Aug 19, 2016, 4:29 am
My simple BRG tool
Jul 23, 2016, 2:08 am
#106
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: SPG
Posts: 133
Yup, have booked two BRGs, one of which I discovered using the tool. 
I'm still hitting the hotel name mapping error quite often, unfortunately. Can you shed some light into what's causing it? Perhaps we can find a programmatic solution a bit more efficient than reporting it here every time we see it.
I'm still hitting the hotel name mapping error quite often, unfortunately. Can you shed some light into what's causing it? Perhaps we can find a programmatic solution a bit more efficient than reporting it here every time we see it.
IMPORTANT: DUE TO SOME DOMAIN NAME PROVIDER's ISSUES, I MOVE MY WEBSITE TO http://justbrg.com/ PERMANENTLY
Last edited by uriel888; Jul 23, 2016 at 2:26 am
Jul 23, 2016, 9:36 pm
#107
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,653
Jul 27, 2016, 12:15 am
#108
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SIN
Programs: Hard to keep one
Posts: 155
tried last night. All Singapore hotels are returning the name match error.
Jul 27, 2016, 12:33 am
#109
Join Date: Jan 2003
Programs: LH SEN***, Bonvoy LT Titanium
Posts: 1,725
I was just looking at London hotels. BRG's are being reported with venere.com. However, because the rates are without taxes at venere.com and the SPG rates are with taxes, it ends up being that the rates are the same.
Jul 27, 2016, 5:29 am
#110
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: SPG
Posts: 133
Do you mean that the rate on the SPG official website already included tax? ummm... It seems that most countries in EURO will include taxes in the original price. The bad news is that I cannot fix this right now, because to do this then I need to do some researches for every country's tax policy. This will be quite time consuming, but I will put this kinda of bug on my list and fix it after I fix most mapping issues.
Jul 27, 2016, 6:34 am
#112
Join Date: Jan 2003
Programs: LH SEN***, Bonvoy LT Titanium
Posts: 1,725
Do you mean that the rate on the SPG official website already included tax? ummm... It seems that most countries in EURO will include taxes in the original price. The bad news is that I cannot fix this right now, because to do this then I need to do some researches for every country's tax policy. This will be quite time consuming, but I will put this kinda of bug on my list and fix it after I fix most mapping issues.
Another challenge is that taxes sometimes deviate by city within a country and or the star rating of the hotel.
What I would recommend is that you include a loop in your programming that compares the BRG rate and adds the VAT tax only based upon country. If it is within a chosen percentage of the BRG rate (perhaps 2%), then the BRG rate should get appended with a comment stating the difference may be due to taxes not being included.
If that is something doable, I would be willing to provide you with a list of the VAT tax rates within Europe and then also include whether or not the SPG rates include taxes. I just hope that the SPG rates within one country always include or exclude the VAT rates for all SPG hotels in that country.
Jul 27, 2016, 8:23 am
#113
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: 52,121
Multiple bad matches for San Francisco search:
Hotel Name: The Park Central San Francisco
Hotel Name: The St. Regis San Francisco
Hotel Name: Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites San Francisco Airport
Hotel Name: Sheraton Sunnyvale Hotel
Hotel Name: Aloft Sunnyvale
Hotel Name: The St. Regis San Francisco
Hotel Name: Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites San Francisco Airport
Hotel Name: Sheraton Sunnyvale Hotel
Hotel Name: Aloft Sunnyvale
Jul 27, 2016, 9:14 am
#114
Join Date: Jul 2016
Programs: SPG, Asia Miles, Skypass
Posts: 13
Everytime when I try to use the web for brg, I click on the link to BRG site. it pops up the hotelscombine.com, however, it says Your Search has expired due to inactivity. Search again
May I know how to fix it?
May I know how to fix it?
Jul 27, 2016, 9:56 am
#116
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: SPG
Posts: 133
The challenge is that the reference sites may or may not include taxes. And then you do not know which taxes are included. VAT is only one component. There may also be cultural or tourist taxes based upon number of people, number of stars of the hotel, or the city.
Another challenge is that taxes sometimes deviate by city within a country and or the star rating of the hotel.
What I would recommend is that you include a loop in your programming that compares the BRG rate and adds the VAT tax only based upon country. If it is within a chosen percentage of the BRG rate (perhaps 2%), then the BRG rate should get appended with a comment stating the difference may be due to taxes not being included.
If that is something doable, I would be willing to provide you with a list of the VAT tax rates within Europe and then also include whether or not the SPG rates include taxes. I just hope that the SPG rates within one country always include or exclude the VAT rates for all SPG hotels in that country.
Another challenge is that taxes sometimes deviate by city within a country and or the star rating of the hotel.
What I would recommend is that you include a loop in your programming that compares the BRG rate and adds the VAT tax only based upon country. If it is within a chosen percentage of the BRG rate (perhaps 2%), then the BRG rate should get appended with a comment stating the difference may be due to taxes not being included.
If that is something doable, I would be willing to provide you with a list of the VAT tax rates within Europe and then also include whether or not the SPG rates include taxes. I just hope that the SPG rates within one country always include or exclude the VAT rates for all SPG hotels in that country.
Jul 27, 2016, 10:22 pm
#118
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Brisbane Australia
Programs: BA Gold QFF WP AA EXP Marriott PPE HH Diam
Posts: 99
Sheraton Mirage changed their name. Can you update please. Thanks.
Hotel Name: Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast
Best Point Usage : Only Points With value($/Point) : 0.0189
Hotel official Price($/day): 227
BRG Rate($/day): Some error when mapping official hotel name to compete site
Hotel Name: Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast
Best Point Usage : Only Points With value($/Point) : 0.0189
Hotel official Price($/day): 227
BRG Rate($/day): Some error when mapping official hotel name to compete site