Well it's official: Priceline is the fucking worst.

[glitzyglow]

*poof*

[Deleted]

Ugg that sucks! I had some friends who worked in hotels and they told me most hotels will match the prices online (of course with priceline if you are bidding that doesn't totally work) because then they keep the full price instead of giving a cut to the online booker.

[Deleted]

I have never used them, because I haven't found any real deals with them.

[starburst604]

Ugh I'm sorry. Hopefully the hotel won't be as bad as it sounds. Sometimes you just have to think of it as a place to shower and lay your head while you enjoy everything else the city has to offer.

[bullygirl979]

Aww, glitzy, I'm sorry. Have you looked on kayak to see if the holiday inn is cheaper on there (and thus giving you the ability to cancel)? Have you talked to a supervisor at all?

[glitzyglow]

My poor friend is upset. She bought the travel insurance and it pretty much only works if she dies or is in the hospital. She feels like she really messed up. I keep telling her it isn't her fault!

Fuck Priceline!

[glitzyglow]

Yes, my friend talked to a manager. She was of no help, just kept saying the room was non-refundable and cancellations are not allowed. My friend asked for her manager, but I guess the woman said she's as high as it goes.

[glitzyglow]

pinkplasticdoll, she did the name your own price. She put in for $100/night. Right now the Sheraton is going for $101/night on Expedia and hotels.com, regularly $170. The hotel we got is regularly $117/night, we got it for $100 a night through Priceline.

I understand Priceline's policy, but their "Best Price Guarantee" is not what they make it out to be. She should have read the fine print before booking to note their guarantee is very limited, but she has zero desire now to ever work with Priceline again (and I don't blame her).

[Muddled]

I don't know, it sounds like Priceline worked exactly the way it's supposed to.

I'm sorry that you guys aren't happy with the hotel. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as you are anticipating.

[glitzyglow]

We'll have fun either way, I'm sure. It's just frustrating to know that a much better deal is out there and we didn't get it and Priceline was so very unhelpful that it was really enraging.

Oh well. I'm going to be tipsy in a bar tonight that is hopefully filled with men. I love Nashville.

[glitzyglow]

Aug 20, 2013 12:18:31 GMT -5 Muddled said:

I don't know, it sounds like Priceline worked exactly the way it's supposed to.

I'm sorry that you guys aren't happy with the hotel. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as you are anticipating.

Hahaha. Yep. That $17 is a STEAL of a price difference! DEEP DISCOUNTS FOR ALL!

[Muddled]

Aug 20, 2013 12:19:58 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Aug 20, 2013 12:18:31 GMT -5 Muddled said:

I don't know, it sounds like Priceline worked exactly the way it's supposed to.

I'm sorry that you guys aren't happy with the hotel. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as you are anticipating.

Hahaha. Yep. That $17 is a STEAL of a price difference! DEEP DISCOUNTS FOR ALL!

She offered $100, knowing that it is blind bidding. They accepted because they are obviously not losing anything. She could have offered less. This is how the thing is designed to work. I can understand why you feel cheated, but I don't think that they misrepresent themselves.

[PinkSquirrel]

If you would have been happy with the Sheraton for $101, why didn't you book that instead of risking it with Priceline? Priceline comes with risks, but you get to pick the general location, the stars and the price. My guess is your friend didn't pick enough stars and frankly, if you don't pay attention, that's how the cookie crumbles. This isn't a problem with Priceline.

[glitzyglow]

Aug 20, 2013 12:22:58 GMT -5 Muddled said:

Aug 20, 2013 12:19:58 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Hahaha. Yep. That $17 is a STEAL of a price difference! DEEP DISCOUNTS FOR ALL!

She offered $100, knowing that it is blind bidding. They accepted because they are obviously not losing anything. She could have offered less. This is how the thing is designed to work. I can understand why you feel cheated, but I don't think that they misrepresent themselves.

Well, they lost two future customers, so yeah, they did lose something. Expedia forEVAH.

And for $100/night did they actually give up the "deep discount" as plastered all over their website? Debatable and my argument is no. Do I feel they actually went out of their way to find us the best deal for our price range? Obviously not since both Expedia and hotels.com have better deals on higher-end hotels.

