InterContinental Hotels Group has again changed the terms and conditions of its Best Rate Guarantee program, where guests can get the first night free if they find a lower price on competing website after making a booking on any of the IHG’s websites.
I have written about this program few times. Sometimes the terms have become stricter and sometimes more relaxed. This time the terms and conditions become more restrictive. You can access the updates terms and conditions here.
Here are the changes:
1. You can no longer validate the claim over the phone. From now on, you need to use the online claim form to validate the claim. I have always preferred to do the claim over the phone, because the prices on competing websites can change.
2. The booking must be guaranteed with a valid credit card.
3. The requirement of even the “view” to be the same has been added to the terms and conditions.
4. For the hotels in greater China (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Macau) prepaid rates on third party websites can be compared to lowest rate on IHG’s websites.
5. You cannot claim a free room within 50 miles of your home address (IHG Rewards Club address).
6. You can only make ONE claim within any 7 day period for the same IHG hotel or hotel within 50 miles of each other.
This last point is unclear. Does it mean that you can only make one claim within 7 days of making the reservation or within 7 days of the actual stay?
Conclusion
These changes to IHG’s Best Rate Guarantee program are never ending. I don’t like the requirement of having to use the online form, because they (IHG) can then process the claims days/hours after to make sure that the third party website no longer has the lower rate available.
Also, adding a seven day requirement is backpedaling, although this was 30 days at some point in past.
I dont think these changes are outrageous. It makes sense that the other offer is guaranteed with a credit card. The room must be available to be booked, or the chain is open to being gamed. It also makes sense it’s for identical rooms After all, you’d pay more for a room with a view, so adding this makes sense. I don’t like the 7 day restriction. If I am in town for work on a Monday and again on a Friday why shouldn’t I be able to make a claim for this? That is a poor addition IMO.
You want to see poor terms for a best price program? Try checking out Club Carlson. They won’t honor claims for rooms if they include breakfast even if the competing rate also includes breakfast. Identical everything a no go with Radisson. Worst chain ever.
I had no problems with Club Carlson when using their BRG in Bratislava, and the rate there was with breakfast. As for IHG, I think the problem is that they have realised that the BRG they offer is simply too good, given that it is very easy to use sites like hotelsclick.com or olotels.com to get better rates. Naturally, they don’t want to lose money so often, so they are introducing lots of extra details to stop people from taking advantage of the BRG. They ought to have stuck with their previous guarantee, offering a 10% discount on a better rate – I think most people would have been happy with that and it’s what most of the other chains offer (or similar). As things stand, they are just generating a lot of ill-will for themselves, though it would be difficult for them to change the BRG back now.
Nobody would bother going through the BRG for mere 10% discount. I think that Marriott & SPG has it right. No this weird same currency requirement and with the SPG you don’t even need to book first.
Yes, they would. If you book rooms via a third-party website, you don’t collect points with IHG. I would therefore always want to book via IHG directly if possible – and if I’m getting it for 10% less than hotelsclick.com or olotels.com, so much the better.
I mean to go through the hassle with IHG. You can usually get lower than third party rates by using the numerous promotions that I have written about here on LL.
At pre paid rates however only
But if you enter on the ihg.con website on the Best Price Guarantee it shows you also Learn about our guarantee. Then you will see after FAQ the Best Price Guarantee Support Desk. If you click there you will see:
Best Price Guarantee Support Desk
You must have a valid IHG confirmation number before filing a claim online or calling to file a claim.
Online process:
File a Best Price Guarantee claim form online or send an email to bestpriceguarantee@ihg.com
Alternatively:
You may also choose to contact the IHG Best Price Guarantee Support Desk directly during the hours of operation listed below.
