UPDATE: IT says n the website you will hear from them within 4 hours it has been olmaot 6 now so i guess im not getting a response. there is no proof i even sent them the email. i guess i will call in the am since there is a 24 hour period that this must be done within


well I just found a deal in miami for howard johnson. i need it for a medical trip too! i booked it and sent in my claim. but i spent all day researching, calling to verify it as the lowest rate they offered on the website and the phone (it was the same rate) then i found the same room on 2 other websites. Expedia and travelnow.com they try to trick you with ammenities added such as a refrigerater or 'partial' ocean view but unless they just out right lie on there website they owe me a free night, i submitted both lower offers on one claim form plus i have screen shots.
I called first do get details from a howard johnson rep . I said i am inquiring about the best rate gaurantee , how does it work? she said i have to go to another website that offers a lower price NOT howard johnson and buy it THERE then call them with the info. I asked 3 times if she sure because it reads on the website that you must buy it through them directly then get a confirmation number ..nowhere did i see that you buy it from the other websites. its confusing or she was trying to throw me off. kind of crappy if you ask me surly the employees know the rules and if they are lying to customers like that its wrong.
well i got 3 hours left nd ill know if i get my free night 'cross my fingers' i bought mine at hojo.com

wow they are strict. for expeedia even though it says the room types are for queen and double. when you go to book it it says 1 queen size bed. so since i asked for a double i didnt qualify.

but travelnow.com i qualified by $4.70, thank you guys so much!

OmegaDeal said:It is also tough to do. I booked one on Hilton.com a couple of weeks ago. I then found it on another website for cheaper. I thought I had made a quick $50 and filled out the form. Hilton replied that they couldn't "verify" the rate the other website was quoting.

I said fine, and booked through the other website. I now had two reservations and sent Hilton my confirmation number for the second one asking if it was enough verification. They never responded.

Yes I could call, complain, etc., but I just wanted to point out that the program isn't as truthful as presented.

Yep EXACT same thing happened to me! Your situation is an carbon replication of mine. I just decided to go ahead and use the lower-cost reservation, since it was a great deal (I think about $100 for a suite at Homewood).

From the Best Rate Guarantee example:

Step 4: Assuming our customer service agent confirms your Howard Johnson booking and that the rate on the competing web site is available and bookable and is lower than Howard Johnson’s Best Available Rate, the customer service agent will modify your reservation to reflect your first night free and uphold its Best Rate or It’s Free Guarantee policy! We will notify the hotel of the change in rate for your confirmed reservation.


It appears you should get both the free night and the lower rate.

I was searching on www.arestravel.com and found the 1 bedroom suite at Park Inn & Suites in Anaheim for $69.00/nite. I checked on Parkinn.com and found the same room at $135/nite.

I then made a reservation on Parkinn.com and then proceeded to file a claim with them. They have a Best Rate Guarantee (match plus 25% off).

This is the reply I got from them today:

Thank you for taking the time to write.

We appreciate your recent message.

We appreciate your submission of a Best Online Rate Guarantee form. We
have researched your claim and found that we cannot honor it. Per the
terms and conditions, the Best Online rate Guarantee includes the room
rate only and does not include any taxes or tariffs (i.e. federal,
state, provincial, or local), or any guest fees or charges which may be
imposed by the hotel on the guest's stay and can not be combined with
any other offers and discounts. The rate quoted on the third party
website includes taxes and fees where the rate through parkinn.com is
for the room only.

Also, as stated in the terms and conditions, the lower rate on the
third party website must have the same rate terms or restrictions (i.e. the
rate guarantee and rate cancellation policies) prior to awarding the
Best Online Rate Guarantee. The rate on the third party website is
charged in full at the time of booking and there is a penalty for
canceling. Through Park Inn, the reservation is not charged until the
time of check out and guests have 3 days prior to the arrival date to
cancel the reservation with no penalty.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to assist you.

Regards,

Nikki
Customer Service Lead Specialist
1562194


I've noticed that most of the 3rd party website will charge you a cancellation fee but the hotel's direct websites won't.... and this was one of the reasons they did not honor this "best rate guarantee".

In cases like this, there is no way we can get this guarantee to work?

hey everyone thanks for the 411 I really like this kinda stuff

Best Rate is a free rate!

I'd recommend signing up for the Total Rewards card. It's a 1 card for Harrah's/Rio/Harvey's/Showboat. You start off as a gold member and as you gamble you move up to platinum then to a diamond status. I don't gamble much but by signing up they send you offer codes in the mail for free rooms and food. You can also check your account online. I've been staying at Rio for free everytime I go to vegas and Harvey's for free at Lake Tahoe. Of course they encourage you to gamble but you don't have to.

http://www.harrahs.com/TotalRewards/TotalRewards

Can't find Holiday Inn's terms which they keep using against my claims.

I was searching for an inexpensive hotel around LAX for one nite. I found Super 8 for $53/nite on their website. Then I searched on Orbitz and found the same room for $42.

I made the reservation at Super8 website and then filed the Best Rate Guarantee form. It states a rep. will get back to you within 4 hours. I filed the claim around midnite Hawaii time (6 am EastCoast).

About 1pm Hawaii time ... 13 hours later, still no replies! I called their Claims Department and the rep. said they have been swamped but will get on it right away.

About 2 hours later, I finally received an email but it states a lower rate is now available on their website ($39.75) so they gave me the lower rate instead.

Isn't this illegal practice? 1) they didn't reply back within 4 hours but almost 15 hours later. 2) obviously, they changed the website to offer the lower rate!

When I made the call around 1pm, their website still showed the higher rate.

I just called them but they said there's nothing they can do because their site showed the lower rate when they went to my claim.

Anything I can do?

thankx