JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach
What is better than staycation deals? Staycation deals with Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) discounts.
Disclaimer: This is NOT a “guide” to find BRG-able rates. I have spent probably hundreds of hours in learning/experimenting techniques on how to find these rates on almost any hotel in the world and will not be sharing those methods. Not because I am stingy but simply because I want protect those methods from being butchered. If you want it bad enough, I am sure that you will find it.
What is a Best Rate Guarantee discount?
If you are not familiar with Best Rate Guarantee, here’s a brief explanation. Hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton want you to book directly to them so that they do not have to pay commissions when you book through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Agoda.
By booking directly with marriott.com, you will be given a guarantee that you will not be paying more than other OTAs. 99% of the time, this is true and you would be paying a little less just by being a member.
But I know you guys. You want more!
What does this “guarantee” offer? If your BRG claim is successful, Marriott will take 25% off the OTA’s nightly rate OR credit you with 5,000 points (worth $50) per stay, depending on what you choose.
Here are some important rules:
You have to book the lowest member rate for that particular rate type on marriott.com before filing a BRG claim. The most common rate types are non-refundable (prepaid), free-cancellation and free-cancellation with breakfast.
File the claim through the BRG form within 24 hours. Choose 25% off or 5,000 points. You will only receive either if your claim is successful.
The rate types for the one that you booked on marriott.com and the one you are claiming against must match.
There is a little grey area. Some free-cancellation (flexible) rates offered by OTAs require pre-payment while Marriott typically does not. Some times I got those claims approved but at times I did not. I would put it at 50% chance of approval, depending on the Marriott staff processing your claim.
So, what’s the deal?
If you look at Marriott’s Covid-19 policy, all non-refundable rates can be changed or cancelled for free up till 30 April 2020. They could have just removed the ability to book these non-refundable rates but chose not to. On the opposite side of the court, certain OTAs like Expedia are listing free-cancellation rates out right.
Here are some Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Singapore that can easily be BRG-ed right now. All of them are free-cancellation rates that may require pre-payment from Expedia.
| Name of Hotel | Direct Rate | Expedia Rate | BRG Rate | BRG Rate (all-in) | Sample Dates |
| Four Points by Sheraton | $152 | $128 | $96 | $113 | 24, 25 Apr |
| Sheraton Towers | $209 | $175 | $131 | $154 | 10, 11 Apr |
| JW Marriott South Beach | $295 | $247 | $185 | $218 | 24, 25 Apr |
| The Westin | $332 | $296 | $222 | $261 | 10, 17 Apr |
| The St. Regis | $372 | $303 | $227 | $267 | 8, 9 May |
Steps to file a BRG claim
Sign up for a Marriott Bonvoy membership if you have not. It is free.
Do a search for hotels in Singapore with flexible dates and see if you can stay on a date that has the lowest rate.
Do a search on expedia.com.sg for the same dates and room type. Double check that the free-cancellation price is lower than what marriott.com is offering. DO NOT book on Expedia.
Go back to marriott.com. Select the lowest free-cancellation member rate for the room type that you prefer. Go all the way to the payment page. Double check the free cancellation deadline. Enter your credit card details and book it.
File a BRG claim with Marriott using this form. Fill up the required fields and double check that all details are accurate. Submit the form.
That’s it! If Marriott approves your claim, you will see a 25% discount on your nightly rate within 24 hours. If it is not approved, you are free to cancel your booking on marriott.com at no cost because you booked a free-cancellation rate.
Example of a successful BRG claim
I made a booking yesterday for Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview for 1 night on Friday, 24-25 April 2020. The nightly pre-tax rate with free cancellation is $152 and $178.90 all-in. This room type with free-cancellation is listing for $128 on Expedia. If I chose the 25% off option, it would have brought down my total cost by $66 to an all-in total of $113 (0.75 x $128 x 10% service x 7% GST). I chose the 5,000 points option for this test.
This is technically not a 25% discount as I could have booked the lowest non-refundable rate (which would have given me free cancellation till 30 April because of Marriott’s Covid-19 policy) for $143.12 all-in on marriott.com. In this case, it gave me a guaranteed discount of at least 21% and also the freedom to cancel my booking at no cost beyond 30 April 2020 without any prepayment.
Final booking page on marriott.com
Email response for successful claim
Conclusion
While it is not BRG guide per se, I hope that this spoon-feed post helped some of you guys who are looking for a staycation in the coming weeks. As this is not something I usually do on this website, please like, share or comment below so that I know if you would like to see more posts like this in future. Stay safe everyone! <3
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Drop me a message if you have any questions! 🙂
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