conditions. You will need to make sure that you specify the room type you actually want on the Starwood Website section and enter 0 in the rate and currency. This will ensure that the processing associates know that the room type you want is not available on the Starwood Website. You may also add additional comments near the end of the claim form indicating that there is no availability on the Starwood Website to help clarify.
• Per the FAQ, "Any questions regarding claims should be directed to [email protected] or call 1-866-500-0368." A human is available at this number beginning at 9am EST.
OTAs not eligible because they do not confirm instantly:
- AsiaWeb
- Cancelon
- Ctrip
- Elvoline
- HappyRooms
- Hoteling
- HotelsClick (Some rates on request, some instant)
- Ostrovok
- Roomertravel
- Laterooms (according to BRG team 24 Oct 2016)
Special Conditions for BRG & Design Hotels
- You may only claim against the absolute lowest rate on SPG.com, for the date(s) in question.
- The rate must be the lowest on sale on SPG.com, and is regardless of the type of room you actually want, the number of occupants, cancellation policy and the amenities provided. In all likelihood this will mean you have to use a rate for a standard room, for 1 person, non-refundable and without any amenities.
- It is not necessary for the rate on the external website to match the SPG.com rate in any way including room type and number of occupants. The only requirement for a successful BRG claim is that the rate be lower than the lowest rate on SPG.com for the date(s) in question.
- As with normal BRG claims, you need to make a booking before submitting a claim. Since this will likely be a non-refundable booking, note that you are responsible for any and all charges including cancellation charges, even if the claim is not approved.
- Amenities that are included in the external website's rate but which are not included in the Starwood rate may or may not be provided.
- You will retain the category of room booked on SPG.com, even if the external website rate submitted for the claim refers to a different category of room. This is especially pertinent in situations where the hotel continues to sell lower categories of rooms on other websites, while not making them available on SPG.com. You will then be able to book a higher category of room on SPG.com, BRG the lower rate, and retain the higher category of room while paying the lower rate.
- The BRG will be processed for a single occupant, even if the rate does not change for more than one occupant. Your initial booking should also be only for one occupant. If you require a room for more than one, indicate this in the comments section. The BRG team will verify if additional charges are required for more than one occupant and the rate will be modified accordingly.
Differing currencies
• "The Best Rate Guarantee department will approve a claim if there is a difference of 2.5% or greater where the currencies are different or a difference of 1% or greater if the currencies are the same."
Link to T&C
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/bestrate/terms.html
Practicalities During/After Stay
• Reconfirm your rate at check-in; normally the hotel will have the correct BRG rate in your reservation, but sometimes you will need to remind them.
• If you choose points, they will be credited after the stay; check in one week to see if they have posted. If not contact the BRG office to arrange to have them posted.
How to add a SNA to a BRG reservation
• Log into your SPG account
• Click on your stays to view our your current reservation
• Look for your BRG reservation and click on "send confirmation" link for the BRG reservation
• reload the page and you should be able to now select "apply SNA to this stay" link
POSTING FORMAT
Hotel Name:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Number of Rooms:
Number of Guests:
Room Type:
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate:
Company Room Provider:
Other Company Room Provider:
Competing rate:
Comments:
Q: Are SPG benefits honored for BRG stays?
A: Yes. You should receive the same SPG elite member benefits and stay/night credit as for a normal paid stay.
SPG Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) 2016 : Success, failure & discussion thread
#677
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QFF SG, VA SL, MR Plat, SPG Plat, HH Diamond
Posts: 445
BRG claim denied against roomertravel.com - reason given that it's not an instant confirmation which is wrong, it confirmed instantly at 50% less than the SPG rate...
