Marriott Hotels Look No Further Room Rate Guarantee for 25% Discount

Marriott Rewards members seem to be a relatively happy bunch of hotel guests with Marriott’s Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee program. The Marriott version of Best Rate Guarantee offers some consumer-friendly features like a fast response time of 24 hours or less and a 25% discount on the lower room rate for validated claims.

I base my “happy factor” observation on reading the Marriott “Look No Further for newbies” thread in FlyerTalk and other LNF threads over the past year.

When you find a publicly available lower room rate for the same hotel, dates, room type and restrictions for a Marriott brand hotel with an Online Travel Agency (OTA) like Expedia.com, Kayak.com and HotelsCombined.com or with a travel agent or even a lower rate offered by the hotel’s front desk over the phone, you can file a Marriott Look No Further rate claim.

Publicly available rates means you do not have to be a registered member of any group to purchase the room rate. AAA, AARP, senior, corporate rates are examples of rates that are not publicly available ratesand do not qualify for LNF Best Rate Guarantee claims.

Some hotel chains (Best Western, Choice, IHG) require the difference in rates be at least $1.00 USD to qualify for a Best Rate Guarantee claim. Marriott does not have a minimum rate difference requirement. Here is a FlyerTalk thread discussion on LNF on $0.20 difference.

Marriott Look No Further Procedure

• Claim must be submitted within 24 hours of making a reservation on a Marriott site. (This term applies to all Best Rate Guarantee programs. Only Hyatt and Starwood allow a BRG claim to be submitted prior to actually booking a hotel room on their site.)
• Claims are not allowed within 24 hours of checkin time for your hotel stay.(This term is common among BRG policies. Starwood and Hilton have this same restriction. Only Hyatt and IHG do not state a cut-off time for submitting a BRG claim. Most other major hotel chains are 48 to 72 hours.)
• Marriott will verify the Comparison Rate within 24 hoursof receiving your claim and notify you of the results. Because the claim must be processed before check-in, you must submit your claim at least 24 hours prior to check-in. (This is among the best published response times for BRG claims. Hyatt is only program offering faster response time since Hyatt BRG claims are handled over the phone.)
• When multiple rates for the same hotel, reservation dates, and room type are available through a Marriott channel you must reserve the lowest rate to be eligible for the guarantee. (This might be interpreted that a prepaid non-refundable rate might be required when there is also a higher rate on the Marriott site with more flexible cancellation policies. Anecdotal evidence indicates the lower prepaid rate is not necessary if rate on competitive site has same flexible cancellation policy as Marriott rate. This FlyerTalk threadindicates many prepaid, nonrefundable rates on Marriott site actually allow cancellation with no penalty within 24 hours of booking.)
• Approved claim is adjusted to 25% off lower competing rate.(Example: $110 per night room rate on Marriott site is found for same room at $100 per night on competing site like Hotels.com. The room you booked at $110 on the Marriott site is adjusted based on the lower room rate of $100 on Hotels.com to $75 per night ($100 – 25% = $75). Your same reservation locator number will reflect the new lower rate for an approved claim.)
• The Best Rates Guarantee is based on and available for the room rate only and does not include any taxes or tariffs (i.e. federal, state, provincial or local), incidentals, gratuities, or any other fees.
• Marriott Hotels Best Rate Guarantee T&C.

Marriott Look No Further covers phone reservations and approved travel agent reservations.

I made a reservation on Marriott.com and was quoted a lower rate when I phoned the Marriott hotel front desk directly. Can I submit a claim?

Yes.Marriott guarantees you will find the same price for a hotel room whether booked through our Worldwide Reservation Center, a Marriott hotel directly, or online at Marriott.com. You must reserve both rates to be eligible for Marriott’s Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee. Marriott will cancel the higher rate reservation at no charge to you and honor our guarantee on the lower rate.

My travel agent quoted me a lower Marriott rate than the rate I reserved on Marriott.com. Can I submit a claim?

Yes.Rates quoted by travel agents are eligible for Marriott’s Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee. We require that you present two reservation numbers with your claim: one for the reservation made through Marriott.com, and one for the reservation from the travel agency. Marriott will cancel the higher rate reservation at no charge to you and honor our guarantee on the lower rate.

Marriott Best Rate Guarantee FAQ

Marriott Rewards points and benefits are received for ‘Look No Further’ validated claims. Points are earned based on the adjusted lower room rate actually paid for the hotel stay.

Related Loyalty Traveler posts:

Devilish Details of Best Rate Guarantee Claims (July 9, 2012)

Ric Garrido, writer and content owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.