Last edit by: margarita girl
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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.
• The rate you submit the BRG against must be a rate that is available to the general public. SPG will deny member only rates from 3rd party websites.
• 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. There are a few exceptions where properties impose stricter cancellation term based on competing rates.
• 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
How to add a SNA to a BRG reservation
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.
• The rate you submit the BRG against must be a rate that is available to the general public. SPG will deny member only rates from 3rd party websites.
• 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. There are a few exceptions where properties impose stricter cancellation term based on competing rates.
• 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 (Known as MyTrip from Dec 2017)
- Elvoline
- HappyRooms
- Hoteling
- HotelsClick (Some rates on request, some instant)
- Ostrovok
- Roomertravel
- Laterooms (according to BRG team 24 Oct 2016)
- Hotelius (according to BRG team 21 Sept 2017)
- Zenhotels (according to BRG team 10 Nov 2017)
- Travelbag (according to BRG team 22 Dec 2017)
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.
- If you need to BRG Design Hotels for Double or higher occupancy.
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 view your reservation after BRG has been approved- The BRG will be processed for a single occupant, even if the rate does not change for more than one occupant. You must book the actual number of occupants intended. Effectively, you can only BRG for single occupant unless double rate happens to be the same as single. It is not possible to BRG if double rate is higher than single. No modification to occupancy is allowed if BRG is approved. If you submit with single rate, you will be stuck with single room; if you submit with double rate and single rate is lower, it will be automatically denied irrespective of competing rates.
- Log into your SPG account
- Click on your stays to view your current reservation
- Click on "Set Stay Preferences", then SAVE
- Refresh your stays page and the reservation should be visible again. You may need to repeat this step if the hotel touches your reservation. If you apply for Your24, you will not be able to view the reservation details.
How to cancel 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 "Set Stay Preferences" link for the BRG reservation, then SAVE
• reload the page and you should now be able to cancel the reservation
• Click on your stays to view our your current reservation
• Look for your BRG reservation and click on "Set Stay Preferences" link for the BRG reservation, then SAVE
• reload the page and you should now be able to cancel the reservation
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 "Set Stay Preferences" link for the BRG reservation, then SAVE
• reload the page and you should now be able to select "apply SNA to this stay" link
• Click on your stays to view our your current reservation
• Look for your BRG reservation and click on "Set Stay Preferences" link for the BRG reservation, then SAVE
• reload the page and you should now be able to 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) 2017: Success, failure & discussion thread
#391
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SIN
Programs: Marriott - Platinum/LTG | KF *G QPPS (working on TPPS) | OZ - Diamond Plus
Posts: 188
my last 5 brg stays have all posted incorrectly....i have either received points against only $1 or for only the food & beverage portion of the stay....my last stay did not even give me a stay or night credit....i've had to get my ambassador to correct each one of these stays....has anyone else experienced this recently or have i just been unlucky with these last few stays????
#392
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SIN
Programs: Marriott - Platinum/LTG | KF *G QPPS (working on TPPS) | OZ - Diamond Plus
Posts: 188
Just had a BRG claim that was approved, but apparently I made a mistake of booking the original room as 1 adult, instead of 2. (StR Singapore)
Would I run into problems at the property if 2 of us show up? Plat breakfast, etc..
I've never made this mistake before so I'm not sure if I need to make another reservation with 2 guests or I can just stick with 1.
Would I run into problems at the property if 2 of us show up? Plat breakfast, etc..
I've never made this mistake before so I'm not sure if I need to make another reservation with 2 guests or I can just stick with 1.
In my experience you will probably be fine, but if you want to be extra safe perhaps you should try and make another BRG reservation/claim and cancel the first one if/when it goes through?
#393
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
Were you only _charged_ for $1/night? I've only done a handful of BRGs, but it seems like on most of them I was only charged $1/night even though I made a point of mentioning the BRG rate and showing the email at check-in and at check-out and being assured "the rate will be corrected when it posts" but that doesn't happen. It also seems semi-random whether the stay posts correctly for night/stay credit.
#394
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
Same here. The hotel, W Amsterdam, sent another invoice a week later with the correct amount but I was double charged city tax and 1€ a night accommodation. Still waiting reply from their general manager.
Who's crediting my missing points from my stay? Hotel, brg or regular cs?
Who's crediting my missing points from my stay? Hotel, brg or regular cs?
#395
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
I haven't had this problem with recent BRG stays, but I noticed that one of my upcoming stays has a post-BRG confirmation email which indicates a rate of $0 (the correct rate is listed separately as a comment on the reservation). I've been wondering if this will lead to problems during billing/points credit.
