Club 1 Hotels is a members-only portal which offers wholesale pricing on hotel rooms. Because the rates are not displayed to the general public (unlike an OTA), these portals have more freedom to undercut the hotel’s official pricing.
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MileLion readers can now sign up for a complimentary Club 1 Hotels Gold membership to browse these rates. No credit card is required, and your membership does not auto-renew unless you want it to.
As a Gold member, you’ll earn the equivalent of 5% back in loyalty points, which can be used to offset your next booking with no minimum required.
I’ve personally used Club 1 Hotels before to book the Park Hyatt Saigon, paying US$790 for a three night rate versus the US$1,286 charged on the official website. I was skeptical at first, but the stay went off without a hitch.
You can read some further experiences with Club 1 Hotels (both positive and negative) in this Flyertalk thread. While no one complains about bookings not being honoured (you can rest assured it’s legitimate), some have posted data points of delayed refunds for cancelled bookings.
Here’s some examples of rates I’ve found on Club1.
St. Regis Bangkok
| Sample dates: 7-8 March 2022 | ||
| Total Rate | Conditions | |
| Official Website | THB 9,112 (~S$379) |
Includes b’fast; free cancel till 6 Mar 22 |
| Club 1 | US$176 (~S$237) |
Includes b’fast; free cancel till 4 Mar 22 |
On the official website, the St. Regis Bangkok is charging ~S$379 for a one-night stay with breakfast included. Club 1 cuts that rate to ~S$237, also with breakfast. The main difference is that Club 1’s cancellation policy is slightly stricter, requiring cancellations to be done 3 days before, versus 24 hours for the official website.
Still, you’re saving 37% through Club 1, and I’d probably take those savings.
Fairmont Ambassador Seoul
| Sample dates: 21-24 March 2022 | ||
| Total Rate | Conditions | |
| Official Website | US$882 (~S$1,186) |
Room only, free cancel till 20 Mar 22 |
| Club 1 | US$785 (~S$1,055) |
Room only, free cancel till 19 Mar 22 |
On the official website, the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul is charging ~S$1,186 for a three-night stay, room only (cancel 24 hours in advance). Club 1 cuts that rate to ~S$1,055 (cancel 48 hours in advance).
The savings here are more modest at 11%. It could still be worth taking up, if you don’t participate in the ALL programme.
Westin Melbourne
| Sample dates: 4-8 Apr 2022 | ||
| Total Rate | Conditions | |
| Official Website | A$2,102 (~S$2,025) |
Room only, free cancel till 3 Apr 2022 |
| Club 1 | US$1,423 (~S$1,913) |
Room only, free cancel till 1 Apr 2022 |
On the official website, the Westin Melbourne is charging ~S$2,025 for a four-night stay, room only (cancel 24 hours in advance). Club 1 cuts that rate to ~S$1,913 (cancel 72 hours in advance).
Since the savings here are closer to 5%, you might be better off booking via the official website and a cashback portal instead.
Club 1 Best Rate Guarantee
As the examples above show, sometimes you’ll find great rates on Club 1, others marginal (in which case you may be better off booking via the official website). However, if Club 1 is more expensive than the competing site, you can file a Best Rate Guarantee.
Club 1 has a best rate guarantee (BRG) programme that says if you find a lower rate elsewhere, they’ll beat it by:
- โ$10 per night guaranteed savings at 3-star hotels, up to $20
- $15 per night guaranteed savings at 4-star hotels, up to $45
- $20 per night guaranteed savings at 5-star hotels, up to $60, or up to $100 on reservations $900 or more
All you need to do is drop an email to memberservices@club1hotels.com informing them about the cheaper rate, with a link or screenshot. What I like about Club 1’s BRG is that you don’t need to have an existing Club 1 booking to file a claim- just show them the cheaper rate and they’ll confirm the adjusted rate prior to you booking.
I’ve tried the Best Rate Guarantee before with the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and InterContinental Singapore, and both times successfully got them to honour the lower rate with a further discount.
The only catch with the BRG programme that you must be booking at least 5 days in advance.
Other things to note
Club 1 sells a mixture of refundable and non-refundable rates. Always be careful to confirm what exactly it is you’re booking.
Since Club 1 is considered a 3rd party booking site, rates are not eligible to earn hotel loyalty points or elite status credits. Unless the savings are substantial, it may be a better option for booking hotels without a loyalty programme, or whose loyalty programme you don’t actively participate in.
Finally, since rates on Club 1 are not publicly viewable, you can’t use them as the basis for a BRG claim with the hotel chain.
Conclusion
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Club 1 is the kind of website that rewards diligent searching. Sometimes you’ll find modest 5-10% discounts off the official website, others you’ll find more substantial savings. And if the rate on Club 1 is more expensive, there’s always the option of filing a BRG.
Signing up for a free account only takes a minute and lets you start poking around. Good hunting!
The signup link doesn’t seem to work.
i’m able to create an account. what error are you seeing?
ok spotted the error, please use this link: https://www.club1hotels.com/mlgold
I was able to sign up. I see some rates of $216 for Park Hyatt Tokyo versus $446 on the Hyatt website. Seems too good to be true. There look to be about 50 different room types/rates, including some that don’t exist on the Hyatt site (there is a Queen room on Club1, but no such thing on Hyatt). I’d give it a try for such a big discount though.
Hi, I’ve been a Club1 member for about 2 years now. Just be careful with comparisons as rates are in USD but otherwise if rates are cheaper they’re really true and so far no issues with any bookings. Hope that helps.
Formula 1 is in Melbourne 7-10 April, might skew your example.
How long is this complimentary Club 1 Hotels Gold membership for once we sign up? Thank you
For life
Oh I join.. have never heard of such a thing but it seems like a lot of savings! May I know, if I join as member and book a hotel, must I be the guest? Am thinking of helping my good friend book for her relative, so this relative will be staying
memberships are free to sign up, so the relative can just get his/her own.