Jan 1, 2018, 7:21 am
Last edit by: Starwood Lurker
Signed-in FT members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost.
POSTING FORMAT
Hotel Name:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Number of Rooms:
Number of Guests:
Room Type:
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate:
Competing Rate:
Competing Web Site:
Comments:
FAQ
What is the Best Rate Guarantee (BRG)?
If a lower rate at an SPG Hotel is made available on a non-SPG website or non-SPG mobile application, upon its receipt of a claim that satisfies these Best Rate Guarantee terms and conditions, SPG will honor that Competing Rate and provide the individual that submitted the valid claim one of the following rewards: (1) an additional 25% discount off the Competing Rate (20% for Design Hotels) 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).
What should I do if my claim is successful?
Yes. You should receive the same SPG elite member benefits and stay/night credit as for a normal paid stay.
How do I view my reservation after my BRG has been approved?
• 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
• Cancellation/Deposit Policies and amenities must match on both websites to be valid
• 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 the next lowest category of room and must include the cancel/deposit polices and amenities you are wanting- if your claim is approved the room type in the booking will remain what is booked.
• 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)
• You must book and submit a claim for the room type, cancel policy, deposit policy and amenities you are comparing. If you a flexible rate on SPG.com, they will look for a flexible rate when processing your claim, even if a lower rate for non-cancellable is available.
• You cannot BRG with a flexible rate against a prepaid rate. All information must be the same on both websites and the claim will be denied.
• 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 no room available with the same amenities, it will be denied.
• Room types must be the same for a BRG.
• If you are booking and comparing rates for a non-refundable booking, note that you are responsible for any and all charges including cancellation charges, even if the claim is not approved
• 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 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.
• The cancel policy of an approved claim will be the same as what was booked and approved. It will no longer default to flexible.
• 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 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 for that room type to help clarify.
• If you find availability on a third party website/app but there is no availability on the Starwood Website, then this claim cannot be submitted as you must have a valid reservation to submit a claim. If it is submitted somehow without a reservation, the claim will not be processed as a valid Starwood reservation is required.
• 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
Marriott may deny claims where the difference between the comparison rate and the Marriott rate is less than $1. Rate disparities primarily attributable to fluctuations and/or differences in currency exchange rates are excluded from the guarantee.
Link to T&C
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/bestrate/terms.html
POSTING FORMAT
Hotel Name:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Number of Rooms:
Number of Guests:
Room Type:
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate:
Competing Rate:
Competing Web Site:
Comments:
FAQ
What is the Best Rate Guarantee (BRG)?
If a lower rate at an SPG Hotel is made available on a non-SPG website or non-SPG mobile application, upon its receipt of a claim that satisfies these Best Rate Guarantee terms and conditions, SPG will honor that Competing Rate and provide the individual that submitted the valid claim one of the following rewards: (1) an additional 25% discount off the Competing Rate (20% for Design Hotels) 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).
What should I do if my claim is successful?
- Re-confirm 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 they have not posted, then contacted the BRG team to get it posted.
Yes. You should receive the same SPG elite member benefits and stay/night credit as for a normal paid stay.
How do I view my reservation after my BRG has been approved?
- Log into your SPG account.
- Click on your stays to view your current reservation.
- Click on "Set Stay Preferences" link for the BRG reservation, 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.
- Follow the steps as outlined under: How do I view my reservation after my BRG has been approved?
- At the end of this process, you should be able to select "Apply SNA to this Stay" from within your stays page.
• 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
• Cancellation/Deposit Policies and amenities must match on both websites to be valid
• 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 the next lowest category of room and must include the cancel/deposit polices and amenities you are wanting- if your claim is approved the room type in the booking will remain what is booked.
• 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)
• You must book and submit a claim for the room type, cancel policy, deposit policy and amenities you are comparing. If you a flexible rate on SPG.com, they will look for a flexible rate when processing your claim, even if a lower rate for non-cancellable is available.
• You cannot BRG with a flexible rate against a prepaid rate. All information must be the same on both websites and the claim will be denied.
• 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 no room available with the same amenities, it will be denied.
• Room types must be the same for a BRG.
