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Is the Holiday Inn Express (IHG) 'Best Price Guarantee' just a marketing ploy?
stoobyizzy
Posts: 11 Forumite
Is the Holiday Inn Express (IHG) 'Best Price Guarantee' just a marketing ploy?
I was about to book the Holiday Inn Express at Glasgow Airport in October for my family before we leave for holiday the following day and had logged on to the hotel operator's website to do so. However, my wife had noticed the previous day that the same hotel was in fact cheaper with lastminute.com, so she logged in on her laptop there and then and it was indeed the same price, which was cheaper than the Holiday Inn Express website for the same night.
Being a Priority Club member, I called their reservations to point this out before I booked. I was told that they had a 'best price guarantee' and that I should book with them in the first instance and then fill out their claim form online and make a claim. I duly did so and submitted the claim form as requested by the Reservation staff. My wife also had the foresight to print off the lastminute.com website with the cheaper to price, as evidence that it was in fact a cheaper price at the time of booking than the Holiday Inn website.
However, I received an email back from Holiday Inn saying that my claim was invalid, with a screen print copy from lastminute.com showing the same price as the Holiday Inn price. I checked myself - and what a surprise! Having contacted to tell them the difference in price; several hours later the lastminute.com price had in fact miraculously changed!
I contacted them again to point out that we had evidence, which I had supplied, that at the time of booking there was a price differential. However, they replied stating that the price had to remain different at the time they check the booking! I also informed them that I had been advised by their Reservation team to book and then claim, otherwise I could have just booked directly with lastminute.com!
To me this just feels like a marketing ploy! The mighty IHG versus the individual customer, so you can always be proved wrong by finding something in the small writing! It’s the fact that I was coerced by the Reservations team to make the booking ! What do others think? Have you had similar experiences?
I was about to book the Holiday Inn Express at Glasgow Airport in October for my family before we leave for holiday the following day and had logged on to the hotel operator's website to do so. However, my wife had noticed the previous day that the same hotel was in fact cheaper with lastminute.com, so she logged in on her laptop there and then and it was indeed the same price, which was cheaper than the Holiday Inn Express website for the same night.
Being a Priority Club member, I called their reservations to point this out before I booked. I was told that they had a 'best price guarantee' and that I should book with them in the first instance and then fill out their claim form online and make a claim. I duly did so and submitted the claim form as requested by the Reservation staff. My wife also had the foresight to print off the lastminute.com website with the cheaper to price, as evidence that it was in fact a cheaper price at the time of booking than the Holiday Inn website.
However, I received an email back from Holiday Inn saying that my claim was invalid, with a screen print copy from lastminute.com showing the same price as the Holiday Inn price. I checked myself - and what a surprise! Having contacted to tell them the difference in price; several hours later the lastminute.com price had in fact miraculously changed!
I contacted them again to point out that we had evidence, which I had supplied, that at the time of booking there was a price differential. However, they replied stating that the price had to remain different at the time they check the booking! I also informed them that I had been advised by their Reservation team to book and then claim, otherwise I could have just booked directly with lastminute.com!
To me this just feels like a marketing ploy! The mighty IHG versus the individual customer, so you can always be proved wrong by finding something in the small writing! It’s the fact that I was coerced by the Reservations team to make the booking ! What do others think? Have you had similar experiences?
0
Comments
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The OFT are investigating something similar
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2181531/Expedia-booking-com-face-OFT-investigation-price-fixing.html0
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