Best Rate Guarantees: How Hotel Price-Matching Programs Work

Best rate guarantees are offered by the world’s large hotel groups to entice travellers to book directly with the hotel chain instead of via third-party sites.

The pitch is straightforward. If you find a cheaper rate elsewhere on the internet, the hotel chain will match it and usually layer on an additional discount or a points kicker. A successful claim also lets you keep all the elite benefits you’d otherwise forfeit by booking through a third-party site.

The reality in 2026 is that successful claims have become much harder to land than they used to be. This article walks through how each major program works on paper, and closes with a candid look at why these programs are worth knowing about in case you happen to spot a lower rate, but not really worth actively hunting for.

Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee

Marriott has a generous Best Rate Guarantee program. Not only will Marriott match any eligible rate found, you’ll additionally have a choice of a further 25% discount on your booking (20% discount for Design Hotels properties) or 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee applies to all Marriott branded hotels, with some exclusions. Some specific properties that don’t participate are:

• The Ritz-Carlton Residences
• The Ritz-Carlton Club
• Marriott, Sheraton, and Westin Vacation Club properties
• Marriott’s Grand Residence Club
• All-inclusive properties
• Homes & Villas by Marriott International
• Elegant Hotels

One important change to be aware of is that as of 2025, you must be a Marriott Bonvoy member to file a claim, and your reservation must be associated with your Bonvoy number. The good news is that signing up for Bonvoy is free, so this is more of a procedural step than a true barrier.

In order to take advantage of Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee, you’ll need to follow three simple steps:

1. Make a reservation with Marriott directly
2. Find a lower rate elsewhere
3. Submit a Best Rate Guarantee claim form

1. Make an eligible booking

Qualifying reservations must be booked through one of the following channels:

• Online at Marriott.com
• Through the Marriott Bonvoy app
• Over the phone by calling Marriott
• Directly with the hotel

You won’t be able to make a booking with any other third-party website and then submit a Best Rate Guarantee. Only bookings made through official Marriott channels are eligible.

2. Find a lower rate

Next, you’ll only need to find a lower rate elsewhere. Even though you aren’t required to actually book the lower rate, it may make sense to do so if it’s refundable, just in case your claim is denied.

(Note that Marriott will not reimburse you for any costs incurred due to cancellation of a reservation.)

Marriott may decline your claim if the lower rate you found does not meet specific criteria. The lower rate must be for:

• The exact same hotel
• The exact same room type
• The exact same date(s)
• An eligible rate found on a non-Marriott website or non-Marriott app

There are many ineligible rates to be aware of, including privately available rates.

The comparable rate has to be publicly available, meaning it can’t be a rate that is only accessible through negotiated corporate rates, paid memberships to other programs, senior or group rates, negotiated rates for extended stays, or government-subsidized rates.

Furthermore, rates that have different rules regarding cancellations or refund policies aren’t eligible for the Best Rate Guarantee. 

Rates for Marriott properties that have their own standalone websites, or their own mobile app, are also not eligible for the Best Rate Guarantee. An example of this might be rates found exclusively on the Design Hotels website or Design Hotels mobile app.

Basically, if the rate isn’t easily accessible to the public, or if it’s part of a package rate or an exclusive deal, it won’t be eligible for the Best Rate Guarantee. A full list of ineligible rates may be found on the Marriott Best Rate Guarantee page.

When comparing rates, Marriott will use the lowest available Marriott rate to compare against the lower rate found elsewhere. The rate difference also has to be meaningful enough to qualify. Marriott may deny claims if the lower rate is within 1% of the original Marriott rate (or within 2% if the two rates are in different currencies).

Ultimately, Marriott has to be able to independently verify the rate you found. While screenshots can be used to assist the claim, they cannot be used for validating the lower rate if Marriott is unable to find it on their end.

3. Submit the claim

After making your booking with Marriott directly, you have 24 hours to find another rate and submit the claim form.

