NH Hotels - "Best Price Guarantee" = NO GUARANTEE

[RAM]

The guarantee that isn't - if you thought insurance claims were bad - NH Hotels make them look easy in comparison.

I wanted to book a 4 night stay at this hotel for May 2017 and found that a significantly better rate was offered by Expedia (Euro 289.50) vs NH's (Euro 366.70) for a 'pay on arrival' no cancellation fee booking.




As a member of the NH Hotels 'club' I remember from their frequent emails that they offer a "Best Price Guarantee".

It states that if you can book the same booking & conditions in the same currency elsewhere then they will beat that price by 10%. It also states you can achieve this by their online chat. After nearly an hour of trying to find their online chat - which would have instantly sent me a link to the 10% off booking price - I decided to book using both the travel booking site AND NH. I booked the identical stay and conditions through both sites.

Just in case I rang the German customer service number, which was not manned, and left a detailed message which included the fact that I was calling from Sydney, Australia.

They rang back at 1.18 A M (yes that's right in the middle of the night) and told me that 'yes, you are due a discount but as you have booked you need to fill in the online form for "Best Price Guarantee" and attach a few screen shots showing the Euro price you achieved.

So I have 2 identical bookings which I can cancel at zero cost.

I filled in the form, attached three screen shots (two of the booking process and one of the confirmed booking which showed both the per night Euro cost and the total for the 4 nights.

To make it easier for NH I gave the three files detailed names such as:

+ Expedia NH Unterhaching confirmed booking showing per night Euro costs and total.JPG
+ Expedia NH Unterhaching quote screen shot Euro 289 50 bottom right.JPG
+ Expedia NH Unterhaching quote screen shot reserve now pay later.JPG

The terse email reply I received said:

We would like to thank you for the trust you have placed in our chain NH Hotel Group and for having contacted our “Best Price Guarantee” Department.

Further to analyzing your request, we regret to inform you that it is not possible to accept your request as it is necessary to compare the rates in the same currency.
____________________________________________________________

I always thought that the Euro charged by one web site was the same as that charged by NH Hotels...

BE WARNED - DO NOT TRUST NH HOTELS

 

[MEL_Traveller]

IHG is the same with their 'best rate'. Must be in the same currency. Sites which show other currencies, but don't bill you in that currency, are excluded. Which domain for Expedia did you use?

 

[RAM]

IHG is the same with their 'best rate'. Must be in the same currency. Sites which show other currencies, but don't bill you in that currency, are excluded. Which domain for Expedia did you use?

I used .com.au site - over the last 5 or 6 years it seems to provide better Euro prices than any of their European domains even the .ie one. Perhaps Expedia is trying to gain a bigger share of European bookings out of Australia - who knows?

The .com.au engine specifically stated at several stages (I supplied three screen shots for NH) that the price is 289.50 Euros payable at the hotel...

Which just happens to be the identical currency to the NH Hotels' site currency.

If you look at the Expedia image in the OP the booking is clearly showing the cost per night in Euros as well as the total cost in Euros which is what is specified in the NH BPG for once bookings have been made.

Something which the 1.18am call from NH Customer Service Germany confirmed after they checked to see if the price was still offered if they tried to book via Expedia.com.au themselves - which it was. Once you chose 'reserve room' it showed the cost in both Euros and AUD.

The quest continues...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The .au site is converting it to Euros for you. But the 'billing currency' is, AFAIK, AUD. Can you replicate the price on any Euro based website? (hotelscombined is a good starting place for Euro hotel booking)

 

[RAM]

The .au site is converting it to Euros for you. But the 'billing currency' is, AFAIK, AUD. Can you replicate the price on any Euro based website? (hotelscombined is a good starting place for Euro hotel booking)

No you are mistaken - it is converting it from Euros to AUD for you not the reverse.

When you look at the images I have shown from the Expedia booking, it clearly shows the prices per night in Euros, mentions the 50 Euro deposit etc.

True - when you bring up the hotel on the initial search it compares all the places in AUD, but as soon as you choose/reserve one it then shows the price in Euros, makes it clear that the bill will be settled in Euros and the AUD value can change as the exchange rate changes. What is fixed is the Euro price.


Note the message at the bottom of the above image; "Final payment will be settled directly with the hotel in the local currency".

Unless BREXIT has had more impact than I have heard - the local currency in Germany is still the Euro.

The second image has an even more definitive statement as well as showing each night's cost and the total.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Rumour:[Denied by RR] Qantas to ban JQ SYD-MEL pax from F lounges & send to J lou

Yes, but you're not using site with primary billing in €. It may quote your rate in Euro, but it's an AUD website quoting in Aussie dollars, which are converted to euro.

i haven't checked the terms and conditions for NH's guarantee, but it's probably similar to other hotels and even the qantas site where you need to compare in the same billing currency.

