Hi everyone,
I submitted a BRG for the Westin Las Vegas.
Starwood website price 139.00
Expedia 70.00

The BRG was approved (I'm confused on that but that's anothe question)
Confirmed rate 55.60.

What angers me is I was told to book on the Starwood website which total with taxes and resort fee (19.95) is 178 bucks. Since its prepaid and not refundable I'm out the 100 bucks or so right now for paying up front. The BRG terms says I will receive a refund 30 business days after the BRG was approved. Yikes. That's like a 6 week loan to Starwood of 100 bucks.

Am I wrong? Have others here had their money refunded faster?

 

What I would do in your case:
1. Find lower price
2. Submit a claim BEFORE making a booking
3. Book a REFUNDABLE RATE on spg.com
4. Email the confirmation number to the BRG team

Refundable/Non-refundable doesn't influence the BRG comparison. So basically you could have gotten a refundable rate for 55,60

 

Let me get this right? You are getting $100 back within 30 days and that's your complaint? Would you have preferred to pay $178?

Have you checked your CC statement to verify that you were actually charged yet?

 

Yes I have been charged 178.20on my credit card for the reservation.

Now I figured I had to book the nonrefundable rate because that was the offer on expedia for 70.00. I figured it had to match. The refundable rate on Starwood was 160.00 but no refundable rate was available on Expedia.

Maybe 100 bucks isn't much to you-but it is to me. I would of rather paid the Expedia price directly so I wouldn't be waiting until nearly March for a refund.

 

if the spg website is only showing availability for prepaid nonrefundable BAR and DAILY rates you can always book a different, restricted rate plan like GOV or AAA even if you don't qualify for it. Because the reservation is going to be adjusted to a BRG rate the eligibility requeriments for the rate plan on the original booking are irrelevant. All the BRG desk needs is a reservation number for the dates and room type on your approved BRG claim and that's the only thing you are required to provide them.

 

That was your own doing. No need for your booked rate to match anything. The claim asks you for the other site's rate and for the SPG rate that you're claiming against. Those two rates have to match, but they don't have to match whatever you booked.

 

It may not be as bad as you're thinking...

You should have a credit on your folio for the $178.20. Your BRG rate should be billed against that along with any on-site expenses. If you don't spend that much then the property should issue a credit against your CC. Every time I've looked into a credit for a customer where I work, I've been told they do not process in the same path as a charge and therefore may not show up on the account for a billing cycle (or two in some cases!).

Funny how they report the taking of money immediately, but not when it comes time to give it back. Of course this may differ from one CC to another.

 

OP, why didnt you just book with expedia instead if indeed the brg team asked you to book a non-refundable rate at spg.com? Or since you already know you wont get your refund until 30 days after?

I understand your frustration for not getting your refund asap, but if you didnt take the time to understand and learn the brg program then perhaps the best rate guarantee is just not for you as you'll end up being frustrated again if you do brg in the future.

My advice, dont brg again until you get to know the program details.

 

I booked a prepaid rate (something I never do, but I wasn't expecting to find a BRG) about a month ago. Hotel refunded the difference when I checked out. It was all itemized on my folio.

OP have a look at the BRG master thread and wiki where it clearly spells out that cancellation policies are irrelevant with Starwood.

 

Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine! Two items here:
#1. I was told to book "the rate" I quoted in the BRG form which was the nonrefundable $139.00. Now I know the BRG program does not have match exactly what the competitor's cancellation policy is for their rate is great to know. I figured it was very precise. It's clearly not. Had I known I would certainly booked the nonrefundable rate (which was $160).

#2. I willingly pressed the button to make the reservation which clearly indicated what the amount I would be charged ASAP (178.00). As stated my main question here was does it really take 30 business days to refund that money. One post says it was adjusted at the time of check-out. If that's the case I'm perfectly fine with that. If not and they do hold $100 bucks from me for 6 weeks I won't be a happy camper with Starwood Hotels.

 

You can submit a BRG before you make the reservation. When making the reservation choose a fully refundable rate - it does not have to be even close to the BRG rate as everything is adjusted once your BRG is approved and you give BRG the OPEN reservation number. Waiting 30 days to get $100 is not a big deal in the scheme of things (realistically, if you can't afford to be out $100 for a month then there are other issues).

 

If its 30 business days that's certainly not a huge issue. It sounds like it goes through much faster with the multiple responses I'm seeing.

If the Expedia offer had a refundable option I would of used that rate for the BRG. Regrettably the only option was the Nonrefundable $70.00 price tag so I matched an apple to an apple. Next time I know better! And knowing is..well..half the battle. Or Battleship?