From U.S. and Canada
An English speaking agent can be reached at:
1-800-447-2981 (Toll Free)
+1-801-401-5206 (Not Toll Free)
Available 24 hours a day
From Europe, Middle East and Africa
An English speaking agent can be reached at:
+44 (0) 871 942 9115 (Not Toll Free)
Available 24 hours a day
From Asia Pacific including Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific
An English speaking agent can be reached at:
+632 857 8765 (Not Toll Free)
Hours of operation: Hong Kong Time: 9 pm to 9 am
A Japanese speaking agent can be reached at: +81 3 6832 4277
A Korean speaking agent can be reached at: +81 6 6832 4219
A Mandarin or Cantonese speaking agent can be reached at: +86 20 3419 8288
Hours of operation: Japan Time: 9:30am-17:00pm
(except Sat., Sun. and Public Holidays)
The main problems that I see are:
1. The currency requirement (has been there already for a while). Many sites have lower prices, but in other currencies or IHG claims that the charge currency is not the one that the competing site shows.
2. Third party rate is lower includes breakfast but the higher IHG one does not. You cannot claim.
3. This new requirement to only do these online. Fine if the have enough warm bodies to process claims immediately and not the following day etc.
Couldn’t say that I didn’t see the change of the 2 day policy coming.
But it is very sad to see this change.
Regarding the call centre – the chance of getting rates approved over the phone is much higher than online as you have more control over the process – you can instantly cancel the booking and call back for another agent.
Furthermore I’ve seen some sites where the price keeps jumping between two – only one of which is cheaper than IHG’s site – booking this online will most likely not get it approved.
Hopefully they will cut it down from 7 to maybe 3 – 4 in the future.
I agree about the call center, as I wrote above. This is a huge letdown and they can “sit” on you claim for a day and hope that the comparison rate goes away. And if they for some reason don’t agree with something first, you have been able to argue your case.
I have done maybe 10 to 15 claims during the time BRG has in existence and all but two I have just called in.
I always take a screen-shot of the competing rate when submitting a best rate claim form. This enables you to ‘prove’ that the competing rate exists, when you inevitably have to email back the chain with the competing rate details when, even though you comply with the terms of the guarantee exactly, they still try to deny the claim the first time around
But if you read the text above, screenshots provided by you are not acceptable.
Well when it gets abused via bloggers and the likes , what else can you expect.
This is still a very generous offer. Look even Hyatt won’t honor claims for rooms at Otel (or its sister sites) and all they provide is a 20 percent discount off the lowest rate. Most chains BRG is simply a discount off the lower rate you find and they don’t nitpick. IHG offers a FREE night which works out to be a significantly better deal on all but the longer stays.
The offer for a free night is a good one and the expense is not really picked up by the IHG, but rather the properties that are supposed to have the lowest prices available via IHG’s official channels.
after comparing most chains and considering recent changes, i still believe that the 2 best programs would be Club Carlson and SPG
other chains/programs do not seem to care much about customers/members
I have not had enough experience on Club Carlson, so cannot comment their customer service. SPG is quite good on the customer service front but the program has become not very rewarding.
Club Carlson is one of the worst. 98% of claims are denied for silly reasons. Customer service is awful.
This last point is unclear. Does it mean that you can only make one
claim within 7 days of making the reservation or within 7 days of the
actual stay?
Already Answered by IHG, at least 7 days after check out day, So you can not BRG a Monday, with associated checkout Tuesday, then BRG the next Monday.
If the distance on Google Maps is more than 50 miles, then this wouldn’t apply.
If you already have a couple of BRG nights approved but they are within 7 days of one another, is it likely that IGH will try to renege on it? Are the new terms explicit as regards at what point they apply from?
These new rules apply from July 30th onward. Your old BRG’s are governed by the old T&C’s.
If I reserve one hotel with my girlfriend as second guest and my girlfirend reserve another hotel with me as second guest, is it fine to claim both BRG if these two hotels are within 50KM and my girlfiend and I are not in the same household?
You are likely better not to have each other even as a second guest. i don’t believe that the hotel matters, but don’t do it at the same hotel and not too often.