• If you are booking and comparing rates for a non-refundable booking, note that you are responsible for any and all charges including cancellation charges, even if the claim is not approved
• 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 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.
• The cancel policy of an approved claim will be the same as what was booked and approved. It will no longer default to flexible.
• 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 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 for that room type to help clarify.
• If you find availability on a third party website/app but there is no availability on the Starwood Website, then this claim cannot be submitted as you must have a valid reservation to submit a claim. If it is submitted somehow without a reservation, the claim will not be processed as a valid Starwood reservation is required.
• 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
- BestDay
- Cancelon
- Ctrip (Known as MyTrip from Dec 2017)
- Elvoline
- HappyRooms
- Hoteling
- Hotelreservierung.de (according to BRG team 5 Sept 2017)
- 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 but it must be the lowest rate for the hotel and dates. 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 are not included in the comparasin
- 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.
- 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.
Differing currencies
Marriott may deny claims where the difference between the comparison rate and the Marriott rate is less than $1. Rate disparities primarily attributable to fluctuations and/or differences in currency exchange rates are excluded from the guarantee.
Link to T&C
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/bestrate/terms.html
SPG Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) 2018: Success, failure & discussion thread
May 5, 2018, 10:07 pm
#586
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
The bolded part is incorrect! I do >100 BRGs/yr for the last 7-8 yrs. I have NEVER booked a non-refundable rate and almost all my BRGs are on prepaid rates as 99% of the time, that's the lowest rate on SPG. However, you do have to find a lower rate than the lowest rate on SPG to submit a BRG in the first place.
(The exception is with Design Hotels as detailed in the wiki, but I never stay at Design Hotels for that reason.)
Anyhow, I give up. Good luck!
(The exception is with Design Hotels as detailed in the wiki, but I never stay at Design Hotels for that reason.)
Anyhow, I give up. Good luck!
May 5, 2018, 10:12 pm
#587
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
Programs: Lowly UA silver, Marriott Ambassador/Tit4Lyf, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,763
it took me a while to understand it but i think i get what lexdevil is trying to say....its not that a non-refundable rate has to be booked for the brg but rather that in this instance where he/she cannot find a brg, then in order to get the best possible rate a non-refundable (non brg) reservation would have to be booked which lexdevil is not willing to do in case plans change in the future....
May 5, 2018, 11:03 pm
#588
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
agreed....but generally the situation you are facing is rare....every system works differently & out of all i have used in the past (spg, marriott, ihg & hilton), i find that the spg brg system is the best....i hope they keep the best parts of brg when the programs merge in august....
May 6, 2018, 12:28 am
#589
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: perth
Programs: SPG(LTG), QANTAS gold, Korean, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,500
Yes, because there is not a rate lower than the pre-paid rate on the SPG site, so I would have to book the non-refundable $225 rate to get a rate lower than the $275 flexible rate. It would not be a BRG rate, and it would be non-refundable. That is all I am saying. I UNDERSTAND that if I found a rate below the $225 pre-paid rate I could use it for the BRG and the reservation would be flexible. That would be great. It's just not an option in this case.
Easier said than done. You think I'm not looking for the lowest possible rate? Of course I am. A rate below $225 would be even better than the $271 flexible rate on Expedia. The pre-paid rate on Expedia is $261 per night. I'm not a complete idiot, even if I am a Marriott person.
You folks are arguing that SPG's BRG is better than Marriott's LNF program because IF i could find a rate lower than SPG's pre-paid rate they would match it(.75) and I could still have this lower rate as a flexible rate. Sure. Great. But this is useless when there is no rate (flexible or pre-paid) lower than the pre-paid rate on SPG.
Easier said than done. You think I'm not looking for the lowest possible rate? Of course I am. A rate below $225 would be even better than the $271 flexible rate on Expedia. The pre-paid rate on Expedia is $261 per night. I'm not a complete idiot, even if I am a Marriott person.
You folks are arguing that SPG's BRG is better than Marriott's LNF program because IF i could find a rate lower than SPG's pre-paid rate they would match it(.75) and I could still have this lower rate as a flexible rate. Sure. Great. But this is useless when there is no rate (flexible or pre-paid) lower than the pre-paid rate on SPG.
