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 18, 2018, 9:08 am
#826
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
So far 2 for 3.
Approved for both The Adelaide, Toronto and Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal in the past few days.
I hope this continues as I head south this week, as there are a quite a few Starwood properties in Argentina where rates are all over the map.
Fingers crossed.
Approved for both The Adelaide, Toronto and Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal in the past few days.
I hope this continues as I head south this week, as there are a quite a few Starwood properties in Argentina where rates are all over the map.
Fingers crossed.
Jun 18, 2018, 11:57 am
#827
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Star Alliance Gold, OneWorld Sapphire, MarriotRewards Gold, HiltonHonnors Gold
Posts: 12
Is this a valid denial??
I reserved a two rooms at LM Bangkok at non refundable rom rate of 4700 baht. Found same exact room (dates, type, name etc) for 4300 baht. Filed a claim within two hours of booking. Got a response more than 24 hours later saying denied because he current price on Spg.com is 4300 baht which is lower than orbitz which is 4400.00. Isn’t it based on the rate I PAID for the reservation not the published price currently?
Called BRG line and the rep said it’s in the terms that it is a comparison of both the competitive rate and the Spg rate at time of verification not when reserved it. Doesn’t seem right and I could not find it in the terms.
Am I wrong?
Called BRG line and the rep said it’s in the terms that it is a comparison of both the competitive rate and the Spg rate at time of verification not when reserved it. Doesn’t seem right and I could not find it in the terms.
Am I wrong?
Jun 18, 2018, 12:02 pm
#828
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 301
After a brief period where things seemed to go smoothly, I’m now back to 48+ hours delays in response times...
Jun 18, 2018, 12:05 pm
#829
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,482
..........Marriott reserves the right to deny a claim, if it cannot independently verify the availability of a Comparison Rate at the time it processes the claim...
Yes.
Jun 21, 2018, 12:53 pm
#830
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Miami
Programs: SPG (Plat); United (Silver)
Posts: 16
I recently booked the flexible rate to cancel my booking if my BRG rate was not approved, but now Starwood is saying that they'll only match the flexible rate with another flexible rate -- which means that even if my BRG is approved it's still higher than the rate I was trying to get that I found on a 3rd party.
If this is true, does this that we're screwed if we book a non-flexible rate, and Starwood decides to deny the claim? Is there no way to protect ourselves to make sure we can back out if the BRG is not approved?
I feel like this recent change has gutted the utility of the program.
If this is true, does this that we're screwed if we book a non-flexible rate, and Starwood decides to deny the claim? Is there no way to protect ourselves to make sure we can back out if the BRG is not approved?
I feel like this recent change has gutted the utility of the program.
Jun 21, 2018, 2:12 pm
#831
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,047
Actually, I've had a half-dozen claims approved in the last week or so. Very close to regular service has returned I'd say.
The key is that they are now comparing flex to flex, which in the case of certain OTAs actually makes life EASIER.
Yes, the rate might be a bit higher, but it's still getting approved.
The key is that they are now comparing flex to flex, which in the case of certain OTAs actually makes life EASIER.
Yes, the rate might be a bit higher, but it's still getting approved.
Jun 21, 2018, 5:04 pm
#832
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 73
Currently waiting (18 hours) for a response to my first BRG attempt @ St. Regis. Non-refundable so I hope it goes through... there were 3 comparison rooms left when I put claim in. It got down to last comparison room rate today so I cancelled my refundable room and it bumped back up to 2 comparison rooms remaining. C'mon BRG team let's speed it up!! lol. Is there any recourse if they don't reply within 24 hours?
(I had a refundable rate at St. Regis, but found a non-cancellable rate that I can't imagine will be beat with 25% off... we're set on the location and hotel.)
(I had a refundable rate at St. Regis, but found a non-cancellable rate that I can't imagine will be beat with 25% off... we're set on the location and hotel.)
Jun 22, 2018, 12:44 am
#833
Join Date: May 2003
Location: LCY
Programs: SQ Krisflyer, QR Privilege Club, MB LT Plt (1K+ nights thx MB)
Posts: 1,038
Actually, I've had a half-dozen claims approved in the last week or so. Very close to regular service has returned I'd say.
The key is that they are now comparing flex to flex, which in the case of certain OTAs actually makes life EASIER. Yes, the rate might be a bit higher, but it's still getting approved.
The key is that they are now comparing flex to flex, which in the case of certain OTAs actually makes life EASIER.
Yes, the rate might be a bit higher, but it's still getting approved.Last edited by X-ON; Jun 22, 2018 at 1:13 am
Jun 22, 2018, 4:47 pm
#834
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: EDI
Programs: A3-G
Posts: 194
Currently waiting 55 hour more now for a response!!!
Jun 22, 2018, 6:36 pm
#836
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 73
Well I was denied after 37 hours (rate changed after 24 hours)... they claim to process them in the order they're entered which is clearly not the case given posts #833 and 834 have been waiting longer lol. Not sure what to do now, I sent an email saying I don't understand why I have to abide by all the terms, but they don't. Might call reservations line and ask for them to cancel my non-ref booking because they didn't abide by the terms... probably won't get anywhere with that either though. Might threaten a chargeback, but don't want to because I don't want to rock the boat too hard and be banned or anything + I have unredeemed starwood points...
Jun 23, 2018, 6:42 am
#837
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: BKK
Programs: World of Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Bonvoy LTP; IHG Plat
Posts: 2,232
Since they changed the rule, i’ve never got any successful claims.
is it harder to do BRG claim nowadays or is it just me not smart enough to find the right competing website?
maybe both, i guess.
is it harder to do BRG claim nowadays or is it just me not smart enough to find the right competing website?
maybe both, i guess.