 

[RAM]

Yes, but you're not using site with primary billing in €. It may quote your rate in Euro, but it's an AUD website quoting in Aussie dollars, which are converted to euro.

i haven't checked the terms and conditions for NH's guarantee, but it's probably similar to other hotels and even the qantas site where you need to compare in the same billing currency.

The NH BPG is clear about what it needs.


Unfortunately much of what it says is not borne out in practice.

For example - in the "Prior to Booking" it says you can contact them via the online chat. Trouble is that the online chat only works for around 60 hours a week - perhaps less. I spent close to an hour trying to find it.

So I called from Australia to Germany to talk with their customer service team but got a recorded message - who is only available for limited hours (again not what the web site says elsewhere) hence the phone call back from them at 1.18am Monday morning Sydney time (Sunday in Germany).

The person agreed I qualified for the 10% discount off the Expedia offer as it was a pay at hotel, free cancellation, priced in Euros (he went to Expedia.com.au and tried booking it for the dates I mentioned and as I directed him to look at the bottom of the page - he agreed it clearly showed the price in Euros at 289.50

The only problem was their online chat service only works a small proportion of the week. He declared that I had satisfied steps 1-3 but as it online chat was not available for another 16 hours I could not access it. So I was faced with potentially miss out on a price that was over 70 Euros cheaper and wait to book or book both.

So I booked both and filled out the form, sent it off and waited.



Moving on to the "until 24 hours after you have booked"

I have a confirmed booking with NH - priced in Euros.

I have a confirmed booking from Expedia.com.au which does not list the per night nor total cost in Australian Dollars but in Euros, and stresses the amount must be paid in the same currency (Euros) which is exactly what the NH Hotels booking also shows.

The T&Cs are identical, I sent screen shots detailing the prices in Euros, and the T&Cs within the time frame and it was rejected.

Seems very similar to the issues I had with Premier Inn a few years back which after much chasing ended in them admitting I was due a refund.

Or am I missing something with NH?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Rumour:[Denied by RR] Qantas to ban JQ SYD-MEL pax from F lounges & send to J lou

yes, you're missing the fact that Expedia.au is an Aussie website which quotes in Aussie dollars and has provided a conversion for your convenience. This is a common issue with price guarantees, currency must be local. while it may not be the fairest of terms and conditions, it's the way most of them work.

If you select a 'pay in advance' rate on Expedia.au, Expedia bills you in AUD. not euros, or euros that have been DCC'ed.


why not just go to expedia's german site and replicate the booking? that will be billed and displayed in euros.

 

[lathiat]

Re: Rumour:[Denied by RR] Qantas to ban JQ SYD-MEL pax from F lounges & send to J lou

sounds like total cough to me, the converted currency is clearly a convenience and no guarantee and even specifically stated

 

[moa999]

Unfortunately, this sort of thing seems to occur with many of the hotels BRGs.

 

[RAM]

yes, you're missing the fact that Expedia.au is an Aussie website which quotes in Aussie dollars and has provided a conversion for your convenience. This is a common issue with price guarantees, currency must be local. while it may not be the fairest of terms and conditions, it's the way most of them work.

If you select a 'pay in advance' rate on Expedia.au, Expedia bills you in AUD. not euros, or euros that have been DCC'ed.

Two small but important points:

1. The booking is pay on arrival in local currency (as the images in posts above specify) not pay in advance which I agree Expedia.com.au charges in AUD after converting the Euro amount at the current exchange rate into Australian Dollars. I did not book pay in advance (curiously enough both the pay in advance and pay on arrival amounts were the same price in Euros.
2. The confirmed booking email (and online itinerary etc etc) from Expedia only shows the total price expressed in Australian Dollars in brackets some lines below the "Price Breakdown" which is shown solely in just Euros, and states "Final payment will be settled in local currency directly with the hotel".

why not just go to expedia's german site and replicate the booking? that will be billed and displayed in euros.

I mentioned this above - the .com.au site consistently offers lower Euro prices than any of the European Expedia domains including the normally helpful .ie one.

 

[RAM]

SUCCESS after four days...

Amazing what can be achieved when you post a comment on a company's facebook site....

Cost as shown on NH's site when originally booking = 366 Euros
Price now that BPG honoured = 260 Euros

So 106 Euros difference and 'principle of the matter' better off for standing firm.

Duplicate booking cancelled!



Lessons learnt:

1. Screen shot every step of the way as a precaution < DONE >
2. Prepare to be brushed off multiple times < DONE >
3. Do NOT give up < DONE >
4. Remain polite and professional in all correspondence/phone calls < DONE >
5. Use all contact methods available in an 'expanding' fashion < DONE >
6. Cross your fingers! < DONE >
7. Do NOT give up < DONE >