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
Jun 7, 2018, 9:36 am
#766
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,474
What if flexible rate on OTA is lower than prepaid rate on Starwood? Which rate do I book in order to BRG? 
Can I book flexible rate on Starwood as OTA rate is flexible or do I need to book lowest rate?
Can I book flexible rate on Starwood as OTA rate is flexible or do I need to book lowest rate?
Last edited by TerryK; Jun 7, 2018 at 9:53 am
Jun 7, 2018, 10:52 am
#767
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,036
Jun 7, 2018, 2:43 pm
#768
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Orléans, France
Posts: 65
I just got a denial for a flexible reservation : "I was not able to match the cancellation policy with the same no deposit required and cancel policy. Amoma.com requires 1 EUR deposit. Since I am not able to match the cancellation policy or no deposit required, I am unable to approve your claim."
Very frustrating... My fisrt BRG fail since a while. SPG is turning bad with the poor implemantation of the Marriott rules.
Very frustrating... My fisrt BRG fail since a while. SPG is turning bad with the poor implemantation of the Marriott rules.
Jun 7, 2018, 5:11 pm
#769
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,173
Does LNF also have this deposit rule because it seems rather new (and futile) to me?
Jun 7, 2018, 7:38 pm
#770
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,036
My latest interaction:
Dear Mr. X-ON,
Thank you for your email regarding your Best Rate Guarantee claim for the xxxxxxxx. It is my pleasure to assist you.
First, I appreciate you sending the details for your approved Marriott Look No Further claim. It is different situation, in that the free cancellation rate on Otel.com is charging the rate at the time the reservation is made and our website is not. However, although the situation is different from the Amoma.com via Hotelscombined.com claim; the fact that our Marriott associates are approving claims via Otel.com via Hotelscombined.com and we are denying them needs to be addressed.
Please know I have forwarded the Marriott example to my supervisors for review and clarification. Once I receive a response, I will address your claims for xx August 2018 and xx October 2018.
Mr. X-ON, I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best Regards, XXXXX YYYYYY
Senior Associate, Best Rate Guarantee
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC
......So maybe some of the team members is starting to understand that something is majorly wrong.... see what they come back with....
Last edited by X-ON; Jun 7, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Jun 8, 2018, 12:38 am
#771
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: SPG Platinum, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 235
Lnf never have the deposit rule.
In fact lnf is rather straightforward, u just mainly need to match flex vs flex, non flex vs non flex.
In fact lnf is rather straightforward, u just mainly need to match flex vs flex, non flex vs non flex.
Jun 8, 2018, 2:43 am
#772
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,173
I’ve only ever done one LNF - I booked a non refundable (but could still cancel within 24 hours) and it worked well because they replied within 8 hours which is well within the 24 hour cancellation deadline.
I noticed that some Marriott hotels don’t have these 24 hour cancellation rates. Does anyone know how common they are and whether SPG will adopt them? Otherwise, BRG with SPG legacy brands is too risky now.
I noticed that some Marriott hotels don’t have these 24 hour cancellation rates. Does anyone know how common they are and whether SPG will adopt them? Otherwise, BRG with SPG legacy brands is too risky now.
Jun 8, 2018, 3:12 am
#773
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,036
I’ve only ever done one LNF - I booked a non refundable (but could still cancel within 24 hours) and it worked well because they replied within 8 hours which is well within the 24 hour cancellation deadline.
I noticed that some Marriott hotels don’t have these 24 hour cancellation rates. Does anyone know how common they are and whether SPG will adopt them? Otherwise, BRG with SPG legacy brands is too risky now.
I noticed that some Marriott hotels don’t have these 24 hour cancellation rates. Does anyone know how common they are and whether SPG will adopt them? Otherwise, BRG with SPG legacy brands is too risky now.
Jun 8, 2018, 8:28 am
#774
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: SPG Platinum, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 235
Not all hotel in Marriott offer the 24h refund. But my experience have seen alot of them actually offer that, just need to read the cancellation terms carefully before you book it.
Jun 8, 2018, 9:33 am
#775
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,474
It is nearly impossible to BRG now. 
I got a rejection where SPG flexible rate has 7 day cancellation policy while OTA flexible rate has 10 day cancellation policy. Even SPG prepaid rate is higher than OTA flexible rate but I was told I cannot book prepaid rate either. BRG desk can only compare prepaid rate to prepaid rates even if OTA offers lower flexible rate. OTA has no prepaid rate for my dates.
I got a rejection where SPG flexible rate has 7 day cancellation policy while OTA flexible rate has 10 day cancellation policy. Even SPG prepaid rate is higher than OTA flexible rate but I was told I cannot book prepaid rate either. BRG desk can only compare prepaid rate to prepaid rates even if OTA offers lower flexible rate. OTA has no prepaid rate for my dates.
Jun 8, 2018, 9:47 am
#776
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,173
I was explicitly told in an email that they only compare flexible vs flexible and not the exact conditions when I questioned this. And this was a few weeks ago. Seems different agents are doing things differently. Surely if the absolute rate is cheaper and more favourable conditions on an OTA then it should be accepted. Otherwise what is a BRG? BRGIWSS = Best Rate Guarantee If We Say So.
Jun 8, 2018, 1:52 pm
#777
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Orléans, France
Posts: 65
I just got a denial for a flexible reservation : "I was not able to match the cancellation policy with the same no deposit required and cancel policy. Amoma.com requires 1 EUR deposit. Since I am not able to match the cancellation policy or no deposit required, I am unable to approve your claim."
