Marriott in special offer for room rates

Marriott International is launching its "Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee" on January 1 which will ensure that customers will receive the best available room rates at nearly 2,500 hotels when booking through any Marriott reservations channel — Marriott Worldwide Reservations, Marriott.com, or directly with the hotel.

If a customer books through Marriott and finds a lower publicly available rate within 24 hours for the same hotel, room type, and dates anywhere on an Internet travel site, through a travel agency, travel management company, or even Marriott, the hotel will match the lower rate and give an additional 25 per cent off.

Marriott claims it is the first major lodging company to offer a comprehensive rate guarantee beyond the Internet.

Company research shows that travellers spend as much as half a day shopping to find the best room rates, and that the majority of them do not make hotel reservations on the Internet. Customers also have equal access to the best available room rates.

"This is an important distinction between Marriott and other major lodging companies, which offer Internet-only guarantees and/or Web-only rates," according to a statement.

"The Marriott guarantee reinforces the company's single image inventory principle to offer customers the same rates and availability information across Marriott reservation channels," said Samir Daqqaq, vice-president of Marriott Global Sales, Middle East, Africa and the Subcontinent.