May 6, 2018, 1:01 am
#590
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 301
agreed....but generally the situation you are facing is rare....every system works differently & out of all i have used in the past (spg, marriott, ihg & hilton), i find that the spg brg system is the best....i hope they keep the best parts of brg when the programs merge in august....
Because selling hotel rooms and making a commission off of that is not SPG’s (and Marriott’s) main business, SPG can afford the luxury of charging a booking fee that is lower than what is standard market rate for online bookings, which in turn allows them to rather consistently offer the lowest available rates.
Last edited by M.dA.R.; May 6, 2018 at 5:35 am
May 6, 2018, 8:07 am
#591
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
Programs: Lowly UA silver, Marriott Ambassador/Tit4Lyf, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,763
Not rare at all. Since the merger SPG is getting better and better at offering the lowest possible rate on its website. I guess this is due to an incentive for properties to sell rooms only through SPG channels (including bulk sales to OTA’s via SPG) and the new member rates being the result of SPG taking a cut on its booking fee, making them very hard to beat.
Because selling hotel rooms and making a commission off of that is not SPG’s (and Marriott’s) main business, SPG can afford the luxury of charging a booking fee that is lower than what is standard market rate for online bookings, which in turn allows them to rather consistently offer the lowest available rates.
Additionally, there is another reason why my specific situation is unlikely to be rare. Think about it. In the instances in which there is not a lower rate than the SPG rate to be found on other websites, which rate type do you think will be SPG's lowest rate? It seems logical and likely that the lowest rate SPG is offering on its own website will be the pre-paid, non-refundable rate. This is likely to be the case regardless of whether other OTAs offer a lower rate. They have to offer a lower price on pre-paid rates or no one would ever book them. Non-refundable bookings are less advantageous and riskier to the consumer, so hotels have to incentivize purchase by offering them at a lower price than flexible reservations.
Once you understand that the lowest SPG rate is likely to be pre-paid and non-refundable, it doesn't take much work to see that in the cases in which other OTAs do not offer a lower rate for the same hotel, the lowest rate offered on the SPG website is likely to be pre-paid and non-refundable. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most SPG offered lowest prices that cannot be matched are pre-paid and non-refundable.
I'm not going to do an exhaustive study to prove this point, but I will quickly give you a rundown of the rates at SPG properties in the area and on the dates when I am trying to book.
Sheraton: flexible rate-$194, SPG flexible rate-$184, lowest rate (pre-paid)-$166
Westin: flexible rate-$300, SPG flexible rate-$290, lowest rate (pre-paid)-$238
Four Points: flexible rate-$151, SPG flexible rate-$145, lowest rate (pre-paid)-$120
Another Four Points: flexible rate-$117, SPG flexible rate-$113, lowest rate (pre-paid)-$88
The list above is an empirical example demonstrating that the logic of my argument is sound. In every single case the lowest rate offered by SPG is a pre-paid, non-refundable rate. As a result, my scenario is unlikely to be rare at all. It is likely to be the most common scenario when there is not a lower rate available from other OTAs.
Why then do so many of you insist that my scenario is is exceedingly rare? My guess is that SPG regulars are so familiar with their program that they never bother to look for rates that compete with offers that are not for the absolute lowest SPG offered rate, Why should you, knowing that SPG's BRG only looks at the absolute lowest rate, pay any attention to the lowest flexible rate (which will almost never be the absolute lowest rate)? Because you are generally not looking to price match flexible rates, you don't notice all of the cases in which other OTAs have flexible rates that beat the SPG flexible rate, but no rates that beat the SPG pre-paid rate. You just see that there is no lower price available than the lowest SPG rate and you move on.
It takes someone coming in from another program that works differently to see this issue. I don't think I stumbled on an incredibly rare scenario in my first attempt to use the SPG BRG. I think I stumbled on the most common scenario, but one that most of you are blind to because you are so well trained in the requirements of your program.
May 6, 2018, 8:38 am
#592
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
Programs: Lowly UA silver, Marriott Ambassador/Tit4Lyf, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,763
A couple of additional thoughts.
