Free hotel stays

Here are the full Terms and Conditions that were in force at the time my reservations were made and my claims submitted and agreed:-

Terms and Conditions
Ramada guarantees that our website and our central reservation telephone number will have the lowest rate publicly available to consumers on the Internet. If you find a rate lower than Ramada's best available rate that is viewable and bookable on another website for the same hotel, same room type, same number of guests, same currency and for the same dates, and advise Ramada within 24 hours after booking your room on our website or through our central reservation number, Ramada will provide you with the first night of your stay for one room for free. If there is a rate available on our website or through our central reservation number that is the same or lower than the rate on the other website, the Ramada rate will be offered instead. To file a claim, fill out the online Claim Form with your booking details. Only one valid claim can be submitted for the same arrival date.

• Guarantee applies only to reservations made on our website or our central reservation number for Ramada hotels worldwide. Guest must have a Ramada reservation confirmation number.
• Guest must submit the claim within 24 hours after booking the original Ramada reservation and at least 24 hours before scheduled arrival. If the original reservation was made within 24 hours of arrival, the Best Rate Guarantee is not applicable. The competing rate on another website must be for the same hotel, for the same dates, for the same room type, for the same number of guests, in the same currency and must be publicly viewable and bookable via the Internet. A viewable rate means that the general public can view the rate on the website. A bookable rate means that the rate is available and can be reserved online. Special rates available only to members of membership clubs or programs do not qualify.
• Ramada customer service agents must be able to verify, to their satisfaction, that the claim meets all conditions of the Guarantee and these Terms and Conditions, and that it has been properly submitted.
• If there is a rate available on our website or through our central reservation number which is the same or lower than the qualifying rate on the other website, the Ramada best available rate will be offered to the guest. No free room night will apply. Ramada will only honor the free room night if Ramada does not have the best available rate.
• Only one free room night will be offered per stay. A room night means one guest room for one night, regardless of the number of rooms or reservations booked by the guest. A stay is any number of consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, even if the result of more than one reservation.
• For a multiple night stay, the total room cost for the stay will be evaluated in determining whether the other website has a lower rate.
• Any rate change is not effective until the guest receives written confirmation. The standard claims processing time is four business hours (Central Standard). Claims submitted outside of business hours will be processed on the next business day. If a guest's stay begins before written confirmation is received, the original rate will remain in effect. Ramada recommends that the written confirmation of any rate change be presented by the guest at check-in.
• The Guarantee applies only to published rates available to the general public. This excludes private rates, packaged rates, rates involving a prepaid voucher program, hotel rooms sold as part of a travel package, corporate discount rates, group rates (5+ rooms), meeting rates, any rates requiring membership in a club such as AAA rates or AARP rates, affinity program, or other organization where the rates are targeted toward a specific group of individuals and not intended for the general public.
• The Guarantee does not apply to websites or rates where the Ramada brand and/or specific hotel and location are not known until the booking is made such as Priceline® or Hotwire®.
• If the guest is a member of the TripRewards loyalty program, the number of TripRewards Points, airline miles of other currency to be awarded will be based on the rate actually paid by the guest at check-out.
• For purposes of this Guarantee, the "rate" includes the room rate only and does not include any taxes or tariffs (i.e. federal, state, provincial or local) or any guest fees or charges which may be imposed by the hotel on the guest's stay.
• The rates available under this Guarantee cannot be combined with any other special or promotional offers or discounts.
• Void where prohibited by law. Ramada reserves the right to modify, alter, suspend or terminate this Guarantee at any time without prior notice at its sole discretion.

I've highlighted in bold text the phrase 'prepaid voucher programme'. When booking with a company such as Alpharooms or Find-Rooms, they issue an electronic voucher for you to print and present at check-in. Expedia do not issue such a voucher.

Just another point to make - I noticed plenty of leaflets and posters on display in the hotel which were clearly branded as Ramada Worldwide, promoting amongst other things the Guaranteed Best Rate on Ramada.com!

It's strange that the hotel should be promoting such a policy, considering they reckon it's got nothing to do with them and they won't honour it!

Just another reason why I think they'd be liable under UK law for actively marketing a policy in the UK, taking money from UK customers, for a service that is supplied in the UK.

Hi

I've booked 3 hotels on this deal: one at Docklands, London, one at Hyde Park and the other at Chester.

The Docklands one has been straightforward (so far). The Hyde Park one was a real struggle but after 5 attempts to refuse the claim (screenshot not date-stamped, wrong sized beds etc etc!) they finally conceded and honoured the free night.

The Chester booking was identical to most other posters' experiences; it initally went through no problems but I then got the email yesterday saying they were withdrawing the free night as the terms and conditions differed etc. I've replied to the sender but not had a response as yet. After taxiphils experience at Chester I'm not sure if we'll bother risking that one and may just cancel (at the last possible minute naturally!)

If my bookings are anything to go by, it looks like it's only the expedia deals they're challenging. Both my other two bookings were done through companies other than expedia. (Not sure if I can name them?)

Don't know if that helps or hinders things but thought I'd throw in my experiences so far: of course it could all change at any minute!

i think we are all sitting and waiting now. I am going to go ahead and pay for my rooms and hit them with a small claims, it costs me £30 but will have them flustered , worth it for the entertainment.

In case anyone's bothered, www.ramadajarvis.co.uk have changed their Best Rate Guarantee entirely. The new terms and conditions are simply this:-

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]Guaranteed Best Rate
You can get the Guaranteed Best Available Rate or we will match the lower rate when you book your reservation through https://www.ramadajarvis.co.uk or our Call Centre (0845 7 30 30 40)
If you find a lower publicly available rate for the same hotel accommodation and date on another web site, we'll match the lower rate!
Click on one of the links below for more information.
Example of How It Works
Terms and Conditions
Frequently Asked Questions
Claim Form
Please note that this does not include rates that require membership, association rates or other negotiated rates.

Wow, that's a fantastic deal :rolleyes: