Any Priceline Horror Stories?
Oct 16th, 2002, 04:43 AM
#24
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Bristol - I chose to use the term "shill" and mention it because I have previously been accused (on this board) of somehow being connected with or promoting Priceline or the BFT website. I happen to be a person with a passion for travel who enjoys sharing my experiences (good, bad or otherwise) in the forum setting. Anyone who reads this forum regularly will know that I've posted here regularly for several years on a variety of topics, very few of them ever including Priceline. William Shatner gets paid as a "shill" for Priceline. They're a national company with a healthy mainstream advertising budget - do you really think they'd go to the trouble to find individuals like me and somehow set up a compensation plan for us to carefully plant fake posts on their behalf? Fodor's now accepts advertising for the forums. Wouldn't it make more sense for Priceline to just buy ad space? I'm guessing that we see a plethora of post about the topic because many people want to save money but are a bit leery and want to hear of the experiences that other "regular" people have had with these services. Hotwire has its adherents and gets discussed periodically but because it does not involve a bidding process it typically gets less discussion (yes I have used Hotwire for a hotel on one occasion but I generally find that I get much better prices with Priceline).
Oct 16th, 2002, 08:48 AM
#25
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Bristol, true, there is an online board to discuss priceline, biddingfortravel.com, but that forum is highly regulated and doesn't offer the freeform discussion of this board. Also, it is difficult to search, slow loading and organized poorly, IMHO. I'd assume that folks familiar with this board and how it works would be more comfortable posing a question here.
Also, there is virtually no discussion of Hotwire on the biddingfortravel board.
Personally, before I make a bid on priceline or a purchase on hotwire I'm doing lots of research on this board regarding hotels, areas of a city and other posters' experiences with online bidding. As I said earlier, I welcome more discussion of these services and hope fodors will tolerate it.
Also, there is virtually no discussion of Hotwire on the biddingfortravel board.
Personally, before I make a bid on priceline or a purchase on hotwire I'm doing lots of research on this board regarding hotels, areas of a city and other posters' experiences with online bidding. As I said earlier, I welcome more discussion of these services and hope fodors will tolerate it.
Oct 22nd, 2002, 04:25 PM
#27
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On a trip to Honolulu this year, I received for two separate bookings the Renaissance on Waikiki for $70, and the Doubletree for $60. Both good deals as far as Hawaii goes. The properties were listed as three star on Priceline. I'd rate them both closer to a 2 1/2. But other times I've used Priceline (at least 15 times for hotels) I've received either upgraded accommodations, or they've been a lot nicer than the star level listed. It all varies city to city. Bottom line: I've never been burned by Priceline. Using biddingfortravel is a big plus. Site's been down for two days; hopefully funding problems haven't caught up to them.
Oct 22nd, 2002, 05:34 PM
#28
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I think that one reason that Priceline keeps coming up here is that almost everyone who visits the board regularly has an opinion about it, unlike most of the other topics, There is seems to be no middle ground - you love Priceline or you don't.
There's an element of the unknown at stake, no question, and that can be part of the appeal for some, and it scares other people off.
I don't use it for flights, for the reasons Owen mentioned, but as someone who's been bidding for hotel rooms for less than a year, it still amazes me that I'm now paying a fraction of the cost I used to pay for lower-end chain hotels.
One aspect of Priceline that has not come up is that it enables people to sample at very low cost, hotel chains that they might not otherwise experience. In my case, I found I really like the Marriott Renaissance properties, and Club Quarters in most cities are very reasonable on weekends whether available on Priceline or not.
I certainly don't spend any less on my getaways than I used to, but now I can travel more frequently, and the comfort level of my accomodations has gone w-a-y up.
There's an element of the unknown at stake, no question, and that can be part of the appeal for some, and it scares other people off.
I don't use it for flights, for the reasons Owen mentioned, but as someone who's been bidding for hotel rooms for less than a year, it still amazes me that I'm now paying a fraction of the cost I used to pay for lower-end chain hotels.
One aspect of Priceline that has not come up is that it enables people to sample at very low cost, hotel chains that they might not otherwise experience. In my case, I found I really like the Marriott Renaissance properties, and Club Quarters in most cities are very reasonable on weekends whether available on Priceline or not.
I certainly don't spend any less on my getaways than I used to, but now I can travel more frequently, and the comfort level of my accomodations has gone w-a-y up.
