Hotel Best Price Guarantee: Which Chains Honour It and How to Claim

A best price guarantee is a hotel chain promise: if you book on its site or app and then find the same room, for the same dates, cheaper on another page, it matches that price and often adds an extra on top. Several big chains offer one, and you can claim it yourself.

In short

• A best price guarantee makes the chain match a lower rate you find on another site for the same room and the same dates.
• Marriott matches the price and lets you choose between an extra 25% off or 5,000 Bonvoy points.
• Hilton matches the price and takes a further 25% off each night of the stay.
• IHG matches the price and adds 5x IHG One Rewards points, up to a 40,000 maximum.
• With most of them you have 24 hours from booking to claim, and the rival rate must be public and bookable by anyone.

Which chains offer a best price guarantee and what you get

These are the big chains with a public best price guarantee and what they give you if your claim goes through.

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All three work alike: you book on their direct channel first, and only then, if a lower rate turns up, you claim. The guarantee is one of the benefits of booking direct, not a discount you can simply ask for.

What a best price guarantee actually is

A best price guarantee is a chain commitment, not a law: it applies only if you book on its direct channel first and then find a lower public rate for the same room. It comes from how hotel distribution works, and if you want the underlying idea, here is what booking direct with a hotel means. For years, parity agreements limited how far a hotel could publicly cut its price, so matching an outside rate was a way to compete without breaking that parity. In the European Economic Area, Booking.com removed those parity clauses in late 2024 following the EU digital markets rules, so a hotel can now publish lower prices on its own site. Even so, the guarantee is claimed against public rates: member or loyalty prices, which you only see once you sign in, are out.

Marriott, Hilton and IHG: the terms chain by chain

Each chain sets its own terms, and it is worth reading them before you book. Marriott calls its own Best Rate Guarantee, formerly Look No Further: if you find the same room cheaper on another site, it matches the price and lets you pick an extra 25% off or 5,000 Bonvoy points, with 24 hours from booking to claim. Hilton, with its Price Match Guarantee, matches the rate and takes a further 25% off each night, and accepts the claim before you book or within the next 24 hours. IHG, in its Best Price Guarantee, matches the price and adds 5x IHG One Rewards points, up to 40,000, as long as the rival rate is at least 1% cheaper. In all three, the comparison is made on the price before taxes and fees, and the rate you found has to still be available when the chain checks it.

How to claim the guarantee step by step

Claiming a best price guarantee is a short job when you have the proof to hand, and the order matters, because most of them require you to book first.

1. Book the room on the chain direct channel: its site, its app or its reservations line.
2. Look for the same room, for the same dates and with the same cancellation policy, on another public site.
3. Take a screenshot showing the hotel name, the room type, the dates and the total price with taxes in view.
4. Fill in the chain claim form within the window, almost always 24 hours from when you booked.
5. Wait for validation: the chain checks the rate is still live and, if it all lines up, matches the price and applies its extra.

When you will not be able to claim the guarantee

The guarantee has clear limits, and knowing them saves you a rejected claim. It usually will not be accepted in these cases:

• When the cheaper rate comes from an opaque site that hides the hotel name until you pay, or from an auction.
• When that price requires membership, a coupon or a login, because it is not a public rate.
• When the room, the dates, the board or the cancellation policy are not identical to your booking.
• When the difference is only in the taxes or fees, not in the room rate itself.
• When the rival rate is no longer available at the moment the chain reviews it.

How to check the price without doing it by hand

Checking whether a lower rate exists is exactly the heavy part of all this, and there is no need to repeat it by hand every time. Before you claim it helps to know what is at stake, and here is how much you can save by booking direct. The Directo extension compares the hotel direct price while you browse and shows you where the best rate for the same stay is, so you spot the difference you can then claim. More than 600,000 travellers use it.

Frequently asked questions

Does a best price guarantee secure me the lowest price?

No. It only kicks in if you find a lower public rate for the same room and claim it in time. It is a match on request, not a promise that the chain always has the lowest price on the market. That is why it pays to compare before you assume anything.

How long do I have to claim?

With Marriott, Hilton and IHG the usual window is 24 hours from when you book, and some also ask that it be before check-in. Each chain sets its own in its terms, so check it on their site before you book.

Does a rate I saw on an OTA count?

Yes, as long as it is public, bookable by anyone and for the same room and dates. Rates that only appear once you sign in, with a coupon or as a member do not count, nor do sites that hide the hotel until payment.

What do I get if my claim is approved?

It depends on the chain: Marriott matches the price and adds 25% off or 5,000 points, Hilton matches and takes 25% off per night, and IHG matches and adds 5x points. In every case, they match the lower rate you found first.

Do I need to be a loyalty programme member?

You do not need a high tier, but you do need a free account to book on the direct channel and to receive points if that is the reward. Creating it costs nothing and, along the way, it gives you the member rate.

Can I claim after the stay?

No. The claim goes in before you travel and within the window, normally 24 hours from booking and before check-in. Once the date has passed or the night is used, the guarantee no longer applies.