They misrepresented their dedication to actually finding the best deal. Of course to think a company would be conscious about its practice and admit when it did not find the *best* deal is apparently is too much to ask of Priceline. Their standardized response to the inquiry is to simply respond that they don't do cancellations, despite the clear evidence that they did not actually find the best deal for the range of $100/night.

There was no point to offer less. We wanted to spend $100 a night and get the best hotel we could for that price. Priceline gave us a moderate hotel for the price. Expedia and Hotels.com have better hotels for the same price.

[glitzyglow]

Aug 20, 2013 12:28:16 GMT -5 PinkSquirrel said:

If you would have been happy with the Sheraton for $101, why didn't you book that instead of risking it with Priceline? Priceline comes with risks, but you get to pick the general location, the stars and the price. My guess is your friend didn't pick enough stars and frankly, if you don't pay attention, that's how the cookie crumbles. This isn't a problem with Priceline.

I didn't book the hotel. My friend thought Priceline would match or exceed listed prices of hotels because that was the impression she garnered from their advertising practices since the "secret" part of booking supposedly implied some sort of better deal, which was clearly not the case.

[Muddled]

Lol. I'm sure it's a computer model, all based on data. If you put in for 3 stars, you get a 3 star hotel that has pre-arranged to accept offers in a specific price range. That's it. They can't consider qualitative data the way you seem to want them to. 3 stars = 3 stars. This is not a personal concierge service.

[PinkSquirrel]

Aug 20, 2013 12:32:16 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Aug 20, 2013 12:22:58 GMT -5 Muddled said:

She offered $100, knowing that it is blind bidding. They accepted because they are obviously not losing anything. She could have offered less. This is how the thing is designed to work. I can understand why you feel cheated, but I don't think that they misrepresent themselves.

Well, they lost two future customers, so yeah, they did lose something. Expedia forEVAH.

And for $100/night did they actually give up the "deep discount" as plastered all over their website? Debatable and my argument is no. Do I feel they actually went out of their way to find us the best deal for our price range? Obviously not since both Expedia and hotels.com have better deals on higher-end hotels.

They misrepresented their dedication to actually finding the best deal. Of course to think a company would be conscious about its practice and admit when it did not find the *best* deal is apparently is too much to ask of Priceline. Their standardized response to the inquiry is to simply respond that they don't do cancellations, despite the clear evidence that they did not actually find the best deal for the range of $100/night.

There was no point to offer less. We wanted to spend $100 a night and get the best hotel we could for that price. Priceline gave us a moderate hotel for the price. Expedia and Hotels.com have better hotels for the same price.

LMFAO, your friend started by bidding $100?   She doesn't understand how to use the Priceline Negotiator.  You guys got 15% off what Expedia was offering, it's not like you got no deal and not all hotels contract with every site that sells hotels.    You should have done your research first.  Again, this is a problem with you and your friend, not Priceline

Edited to clarify that I know it was your friend that booked

[winning]

Aug 20, 2013 12:32:16 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Aug 20, 2013 12:22:58 GMT -5 Muddled said:

She offered $100, knowing that it is blind bidding. They accepted because they are obviously not losing anything. She could have offered less. This is how the thing is designed to work. I can understand why you feel cheated, but I don't think that they misrepresent themselves.

Well, they lost two future customers, so yeah, they did lose something. Expedia forEVAH.

And for $100/night did they actually give up the "deep discount" as plastered all over their website? Debatable and my argument is no. Do I feel they actually went out of their way to find us the best deal for our price range? Obviously not since both Expedia and hotels.com have better deals on higher-end hotels.

They misrepresented their dedication to actually finding the best deal. Of course to think a company would be conscious about its practice and admit when it did not find the *best* deal is apparently is too much to ask of Priceline. Their standardized response to the inquiry is to simply respond that they don't do cancellations, despite the clear evidence that they did not actually find the best deal for the range of $100/night.

There was no point to offer less. We wanted to spend $100 a night and get the best hotel we could for that price. Priceline gave us a moderate hotel for the price. Expedia and Hotels.com have better hotels for the same price.

I'm with Muddled. That's not how name your own price works.

It took me a decent amount of research to figure out how to get the best deals via name your own price (betterbidding.com is a great resource), but it's now one of my favorite ways to book hotels.

Regardless, sorry you guys ended up in a hotel you didn't want.

[imoan]

I'm sorry your friend doesn't understand how Priceline (and apparently COMPUTERS) work.

