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My hotel booking checklist
You’ve just spent hours researching hotels, and you finally narrowed it down to just a few. Price is probably an important factor in your final decision. So, I recommend you do something that the points & miles community generally doesn’t bring up! Check the pricing on a third-party hotel site! These are sites like Hotels dot com, Expedia, Booking, etc that operate as online travel agencies (OTAs). Compare the pricing from various OTAs alongside the price of booking directly with the hotel chain.
If you find the pricing on the OTA cheaper than booking direct, maybe investigate a bit further and you could save an additional 20-25% off your stay, as major hotel chains will often guarantee that booking direct with them will give you the best price. The guarantee is rooted in providing a meaningful discount if you can find a better rate on a third-party site to the tune of 20-25% off your room rate. It’s very rare to find a better rate on an OTA, but it does happen! That’s why comparing the cost of booking direct and from various OTAs is an important part of my hotel booking checklist! There are some caveats which I explain below.
This checklist works
I just saved over $100 on a future Marriott hotel stay by spending 5 minutes following my hotel booking checklist. My checklist helps me find ways to save anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars every time I book.
Saving you the clickbait, the guaranteed way to save at least some money is booking a hotel using a cash back portal like Rakuten or Capital One Shopping/Offers (works with Hilton, Marriott, IHG, I Prefer, Best Western, Accor, and some smaller chains). This can net you a few dollars, and it still counts as booking direct, so you get to earn night credits and have your status recognized.
Another way that almost always saves money is just simply having an account with the hotel chain (after clicking through a cashback portal) and having an account to access member rates vs. non-member rates. This tip probably doesn’t need to be said for those reading my blog.
Finally, I compare the rates when booking directly with the hotel chain (such as Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, IHG, etc) and if the same room can be booked at a better rate from an OTA. I was able to successfully find a better rate with the same exact cancellation terms and room type on Hotels dot com. Marriott matched the rate and included an additional 25% discount on the better rate just a few hours after I submitted my claim.
The major hotel chains generally guarantee the best price when booking directly through them and will match plus give a discount if you can find a lower rate elsewhere. At Marriott, they call it the Best Rate Guarantee. You can view more details and file a claim here on Marriott’s site. Hyatt also has a Best Rate Guarantee and Hilton calls theirs the Price Match Guarantee. Other chains have them as well including IHG, Choice, Wyndham, and Accor.
Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee
Marriott promises that if you book directly through them but find a better rate within 24 hours of booking, they will 1) match the better rate and 2) provide an additional 25% discount on the room rate (20% for Design hotels) or a choice of 5k points. The caveat is the room you booked needs to be the same room type, on the same dates, the same cancellation policy, and inclusions (meals, amenities, etc.).
The issue is (and I am making up stats now) that 95% of third-party sites will have the same or more expensive rate, or a different (usually worse) cancellation policy compared to booking direct with Marriott. So it is kind of like finding a needle in the haystack. But, you never know if you will find it so it is very worthwhile to include it in your hotel booking checklist. It could save you a few hundred dollars!
You can view a lot of data points of people finding better rates here on Flyertalk.
Marriott’s new Best Rate Guarantee site
I believe this change happened in late 2025, but Marriott updated their Best Rate Guarantee website. Notably, there is now a drop-down menu that shows you countless third-party travel sites that you can pick from to fill out your claim. Previously, this was a free-response form.
So what’s the big deal? I am seeing some extremely sketchy-looking sites, and some foreign OTAs I have never heard of. However, these could be worthwhile to look into. In my view, the lesser-known the site, the more likely they are to offer a better rate that is undercutting Marriott. Flyertalk members also indicate foreign OTAs are more likely to offer a better price than the mainstream ones we have heard of. This means a better chance of success with a Best Rate Guarantee claim!
Limitations
Sadly, there are some limitations for Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee process. Many people get tripped up on some third-party sites that don’t book into Marriott’s central reservation system. Sites, such as Trip.com or GoSplitty, are generally not going to work as they are allegedly bulk/wholesale negotiated rate. There are also more incidents of people showing up and not having a room when booking with those types of OTAs. I don’t think there is any way to really tell if an OTA is booking directly into the hotel’s central reservation system or if they use bulk/wholesale rates. It is trial and error, but other notable ones include Traveluro, Algotels, and Super.
There are also some property exclusions as well including the Ritz-Carlton Montreal, The Ritz London, The Mystique Holbox by Royalton, any Ritz-Carlton Residences, Marriott Vacation Clubs, Sheraton Vacation Clubs, Homes & Villas, any all-inclusive properties, MGM Collection, and Elegant Hotel properties. Also The Coral at Alantis, The Cove at Atlantis, and The Royal at Atlantis are excluded.