This aspect of the BRG program is not advantageous to consumers because it generally limits SPG's need to compete on price (and monitor prices offered by other OTAs) to pre-paid, non-refundable rates. They can charge a higher rate than other OTAs for flexible reservations without fearing a successful BRG claim, so long as they do a good job of making sure their pre-paid rate is better than anything offered by other OTAs.
If they make sure their pre-paid rate is the best rate available, consumers who need a flexible rate will have to decide how much the advantages of booking directly on the SPG website are worth to them. If the OTA's flexible rates are only a couple of dollars less than the flexible rates on the SPG website, SPG members are likely to book with SPG rather than forego some of their elite benefits. When the price differential is greater, they may opt to book with the competing OTA.
The consequence of the above is that so long as SPG is able to beat the other OTAs' lowest prices with their pre-paid rates, they will be able to squeeze a few extra dollars out of SPG loyalists who care about their elite benefits and also require flexible reservations.
Additionally, some may not even bother to look for a lower rate with other OTAs because they assume that the existence of the BRG program means that they will get the best rate on the SPG website. This is, after all, why hotels offer best rate guarantees. SPG doesn't have its BRG because it wants to give you the best possible price. It has its BRG to encourage guests to book through the SPG website rather than other OTAs. Saying, "we have a best rate guarantee," is an effective way to convince consumers that they don't need to look elsewhere to get a better rate.
Due to the design of its BRG, SPG gets the benefit of sending this message to consumers, while still allowing itself to charge slightly higher rates than other OTAs for flexible rates. How much higher is a question of what the market will bear. Even if this amount is only a couple of dollars, at scale it is additional profit for SPG, both because of the marginal increase in income, and because they avoid paying commissions to the OTAs.
This aspect of the BRG program is not advantageous to consumers because it generally limits SPG's need to compete on price (and monitor prices offered by other OTAs) to pre-paid, non-refundable rates. They can charge a higher rate than other OTAs for flexible reservations without fearing a successful BRG claim, so long as they do a good job of making sure their pre-paid rate is better than anything offered by other OTAs.
If they make sure their pre-paid rate is the best rate available, consumers who need a flexible rate will have to decide how much the advantages of booking directly on the SPG website are worth to them. If the OTA's flexible rates are only a couple of dollars less than the flexible rates on the SPG website, SPG members are likely to book with SPG rather than forego some of their elite benefits. When the price differential is greater, they may opt to book with the competing OTA.
The consequence of the above is that so long as SPG is able to beat the other OTAs' lowest prices with their pre-paid rates, they will be able to squeeze a few extra dollars out of SPG loyalists who care about their elite benefits and also require flexible reservations.
Additionally, some may not even bother to look for a lower rate with other OTAs because they assume that the existence of the BRG program means that they will get the best rate on the SPG website. This is, after all, why hotels offer best rate guarantees. SPG doesn't have its BRG because it wants to give you the best possible price. It has its BRG to encourage guests to book through the SPG website rather than other OTAs. Saying, "we have a best rate guarantee," is an effective way to convince consumers that they don't need to look elsewhere to get a better rate.
Due to the design of its BRG, SPG gets the benefit of sending this message to consumers, while still allowing itself to charge slightly higher rates than other OTAs for flexible rates. How much higher is a question of what the market will bear. Even if this amount is only a couple of dollars, at scale it is additional profit for SPG, both because of the marginal increase in income, and because they avoid paying commissions to the OTAs.
Last edited by lexdevil; May 6, 2018 at 9:06 am
May 6, 2018, 8:44 am
#593
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hold it down for The Bay, reppin' Oakland
Programs: Lowly UA silver, Marriott Ambassador/Tit4Lyf, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,763
Definitely a thing, though I don't know if it's a result of the merger. Prior to the merger I noticed Marriott getting better and better at offering the lowest possible price on its website. I used to be able to get an LNF rate more often than not. Now I get one a couple of times a year. SPG may have benefited from adopting Marriott's techniques, or it may simply be improving (for the same reasons as Marriott).
