Travel website Expedia and Accor Hotels’ Sofitel chain have recently launched “Best Price Guarantees.” But does that mean you’re guaranteed to get the best price with them?

Expedia’s “Best Price Guarantee” sounds like a great deal: find a cheaper price on anything they sell within 24 hours of purchasing it from Expedia, and they’ll refund your money, plus give you a $50 credit.

But read the fine print — it’s riddled with exceptions, including: “Expedia reserves the right … to modify or discontinue the Guarantee or to restrict its availability to any person, at any time, for any or NO reason, and without prior notice or liability to you.”

With fine print like that, it could be impossible to actually claim that $50 credit.

Sofitel’s system isn’t quite so misleading, since it’s aiming more toward encouraging more online reservations.

It just guarantees you won’t find lower prices on the Internet for its rooms anywhere besides Sofitel.com.

But whatever you do, just be wary of “Guarantees.” For a real-life consumer horror story about Expedia’s Best Price Guarantee, visit this story on the Consumerist..

For well priced travel options, see Deals of the Week.