Hotwire.com - Hotels they use
Mar 24th, 2003 | 06:50 PM
#21
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,369
Likes: 0
Without real evidence, I refuse to believe hotels in general treat people who book with Hotwire differently than with Priceline. A few anecdotes about being offered an upgrade with a Hotwire reservation and not with a Priceline reservation mean nothing (you'll find many examples on BFT of people with Priceline reservations being offered upgrades). If one hotel manager out there independently has a beef against Priceline users, another one probably has one against Hotwire users.
I have a friend who worked front desk at a 4-star hotel that uses both Priceline and Hotwire, and at least at her hotel, there was no difference in treatment (and her hotel is part of a decent-sized chain). In fact, even after understanding how I got good deals with Priceline, she never did seem to know the difference between Hotwire and Priceline, often getting them mixed up. I got know the other people working with her at that front desk - if there was a bias against Priceline users at that company, I would have heard about it.
What *does* happen is that hotels give their "least desirable" rooms to customers who paid the least - be it a website special, discount coupon, Hotwire, Priceline, whatever. This tends to happen more when the hotels are not empty. I mean, *someone* has to get the "least desirable" rooms - who do you think got those rooms before Priceline and Hotwire came along? It's not like these hotels suddenly added less desirable rooms to their hotels just for cheap rates.
As for BFT, I have managed to duplicate a few of the posted rates for hotels more than once, though you shouldn't really expect to do this because things change all the time - rooms fill up, etc.
Andrew
I have a friend who worked front desk at a 4-star hotel that uses both Priceline and Hotwire, and at least at her hotel, there was no difference in treatment (and her hotel is part of a decent-sized chain). In fact, even after understanding how I got good deals with Priceline, she never did seem to know the difference between Hotwire and Priceline, often getting them mixed up. I got know the other people working with her at that front desk - if there was a bias against Priceline users at that company, I would have heard about it.
What *does* happen is that hotels give their "least desirable" rooms to customers who paid the least - be it a website special, discount coupon, Hotwire, Priceline, whatever. This tends to happen more when the hotels are not empty. I mean, *someone* has to get the "least desirable" rooms - who do you think got those rooms before Priceline and Hotwire came along? It's not like these hotels suddenly added less desirable rooms to their hotels just for cheap rates.
As for BFT, I have managed to duplicate a few of the posted rates for hotels more than once, though you shouldn't really expect to do this because things change all the time - rooms fill up, etc.
Andrew
Mar 24th, 2003 | 07:50 PM
#22
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Andrew, there won't be any "real evidence" because just like a hotel's star rating, how one is treated is subjective. What i consider to be rude, you may consider to be acceptable behavior
I believe that DJKBooks can objectively compare one hotel stay to the next, has had multiple stays with BOTH Priceline and Hotwire to make a judgement, and i accept her opinion.
Please try to keep an open mind that other people can have valid views that differ from your own.
I believe that DJKBooks can objectively compare one hotel stay to the next, has had multiple stays with BOTH Priceline and Hotwire to make a judgement, and i accept her opinion.
Please try to keep an open mind that other people can have valid views that differ from your own.
Mar 24th, 2003 | 09:18 PM
#23
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,369
Likes: 0
Just because you have a "view" doesn't mean it is true for everyone. This person posted before how upset they were about getting a room near the elevator and somehow blaming that on Priceline. Do you think before Priceline came along no one ever stayed in that room? Or that Hotwire customers have never been assigned that room? Blaming the company who made the booking for you is absurd.
There lots of reasons you can get a better or worse room at any given hotel, no matter how you booked the reservation. Front desk people have guidelines they should follow, but they do have a lot of leeway in assigning rooms. They can give you a nicer room just because you smiled at them when they were having a bad day. Or they can give you one of the least desirable rooms if you are rude to them. Or they can give you a nice room for no good reason at all if they aren't full.
Anecdotes like, "Gee, I noticed I got nicer rooms at my ten Hotwire hotels than at my ten Priceline hotels" don't mean much when there are thousands of hotels and even more front desk people. What if someone tells you they had just the opposite experience? You'd need to interview a lot of people staying at a lot of hotels to get a meaningful trend.
My viewpoint is that I've had average to above-average treatement at all the Priceline hotels I stayed at in the last year (about ten) - no better or worse than when I've booked hotels on my own. I've never been treated badly at a hotel where I booked with Priceline. The one Hotwire experience I've had (actually booked it for someone else) was fine. That's just my experience. True for everyone? Maybe not.
Andrew
There lots of reasons you can get a better or worse room at any given hotel, no matter how you booked the reservation. Front desk people have guidelines they should follow, but they do have a lot of leeway in assigning rooms. They can give you a nicer room just because you smiled at them when they were having a bad day. Or they can give you one of the least desirable rooms if you are rude to them. Or they can give you a nice room for no good reason at all if they aren't full.
Anecdotes like, "Gee, I noticed I got nicer rooms at my ten Hotwire hotels than at my ten Priceline hotels" don't mean much when there are thousands of hotels and even more front desk people. What if someone tells you they had just the opposite experience? You'd need to interview a lot of people staying at a lot of hotels to get a meaningful trend.
My viewpoint is that I've had average to above-average treatement at all the Priceline hotels I stayed at in the last year (about ten) - no better or worse than when I've booked hotels on my own. I've never been treated badly at a hotel where I booked with Priceline. The one Hotwire experience I've had (actually booked it for someone else) was fine. That's just my experience. True for everyone? Maybe not.
Andrew
Mar 25th, 2003 | 04:25 AM
#24
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,605
Likes: 0
The bottom line is, how you are treated by a hotel is a reflection of that hotel, not Priceline or Hotwire, since they have nothing to do with it.
As I said, I've always been treated very well by the hotels I've gotten through PCL, (I've never used Hotwire). If I weren't treated well, it would affect my perception of the hotel, not Priceline. A smart hotel chain will treat all guests as well as possible. Not to do so is just bad business.
As I said, I've always been treated very well by the hotels I've gotten through PCL, (I've never used Hotwire). If I weren't treated well, it would affect my perception of the hotel, not Priceline. A smart hotel chain will treat all guests as well as possible. Not to do so is just bad business.