Very frustrating... My fisrt BRG fail since a while. SPG is turning bad with the poor implemantation of the Marriott rules.
Very frustrating... My fisrt BRG fail since a while. SPG is turning bad with the poor implemantation of the Marriott rules.
I've just got a new reply of the SPG BRG team : "I apologize for the confusion regarding Amoma.com and our new Terms and Conditions. Due to the verbiage on their website, we are waiting for clarification on the policy. That being said, we have reviewed your claim once again, and we are treating both cancellation policies as flexible. I am pleased to advise your claim is approved."
So good news for me...
I have hope that Marriott interpretation will prevail in a near future.
Jun 8, 2018, 9:27 pm
#778
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: MEX/YVR/YYF
Programs: AS MVP/AC75K/AM Gold/UA*S/SPG-Marriott Lifetime Titanium/Accor-FPC Gold/HHDiamond/Hyatt Exp
Posts: 5,035
I am booking away from Starwood until this mess settles down.
In fact, over this past week I have stayed with two independent properties, a Hilton property, a Coast Hotels property and a brand new Comfort Inn. No complaints at all. Really.
I just submitted a LNF for Sao Paulo in 10 days and trust it go well.
In fact, over this past week I have stayed with two independent properties, a Hilton property, a Coast Hotels property and a brand new Comfort Inn. No complaints at all. Really.
I just submitted a LNF for Sao Paulo in 10 days and trust it go well.
Jun 8, 2018, 9:31 pm
#779
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,036
No, unless something changed in the last 48h. It is just the SPG LNF team whom is incapable to execute the T&C of MR LNF in the same manner as the MR LNF team does. Some people at the SPG LNF team is starting to understand that they are not coordinated with MR LNF:
My latest interaction:
Dear Mr. X-ON,
Thank you for your email regarding your Best Rate Guarantee claim for the xxxxxxxx. It is my pleasure to assist you.
First, I appreciate you sending the details for your approved Marriott Look No Further claim. It is different situation, in that the free cancellation rate on Otel.com is charging the rate at the time the reservation is made and our website is not. However, although the situation is different from the Amoma.com via Hotelscombined.com claim; the fact that our Marriott associates are approving claims via Otel.com via Hotelscombined.com and we are denying them needs to be addressed.
Please know I have forwarded the Marriott example to my supervisors for review and clarification. Once I receive a response, I will address your claims for xx August 2018 and xx October 2018.
Mr. X-ON, I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best Regards, XXXXX YYYYYY
Senior Associate, Best Rate Guarantee
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC
......So maybe some of the team members is starting to understand that something is majorly wrong.... see what they come back with....
My latest interaction:
Dear Mr. X-ON,
Thank you for your email regarding your Best Rate Guarantee claim for the xxxxxxxx. It is my pleasure to assist you.
First, I appreciate you sending the details for your approved Marriott Look No Further claim. It is different situation, in that the free cancellation rate on Otel.com is charging the rate at the time the reservation is made and our website is not. However, although the situation is different from the Amoma.com via Hotelscombined.com claim; the fact that our Marriott associates are approving claims via Otel.com via Hotelscombined.com and we are denying them needs to be addressed.
Please know I have forwarded the Marriott example to my supervisors for review and clarification. Once I receive a response, I will address your claims for xx August 2018 and xx October 2018.
Mr. X-ON, I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best Regards, XXXXX YYYYYY
Senior Associate, Best Rate Guarantee
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC
......So maybe some of the team members is starting to understand that something is majorly wrong.... see what they come back with....
Dear Mr. X_ON,
Thank you for your patience while we waited for a response regarding Otel.com and our new Terms and Conditions. I appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
After reviewing the matter, it has been decided, that while our Terms and Conditions are unified, the programs are still separate. Although all appears the same with our claim and the Marriott claim, there may be factors that affect the outcome of the claim which we not privy to.
For this reason, we must treat each claim separately and apply the Term and Conditions as they pertain to each individual claim.
In this case, since Otel.com is charging for the stay at the time the reservation is made, and our hotel website charges at the hotel; the reservation policies are considered different and we must deny the claims for xx August 2018 and yy October 2018.
Mr. X-ON I wish I could have provided a more favorable response. We value you as a Starwood Preferred Guest member and welcome any claims you may submit in the future. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of further assistance.
Best Regards,
XXXX YYYYY
Senior Associate, Best Rate Guarantee
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC
What are they doing they want it to be different?
Sounds to me like somebody upstairs is refusing to admit he/she is wrong in not coordinating the execution of the T&C
EDIT: The more I think about it ... the SPG LNF team is more likely than not going to be cut... and now they are playing pretend merger will never happen...
Last edited by X-ON; Jun 9, 2018 at 1:20 am
Jun 9, 2018, 1:53 am
#780
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
I am booking away from Starwood until this mess settles down.
In fact, over this past week I have stayed with two independent properties, a Hilton property, a Coast Hotels property and a brand new Comfort Inn. No complaints at all. Really.
I just submitted a LNF for Sao Paulo in 10 days and trust it go well.
In fact, over this past week I have stayed with two independent properties, a Hilton property, a Coast Hotels property and a brand new Comfort Inn. No complaints at all. Really.
I just submitted a LNF for Sao Paulo in 10 days and trust it go well.
