3544quebec

After my follow-up emails to all 4 claims and receiving replies asking for screenshots, I received approval of all 4 claims with the following statement:

I have checked the rates again on a different computer and was able to locate a rate of 153.91USD plus tax. I apologize for the confusion. It appears that otels.com had us blocked from checking availability on their website for our hotels.

I don't know whether that is the explanation as I am not tech savvy enough to judge
As they say Alls well that ends well but it does not alter my view of how the BRG is applied. The > $2000 saving will go some way to assuage my heartfelt guilt for betraying my fellow consumers

mahasamatman

It's hard to say whether or not that's the reason, but definitely trivial for a booking engine to implement, and very much in their best interests to do so. They don't want you checking rates and booking on spg.com, they want you checking rates and booking on their site.

margarita girl

I know you can't get 2 X 2000 pts for BRGs on 2 consecutive nights at the same property.

But what if the rates are different for the 2 different nights? One night is at 118 Euros, the second night is 139 Euros. I will submit the BRGs separately. If I can't get 2 X 2000 pts, could I ask for 2000 pts for the first night and then 10% off for the second night?

Zurich Flyer

One BRG claim for the whole stay and one benefit, either 10 % or 2000 points

margarita girl

Thanks. Guess I'll find a different hotel for the 2nd night.

Hotel Name: Le Meridien Etoile
Arrival Date: 04-10-2011
Departure Date: 04-11-2011
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Guests: 1
Room Type: Classic Room for one adult including breakfast
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate: 199 EUR (tax in)
Company room provider: Other Web Site
Other Company room provider: www.dhr.com
Competing rate: 161 EUR (tax in)

Actual confirmed rate: 154.80 EUR plus taxes

I took the 2000 bonus points.

Flying Lawyer

As long as such rates including breakfast are available on SPG.com this rate is certainly not ineligble for BRG purposes

3544quebec

Unless you get an agent who decides it is ineligible - see posts 573-582 of this thread.

bk3day

As a relative newcomer to SPG BRGs, I was glad to eventually get my recent claim approved but was confused by SPG's add back of the 3rd party's website's booking fee (an amount not disclosed on that website)

3rd party lower rate found: $110 base room rate

SPG came back & claimed the 3rd party's rate was actually $112.65 & asked me to accept their calculation in order for the BRG to be approved.

Funny thing is that they actually added back an amount less than my calculation of the booking fee. (Final cost of 3rd party room - base room rate - 15.4% state/city taxes)

Rather than dicker over a few dollars and looking forward to the prospect of saving almost $140/nt on that room, I agreed to SPG's terms.

Calculations aside, is it common practice for SPG to add back fees to the lower base room rate found?

I'm well-versed in Marriott's BRG (aka LNF) & have read the T&Cs of other program's BRG & can't recall ever seeing any mention of adding back fees to the lower 3rd party base room rate

mahasamatman

Yes. Basically, they match the all-in price (and back-calculate), not the base rate. They want to end up with an all-in price that matches, and in my experience, they do pretty well on this.

bk3day

Thanks for helping me climb the learning curve.

Learning a new program & its policies is always a challenge but hopefully, in time, a rewarding experience

margarita girl

Agreed. See my post #680 for Le Meridien Etoile. Also had BRGs approved for Westin Palace Madrid that included breakfast.

I don't know if it matters, but I always make my reservation beforehand including the buffet breakfast when I submit the BRG (making sure of course it is a cancellable reservation in case the BRG doesn't get approved).

yule_boy

I wanted to know the answer to this as well and apparently it's yes! I think this is a limited participation property.

Hotel Name: Sheraton Desert Oasis Villas, Scottsdale
Arrival Date : 05-05-2011
Departure Date : 05-06-2011
Number of Adults : 2
Number of Children : 0
Number of Rooms : 1
Room Type : 1 Bedroom Villa
Starwood Brand Web Site Room Rate : 119.00
Other Company room provider www.hotelclub.com
Competing rate : 92.00

alanslegal

It's a YMMV. I've had BRG's approved with breakfast, and I have also had them declined even for exactly the same hotel, a few days apart, with the same competing website.

xlax

First, please don't flame me. I have read through this thread, used search terms, and re-read the BRG T&Cs, but I still can't find an answer to this question. That said, I am pretty sure that it's out there.

The property I am looking at is not currently showing any non-refundable rates on the SPG website. However, several third party sites are showing non-refundable rates at significantly less than the SPG site's "Best Rate." If I am willing to make a non-refundable reservation with SPG, will this qualify for the BRG or am I out of luck because SPG isn't showing any non-refundable rates?

Since the T&Cs simply require a "currently available lower published, available room rate for the same Starwood Hotel, for the same room type and bed type, and for the same dates and number of guests," I would think that this qualifies, but one never knows.

Thanks.

xlax

mahasamatman

Refundability doesn't matter - just compare the third party's best rate with Starwood's best rate. And even if spg.com does offer a non-refundable rate, I never book it on an approved BRG.