On the form, you’ll have to provide:

• Your contact information
• Your Marriott Bonvoy number
• Your Marriott reservation information, including the rate at which you booked
• The comparison rate information, including the rate and exactly where you found it

In addition to submitting the claim form within 24 hours after making the original booking, the form must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the standard check-in time of the Marriott hotel.

The name on the claim form must match the name on the confirmed Marriott reservation. You wouldn’t be able to fill out a claim for a friend or family member in order to receive the 5,000 Bonvoy points for your own account; they’d have to fill out the form themselves.

You can only submit one claim per reservation, regardless of how many nights you’re staying.

After you submit your claim form, you’ll have to wait until someone processes and verifies the claim. Marriott will review your claim and contact you within 24 hours of receiving your claim form with the decision.

Should you choose the 25% discount or 5,000 points?

Using our target valuation of Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 (CAD) cents per point (cpp), you should take the 5,000 points only if the 25% discount would mean a savings of less than $40 (CAD).

In other words, if the new lowered rate is greater than $160 total for all nights combined, you’d be better off choosing the 25% benefit. If it’s less than $160, you’d be better off choosing the 5,000 points.

If you’re using the Best Rate Guarantee benefit for a Design Hotel brand, then you’ll only be eligible for a further 20% discount after the rate is matched. In this case, the 5,000 Bonvoy points would only be the better choice if the matched rate is less than $200 total for the entire stay.

Note that once you make your choice, you won’t be able to go back and change it after your claim has been submitted.

If you’ve chosen the points, they’ll be awarded within 7–10 business days after you check-out from the approved reservation.

Hilton’s Price Match Guarantee

Hilton’s Price Match Guarantee is very similar to Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee. Hilton will match the lower price found, and in addition, you’ll get 25% off the cost of your stay.

Hilton’s Price Match Guarantee applies to all Hilton-branded hotels, with a few exclusions to keep in mind:

• All Hampton by Hilton hotels in mainland China
• Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) properties in mainland China
• SLH and other Partner Accommodations in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, and Portugal

The SLH carve-out is a relatively new wrinkle. Hilton brought the Small Luxury Hotels collection into the Hilton Honors fold in 2024, so SLH bookings made through Hilton are otherwise eligible for the Price Match Guarantee outside of the regions listed above.

The three steps for claiming Hilton’s Price Match guarantee are almost identical to Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee:

1. Make a reservation directly with Hilton
2. Find a lower qualified price elsewhere
3. Submit a Price Match Guarantee claim form

1. Make an eligible booking

The Hilton reservation must be found or booked through one of five channels:

• Any official Hilton website
• Any official Hilton call centre
• The Hilton Honors app
• Directly at a Hilton hotel
• Directly through an accredited travel agent

Additionally, the original rate booked must be the lowest rate in order to be eligible for the Price Match Guarantee.

Hilton’s Price Match Guarantee differs from Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee in that you don’t actually have to make the original booking, you simply need to find a rate as part of your submission. Furthermore, bookings found or made through an accredited travel agent are valid.

2. Find a lower price

The lower rate must be found through a third-party platform, and not through an official Hilton channel. The lower rate must be identified either before you book or within 24 hours after you make your reservation.

Again, the third-party rate must have the same terms, including room type, breakfast offering, dates, number of guests, refundability, etc., as the original Hilton rate.

The booking must be viewable and bookable by anyone without any additional booking limitations or restrictions.

3. Submit your claim

You can submit a Hilton Price Match Guarantee claim online. Alternatively, you can submit a claim over the phone by calling the Hilton contact centre.

Similar to Marriott, you must submit a claim no more than 24 hours after booking. However, unlike Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee, Hilton’s Price Match Guarantee can be submitted even if you are within 24 hours of your stay.

Claims submitted online will be validated within 48 hours, while claims made over the phone will be validated immediately.

If you submit a claim for a rate you haven’t booked yet and your claim is approved, you will receive an email with instructions. Afterwards, you will have 24 hours to make a booking with the adjusted rate.

