Charlie
08-10-2007, 11:57 PM
Sometimes the lowest price you find isn't the best deal.
Many Hotels offer a lowest price guarantee if you book your room on their web site. I'm going to give you an example, but it has been a while so the actual pricing may not be exactly what I paid, but here goes:
I reserved a room at a Ramada Suite's hotel from the Ramada web site at $120 per night for 3 nights. Then I found that one of the hotel search sites (Expedia or Hotels.com I think) had the very same room in the same hotel listed for $110 per night. I filed a claim with Ramada under their lowest price guarantee, they approved my claim and gave me the first nights stay at no charge.
Had I made my reservation through the lowest priced site, (I think it was Expedia) I would have paid $330 plus taxes. But by reserving through Ramada and getting the free night, I paid a higher price per night but my total was $240 plus taxes.
So, wherever you decide to stay, don't just look for the lowest prices, look for a guarantee by the hotel and then see if a lower price is offered elsewhere. If a claim goes through it could save you a ton of money.
Tip: All details have to match perfectly or they will deny your claim. For example, if you reserve a Non Smoking room with the hotel, but find a lower price at Expedia and they only list a Smoking room, your claim wont stand. You have to be able to purchase the EXACT room in the same hotel at both sites. Also, many of the places that have this policy state that your claim must be filed within 24 hours of your reservation having been made but more than 24 hours before your stay. Just make sure you read all of the details very carefully regarding their pricing policy and when it applies.
Hope this helps someone!
Many Hotels offer a lowest price guarantee if you book your room on their web site. I'm going to give you an example, but it has been a while so the actual pricing may not be exactly what I paid, but here goes:
I reserved a room at a Ramada Suite's hotel from the Ramada web site at $120 per night for 3 nights. Then I found that one of the hotel search sites (Expedia or Hotels.com I think) had the very same room in the same hotel listed for $110 per night. I filed a claim with Ramada under their lowest price guarantee, they approved my claim and gave me the first nights stay at no charge.
Had I made my reservation through the lowest priced site, (I think it was Expedia) I would have paid $330 plus taxes. But by reserving through Ramada and getting the free night, I paid a higher price per night but my total was $240 plus taxes.
So, wherever you decide to stay, don't just look for the lowest prices, look for a guarantee by the hotel and then see if a lower price is offered elsewhere. If a claim goes through it could save you a ton of money.
Tip: All details have to match perfectly or they will deny your claim. For example, if you reserve a Non Smoking room with the hotel, but find a lower price at Expedia and they only list a Smoking room, your claim wont stand. You have to be able to purchase the EXACT room in the same hotel at both sites. Also, many of the places that have this policy state that your claim must be filed within 24 hours of your reservation having been made but more than 24 hours before your stay. Just make sure you read all of the details very carefully regarding their pricing policy and when it applies.
Hope this helps someone!