#678
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 33
Hotel Name: Four Points by Sheraton Long Island City, Queens, NY
Arrival Date: June XX
Departure Date: June XX (6 nights)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 1
Room Type: traditional king
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: $ 1174 (6 nights without taxes)
Other Company Room Provider: XX
Competing rate: $ 852
Adjusted rate : $ 679
Arrival Date: June XX
Departure Date: June XX (6 nights)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 1
Room Type: traditional king
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: $ 1174 (6 nights without taxes)
Other Company Room Provider: XX
Competing rate: $ 852
Adjusted rate : $ 679
#679
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Rotterdam
Programs: AMEX Platinum, BA Gold, Flying Blue Platinum, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 1,280
Hotel Name: Four Points by Sheraton Long Island City, Queens, NY
Arrival Date: June XX
Departure Date: June XX (6 nights)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 1
Room Type: traditional king
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: $ 1174 (6 nights without taxes)
Other Company Room Provider: XX
Competing rate: $ 852
Adjusted rate : $ 679
Arrival Date: June XX
Departure Date: June XX (6 nights)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 1
Room Type: traditional king
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: $ 1174 (6 nights without taxes)
Other Company Room Provider: XX
Competing rate: $ 852
Adjusted rate : $ 679
#681
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: HKG/MEL
Programs: CX MP Gold, MR Titanium
Posts: 72
Hotel Name: Element NY Times Square
Arrival Date: Sept 16 (4 nights)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 2
Room Type: Deluxe King
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: 302.16 USD p/n before tax (flex rate)
Other Company Room Provider: Yeego
Competing rate: 1038 USD incl tax
Comments: Took the 20%. Approved 180.89 USD p/n plus taxes.
I saw others had problems with this hotel where the terms changed to non-cancellable after the approved BRG. My updated reservation seems to still be flex (but I guess there's time for it to change since it was only just approved...)
Arrival Date: Sept 16 (4 nights)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 2
Room Type: Deluxe King
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: 302.16 USD p/n before tax (flex rate)
Other Company Room Provider: Yeego
Competing rate: 1038 USD incl tax
Comments: Took the 20%. Approved 180.89 USD p/n plus taxes.
I saw others had problems with this hotel where the terms changed to non-cancellable after the approved BRG. My updated reservation seems to still be flex (but I guess there's time for it to change since it was only just approved...)
#682
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,668
the hotel typically changes the rate terms a few days after the brg is approved....
#683
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YYZ, NYC
Programs: Marriott Gold, JGC, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, AC 25K
Posts: 1,025
For design hotels, does the BRG's approved rate and specifically cancellation term override the original?
I just booked a prepaid rate and had a BRG approved, but in the confirmation email I see the cancelation policy changed to flexible (1 day before arrival). Does this mean if I have to cancel (unlikely, but just in case) I can still get a refund?
I just booked a prepaid rate and had a BRG approved, but in the confirmation email I see the cancelation policy changed to flexible (1 day before arrival). Does this mean if I have to cancel (unlikely, but just in case) I can still get a refund?
#684
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,668
For design hotels, does the BRG's approved rate and specifically cancellation term override the original?
I just booked a prepaid rate and had a BRG approved, but in the confirmation email I see the cancelation policy changed to flexible (1 day before arrival). Does this mean if I have to cancel (unlikely, but just in case) I can still get a refund?
I just booked a prepaid rate and had a BRG approved, but in the confirmation email I see the cancelation policy changed to flexible (1 day before arrival). Does this mean if I have to cancel (unlikely, but just in case) I can still get a refund?
most prepaid rates are charged closer to your stay date & not when you make the booking....since the brg is normally confirmed within 24 hours of the reservation being made, i don't think the property will have enough time to charge you the prepaid rate in the first place....
#685
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,481
I see a positive side of BRG requiring a reservation. This change cuts down on speculative or frivolous claims and improved response time. My recent BRG requests were responded in hours.^:-:
#686
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,133
Not in my experience. 90% of the prepaid rates I book are charged within 3 days of making the reservation, with the bulk of them being charged same day.
#687
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,481
My, admittedly limited, experience is that BRG response time has improved markedly since new policy.^ Perhaps SPG hired a lot more BRG agents?
#688
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
Programs: UAMP S, TK M&S E (*G), Marriott LTP, IHG P, SK EBG
Posts: 11,082
Why would anyone waste their time to file BRG if they don't have a need? It takes time and effort to do that.
#689
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,133
The rate you book on spg.com makes no difference if you're making a BRG claim.
Here's one example. I have an event that always takes place in November, but the date is not yet finalized for this year. I have made bookings for each weekend in November (with BRGs where available). Once the date is set, I will cancel the reservations I don't need.
Last edited by mahasamatman; Aug 7, 2016 at 9:28 pm Reason: typo
#690
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SIN
Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver
Posts: 6,819