Hotel "best Price Guarantee"

[seykota]

I am curious if anyone has actually contacted a hotel and asked them to match an online agent's room rate, I have read that this is a very difficult task due to numerous provisions included in the hotel's "guarantees".

I am unsure why hotels do not offer the best rate on their own websites; in fact the best rate is rarely offered on a hotel's own site and the price difference can be quite substantial between their site and online agents (3rd parties). Megasearch sites like kayak.com make it a relatively simple task to find the cheapest rates available thus if most hotels offered the cheapest rate (without the guarantee requirement) the online agents would be in some difficulties.

I am sure I must be missing something????

[torrenova]

I have won years ago but the conditions have tightened somewhat.

Only last week I concluded an email exchange with Marriott who state as one of their conditions that they will not match rates given through prepaid vouchers for hotels outside the USA (or is it North America ?). I quote from their response:

The reason Marriott does match prepaid vouchers for foreign hotels is because certain companies have contracts with Marriott hotels that allow them to offer pre-paid vouchers at deeper discounts. Therefore, the price for a pre-paid voucher is generally lower than the normal standard rate.

According to the Terms and Conditions of Marriott's Look No Further(SM) Best Rate Guarantee, the guarantee does not apply to pre-paid rates that involve a voucher (including electronic vouchers) for a hotel stay outside of the United States and Canada.

It is bullshit and I will not stop there. I had Marriott over a barrel a few years ago over rates advertised in the Bangkok Post which they said were for Thai nationals only so I threatened them with racial discrimination. I was well compensated and I think you will find that any similar advertisements will refer to Thai residents (to include expats and merely attempting to exclude holiday makers).

It is baloney as it infers that Marriott do not have preferential discounts with firms in the USA and Canada. The reality is that if they tried that same crap in North America they would spend the rest of their corporate lives in court and eventually lose and it would cost them millions.

Most prepaid vouchers are non refundable or certainly not at 100% and often include breakfast which many standard rates do not. One chink in Marriott's armour is their reference to the "normal standard rate". Given yield management and open to anyone promotions, there is no standard rate and I think it would be nigh on impossible for them to prove otherwise.

Eventually this difference will go as people chip away at their lawyer gobbledegook speak with suits here and there. You can always get a personal victory but I have no stomach to fight the cause for the masses.

[Samuian]

It is bullshit and I will not stop there......edit...Sorry Sir, it is NOT! It is simple regulations, agents contracts etc.

they said were for Thai nationals only so I threatened them with racial discrimination..... You got a point there somewhere, but what action to go through just to hav the satisfaction of getting a discount!?

It is baloney as it infers that Marriott do not have preferential discounts with firms in the USA and Canada. The reality is that if they tried that same crap in North America they would spend the rest of their corporate lives in court and eventually lose and it would cost them millions. Exactly that is why, you've got it!

Most prepaid vouchers are non refundable or certainly not at 100% and often include breakfast which many standard rates do not. One chink in Marriott's armour is their reference to the "normal standard rate". Given yield management and open to anyone promotions, there is no standard rate and I think it would be nigh on impossible for them to prove otherwise.

Eventually this difference will go as people chip away at their lawyer gobbledegook speak with suits here and there. You can always get a personal victory but I have no stomach to fight the cause for the masses. Well, that is a heck of way to go to get a discount, let's boycott "THE Marriott Group"altogether, there is plenty of better and cheaper accomodation available worldwide, why to go through such a hussle?

I am for many years in the industry it's standard procedure and agents do cover most of the occupancy, "walk ins" are fewest, that is why the so called "walk in rate" is the highest shown!

But as it is an free market, enterprise can, according to state legislation, do as they wish to, it's financial gearing, name it, but it's practiced by many all over the planet!

"Last Minute", sell out is the best example, book a holiday with any agent 10 month before one actually gets to the destination, one may sit in the same Airliner, the same Hotel, enjoying the same services and may have paid a fraction of that what others, who booked earlier or just through a different agent.

It's just as it is, travel and accommodations market s a very competitive market.

[Thaivisa Travel]

Hi Seycota, there are a few things missing here, basically the most important one is that hotels employ only a few reservations staff and they could not cope if every guest came to them individually to make a booking.  By putting their cheapesr rate on their own websites they would get totally inundated PLUS they would of course deny themselves any chance of higher revenues from those who do not have a lot of time to go hunting the best rate on the net. In reality many of these so called "best rates" do not exist when you come to book them, as many have found. Advertsing laws in most countries only require 1 or 2 rooms to be made available at that rate, the rest is a "come on".  Lastly others like asia Rooms acually I gather PAY for a gaurantee of X rooms a night every night of the year at a certain hotel, and if course the market hits a dramatic downturn then they have to shifty those rooms as fast as possible. Of course at busy times they make a fortune but it is swings and roundabouts. That's our take on this and hope that it makes things a bit clearer!  Regards, Guy and team 

[seykota]

Hi Guy & Team,

Thanks for your explanation, it does provide some answers for me.