And FYI, if you were both so invested in getting the best deal possible... you could've looked at what Expedia and hotels.com was offering as well. You're not obligated to book through one site simply because you browsed there.

[PinkSquirrel]

Aug 20, 2013 12:49:28 GMT -5 mp said:

You have to start low - with high starred hotels. Is Holiday Inn a 3 star? I NEVER start by allowing a 3 star ... I think Priceline is one of those things that I would not jump to without a strategy - but if you have the strategy down, they're an awesome resource.

I would bet good money that this is what happened.

[glitzyglow]

LOL to this thread.

I'll tell my friend to spend time researching how to bid on hotels and apparently work computers, too. Slow day on TIP?

I'm over it. I don't plan to use Priceline ever.

Those of you who like them, keep on keeping on. I'll stick to Expedia or the like.

[jm5855]

Aug 20, 2013 12:54:33 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

LOL to this thread.

I'll tell my friend to spend time researching how to bid on hotels and apparently work computers, too. Slow day on TIP?

Exactly.  I am always amused by the trolls who RARELY post on this board and when they do it is ALWAYS negative.  Can't take them seriously or let them bother you, just laugh it off.

[GilliC]

Aug 20, 2013 12:38:38 GMT -5 winning said:

Aug 20, 2013 12:32:16 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Well, they lost two future customers, so yeah, they did lose something. Expedia forEVAH.

And for $100/night did they actually give up the "deep discount" as plastered all over their website? Debatable and my argument is no. Do I feel they actually went out of their way to find us the best deal for our price range? Obviously not since both Expedia and hotels.com have better deals on higher-end hotels.

They misrepresented their dedication to actually finding the best deal. Of course to think a company would be conscious about its practice and admit when it did not find the *best* deal is apparently is too much to ask of Priceline. Their standardized response to the inquiry is to simply respond that they don't do cancellations, despite the clear evidence that they did not actually find the best deal for the range of $100/night.

There was no point to offer less. We wanted to spend $100 a night and get the best hotel we could for that price. Priceline gave us a moderate hotel for the price. Expedia and Hotels.com have better hotels for the same price.

I'm with Muddled. That's not how name your own price works.

It took me a decent amount of research to figure out how to get the best deals via name your own price (betterbidding.com is a great resource), but it's now one of my favorite ways to book hotels.

Regardless, sorry you guys ended up in a hotel you didn't want.

betterbidding.com is great.  I wouldn't suggest anyone book via Priceline (or even Hotwire) without reviewing the info.  You can get some great deals, but you have to understand how the system works to really be able to get an advantage from it.  And even if you know what you're doing, you absolutely have to be ready to accept the crappiest hotel available for the given criteria, because there's no guarantee.  It's a gamble, and the best you can do is hedge your bets.

It sucks that you guys got a crappy deal.

[jojoandleo]

I don't think anyone in this thread was negative, more trying to let this be a lesson. You shouldn't book a hotel without doing your research on it. Don't book it THEN research it and decide you want a refund. I don't think people were trying to be mean, but trying to educate.

[GilliC]

FWIW, I completely feel your pain. I just booked a mystery rental car through Hotwire for $141, and when I showed up to pick it up, the agency insisted that I pay for additional insurance to the tune of $90 before they'd let me have the car I'd already pre-paid for!  WTF?!

I normally book cars through Hotwire or Priceline, because I don't really care which company I'm renting from, but now I'll think twice!  How are you supposed to know if you can even afford to rent the car if they tack on that much extra unexpectedly?!  And since it's non-refundable and can't be canceled, I just had to suck it up and pay the extra money and argue with management later.

[glitzyglow]

Aug 20, 2013 13:09:17 GMT -5 jojoandleo said:

I don't think anyone in this thread was negative, more trying to let this be a lesson. You shouldn't book a hotel without doing your research on it. Don't book it THEN research it and decide you want a refund. I don't think people were trying to be mean, but trying to educate.

I don't think most people were negative. My frustrations don't exactly align with what some are saying, but in the fact that you apparently have to research how to bid on a site that claims to give you the best deal outright, you know? Had I done the booking, I would not have done Priceline, but my friend was trying to surprise me and be helpful since I've been down lately. Her heart was in the right place.

My LOLs are more for the people who just randomly showed up to "educate" me.

