What's better than finding a good quality hotel at an inexpensive price? Finding the same hotel and paying nothing for it. Not talking about working for a hotel, not speaking of becoming a hotel secret shopper, you simply check into your hotel and pay nada for it. Have I hooked you in yet?
Here's how it works:
Many hotels have a 'best rate guarantee' (BRG) policy on their website. After you purchase the room from the hotel if you find an identical room at a better rate from a competitor, such as Orbitz or Travelocity, many hotels will refund your money and give you the room at no charge. The 'best rate guarantee' of course is a way for hotels to drive customers purchase directly from the hotels website, rather than them having to pay commissions when you book on other travel websites. While many hotels offer 'best rate guarantees' not all of them give you a free room. Others will give you a discount or hotel points.
A'las a blog that seeks out best rate guarantee deals has arisen. Each day the good folks at best rate guarantee hunt for free accommodations using hotels' BRG policy. Recent posts include free nights in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Susanville, Redding, Reno, Burbank and Anaheim. Most of the BRG opportunities (the fully refundable ones), you don't actually need to prepay - all you need to do is enter a credit card. Then, your rate is changed, without real money ever being involved.
In addition to finding these slick deals, they provide step by step instructions on how to properly submit a BRG claim to the hotel.
Two thumbs up to this site for providing travelers another useful tool when planning their next journey.