Another question, if you have time, is Asiarooms.com classified as an on-line agent or an Internet consolidator? I did not know about companies paying for the guarantee of a room allocation; I assume Asiarooms is a consolidator???

Again thankyou

[billp]

There certainly are bizarre wrinkles in the way hotels are booked nowadays. I was staying in Centre Point Sukhumvit at a very good rate through wotif.com. I wanted to extend my stay, and asked the desk if they could simply match wotif's rate. They told me they couldn't offer me anything better than something like twice as much, but invited me to rebook on the internet if I wanted to. So I went back to my room and booked again on my free wifi connection.

So the hotel was unable to offer me a rate which I had already and wouldn't have cost them a penny extra to process, and surely they would have at least saved the commission charge?

[bartender100]

There certainly are bizarre wrinkles in the way hotels are booked nowadays. I was staying in Centre Point Sukhumvit at a very good rate through wotif.com. I wanted to extend my stay, and asked the desk if they could simply match wotif's rate. They told me they couldn't offer me anything better than something like twice as much, but invited me to rebook on the internet if I wanted to. So I went back to my room and booked again on my free wifi connection.

So the hotel was unable to offer me a rate which I had already and wouldn't have cost them a penny extra to process, and surely they would have at least saved the commission charge?

First time i have seen that site, whats the deal with there "Mystery Hotel" B1700 for a four star, did you try that out? I'm guessing by the tuk tuk service and how near it is to the Emporium it might be the Four Wings hotel

P.S Now after some research

im guessing its the Le Fenix, a cheap 3 star way down soi 11

Edited October 22, 2008 by bartender100

[torrenova]

...... Lastly others like asia Rooms acually I gather PAY for a gaurantee of X rooms a night every night of the year at a certain hotel, and if course the market hits a dramatic downturn then they have to shifty those rooms as fast as possible. Of course at busy times they make a fortune but it is swings and roundabouts. That's our take on this and hope that it makes things a bit clearer! Regards, Guy and team

Whilst this has been an urban myth for years, I don't believe a word of it that people like Asia Rooms pay for X rooms a night or even for X room nights per year. Too many agents offering the same and not one agent big enough to have that position.

Even American Express Centurion were telling porkies when they said they keep tables at restaurants and rooms in hotels as I found out when I used their services.

[onethailand]

Whilst this has been an urban myth for years, I don't believe a word of it that people like Asia Rooms pay for X rooms a night or even for X room nights per year. Too many agents offering the same and not one agent big enough to have that position.

It depends on which agent you're talking about. Most online agents do not buy their own inventory, they use wholesalers who *do* buy inventory.

[torrenova]

Whilst this has been an urban myth for years, I don't believe a word of it that people like Asia Rooms pay for X rooms a night or even for X room nights per year. Too many agents offering the same and not one agent big enough to have that position.

It depends on which agent you're talking about. Most online agents do not buy their own inventory, they use wholesalers who *do* buy inventory.

I find this quite plausible and manageable for the hotel.

[bunnaag]

I am curious if anyone has actually contacted a hotel and asked them to match an online agent's room rate, I have read that this is a very difficult task due to numerous provisions included in the hotel's "guarantees".

I am unsure why hotels do not offer the best rate on their own websites; in fact the best rate is rarely offered on a hotel's own site and the price difference can be quite substantial between their site and online agents (3rd parties). Megasearch sites like kayak.com make it a relatively simple task to find the cheapest rates available thus if most hotels offered the cheapest rate (without the guarantee requirement) the online agents would be in some difficulties.

I am sure I must be missing something????

According to my experience the Amari Hotel websites offer cheaper rates than any other sites for the Amari hotels.

I tried to book the Swiss Park Hotel on Sukhumvit but after 4 sites told me it is fully booked for the time period a wanted I phoned the Swiss Park Hotel and was also told nothing available for this time period.A friend of mine advised me to try asia travel and there was suddenly a vacancy for this time period at a cheaper price than asked for at the website of the Swiss Park Hotel.Is it possible that asia travel has reserved a certain number of rooms on a monthly or seasonal period?

[h90]

I am curious if anyone has actually contacted a hotel and asked them to match an online agent's room rate, I have read that this is a very difficult task due to numerous provisions included in the hotel's "guarantees".

I am unsure why hotels do not offer the best rate on their own websites; in fact the best rate is rarely offered on a hotel's own site and the price difference can be quite substantial between their site and online agents (3rd parties). Megasearch sites like kayak.com make it a relatively simple task to find the cheapest rates available thus if most hotels offered the cheapest rate (without the guarantee requirement) the online agents would be in some difficulties.

I am sure I must be missing something????

my Thai wife tried. the online price on the hotels webpage was 2500 Baht. The "walk in" price 4500 Baht.

They offered us to pay a 15 min Internet and order it online in the hotels internet shop.....what a nonsense....