[GilliC]

Aug 20, 2013 13:13:28 GMT -5 mp said:

Aug 20, 2013 13:11:57 GMT -5 GilliC said:

FWIW, I completely feel your pain. I just booked a mystery rental car through Hotwire for $141, and when I showed up to pick it up, the agency insisted that I pay for additional insurance to the tune of $90 before they'd let me have the car I'd already pre-paid for!  WTF?!

I normally book cars through Hotwire or Priceline, because I don't really care which company I'm renting from, but now I'll think twice!  How are you supposed to know if you can even afford to rent the car if they tack on that much extra unexpectedly?!  And since it's non-refundable and can't be canceled, I just had to suck it up and pay the extra money and argue with management later.

The additional insurance is a hard selling point for them, but it's not required.

That's certainly what it looked like in the rental paperwork, but they claimed it was a local policy for that franchise. Because I booked the car with a foreign address, they required that I buy supplemental liability.  In the end, it was midnight, so I just put it on a credit card that I knew I could dispute, because the person I was talking to clearly didn't know anything beyond what he'd been told.

When I called back to talk to the manager, she wasn't going to budge on it.  I only got her to take it off because I told her that I also had a US driver's license and a US address (and had shown as much to the agent when the discussion started).  I thought that every rental car company is required to include the minimum liability in their rental rate, so I'm pretty annoyed by this "policy."

[GilliC]

Aug 20, 2013 13:15:05 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Aug 20, 2013 13:09:17 GMT -5 jojoandleo said:

I don't think anyone in this thread was negative, more trying to let this be a lesson. You shouldn't book a hotel without doing your research on it. Don't book it THEN research it and decide you want a refund. I don't think people were trying to be mean, but trying to educate.

I don't think most people were negative. My frustrations don't exactly align with what some are saying, but in the fact that you apparently have to research how to bid on a site that claims to give you the best deal outright, you know? Had I done the booking, I would not have done Priceline, but my friend was trying to surprise me and be helpful since I've been down lately. Her heart was in the right place.

My LOLs are more for the people who just randomly showed up to "educate" me.

Not trying to be snarky, but doesn't just about every store or website claim to give you "the best deal?"

[PinkSquirrel]

Aug 20, 2013 13:15:05 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

Aug 20, 2013 13:09:17 GMT -5 jojoandleo said:

I don't think anyone in this thread was negative, more trying to let this be a lesson. You shouldn't book a hotel without doing your research on it. Don't book it THEN research it and decide you want a refund. I don't think people were trying to be mean, but trying to educate.

I don't think most people were negative. My frustrations don't exactly align with what some are saying, but in the fact that you apparently have to research how to bid on a site that claims to give you the best deal outright, you know? Had I done the booking, I would not have done Priceline, but my friend was trying to surprise me and be helpful since I've been down lately. Her heart was in the right place.

My LOLs are more for the people who just randomly showed up to "educate" me.

They are pretty regular at giving you the best deal at whatever hotel you are offered.  They just don't always offer you the hotel with the best reviews.  It's purpose just wasn't what you wanted.  You can also buy on priceline without the evil negotiator, just like with Expedia etc.  

I'm sure a night at the Holiday Inn won't kill you and you'll still have a great time 

[glitzyglow]

Aug 20, 2013 13:22:25 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Aug 20, 2013 13:15:05 GMT -5 glitzyglow said:

I don't think most people were negative. My frustrations don't exactly align with what some are saying, but in the fact that you apparently have to research how to bid on a site that claims to give you the best deal outright, you know? Had I done the booking, I would not have done Priceline, but my friend was trying to surprise me and be helpful since I've been down lately. Her heart was in the right place.

My LOLs are more for the people who just randomly showed up to "educate" me.

Not trying to be snarky, but doesn't just about every store or website claim to give you "the best deal?"

Of course. But many offer price adjustments, refunds, etc., when they don't or when a better deal is found. Most are contingent upon time limits and offer some restrictions, but most places don't normally let unhappy customers walk away feeling slighted. There is often some resolution met. I think she would have been happy for them to acknowledge that she didn't receive a great deal overall and received an apology, and then explained that the policy doesn't allow for cancellations. Their unconcerned customer service who just repeated that they don't offer cancellations wasn't the best customer service, in her opinion.