### 💰 Success Story: Got 10% Off Fairmont Makkah Using Accor’s Best Price Guarantee
I wanted to share a positive Accor Best Price Guarantee experience, because there are plenty of stories online about claims being rejected.
I recently booked Makkah Clock Royal Tower – A Fairmont Hotel directly through Accor for 5 nights.
The direct Accor price was:
£909.46 total
(including 20.75% VAT)
I then did some digging and found the exact same stay/room and conditions available through a competitor for:
£866.79 total
(also including 20.75% VAT)
The important thing is that I found the cheaper rate within the required 24-hour period and made sure the booking met Accor's Best Price Guarantee conditions.
🧮 Here's where it gets interesting
Accor doesn't simply take the competitor's total price and knock another 10% off it.
They compare the room rate excluding VAT, match that rate, then apply the additional 10% Best Price Guarantee discount for Fairmont.
They then add the VAT back on.
So my original calculation was:
Accor direct: £909.46
Competitor: £866.79
After Accor matched the eligible room rate and applied the additional 10% Fairmont discount:
Final price: £746.52
So that's a saving of:
£909.46 − £746.52 = £162.94 saved
That's effectively around 18% off the original total price, even though the advertised Best Price Guarantee reduction is 10%, because the initial competitor price was already cheaper.
(I believe the additional discount is 10% for Fairmont and 25% for some other Accor brands, so check the current terms for the specific brand you're booking.)
Accor confirmed the claim by email:
“The hotel has applied the Best price guarantee plus a reduction of 10%.”
⚠️** The important par**t
Accor's Best Price Guarantee is not easy to qualify for.
There are plenty of reports on Reddit from people who say their claims were rejected over small differences or technicalities. Recent Accor discussions include people saying claims were rejected despite apparently meeting the requirements, while others have successfully had cheaper Agoda rates matched.
So I'm definitely not saying it's guaranteed.
The terms are strict, and you need to make sure you're comparing like-for-like:
• Same hotel
• Same dates
• Same room type
• Same number of guests
• Same cancellation conditions
• Same inclusions
• Rate must be publicly available/bookable
• Correct timing — don't miss the submission window
• Keep screenshots showing the cheaper price
• Make sure taxes/fees and currency are clearly shown
💡 My advice
Before booking an expensive Accor hotel, shop around first.
Check Agoda, Booking.com and other legitimate hotel booking sites. If you find a cheaper rate, don't immediately book through the third party.
Instead, book directly with Accor first, then carefully check whether the cheaper rate qualifies for their Best Price Guarantee.
In my case, a little bit of research turned a £909.46 Fairmont Makkah booking into £746.52.
That's a £162.94 saving while still having the booking made directly with Accor.
So despite all the negative experiences you see online, it absolutely can work if you find a qualifying rate and meet their conditions precisely.
Hopefully this helps someone else save a decent amount on their next Accor/Fairmont stay! 🙌