Comments on: Travelocity vs. hotel chain best rate guarantees revisited

By: Tino

Tino — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:28:59 +0000

As Randy says, hotels often refuse their claims. Ric admits on his site, he only gets 2 of 3 BRG claims paid by the chains. That’s pretty shitty. I don’t know how well Travelocity will pay out, but that’s a pretty low bar.

By: Randy

Randy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:36:53 +0000

One problem with hotel chain guarantees is that they may not mean anything. Hilton’s, for example, has a reputation for refusing claims on the flimsiest of excuses.

By: Ric Garrido

Ric Garrido — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:01:04 +0000

I certainly didn’t mean to imply that I dismiss the Travelocity BRG. As long as hotel booking sites are all going to claim they have the lowest price I just want the consumer to know how to find the best deal.

I just did a side-by-side comparison of Kayak.com rates and Travelocity for two dates (Nov 6 and Nov 10) in San Francisco. I see what look to be valid Travelocity BRG claims for the Clift Hotel, Kimpton Hotel Palomar, and Omni.
I see a possible BRG claim with IHG for the InterContinental San Francisco where Travelocity has the lower rate.

For the guest not interested in loyalty benefits there are great advantages to the Travelocity “Good Buy” BRG.

Hotel rates commonly drop to near low rates in the two weeks before a stay when revenue management doesn’t have adequate bookings. Travelocity offers consumers a great opportunity to lock in a rate and then have the rate lowered and receive $50 if the rate drops.

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco was $229 on Travelocity Friday for Friday November 6. Today the rate has dropped to $199 on Travelocity and Hyatt. A Travelocity booking last Friday could have been backed up with a BRG claim filed today and the member gets the lower rate and $50 credit on future Travelocity “Good Buy” booking.

I avoid prepaid bookings in general, but the Travelocity BRG makes these bookings much less risky.

For me the loyalty program promotional offers generally provide substantial added value to the room rate. For example, Hyatt right now allows a person to earn a free hotel night every two stays, bonus miles, and double elite credit. Book a Hyatt hotel through Travelocity and the guest forfeits all the loyalty program benefits.

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:28:50 +0000

Oliver, yes, the 24-hour guarantee of the hotel chains is meaningful if you are seeking out a “gotcha” reservation in the first place. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking for price discrepancies and taking advantage of them. It’s brilliant arbitrage, in fact. But it’s not an insurance policy for the price of the room going down over time.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:05:28 +0000

Not a meaningful guarantee? I think Ric stakes out his BRG opportunities (=sites offering better prices) before he even makes a booking, so the 24 hr period probably matters very little.