How to Use Hotel Best Rate Guarantees to Get Cheaper Direct Bookings (Plus a 25% Bonus Discount)

Most travellers do one of two things when booking a hotel: they either go straight to Expedia and click the cheapest option, or they assume that booking direct is always pricier and skip that step entirely. Both approaches leave money on the table.

Here's what most people don't know: all four of the world's biggest hotel chains — Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG — run formal Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) programmes. The deal is this: you book on the hotel's own site, find a lower rate elsewhere within 24 hours, submit a quick claim, and the hotel matches the cheaper price. But it doesn't stop there.

That last bit is the part most travellers completely miss.

Why Hotels Do This

So when you book direct, even at a matched-down price, the hotel still comes out ahead. That's why they're willing to throw in an extra discount to get you off Expedia.

What Each Chain Offers

The four major chains each have their own version of this programme. They're all slightly different, so here's the breakdown:

Hilton Price Match Guarantee Hilton also has a distinct advantage: That matters because it eliminates the risk of the third-party price changing before your claim is processed.

Marriott Best Rate Guarantee Note that as of late 2025, LoyaltyLobby reports that Marriott has updated its claims process to deliver faster responses, though it no longer guarantees a full resolution within 24 hours — instead committing to contact you within that window.

World of Hyatt Best Rate Guarantee According to Prince of Travel's analysis of the programme, if the matched rate totals more than $475 across all nights, the 20% discount beats the points in pure cash value.

IHG Best Price Guarantee That's a different structure to the others — you don't get an extra discount, you get a points windfall instead.

The Step-by-Step Process

This is the exact workflow that works. It takes about 15 minutes total.

1. Search third-party sites first

Use Google Hotels, Expedia, Hotels.com, or Booking.com to find the lowest publicly available rate for your hotel. Screenshot or note the price, room type, dates, cancellation policy, and total cost including taxes.

2. Sign up for the hotel's free loyalty programme before booking

This step alone can sometimes make the direct price competitive before you even file a BRG claim.

3. Book direct at the member rate

Make the reservation on the hotel's official website (or via the official app).

4. Submit your BRG claim within 24 hours

For Hyatt, the claim form is at hyatt.com/contact-hyatt/best-rate-guarantee. For Hilton, you can call before even making the reservation. Marriott and IHG both have online submission portals.

5. If your claim gets declined, push back

The Points Guy documents one case where a Hilton claim was initially denied due to slightly different cancellation wording on the OTA site. The traveller replied to the denial email explaining the policies were identical — and the claim was approved a few hours later.

The Rules That Catch People Out

This is where BRG claims most often fail. Pay close attention.

So if the cheaper rate you found is a mystery deal or a bundled package, it won't qualify.

Also watch out for this: This is why step 2 — signing up and logging in before searching — matters.

A Real-World Example

The Points Guy documented a stay at the Oceana Santa Monica, an LXR/Hilton property. The rate on Hilton's site was $686 per night. After checking Google Hotels, Expedia had the same room for $621. After calling Hilton directly and confirming the cancellation policies matched:

That's a reduction from $686 to $465 — a 32% total saving — on a stay they were going to make anyway.

Don't Forget the Member Rate Starting Point

Before you even start comparing OTA prices, always check what the hotel's logged-in member rate is. Sometimes the member rate already undercuts Expedia and you don't need to file a BRG claim at all. When the member rate is cheaper than OTAs, you still earn loyalty points on your stay. Third-party bookings, by contrast, typically earn you nothing toward hotel status or free nights.

The Short Version

• Sign up for the hotel loyalty programme (free, takes 2 minutes)
• Always log in before searching on the hotel's site to see member rates
• If an OTA shows a cheaper public rate for the identical room and cancellation policy, book direct and file a BRG claim within 24 hours
• Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt all give you an extra 20–25% off the matched rate
• IHG gives you 5x points instead, worth up to 40,000 points
• Screenshot everything before filing — same room, same dates, same cancellation terms
• If declined, reply and escalate politely

The whole process, once you've done it once, takes about 10–15 minutes and regularly saves hundreds of dollars on a multi-night stay. These programmes exist precisely because hotels want your direct booking — use that leverage.