Most of the points and miles I earn for our trips come from credit card spending and sign-up bonuses. But that wasn’t always the case.
There was a stretch when I wasn’t earning as many miles, so I paid cash for much of our travel. I’d still splurge once in a while, but when it came to hotels, I mostly hunted for the lowest price I could find.
I was reminded of that era recently when I was digging through old files and came across a screenshot tied to the only time I ever successfully used a hotel chain’s “Best Rate Guarantee.”
What a Best Rate Guarantee is (and why hotels offer it)
Best Rate Guarantees (BRGs) are one of those “travel hacking” tools that sound simple: book direct, find a lower price elsewhere, and the hotel matches it (sometimes with an extra discount or points on top).
Hotel chains want you to book through their direct channels and use a carrot-and-stick approach. The stick part is not giving you loyalty benefits (either earning loyalty points or getting status perks) if you book through a third party. The carrot is giving you those benefits and also offering to match a lower price you find elsewhere.
Best Rate Guarantees still exist — but they don’t work like they used to
In practice, it’s gotten harder. Hotels still want you booking direct — but the ways third-party rates get presented today (member-only pricing, app-only deals, different cancellation terms, currency quirks, “pay now” vs. “pay later,” etc.) give hotels plenty of room to say, “Sorry… not the same rate.”
Still, the policies are real, and the terms are worth reading if you’re thinking about trying one. Here are a few official pages from the major chains:
- Hyatt Best Rate Guarantee
- Marriott Best Rate Guarantee
- Hilton Price Match Guarantee
- IHG Best Price Guarantee
And now for the part where I admit: despite knowing about BRGs for years, I’ve only had one claim actually go through.
The case study: the one time a BRG worked perfectly
Back when I was paying cash for more stays, I used TripAdvisor a lot to compare prices across booking sites. During one search for Washington, D.C., I saw a rate that made me do a double-take: a website was offering the Park Hyatt Washington, D.C., for $221 a night.
Even then, that felt like a steal for one of the top-rated hotels in the city.
Step 1: Find the lower rate (without even booking it)
At the time, I had never heard of Amoma.com (which eventually went out of business). But here’s the key: you didn’t have to actually book through the third-party site — you just had to prove the lower price existed and was bookable for the exact same stay.
Hyatt’s BRG terms also made it extra appealing: they’d match the lower rate and then give you a choice of an additional discount (or points).
Step 2: Document it and file the claim
I took a screenshot, saved the webpage, and submitted a claim. After Hyatt verified it, we were booked at the Park Hyatt Washington D.C. at the matched rate.
The result: $175 a night at the Park Hyatt (and we upgraded to a suite)
In fact, we paid $175 for the room. I also received an email before the stay offering an upgrade to a Park Junior Suite for an additional fee — I think it was another $30–$40 per night.
I can’t tell you the exact price because I added our dinner at Blue Duck Tavern and drinks at the bar the next evening to the bill.
Note from Joe’s wife, Sharon – they made THE BEST daiquiris there!
The “this is ridiculous” suite moment
At the time, this was one of the fanciest hotel rooms we had ever stayed in. It was basically two rooms — a living room:
And a bedroom:
And a shower that was bigger than our bathroom at home:
Sharon found an old room video
Note from Sharon: Joe’s going down memory lane got me to check out my pictures from when we stayed there. And what do you know…I did a quick video of our room!
Bonus: we got treated like VIPs at Blue Duck Tavern
Oh — and about dinner at Blue Duck Tavern: we were treated like royalty because we were staying in a suite. The waiter came to the table to thank us for dining and comped our bottle of wine and our apple pie dessert (I wanted to ask if he knew how much I was paying for the room I got from a BRG + suite upgrade LOL).
Bonus #2: the chauffeured BMW ride
To cap off our stay, the concierge arranged a ride to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the hotel’s chauffeured BMW. The driver said we were much better company than the guests he usually drove to the U.S. Capitol or to lobbyists’ offices on K Street.
Why BRGs are tougher now (and how to give yourself a shot)
If I’m being honest, that claim worked in part because the comparison was clean: same hotel, same dates, publicly bookable rate, and no “gotchas” like a member-only login or a different cancellation policy.
These days, if you’re going to try a Best Rate Guarantee, the best odds are when you can check these boxes:
- The lower rate is public and immediately bookable (no login, no coupon code, no “members only” paywall).
- The room type matches exactly (not just “similar,” but the same category/description).
- The terms match exactly (cancellation, prepaid vs. pay later, currency, taxes/fees structure).
- You document everything (screenshots with timestamps are your friend).
My hotel strategy changed (but BRGs haven’t disappeared)
While it’s tougher to find Best Rate Guarantee wins than it used to be, it’s not impossible. I still read stories from people who manage to make them work.
I just don’t focus on BRGs as much anymore because my strategy shifted. These days, I’m more likely to lean into points redemptions — like when I paid with Hyatt points for a club room at the Grand Hyatt Kauai — rather than chasing a price match claim and hoping it gets approved.
Final Thought
Best Rate Guarantees are one of those travel tricks that can feel like a relic… right up until the day you find a rate that’s too good to ignore.
Have you ever had a Best Rate Guarantee (or price match) claim actually work? I’d love to hear the success stories — or the “they denied me for the dumbest reason” ones.
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