Last edited by lexdevil; May 6, 2018 at 9:08 am
May 6, 2018, 9:37 am
#594
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
@uxb : this is nonsense, simply close this thread. They don't need monitoring this thread about which website give better prices to compare with hotel prices, short script on BRG claims data base will show statistics which websites make bargain prices. Gala take off a lot of SPG hotels, but belive me this is not problem that members put in this thread their website name. SPG BRG program evolves to future Marriott rulez and stoping using website names here nothing change.
Gala no longer have inventory for a substantial percentage of the SPG hotels I historically used them for. You want to tell us that it's a complete coincidence that a Turkish website is so well-known? And that so many hotels have blacklisted Gala?
We can either have a useful BRG that requires a bit more work for the dedicated. Or we can have a free-for-all so it ends up like Hyatt / IHG and nobody gets anything... I'm with the OP / Mod on this one.
We can either have a useful BRG that requires a bit more work for the dedicated. Or we can have a free-for-all so it ends up like Hyatt / IHG and nobody gets anything... I'm with the OP / Mod on this one.
As HHQX888 says, if the SPG/Marriott/individual properties want to know where successful BRGs are coming from and blacklist those sites, they already have access to a far more comprehensive data source than this thread.
I do appreciate the distinction that having competing sites listed in the thread makes it easier for would-be BRGers to find sites for potential BRGs, but are there really any surprises at this point that haven't already been listed before? (And if someone had one, would they really post it?)
I'm also in the camp that wonders what the purpose of the thread is without it other than chest-thumping. Maybe a closed Facebook group is a better way to go.
I do appreciate the distinction that having competing sites listed in the thread makes it easier for would-be BRGers to find sites for potential BRGs, but are there really any surprises at this point that haven't already been listed before? (And if someone had one, would they really post it?)
I'm also in the camp that wonders what the purpose of the thread is without it other than chest-thumping. Maybe a closed Facebook group is a better way to go.
Very good. I requested the same development a a couple of months ago and I'm glad we follow Marriott's foot steps considering the generous 25% we are now getting instead of the 20%.
There are already lots of tools to find brg and i'd prefer they and the 3rd parties stay hidden in order to keep the brg system alive. A Brg thread has always been a thread about bragging about your low rate, not helping the whole internet how to score a deal. We all know what happened when Hyatt's Brg program became a bit too popular for its own good. Hotels earn less money when their guests are on a brg rate. What happens when 25% or perhaps 50% of its guests are on a brg rate?
That same thing could happen any time to Marriott/SPG - and it probably will.
First you make changes to your membership program, then you start with the rest.
There are already lots of tools to find brg and i'd prefer they and the 3rd parties stay hidden in order to keep the brg system alive. A Brg thread has always been a thread about bragging about your low rate, not helping the whole internet how to score a deal. We all know what happened when Hyatt's Brg program became a bit too popular for its own good. Hotels earn less money when their guests are on a brg rate. What happens when 25% or perhaps 50% of its guests are on a brg rate?
That same thing could happen any time to Marriott/SPG - and it probably will.
First you make changes to your membership program, then you start with the rest.
May 6, 2018, 9:45 am
#595
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 573
In different thread I can read Marriott member who write that he have more upgrades this year in SPG properites than he had in last 10 years in Marriott, now you told us that LNF you can get couple of times a year. I have in May leisure trip 18 nights in 7 SPG hotels and ALL my stays are BRG rates I had more BRG rates at this trip but I chose this hotels which are best for me (3 was canceled). For us SPG BRG programm works perfectly you can collect big amount of points or have around 35% cheaper rate than cheapest SPG web price. New Stariott BRG program will be much worst for us if I hear what you told about LNF.
May 6, 2018, 9:52 am
#596
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: perth
Programs: SPG(LTG), QANTAS gold, Korean, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,500
Additionally, there is another reason why my specific situation is unlikely to be rare. Think about it. In the instances in which there is not a lower rate than the SPG rate to be found on other websites, which rate type do you think will be SPG's lowest rate? It seems logical and likely that the lowest rate SPG is offering on its own website will be the pre-paid, non-refundable rate. This is likely to be the case regardless of whether other OTAs offer a lower rate. They have to offer a lower price on pre-paid rates or no one would ever book them. Non-refundable bookings are less advantageous and riskier to the consumer, so hotels have to incentivize purchase by offering them at a lower price than flexible reservations.