#396
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Boston
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, HH Diamond
Posts: 35
Hotel Name: Sheraton Parco de' Medici Rome Hotel
Arrival Date: 2017-04-20
Departure Date: 2017-04-21
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 2
Room Type: Superior room for Two guests (Room only)
Starwood rate: €110 per night + taxes & fees
Company Room Provider: Amoma.com via HotelsCombined.com
Competing rate: €70 per night + taxes & fees
Comments: 2000 starpoints
Initial BRG claim denied (after 15 hrs) as the agent could not find the rate, sent another for $80 (amoma), which got approved (after 8 hrs) against $74 (€70)
Arrival Date: 2017-04-20
Departure Date: 2017-04-21
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 2
Room Type: Superior room for Two guests (Room only)
Starwood rate: €110 per night + taxes & fees
Company Room Provider: Amoma.com via HotelsCombined.com
Competing rate: €70 per night + taxes & fees
Comments: 2000 starpoints
Initial BRG claim denied (after 15 hrs) as the agent could not find the rate, sent another for $80 (amoma), which got approved (after 8 hrs) against $74 (€70)
Last edited by deltrave; Apr 9, 2017 at 12:25 pm Reason: Added reponse times and changed SPG Rate to 110 (pre-paid instead of flexible)
#397
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SIN
Programs: Marriott Platinum | Hilton Diamond | Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 114
Care to share the dates/rate for your booking? My wife likes the StR SG so I'm always on the lookout in case there's a particularly good BRG.
In my experience you will probably be fine, but if you want to be extra safe perhaps you should try and make another BRG reservation/claim and cancel the first one if/when it goes through?
In my experience you will probably be fine, but if you want to be extra safe perhaps you should try and make another BRG reservation/claim and cancel the first one if/when it goes through?
It wasn't really much though, I wanted it over NYE and it was like $20 cheaper, it was just to trigger the -20%.
So I'm stuck with the 1 adult reservation right now..
#398
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,483
It should not be an issue unless property charges different rates for single vs double. I believe St Regis Singapore has identical single/double rates. Wonderful property.
#399
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: JFK, DCA, BUR, YVR
Programs: AC, AS, BA, DL, HH (D), MR (T/LTP), UA (*S), UScAAre (PLT/1,87MM), WN
Posts: 5,207
my last 5 brg stays have all posted incorrectly....i have either received points against only $1 or for only the food & beverage portion of the stay....my last stay did not even give me a stay or night credit....i've had to get my ambassador to correct each one of these stays....has anyone else experienced this recently or have i just been unlucky with these last few stays????
#400
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Orlando, FL
Programs: Marriott titanium elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 81
one of my stays didn't show a price beforehand due to a complex rate (which means the BRG was submitted to the hotel correctly),
but with two days before my stay, the rate reverted to the standard rate on the reservation.
the BRG team assured me that the lower BRG rate would be charged, but I was still invoiced for the standard wrong rate on the day of departure.
Points were (and still are) also posted wrong.
Slightly Annoying.
#401
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Toronto
Programs: UA 1K, AC MM E75, Marriott LT Ti, IHG Dia Amb, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 15,521
Wow, that's crazy. 20 out of 20 BRG stays posted correctly YTD for me. Mostly 20% off and three 2000 pt bonus.
#402
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, United Premier Silver
Posts: 208
Same here,
one of my stays didn't show a price beforehand due to a complex rate (which means the BRG was submitted to the hotel correctly),
but with two days before my stay, the rate reverted to the standard rate on the reservation.
the BRG team assured me that the lower BRG rate would be charged, but I was still invoiced for the standard wrong rate on the day of departure.
Points were (and still are) also posted wrong.
Slightly Annoying.
one of my stays didn't show a price beforehand due to a complex rate (which means the BRG was submitted to the hotel correctly),
but with two days before my stay, the rate reverted to the standard rate on the reservation.
the BRG team assured me that the lower BRG rate would be charged, but I was still invoiced for the standard wrong rate on the day of departure.
Points were (and still are) also posted wrong.
Slightly Annoying.
#403
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
Same here,
one of my stays didn't show a price beforehand due to a complex rate (which means the BRG was submitted to the hotel correctly),
but with two days before my stay, the rate reverted to the standard rate on the reservation.
the BRG team assured me that the lower BRG rate would be charged, but I was still invoiced for the standard wrong rate on the day of departure.
Points were (and still are) also posted wrong.
Slightly Annoying.
one of my stays didn't show a price beforehand due to a complex rate (which means the BRG was submitted to the hotel correctly),
but with two days before my stay, the rate reverted to the standard rate on the reservation.
the BRG team assured me that the lower BRG rate would be charged, but I was still invoiced for the standard wrong rate on the day of departure.
Points were (and still are) also posted wrong.
Slightly Annoying.
#404
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
i do that as well....however, i have noticed quite often that the property will charge me the amount a day prior to my arrival (as that is usually the cancellation deadline)....the incorrect amount is often charged & i have to get it corrected when i check out....
#405
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia
Programs: Some of this 'n some of that
Posts: 17,263
After 48 hours my BRG was denied because the rate was cheaper on SPG. Except it isn't. Additionally it's cheaper on the competing site than when filed and clearly Mr Singh didn't follow the rather simple description of finding the rate - even though it was claimed he did.
Guess another call is in order.
Guess another call is in order.