Price guarantees: Marketing gimmicks or the real deal?

HERE’S a puzzlement: Can every travel website really offer the lowest price for your hotel or airfare? That’s what many guarantee. They can do that partly because rates and fares don’t differ much from site to site.

The reason for this lies with pricing parity agreements, in which online travel agencies such as Travelocity and Orbitz agree not to undercut the website rates of travel suppliers such as Marriott and Starwood. So all stand a good chance of being right when they say they have the lowest or best price because they have agreed on the same offer. And on the rare occasion a price is higher, the difference is usually not great enough to justify the time you would spend jumping through hoops to claim the guarantee.

Nonetheless, Expedia last month announced a low-price guarantee for travel purchased on its website, joining the legions of other such online providers offering them, as well as many airlines and hotel chains.

Webster’s defines “guarantee” as a “pledge to replace something if it is not as specified.” But the long list of what these so-called guarantees don’t cover is much more comprehensive than what they actually do.

For example, if you bought a low-fare ticket through United.com and are seated next to someone who did the same, don’t expect to have paid the same price or less. United’s guarantee, like those at most of the other airlines, covers only fares acquired on the same day you purchased yours. The fare may have dropped the next day and your neighbor in 22B may have nabbed a better deal.

The guarantees also apply only to the same flights. In other words, if you found a lower fare elsewhere, but it was for an earlier or later flight, no guarantee. And it applies only to United’s fares. Find a lower fare on American, for example, and no dice.

“They’re really just marketing gimmicks,” said Henry Harteveldt, vice president and travel industry analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research. “There’s nothing wrong with them, but I don’t think it’s going to move the needle for you.”

At many of the sites, making a claim against a guarantee can be time consuming and cumbersome. Most require a claim to be filed the same day or within 24 hours of booking, either by e-mail or using an online form. Expedia deserves credit for making the process a little less onerous by letting customers call in claims.

“It’s a real guarantee,” said Donna Wells, senior vice president of marketing for Expedia. “In limited cases, customers are going to find a lower price, and we make it easy to efficiently claim their refund.”

Generally not covered under any of the guarantees are better rates not available to the public, such as corporate discount fares, military fares, fares sold as part of a travel package and fares purchased on opaque sites such as Priceline or Hotwire when the carrier or itinerary details are not known until after the purchase.

Sometimes, the guarantees don’t apply to rates offered in direct-mail or e-mail solicitation or even special deals offered on the same website, such as AARP or AAA discounts.

So just what is covered? Here’s a look at what some of the websites offer:

Airlines: American, Delta, Continental, Northwest and United all offer low-fare guarantees on their websites. Most require the difference to be at least $5 (Continental is $10) and offer a refund of the difference plus $50 toward future travel. (Continental offers $100 toward future travel.) Claims must be made by midnight of the day you purchase the ticket. (What is considered “midnight” depends on where the seller is.)

Low-fare carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest don’t need to offer guarantees because the only place to buy their tickets is on their respective websites.

Hotel chains: Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood and Marriott offer best-rate guarantees for hotels booked on their sites. Here, the 24-hour rule applies: You must find and make a claim for the lower rate within 24 hours. Each of the chains sweetens the pot if you find a lower rate elsewhere. Starwood offers 10% off the lower rate or 2,000 Starpoints; Hyatt, 20% off; Marriott, 25% off; and Hilton, a $50 American Express gift certificate.

Online travel agencies: Expedia has one of the most comprehensive guarantee offerings of the online travel agencies, guaranteeing the lowest price on any airfare, hotel, vacation package, car rental, cruise or destination activity or service booked on its site. Find a lower one within 24 hours and Expedia will refund the difference plus throw in a $50 certificate good toward future travel booked on the site.

Orbitz guarantees airfares and some hotel rates, offering a $50 travel voucher for finding a lower airfare but only the difference in rates for hotels. Travelocity offers best-rate guarantees on cruises and its Good Buy hotels, offering to refund the difference or allow you to cancel. At Quikbook.com, which books hotels only, you have 72 hours in which to find and make a claim for its guarantee.

So what’s a traveler to do? The best thing: Do your homework before booking, making sure you have researched several sources for the lowest fares and rates before -- not after -- making your reservation. Always check with the supplier’s website -- the hotel or airline -- as part of your search.

In the rare case where you find a lower rate after booking a reservation, make sure you read all the fine print and make your claim within the time allotted. Also, print out the confirmation page for the lower price just in case you need to document your claim.

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James Gilden writes the Daily Traveler blog at latimes.com/dailytraveler.