Hey guys,

I'm struggling to find a hotel room for Frankfurt on Tuesday night next week. The whole town is booked! So, I'm thinking I may need to invoke my Platinum Guarantee (I'm trying not to think of the poor soul who will him themselves bedless or walked)...

Does anyone know the mechanics of the rate? Is it refundable, or fully prepaid etc? Does all other normal SPG benefits apply? Would you expect it to increase my changes of an upgrade to a decent room, or decrease it?

Cheers,
JK

 

You need to be at least 72 hours in advance. I've done with less notice by contacting the hotel directly, but as a regular guest. It's generally refundable as it's RACK rate, which also means it's quite expensive.

All other SPG benefits apply.

 

Excellent, thank you. My Ambassador thought it was non-refundable, but didn't sound 100% sure, so figured I'd do my own research! Tyvm!

 

The program T&Cs are instructive:

Applicable to one standard room booked by 3 p.m. local time 72+ hours before day of arrival at participating hotels. Member must pay regular RACK rate. Black out dates apply. Not available at resorts. Room upgrade and Free Night Award redemption do not apply when this benefit is utilized. Minimum length-of-stay requirement must be met.

One should never expect at upgrade at a sold-out property, IMHO.

 

I've done thnis once at Westin Fort Lauderdale a few years ago. It was rack rate and no upgrade of any kind. When I asked about upgrade, FD agent basically said I was lucky to even have a room and there is no upgrade for Plat force.

 

The black-out date is the tricky part. Therefore it could well be that you won't get a room at all. Was this case during BAUMA in Munich earlier this year.

 

Exactly, do not set your hopes too high.

Those guarantees work well, if a property is sold out for a national holiday weekend at $169 a night, not really during major fairs, when the average rate is closer to $ 700 or during major sport events, when we talk about even higher rates. It goes without saying that the demand for suites is also significantly higher during fair periods, so one should not really expect senior suites with sep. rooms that are quite functional to hold fair-related events

BTW, the Westin Grand is showing availability as of now at Euro 609 a night ^

 

I saw that too, but when you click on it, it says the hotel is full! Must be a bug of some variety.

Thanks for the advice all! I found that most of the hotels in Frankfurt offer the Platinum Override, BUT, the rate was not cancellable, and in the region of �450-�1000 (for the airport hotel!!)

However, Sheraton Offenbach's Platinum Override rate was �350, AND it's flexible! So I'm on the waiting list for The Westin and Le Meridien - but if not, I'm covered at the Sheraton Offenbach!

Phew! What a pallava...

[I shall fully expect to sleep in a room in the basement, and not expect any upgrade!]

 

The good news is that you can get a room. The bad news is that it may not be exactly the room to which you are accustomed and at an extraordinary price.

At the end of the day, this is no different than air carriers which will almost always overbook for a full Y fare, even if they have to bump someone who paid a lot less and has no status.

 

Should I feel guilty that someone is going to get walked because of me? Or should I sleep peacefully in the knowledge that the hotel will do their best to look after the walked guest? I find it really odd - like verging on unethical... But then keep telling myself that that's the hotels problem for allowing over-booking, and they're the one's who need to deal with it and eat the guilt! LOL.

 

Just like overbooking, hotels do the same. It's more than likely that by the end of the process, OP will have his off-the-charts expensive room, somebody else will cancel or otherwise no show and a room will open up.

 

Ouch... those are tough rates... this is a time that I would be doing Priceline....and save the money!

 

Haha, exactly what I did. But honestly, the best thing I'm finding is cr@p like Best Western, and even that's �350! Criminal, I tell you!

I'm actually waiting for Rocco Forte Villa Kennedy to confirm my reservation (found through Trivago/Travel Republic/TravCo somehow). If they confirm, I'll cancel the Override booking... But I'm not holding my breath!

 

You do not have to feel guilty, they will not walk anyone. Hotels do not only overbook, but they also set aside some capacity for last second emergencies, ( water leaks, really important people arriving etc. ) especially during major fairs.

In and around major German fair cities like Cologne, Frankfurt or Duesseldorf, we find top notch properties that know how to run a business during those major events.

The Sheraton at FRA is an annual candidate for first place among the highest grossing hotels in Germany, IIRC, it finished on the podium last year with the Estrel and Bayerischer Hof

Unfortunately, there is no SPG presence anymore in Cologne, but taking the ICE high speed train from Cologne is an option for the major fairs in Frankfurt as well. 55 minutes on the train + a taxi from the airport station is not that bad an option depending on where you stay in or around FRA.

 

So bizarre, but I've been checking the rates every so often in case of cancellations etc.

I have the beatthetimer SET code in my SPG app, along with my corp one etc., and all of a sudden, Sheraton Frankfurt is showing availability (4 room types available)... all at €119!!!!! So last night, I was quoted €999 - and today, I can book the same hotel for €880 less. Wow.

And before you ask - yep - I went ahead and booked it, and it really actually did work, and I have confirmation email etc. I can now cancel at Sheraton Offenbach and save myself €230 there too!

Interestingly - there is zero availability on any other rates. No best available rate shown, no corp SET rate, no offers or anything else.

Moral: make sure you all put the beatthetimer SET code in your app's! The 500 bonus app booking points will be sweeter than ever.