My Hyatt Best Rate Guarantee Claims are All Over the Place

Last week I was looking to book a vacation at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun. While I assumed I’d use points, I still wanted to see what a paid rate was going for in the middle of the Winter – peak season at a resort property! During my search, I found that Bookit.com was offer a significantly lower rate then the Hyatt site. Hyatt has a best rate guarantee where if you find a cheaper rate within 24 hours of booking the hotel, you can submit a claim and not only will they match that rate, they’ll also discount it 20%. Unfortunately, that policy is changing next month and instead of the 20% discount, they’ll give you a $50 credit towards your next Hyatt hotel. 

Since I was not 100% sure of my travel dates, I booked 7 separate one night reservations at the hotel and then submitted a claim for all 7 reservations. Within 24 hours I heard back and only 2 of the nights were approved. The claim was exactly the same for all reservations, but clearly it depended on who was actually reviewing the claim. I received 3 very different responses:

Response #1: Claim Approved

2 out of the 7 nights were approved. I then received an updated confirmation of my room reservation with the new rate included (which incorporated the 20% off).

Response #2: Claim Denied – Prepayment Required

2 out of the 7 nights were denied because they stated the bookit.com rate required a prepayment. While it is true that the rates have to follow the same cancellation policy, the bookit.com rates did in fact have the same exact cancellation policy. No prepayment was required, so I have no idea where this representative got that information.

Response #3: Claim Denied – Packaged Rates are Not Included

3 out of the 7 nights were denied because they stated the rate I found (not sure if they mean the bookit.com rate or Hyatt.com rate) is a packaged rate. Again, it is true that the Best Rate Guarantee policy does not apply to packaged rates. But, the rates I found were not packaged rates! While the Hyatt Ziva Cancun is an all-inclusive, it was not a bundled rate I was booking. If that that were the case, then the guarantee would not apply to all Hyatt Ziva and Zilara properties which is not true.

Outcome…

I dotted all my i’s and crossed all my t’s when comparing the two rates and submitting the claim. All of them are 100% legit and should have been approved. So now I am left with emails back and forth with Hyatt trying to get these rates approved. I’ll make sure to keep you all in the know on how it plays out!

Just remember, if you are looking to stay at a Hyatt hotel, check to see if you can get a cheaper rate elsewhere and submit a claim! You’ll still get the same points for your stay, but will just pay less!