I found these comments by an anonymous hotel exec on another travel website. I was surprised and disappointed by some of his views: "Guests really should reserve directly. It’s been said that we treat guests worse when they reserve through third-party Internet sites. It’s no myth: Of course we treat them worse! Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire, Orbitz, Hotels.com—you name it, we turn up our noses at them. At some websites, you put in a price and stay at whatever hotel comes up. You can’t tell me that these people care about service! Can’t! The way we look at it, these folks are solely concerned about price, and they probably can’t differentiate good service from bad.
People who reserve through third-party sites are the first clients we downgrade or relocate if rooms are oversold. Heck, we might even pull the sparkling water, cheese and crackers, and other nice amenities from their rooms. You might think that policies such as these are unspoken rules, but they’re discussed openly during our staff meetings. On the other hand, guests who make reservations through our website or call center almost always have access to the lowest published rates. And when you book directly, it says that you picked us for us, and we’ll treat you accordingly."

Laura
What travel site was this please?

While this may or may not be for real, it makes a certain sense. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but when we booked on a discount booking service at Caesar's Palace a few years back, it was the worst hotel room we ever had.

My thoughts are that I can buy a lot of cheese and crackers or house mints for what I've saved in hotel rooms.

In fact, I could probably make another payment on my house in Michigan. Ha-ha! No, make that several. And people are always asking me how I did it/ how I could afford it. One of the many reasons.

Service to me is kindness, politeness, safety/peace/quiet, and clean. It is not about the best view. And I love a smile and good directions. It is true, I am not the kind of person who wants a hovering servant filling my glass, nor an every ready room service person to locate my latest necessity. But I do tip for most any service rendered.

There has never been one time out of at least 50 where I have felt seconded or even gotten a type of bed or room I did not want.

I really don't care how the Hotel Manager feels about me or booking on a travel or discount website. As long as I have my room reservation filled as I reserved it.

And- he would rather see me than an empty room. I'm sure. No one has ever "turned up their noses" on check-in, check-out or any other time in between.

I believe I have seen this, or similar views, in Budget Travel magazine. Honestly, I would think that it would be obvious that guests paying the lowest room rate would be downgraded or walked in an oversold situation. But, that situation aside, it is ridiculous to assume that guests using Priceline or Expedia can't tell good service from bad. If I felt that I was not receiving proper service because of the rate I was paying, I would raise hell! Blame the Revenue Manager of the hotel for not securing higher rates, not the guest.

I think I saw this same thing posted here a while back.

I can't imagine who that person works for or what he is "manager" of! Enough said--that's all it deserves.

Here's the link to the entire article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6854124
I've personally had only one bad experience, when our family of 4 used Priceline to book a Fairfield Inn in Amarillo. Upon booking, we immediately called the hotel and requested 2 beds, and they were very polite in taking our request. However, when we arrived, the clerk said they had no rooms available with 2 beds and bluntly commented, "A request is just a request." Thankfully, the man in line behind us who was traveling solo offered us his room with 2 beds -- which he had not yet moved in to. The clerk very begrudgingly allowed us to have his room -- despite his cheerful insistence. I left a long note of complaint to the manager, but never heard a word. I'll never visit that hotel again. I've heard other stories of Priceline customers getting absolutely the worst room in the hotel -- one that had worn carpet and furnishings or fixtures that did not work. That said, I used Priceline to book accommodations in Williamsburg in June, and afterwards checked the hotel's website and found that rooms were selling for a whopping $2 extra per night. Let's hope my $2 savings doesn't result in a really crappy room or service.

It's from Budget Traveler. He has worked for several big-name hotel groups.

"Our anonymous confessor, who over the past decade has worked as a front-desk clerk, auditor, accountant, human resources director, and general manager at several big-name hotel groups, is currently based in the Pacific Northwest."

laura - Your family was extremely lucky to get the two bed room with your priceline bid. Sure, if they have one, they'll typically give it to you. But they are under no obligation to do so. And it really does happen that sometimes all the rooms with two beds are already taken. Priceline explicitly states that they guarantee only double occupancy.

As to bidding $2 less than the going rate, a little homework first can definitely eliminate that possibility!

With good preparation and reasonable requirements, priceline can be wonderful. With poor preparation, or expectations beyond what they guarantee, it can make for a miserable experience.