Hilton may deny claims if the qualifying lower rate is 1% or less than the original price found or booked.

Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee

Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee program is similar to Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee in that successful applicants are offered a choice of benefits.

Hyatt members who are able to find a lower rate elsewhere will have their booking rate matched to the lower rate. Guests are then given a choice of either 5,000 World of Hyatt points or a further 20% discount on their booking.

Similar to other hotel chains, Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee rate is eligible for earning Hyatt base points and Elite Qualifying Nights. World of Hyatt elite members, including Globalists, will also receive all applicable benefits.

Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee applies to most Hyatt brands, with the following exclusions:

• Hyatt Residence Club
• Hyatt Vacation Club
• Destination Residences
• Any residential or extended-stay apartments
• M life Rewards destinations
• Mr & Mrs Smith properties
• UrCove by Hyatt

One notable change since the original version of this article: Hyatt’s long-running partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World ended in 2024, and SLH has since moved over to Hilton Honors. In its place, Hyatt added a partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith for boutique luxury bookings. You can earn and redeem World of Hyatt points at Mr & Mrs Smith properties, but those bookings are not covered by Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee.

Following the same format as Marriott and Hilton, here’s how you make a claim for Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee:

1. Make a reservation with Hyatt
2. Find a lower price
3. Submit your claim

1. Make an eligible booking

Similar to Marriott, the reservation must be made first before you are able to submit a claim.

Eligible bookings are those made through Hyatt.com, hyattinclusivecollection.com, or bahiaprincipe.com. Reservations made on any other site won’t be eligible for a Best Rate Guarantee claim.

2. Find a lower price

Within 24 hours of making your reservation, you must find a lower rate elsewhere on the internet that is at least $1 (USD) less than the lowest rate available through Hyatt’s eligible booking sites. The lower rate must be:

• At the same hotel for the same room type
• For the same number of guests
• For the same dates and length of stay
• Under the same guarantee and cancellation policy
• Booked under the same conditions

There are a number of ineligible rates that don’t qualify for Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee. These include:

• Rates through auction sites such as Priceline or Hotwire
• Package rates
• Rates booked on websites that require a paid membership
• Discounted, unpublished, privately available, or negotiated corporate rates
• Rates booked through travel agencies
• Rates booked on third-party websites that do not provide an immediate email confirmation after the booking is complete.
• Rates that are government funded in whole or in part

If the hotel’s rate is in a different currency than the rate booked through Hyatt, Hyatt will convert both rates to a common currency of their choosing. If, after conversion, the lower rate is within 3% of the original rate, then the lower rate will not qualify for the Best Rate Guarantee.

3. Submit a Best Rate Guarantee claim

Claims must be submitted within 24 hours of the original booking and can be submitted either online or by calling Hyatt. 

Claims cannot be submitted within 24 hours of the first available check-in time for the original reservation. Furthermore, only the guest whose name is on the reservation can make a claim.

You’ll need to provide the specific URL where the lower rate can be found. In addition, you can also include a screenshot of the lower rate if you are submitting a claim online.

Hyatt will respond to your Best Rate Guarantee claim within 24 hours.

Note that, in rare situations, Hyatt may apply the Best Rate Guarantee if a third-party rate is actually higher than the original rate booked through Hyatt.com.

This is only done if the third-party rate includes an on-property benefit with monetary value that is not included in the equivalent original room rate booked through Hyatt.com.

Should you take the 20% discount or 5,000 points?

With World of Hyatt points being worth more than Marriott points, and the 20% option less than Marriott’s 25%, there are more situations in which choosing the points could make the most sense.

Using our target valuation of 2 cents (CAD) per World of Hyatt point, taking the 5,000 points is the better choice if the 20% discount is less than $100 (CAD).

In other words, if the matched rate is less than $500 for all nights combined, you’d be better off choosing the 5,000 points. If the matched rate is more than $500, you are better off choosing the 20% benefit.

