Our best-price guarantee

Frequently asked questions

• How do I know if a rate I’ve seen qualifies for your £50 reward?

  The rate you've spotted must be live and available at the time you call (we recommend you take a screenshot of the webpage and have it to hand when you speak to us), apply to the same hotel, dates, room type, number of guests and inclusions. Plus, the rate must be subject to the same booking and cancellation policies.

• What kind of rates don’t qualify?

  Price differences within 3% or at least £10 (or the equivalent) of the total cost on the Mr & Mrs Smith website or app, rooms booked through unauthorised travel agents, promotional rates offered through any other third party, negotiated rates such as travel agent or corporate rates; those obtained via a promotion, promo code, cash back, coupon, or voucher.

• Why can you only match rates up to 24 hours after making my booking?

  Rates are constantly being updated, with most hotels using dynamic pricing. Also, hotels are bookable every hour of the day and some rates may change within an hour of booking. So, we ask that the rate is still viewable at the time our team review it.

• Why must the rate still be live at the time of my submission?

  As hotel rates can be so changeable, calls to our Smith24 team should be made immediately. This allows us to get straight to work on matching your rate and begin discussions with the hotel in question while the lower price is live and bookable. Without the ability to review the rate found and assess it against our terms, we cannot guarantee that we'll be able to match it.

• What information do I need before contacting you with my submission?

  We require your rate to be publicly available at the time of your contact with our team. We'd recommend consulting the above checklist and checking that the rate you’ve found is identical to the one displayed on our website or app. This includes the cancellation and deposit policies, dates, room type, occupancy, inclusions and any extras beds.

• Why can't you always honour the guarantee for rates offered by fellow travel agents?

  Some travel agents or tour operators may have privately contracted rates directly with the hotel. This is a rate that is exclusively negotiated for their clients. We will do our best to match these rates but ultimately the decision for these contracts lies with the hotel, meaning we aren't able to include them within our best-price guarantee.

• Why can you only match publicly available rates?

  We work really hard to ensure our rates are at least equal to those offered by our hotels and other travel agents. However, we cannot match the hidden or offline rates extended elsewhere. If the rate you’ve found is a members-only offer with another online travel agent then this is not deemed publicly available and does not qualify for our best-price guarantee.

• What about temporary or exclusive discounts?

  Hotels can offer flash sales or direct booking incentives for a short period and as part of this commitment to our best-price guarantee, we’ll offer them to you where possible. However, if they are offered to the hotel's customers directly, they are considered closed discounts (not publicly available) and therefore not eligible for our best-price guarantee.

• Why can’t you honour rates based on cancelled bookings?

  As hotel rates are so dynamic, we cannot honour rates based on a cancelled booking. As prices are subject to change, any onward booking would be considered anew and cannot be matched to a pre-existing booking.

• What if a competitor is offering the rate as part of a package?

  The component parts of a package are largely not divulged or outlined by fellow agents, meaning we cannot match the rate if it is part of an existing itinerary or wider package. Prices can only be matched in instances where the hotel rate you've found is identical to the one displayed on the Mr & Mrs Smith website or app.

• Why can't you honour error bookings?

  Our partner hotels work hard to ensure all rates added to the Mr & Mrs Smith website or app are accurate and correctly aligned with their own. We also have checks in place to make sure rates are always correct. However, very occasionally there are instances where rates are loaded in error, and unfortunately, if this is the case, we cannot honour the best-price guarantee.

• How do you ensure prices are always competitive?

  We work incredibly hard to ensure our rates are at least equal to those offered by our hotels and have a dedicated team who focus on aligning our rates at all times. Given this, in instances where our members find legitimate rates elsewhere, we do offer our best-price guarantee in recognition that a cheaper rate may have snuck through.

• How do you compare prices?

  We always ensure that prices, inclusions and terms are all accounted for so that we know our members are securing the best rate every time they book. Should you spot a lower rate that we don't have – that matches our checklist requirements – give us a shout and we'll make sure it's matched and resolved with the hotel.

• How do I redeem loyalty credit, once I've earned it?

  Loyalty credit can be spent on future bookings at any of our hotels and villas globally. It works like any regular payment, and you can apply it to a trip whenever you want (just select the amount to use at check-out). Loyalty credit is valid for two years, giving you plenty of time to put it towards future stays.

• Why can't you confirm right away?

  We create a unique booking for you at the lower rate, so we can account for all the inclusions, policies and pricing attached to the rate you've found – after which we’ll check the reservation with the hotel. Once this is complete (it can take up to 24 hours to account for time zones), we'll send it across as soon as it's all set.

• Why can't you honour the best-price guarantee if it's for a trip taking place in the next 24 hours?

  As we are required to verify the pricings and availability with the hotel when we process rates that are not live on our systems, we are unable to honour rates sent within 24 hours of your arrival date. Our team can assist with any such queries but we cannot guarantee this is possible within 24 hours of the stay.

• What counts as an unauthorised site?

  Sometimes, the sites offering lower rates are doing so without authorisation and cannot be substantiated. Unfortunately, in instances where this is the case we aren't able to extend the best-price guarantee. We do so to protect our members from untrustworthy sellers, and to uphold the reputation of our hotels when a query has been raised about a site’s legitimacy.

• Can I receive loyalty credit even if I don't finalise my booking?

  We work really hard to ensure our rates are at least equal to those offered by our hotels, and have a team whose sole purpose is to do just that. However, in appreciation of our members identifying price differences, loyalty credit will be awarded when the terms of the guarantee have been met, regardless of whether the booking goes through or not.