It has become rather common today for certain travel agencies, sometimes hotel groups themselves to offer exclusive rates that come with additional benefits. The most popular rate plans include:
- Virtuoso
- American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts
- Marriott Stars & Luminous
- Hilton Impressario
- Hyatt Prive
- IHG Luxury & Lifestyle
- Accor Steps
- SLH Within
Such rates are usually the same with the best flexible rate, whereas extending privileges such as free breakfast, $100 on-property credit, room upgrade, late check-out and more. There is sometimes a discount too, for example “stay 3 nights, pay for 2”, or “long stay 20% off”, making the deal even sweeter.
The challenge is that you cannot, as an individual, book these rates, and must go through a qualified travel agency instead. It involves talking to an agent (in person / email / contact form), which I don’t enjoy very much. It becomes more complicated when you need to cancel or modify a booking.
In China’s market however, there are multiple travel agencies who have automated the process, allowing you to do everything online without talking to anyone. My favourite is Badazhou, one of the largest in the industry, and I will explain how it works in case you are interested.
First of all you need a Wechat account and scan the following QR code to claim a Silver membership account which then allows you to book. For full disclosure, I earn commission on bookings made by accounts created with this QR code.
You’ll be redirected to the Badazhou mini-program in Wechat. Click the 登录 orange button in image 1, and then the 手机号快捷注册 green button in image 2 to create an account.
It will send an SMS to your phone number (non-Chinese numbers are fine) for verification purpose. Once that’s done, you are free to browse and book!
On the mini-program’s homepage, just enter the destination (English is okay) and dates then search. Hotel names, room names and rate descriptions are available in English.
In the screenshot above, “4 for 3”, “5 for 4” and “long-stay discount” are available for the Waldorf Astoria, St Regis and Four Seasons respectively.
On the next page, make sure you go for rates with the orange / yellow banner – these are the exclusive rates that come with privileges. In the image below we have Marriott Stars.
Then on the booking page:
- Gender (male / female)
- Surname and first name
- Membership number – you can click the 选择 blue text on the right to add and save membership numbers
- Notes for the hotel
Once you’ve provided credit card information for pre-authorisation, you can click the 提交预订 orange button to submit your booking. You’ll be given the hotel’s confirmation code, and provided that you entered the correct membership number, the reservation should be shown in that hotel’s system immediately too.
Badazhou doesn’t charge you for the reservation – all your details including credit card information are passed on to the hotel directly. Remember to check the cancellation policy before you book, but exclusive rates are usually flexible and you only make payment at the hotel. If you wish to cancel, you must do so in the Badazhou mini-program, instead of cancelling on the hotel’s website / app.
Badazhou works with all the mainstream programs (except Amex FHR of course), and is treated as a direct channel, so you’ll earn hotel night credits / points like normal. In addition Badazhou has their own membership program, and you earn 1 point for each 1 RMB spent (£1 = 9 RMB). You can convert your Badazhou points into hotel points / air miles:
Generally speaking, making or cancelling a reservation on Badazhou is as straightforward as on a hotel’s own website or say Expedia. I have used it for Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Accor and IHG hotels globally and never had any trouble.
The language of course could still be a main hurdle, and if you do need to chat to their customer service (available on Wechat) I doubt they could speak English. Unfortunately Wechat doesn’t have a translation overlay like Alipay, but if you know any alternative please let me know.
If you like challenges or don’t mind picking up some Chinese, Badazhou is a game changer that will greatly elevate your hotel experience.
Is it impossible to cancel reservations with the hotel or does it cause a problem with Badazhou?
It’s like booking a Hilton hotel on Expedia and then cancel it with Hilton – even if it is possible it causes unwanted complications for all parties