Similar to Marriott, once selected, the reward choice may not be changed after it’s finalized. If you choose the points, they’ll be awarded one week after checking out.

Other Hotel Chains’ Best Rate Guarantees

Almost every major hotel chain has some form of price-matching or best rate guarantee program. While they’re all worth looking into if you have a cash booking, some aren’t quite as lucrative as the ones we have already covered.

IHG Best Price Guarantee

IHG’s Best Price Guarantee is different from the three previously mentioned.

Instead of offering a discount on top of the matched rate, IHG will match the rate and then award the successful applicant with 5x the IHG One Rewards points on the room rate, up to a maximum of 40,000 points. Note that the Best Price Guarantee doesn’t apply at IHG hotels in mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong, or Taiwan.

Best Western Low Rate Guarantee

Best Western’s Low Rate Guarantee doesn’t offer any points or discounts on the lower rate; however, they will still match the rate and give the successful applicant a $100 (USD) Best Western gift card. Best Western limits the program to one gift card per household per 30 days, so it isn’t a vehicle for stacking claims across multiple stays in quick succession.

Accor Best Price Guarantee

Accor will match any equivalent third-party rate that you find within 24 hours of making a booking, provided the claim is submitted at least 48 hours before your arrival.

If your claim is successful, you’ll get a 10% discount on the lower rate at Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel properties, or a 25% discount on the lower rate at all other Accor-branded properties. The discount applies to the room rate only, so taxes, resort fees, and other surcharges aren’t included in the calculation.

Should You Actually Pursue a Best Rate Guarantee?

Best rate guarantee claims used to be a fairly reliable way to save money on a paid stay. The success rate isn’t what it once was, and there are a few structural reasons why a claim that looks like a slam dunk often gets denied.

The first problem is timing. By the time a support agent picks up your case, often hours or even days later, the lower OTA rate has already moved, and the agent ends up comparing against a different number than the one you screenshotted.

The second problem is OTA personalization. Sites like Agoda, Booking.com, and Expedia adjust the rates they display based on your location, your login state, your device, and your booking history. The agent reviewing your claim is almost certainly not seeing the same page you saw.

Agoda in particular runs into a third issue. The platform automatically applies a publicly available promo code during checkout, and there’s no way for the customer to opt out. Hotel support agents will frequently deny these claims on the grounds that the rate “uses a promo code,” even though it isn’t a private discount the customer chose to apply. It’s just the public Agoda rate that anyone shopping for the same dates would land on.

The fine print has also tightened across the board. Hotels now demand exact-match cancellation policies, exact-match inclusions, and narrower rate-difference thresholds. Every new requirement is another opportunity for an agent to find a reason to deny.

Successful claims do still happen. The Marriott approval shown earlier in this article was from a 2-night stay in late 2021 where the combined rate dropped from 313.73 GBP to 235.30 GBP, plus a further 25% discount on the matched rate. Wins like that are now the exception rather than the rule.

The one genuine upside that survives in 2026 is on the elite-benefit front. If you do happen to land a successful claim on a stay you would otherwise have booked through an OTA, you also recover all the elite perks you’d have lost. That includes free breakfast, room upgrades, late checkout, points earning, and elite-qualifying night credit.

The bottom line is that actively hunting for best rate guarantee opportunities probably isn’t worth the time anymore. Just know these programs exist, and pull the lever if you happen to spot a noticeably cheaper rate on an OTA. It isn’t a money-saving strategy worth working at as a routine.

Conclusion

Best rate guarantee programs are still on the books at all the major hotel chains, and they still work occasionally. But the days when these were a reliable side-quest for saving money are largely behind us. OTA pricing personalization, tightened claim terms, and the slow shift toward dynamic rates have all made modern claims much more frustrating to land than they once were.

The right mental model in 2026 is to keep these programs in the back of your mind. If you happen to notice a meaningfully cheaper rate on an OTA after booking direct, it costs almost nothing to file a claim. But chasing them isn’t a strategy worth investing real time in anymore.