Can IHG Travel Agent Rates really save you money on your hotel booking?
Whatare IHG Travel Agent Rates?
Like other major hotel brands and travel providers, the InterContinental Hotels Group is known for offeringpreferred lower rates to travel agents, either for the agents themselves or for them to book on behalf of their clients. The official site, IHGAgent, is said to give travel consultants at least 35% off the Best Available Rate for their own personal travel:
IHG Agent is an excellent resource for travel consultants and offers several special types of rates including the Best Price Guarantee,Travel Consultant Discount, Qualified Rates, Public Retail Rates andNegotiated / Contracted Rates.
TheTravel Consultant Discount is specifically offered to the agent for personal travel only and is not to be used for clients.Your Travel Industry ID is required at check-in andis only available by booking on the Travel Consultant Connection siteor by calling the Central Reservation Office.
What else is in this post?
- What are IHG Travel Agent Rates?
- How do I use IHG Travel Agent Rates?
- What else do I need to know about IHG Travel Agent Rates?
How do I use IHG Travel Agent Rates?
You can directly access the site here or simply follow the 'IHG Agent' link from the IHG website:
You need to register as an agent if you want to book online.
You can perform a public search for rates and availability here, though you'll need to add your IATA number to the booking.We checked the availability and cost for an agent's stay at an IHG hotel in New York for one night on May 22nd, 2017, and although we didn't find a discount of at least 35%, we found a discount of up to 34%, including New Jersey'sHoliday Inn Carteret Rahway for $77.35before tax instead of $116.62:
We checked this against IHG.com and it showed that the Best Available Flexible Rate for IHG Rewards members is $116.62 before tax, which is 34% more than the travel agent rate.
As expected, the rate says proof of eligibility is required when checking in, as the rate is solely fortravel agents who can present a valid IATA ID or travel agent ID card.
It's noteworthy that the top 8 discounted properties for this dummy booking, giving you 31% to 34% off the BAR, came up as HolidayInn or Holiday Inn Express hotels. The InterContinental New York Times Square showed the lowest discount of 10% for travel agents, with a nightly rate of $467.46 pre-tax, instead of $518.42.
What else do I need to know about IHG Travel Agent Rates?
In addition to the usual discounted rate, there's often unique promotions on the site that you should look out for. They're conveniently listed across the four regions of:
- The Americas
- Europe
- Asia, the Middle East and Africa
- Greater China
If you're a travel agent or consultant, it seems that you can certainly save on every IHG stay by booking on IHG Agent, but always compare rates on IHG before booking, just in case.