Jun 23, 2018, 7:50 am
#838
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,179
I haven’t bothered since the changes because the whole point of the BRG was getting the lowest rate. Now if you take a risk with non-ref, you’re stuck with it whatever happens. I really liked how there wasn’t any risk in getting the lowest rate and if you were successful, it would be made into a flexible rate so I could still change my plans if needed. Now, it’s almost like every hotel is a design hotel!
For the hotels I frequent, the flexible rates on SPG are at least 20% higher or 40 - 50 USD higher so it means that even if I was successful with flexible rates there’s no point in taking the 2000 points any more due to the difference in rates.
I may be able to get 10% off the non-ref rate by doing a flex vs flex BRG in future but what’s the point when, as I believe, the general rates at SPG hotels in cities such as Bangkok, Macau and so on are inflated anyway.
The 2000 points used to be additional leisure stays (1 night only) so future I just won’t book with SPG as I’m not not going to get the lowest rate any more.
If / when a free 24hr cancellation rate comes in for SPG legacy hotels on non-ref rates, I may be won over again but until that time, I’m mapping an exit strategy for 2020 as I’m already about to requalify for 2019.
The problem is that point accrual is pretty poor without some BRGs thrown in, especially with the poor bonuses recently. So the whole air miles benefit has become less attractive.
It seems that some people are lucky regarding flexible rates being just a notch above non-ref rates but I’m not seeing that within my geographical footprint!
For the hotels I frequent, the flexible rates on SPG are at least 20% higher or 40 - 50 USD higher so it means that even if I was successful with flexible rates there’s no point in taking the 2000 points any more due to the difference in rates.
I may be able to get 10% off the non-ref rate by doing a flex vs flex BRG in future but what’s the point when, as I believe, the general rates at SPG hotels in cities such as Bangkok, Macau and so on are inflated anyway.
The 2000 points used to be additional leisure stays (1 night only) so future I just won’t book with SPG as I’m not not going to get the lowest rate any more.
If / when a free 24hr cancellation rate comes in for SPG legacy hotels on non-ref rates, I may be won over again but until that time, I’m mapping an exit strategy for 2020 as I’m already about to requalify for 2019.
The problem is that point accrual is pretty poor without some BRGs thrown in, especially with the poor bonuses recently. So the whole air miles benefit has become less attractive.
It seems that some people are lucky regarding flexible rates being just a notch above non-ref rates but I’m not seeing that within my geographical footprint!
Jun 23, 2018, 1:34 pm
#839
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
I haven’t bothered since the changes because the whole point of the BRG was getting the lowest rate. Now if you take a risk with non-ref, you’re stuck with it whatever happens. I really liked how there wasn’t any risk in getting the lowest rate and if you were successful, it would be made into a flexible rate so I could still change my plans if needed. Now, it’s almost like every hotel is a design hotel!
For the hotels I frequent, the flexible rates on SPG are at least 20% higher or 40 - 50 USD higher so it means that even if I was successful with flexible rates there’s no point in taking the 2000 points any more due to the difference in rates.
I may be able to get 10% off the non-ref rate by doing a flex vs flex BRG in future but what’s the point when, as I believe, the general rates at SPG hotels in cities such as Bangkok, Macau and so on are inflated anyway.
The 2000 points used to be additional leisure stays (1 night only) so future I just won’t book with SPG as I’m not not going to get the lowest rate any more.
If / when a free 24hr cancellation rate comes in for SPG legacy hotels on non-ref rates, I may be won over again but until that time, I’m mapping an exit strategy for 2020 as I’m already about to requalify for 2019.
The problem is that point accrual is pretty poor without some BRGs thrown in, especially with the poor bonuses recently. So the whole air miles benefit has become less attractive.
It seems that some people are lucky regarding flexible rates being just a notch above non-ref rates but I’m not seeing that within my geographical footprint!
For the hotels I frequent, the flexible rates on SPG are at least 20% higher or 40 - 50 USD higher so it means that even if I was successful with flexible rates there’s no point in taking the 2000 points any more due to the difference in rates.
I may be able to get 10% off the non-ref rate by doing a flex vs flex BRG in future but what’s the point when, as I believe, the general rates at SPG hotels in cities such as Bangkok, Macau and so on are inflated anyway.
The 2000 points used to be additional leisure stays (1 night only) so future I just won’t book with SPG as I’m not not going to get the lowest rate any more.
If / when a free 24hr cancellation rate comes in for SPG legacy hotels on non-ref rates, I may be won over again but until that time, I’m mapping an exit strategy for 2020 as I’m already about to requalify for 2019.
The problem is that point accrual is pretty poor without some BRGs thrown in, especially with the poor bonuses recently. So the whole air miles benefit has become less attractive.
It seems that some people are lucky regarding flexible rates being just a notch above non-ref rates but I’m not seeing that within my geographical footprint!
Jun 24, 2018, 2:03 pm
#840
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: CA
Programs: AA PLT / MR LTPP 1/1/19 / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 540
Isn't the minimum difference $1 for BRG? This one took 37 hours to respond and here is what I got. I didn't realize $227.71 < $226
On our website I found a rate of 227.71 USD per night plus taxes and resort charges which is lower than the rate of 226.00 USD per night plus taxes and resort charges found on amoma.com.
On our website I found a rate of 227.71 USD per night plus taxes and resort charges which is lower than the rate of 226.00 USD per night plus taxes and resort charges found on amoma.com.
Last edited by araknis; Jun 24, 2018 at 2:10 pm