tuscanlifeedit

Shannon, my heart is with you. I have been very careful on Priceline, used it many times, and still made a mistake. However, they did let me rebid and gave me a refund because, like others, it was a wrong date/one time thing, and I just had to prove it by rebidding on the right dates. I think that is the only way that the wrong date/refund/rebid scenario works: you rebid on different dates.

Now, could this work for you? Do you have any play in your dates? Could you rebid for one of your Paris nights, or 2, instead of 3 or more? That could maybe take care of the "wrong dates" part of it.

And then, you could just spend the other night or nights someplace else in Paris, if Priceline is willing.

There is also the possibility of explaining that you did not realized you were also bidding on the second zone, and only thought you were bidding on one zone.

In any case, I would try calling them again and again. I would weep and ask for a supervisor. People do make mistakes, after all. If it were me, I would pray first, and then call and throw myself on their mercy.

If worst comes to worst, is there any possibility of calling it a very expensive learning experience and rebooking someplace else? Expensive, I know... So sorry...

frankdaddy

I am curious about this posting and the advantage of Priceline. I have never used Priceline. I found searching the Internet and calling around and doing my research to be a very cost effective way to get close to what I want at reasonable prices. Is Priceline really worth this hassle? Do you really save that much money if you do not have some basic choices in your travel. I am as frugal as the next person but this is what keeps me from these services. How much do you really save? I would love to know. Good Luck and please do not ruin the honeymoon. The absolute best time I ever had travelling was on my honeymoon. Not a care in the world, at 25 years old, just married, and a pocket full of cash in Rome/Florence/Venice. I have not been able to reproduce that travel moment with my wife since. And I have taken some fine fine trips but young, in love, Italy and money. Wow. Enjoy the honeymoon please.

tuscanlifeedit

Frankdaddy, Priceline can be great but only in certain situations, and certain cities and IF one does one's homework.

How much can you save? Well, we motly use Priceline in New York City for hotels, and we usually save 50% and sometimes more on 4 star hotels in Midtown. I have a friend that goes to NY for business, bids on 2 stars and saves about 70%

On rental cars, we've saved about 30% on lowest rates we could find. This is not true everywhere or always. But for the West Coast of Florida it has held true.

For Europe, many people agree that London is the only city that Priceline is good for. For the US, Priceline is generally worth looking into for city hotel stays.

WillTravel

I don't agree complete with that. Priceline is indeed very good for London. But Priceline is also very good for several German cities and Brussels, reasonably good for Amsterdam, and in my opinion (although not everyone's) good for Copenhagen. I also thought it was a reasonable choice for Paris for me this summer, with strict zone conditions, given what I wanted.

Closer to home, I think Priceline is a very good deal for several West Coast cities.

jlm_mi

frankdaddy - My priceline experience is similar to that of tuscanlifeedit. I've used it in London once, and got an excellent hotel for $60 (dollars, not pounds!) per night. The going rate for that hotel at the time was about 150 pounds per night, and I don't think we would have found anything, even much smaller and less nice, for under the $60 that we paid.

I personally have not yet used it in Paris, because for our last trip there I wasn't comfortable with the zones. I might consider it in the future though.

I've also used it extensively in Chicago and been happy every time, typically getting rooms for about 1/2 of what they would otherwise, sometimes less. That can really add up when you save $100/night or so!

If you're picky about location or unwilling to do the research to bid wisely, then priceline would not be good for you. Most of us who enjoy priceline do extensive research on what hotel rates are before bidding, and will only bid up to a certain threshold, because beyond that price the savings are not worth it. It's always smart to have a cancellable reservation in place elsewhere as well, in case you can't find what you want through priceline.

mclaurie

Yes, I think Priceline is one of the few ways to make London hotels affordable right now. Not only are the prices great ($115/night!), but you're bidding in dollars so I assume if the exchange goes south, your price doesn't.

Paris is another issue. There are a lot of nice, affordable, hotels there and the Priceline hotels are not that great and their areas, as shannon discovered, are very misleading.

mclaurie

BTW, I would try calling Priceline and not lie. Throw yourself on their mercy and tell them it's your honeymoon. If that doesn't work, before trying to get your credit card to fight it, I would call Sofitel and find out whether there's some way to switch to one of their other hotels in Paris. They don't have any in the 5-6th but there are a few that are more central. Here's a map with them marked

http://makeashorterlink.com/?J3CF2364A

lincasanova

how much more a night is it worth to change? would priceline accept an offer from you to pay higher fees just to upgrade? i have NO idea as i have never used them, but since they earn commissions on rooms, maybe it is worth it to them .. using the honeymoon excuse.. ????

i have a friend who always stayed on the edge of city at nice hotels to save money and she thought it was worth it, as stated before.. many attractions are spread around, so.. in the end.. as long as the room is nice and you have transport nearby, not too much of a problem.

hope you can either change this or resolve to not let it ruin your honeymoon.

jsmith

Count your blessings, it sounds like a area that won't be overrun with American tourists so you'll have much more of a likelihood to have a European experience..

The Metro line 9 connects with line 1 at FDR so you can go easily to many of the sights: La Defense, Etoile, Champs Elysees, Concorde, Louvre, Bastille are some of the stops.

travelinwifey

I think 88shannon88 already called Priceline and told them that she did not want the particular zone. Priceline takes notes on all telephone calls so she can no longer call and ask to switch dates, they will be on to her.

I have used PL for London 7 times and have never had a problem and have saved a few thousand on the accomodations (5*, Le Meridien Piccadilly and Sofitel St. James).

The most important thing is to do one's homework, it is definitely worth it.

kswl

Frankdaddy, we save at least 50% over lowest published rates, and we've gotten these deals in low and high season in London, Montreal, several places in Florida, and New York. But, caveat emptor: read all recent bidding history of your zone on www.biddingfortravel.com before you try.

88shannon88

Thank you all for the great advice and warm wishes. If my credit card company cannot successfully dispute the charge then I'm going to call the Sofitel and ask what I can do to change the reservations to one of their other locations. They have two by the Champs-Elysées that look pretty good and would be a much better location. If they want me to pay more then I will. Thanks again and I'll let you know how it turns out.

WillTravel

Good luck, and let us know what happens.