In any event, if a hotel is truly full, someone has to receive the worst room, right?

I am with JJ5 on this. The hotel manager can pull all the cheese, crackers, and mints from my room that he wants. They are not worth the premium.

We've had that "Priceline" discussion before, and while I agree that the experience may vary and can often be very good, I'm always amazed at the number of people who refuse to believe that if a hotel is fully booked, the discount site buyer is more likely to get the bad room than the person who booked direct and paid full price. That is only common sense.

This guy sounds like a real jerk, but at least I appreciate his honesty. It is not unlike the restaurant help who will admit they know that food for "bad customers" may be spat on or worse in the kitchen, or the waiters who aknowledge that those with major coupons will probably not get the same quality service as those who don't.

I guess my thought is, airlines don't treat certain customers differently based on the amount they paid for their airfare, and restaurants offer the same food and service even if a customer is using a buy 1, get 1 free coupon. You would think that the hotels would treat even their budget guests the same in the hopes that their experience will be so wonderful that (1) they'll desire to return and be willing to pay the hotel's going rate and/or (2) they'll gush about the hotel to friends and Fodors forum people, which will bring in more business.

By the way, jlm, I HAD done my homework and bid based on biddingfortravel recommendations. The hotel that accepted my bid must have been having a fire sale that week because their typical rates are $30-$40 higher per night than what they posted when I checked.

"airlines don't treat certain customers differently based on the amount they paid for their airfare" - HUH???? which airline?????

Southwest, American, Delta, etc. I've paid $200 for a ticket and have been seated next to people that paid double that. We got the same seats and the same food and service -- or lack thereof.

Think about this before you swallow this hook, line and sinker. This person allegedly has had 6 jobs in 10 years, ranging from front desk clerk, entry level 1st hotel job, through accounting, right on up to general manager. Either he is on a very very fast track, or he's moving backwards and being demoted as his attitude gets him in worse and worse trouble. LOL

Further, some very low end chains are "big name hotel groups". Big means lots of things--it does not necessarily mean high end!

Maybe he is that guy that says they will "leave the light on" LOL
I wondered how a man that was a clerk and an auditor, got to be a manager.

The worst treatment and the worst room I had when I reserved calling the hotel directly once. Only once, not all the time. But it was a very late arrival. Otherwise I didn't see any difference.

I couldn't know if anything was removed just because I got the room through, let's say, Expedia. Upon check-in I was asked if I want smoking or not, 1 bed or 2. Maybe they ran ahead to remove something? I doubt it. I still got my shampoo and maid service. The TV worked. Once even a balcony in Las Vegas! I always got what others paid full price for.

Sorry, but I have a couple comments to make on this comment made above:

"I guess my thought is, airlines don't treat certain customers differently based on the amount they paid for their airfare, and restaurants offer the same food and service even if a customer is using a buy 1, get 1 free coupon."

Regarding restaurants, as I had mentioned just above, it is a common opinion (right or wrong) among many restaurant workers that the people who come in asking for the early bird specials or waving their 2 for 1 coupons are "probably" not the best tippers. Nor are they likely to order the high priced wine or extras. Anybody who thinks that those customers OFTEN don't get the same service is being naive -- it's that simple.

Regarding the comparison with varying discount tickets on airlines compared to the hotel industry, there is a major difference. Your seat is usually already assigned on the plane and the attendants could care less what price you paid for that ticket, nor are they likely to look at your ticket to have a clue, so there is little "opportunity" for service to vary. But with the hotel check-in, the clerk is genrally totally aware what price you are paying, and he or she holds the trump card of being able to put you wherever he or she wants. Again I'll state, it is naive of someone to think that IF the hotel is fully booked, that the clerk isn't MORE LIKELY to give the bad room to a person who paid a low price than a person who paid full price and booked direct. No, I'm not saying that is always true, but it is common sense to think they won't choose the full paying customer to stick in the bad room when the choice is right in front of them and must be made. Common sense -- like it or not.

I can't comment on the original post, but if you are interested in the way hotels run, I highly recommend the book, Hotel Babylon. It is written anonymously by someone who has worked in 5 star hotels in London. I believe he currenly runs a 5 star now, but they do not tell you which one.

The stories about how poorly behaved guests are, the over-charging, etc. are interesting - this would make a great airplane book!