May 6, 2018, 9:54 am
#597
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,933
Sure, there are new sites and "surprises." We want to preserve theses a bit better than we have in the past, which is why I feel it's prudent not to list these sites going forward. People participating in this thread should want to help other BRGers. If that's not for you, then I apologise, but you're failing to see the point behind FT.
You want to adopt this thread - so sweet sounds but who will save on this changes ??
May 6, 2018, 11:39 am
#599
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 301
Sure, there are new sites and "surprises." We want to preserve theses a bit better than we have in the past, which is why I feel it's prudent not to list these sites going forward. People participating in this thread should want to help other BRGers.
I'm certain changes are coming down the pipe for the BRG programme. We need to adapt to those realities now if we are to continue saving.
I'm certain changes are coming down the pipe for the BRG programme. We need to adapt to those realities now if we are to continue saving.
I can’t help to agree that this move is aimed at making this thread a closed shop, for a few insiders to brag and show off.
May 6, 2018, 11:42 am
#600
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,933
Just to be clear...
... we agree on this part. Regardless of whether we identify competing sites or not, the thread has a purpose for helping people with the rules and mechanics/process of BRGs. I concede that my other post did not address that.
What I (and I think others) are saying is that if we aren't going to identify competing sites publicly then there seems to be little point to posting individual success/failure reports (other than perhaps "site X is no longer being accepted for BRGs")
My argument for the sort of agnostic status quo is that
- well-known sites are, by definition, well known. They're just BRG 101, if you will. So omitting mention of them in successful claims isn't going to matter much.
- IMO it is probably already the case that, if someone discovers a more obscure source of BRGs and doesn't want to expose that publicly, they are already posting w/o mentioning the site or just not posting at all. They can continue to do so.
- BRG newcomers already have all the past threads to dig through for competing sites if they are sufficiently motivated. Unless you are proposing everyone go back through all of their past posts and redact them.
My comment about a closed FB group (for sharing info on competing sites) was based on, I don't know if FT has any group chat functionality or how well it works (multi-recipient PM is a pretty crappy user experience).
Hope this clarifies my perspective even if we still disagree
I think the chain of reasoning isn't that it makes SPG aware of Gala, but rather that newbies who may not have been aware that Gala existed as an option for BRGs, filed a bunch of successful BRGs using that as a competing site, leading SPG to crack down on however Gala makes those rooms available below par.
This is a common issue with any sort of promotion, and with benefit maximization in general (whether it's FF/hotel loyalty programs, and anyone who's done "advantage play" at gambling is familiar with this conundrum too) -- you want to be helpful, but the more people who are helped, the more the hotel/casino/whatever notices and the more opportunities will dry up.
... we agree on this part. Regardless of whether we identify competing sites or not, the thread has a purpose for helping people with the rules and mechanics/process of BRGs. I concede that my other post did not address that.
What I (and I think others) are saying is that if we aren't going to identify competing sites publicly then there seems to be little point to posting individual success/failure reports (other than perhaps "site X is no longer being accepted for BRGs")
My argument for the sort of agnostic status quo is that
- well-known sites are, by definition, well known. They're just BRG 101, if you will. So omitting mention of them in successful claims isn't going to matter much.
- IMO it is probably already the case that, if someone discovers a more obscure source of BRGs and doesn't want to expose that publicly, they are already posting w/o mentioning the site or just not posting at all. They can continue to do so.
- BRG newcomers already have all the past threads to dig through for competing sites if they are sufficiently motivated. Unless you are proposing everyone go back through all of their past posts and redact them.
My comment about a closed FB group (for sharing info on competing sites) was based on, I don't know if FT has any group chat functionality or how well it works (multi-recipient PM is a pretty crappy user experience).
Hope this clarifies my perspective even if we still disagree
This is a common issue with any sort of promotion, and with benefit maximization in general (whether it's FF/hotel loyalty programs, and anyone who's done "advantage play" at gambling is familiar with this conundrum too) -- you want to be helpful, but the more people who are helped, the more the hotel/casino/whatever notices and the more opportunities will dry up.