Why would it be so difficult for PL to post that certain hotels have "resort" fees (parking and swimming pool; that won't serve them well in this economy)? It can add 25% to your bill, AFTER they charge the taxes and "fees" on top of a bid; I think this is a misleading practice.

Priceline takes the information provided by the hotels- they don;t go out and inspect them or rate them.

If the hotel doesn;t tell them about these fees Priceline has no way of knowing.

But, check the rules and regs on Priceline - to see if they mention no extra fees etc. If not, you pays your (very low) rate and takes your chance.

Yeah, do check ahead of time (via sites like BetterBidding and BiddingForTravel) to see what the chances are of getting a resort and try to avoid it, if you wish to avoid extra fees. If you bid too high and your zone has resorts in it, it's very possible you could get a resort!!!

Some people don't realize Priceline can upgrade you from the star level you have selected. It's easy to get carried away in your bidding, keep raising your price, and forget that the hotels you think you are targeting (3-star and 4-star hotels) may have no Priceline availability, no matter how high you bid.

Not only priceline! Once I made expedia reservations, prepaid, I thought that's it. No, they charged "resort fees" and it was a hotel in Vegas!

Oh, well, $3/night is not that much to pay for a lesson

But, $15 per day is a hard lesson, esp. when you are already budget-crunched! (but we must visit an ailing relative)
The most annoying thing was the utter robotic responses from Priceline (in the overseas accent) and repetitious written responses; incredibly bad customer "service"!
They advertise that they have researched the hotels throughly, and can list every other little detail on the site, why not list whether resort fees are charged?

Well, sylvia, thanks for the heads-up. But when I book a hotel, I know that many times there is a charge for parking.

Since PL doesn't even tell you which hotels are offered, I don't see how they can tell you which ones charge for parking, swimming pool, etc.

This practice is terrible, but it's not PL's fault. It's the hotels.

In general, I think resort fees are fine, if you are able to waive the resort fee and simply NOT TAKE those extra services.

Really, I don't need a newpaper or phone service (I have my cell) or use the workout facility, or have coffee in my room every morning, or have a valet park my car, etc.

Trouble is most hotels don't let you waive it.

It's a billion dollar a year industry for the hotels.

Priceline can not possibly keep track of which hotels are charging them or are not charging them.

Your outrage should be at the hotels, not Priceline.

Actually, the hotels ARE listed, if you aren't trying to bid on them. And of COURSE PL can keep track of hotels that charge resort fees; they have complete information on the hotels if you are just buying your stay through the regular PL site (not bidding). They just choose to suck people in, and don't care if their customers get slammed. I think it's a mistake in this economy, to treat people like that.

BTW, these "resort" fees are ridiculous; in this case, it's a chain hotel, and they are charging for access to a pool (that was there when the hotel opened and wasn't adding these fees, of course) and their giant parking lot (also always there; NOT valet, just parking!).

I agree with sylvia that on the "regular" Priceline site, these fees should be disclosed. On "blind" sites, like Priceline and Hotwire, all they can (and certainly should) do is generally state that there may be resort fees charged for some hotels.

I detest resort fees. Give me a price and if I want to pay it, I will, and if I don't, I won't. Ex. of a ridiculous fee to me -- being charged for parking in an area where EVERYONE arrives by car (Hilton Head). If you're going to nickel and dime individual items, why not charge when I call for extra towels, or pillows, or call down to speak to the front desk.....(yes, it's a pet peeve of mine, and I wouldn't be happy if they kept the fees and let you waive them, I just think they shouldn't exist)

I hate the concept of resort fees too, but your beef is with the hotels, not Priceline. There are literally thousands of hotels that Priceline deals with, and I do not expect them to keep up with every fee that every hotel charges. These things change all the time!

When you bid on Priceline ("name your own price") I see the following disclaimer before you enter your credit card info:

"The reservation holder must present a valid photo ID and credit card at check-in. The credit card is required for any additional hotel specific service fees or incidental charges or fees that may be charged by the hotel to the customer at checkout. These charges may be mandatory (e.g., resort fees) or optional (parking, phone calls or minibar charges) and are not included in your offer price."

The best way to avoid these nasty surprises when using the "name your price" option on Priceline is with a site like biddingfortravel.com.
Check the hotel lists for your city of choice as well as posts on recent stays.

With a little research and time, you can figure out which bids could stick you with a place that charges "resort" or parking fees. Sometimes I call the property directly and ask just to make sure. (No need to mention you are considering a Priceline bid.)

I guess that this is over my head, b/c it seems to me that Priceline is the "800 lb gorilla" here.....why don't they just make it a policy not to deal with hotels that tack on fees and let the chips fall where they may? Isn't it the hotels that want Priceline's services, or as I said, is this arrangement just beyond my understanding?

"why don't they just make it a policy not to deal with hotels that tack on fees and let the chips fall where they may'

Beacuase so many hotels are doing it these days. The example that the OP mentioned was the pool (which wasn't considered a "resort fee" when the hotel first opened)

As I mentioned before, it is pumping over a billion dollars into the industry. Sort of like when airlines started charging baggage fees, or fuel surcharges, etc.

There are just too many out there to keep track of who is doing what at any given time.

OK, maybe I am dense here, but can't Priceline just make it a *requirement* of participating in their program that NO additional charges can be levied? No policing or inspecting required, b/c participating properties agreed to this as a pre-condition of being a Priceline "member" or whatever they are called.....

Of course, I do not mean things like parking and mini-bar which can be avoided by not accessing them. I am referring to "mandatory" fees.

Most people here seem to agree that resort fees are just sneaky ways of getting extra money out of people.
(like airlines that add fuel surcharges--even as the price of fuel goes down!)

But, to call Priceline "fraudulent" is just silly, in my opinion.
There is no fraud involved. They tell you what to expect and you can decide whether to take it, leave it, or investigate further.

As to whether Priceline has enough clout to "make" the hotels change their policies?? Unlikely as it still fills a very small number of hotel rooms compared to the total number booked by the hotels each year.
And no way is a hotel going to make an exception and waive the charge just for Priceline guests (while still charging their 'regular" guests.)
Many hotels hurting for business these days and will lower rates, or offer free extras, or maybe waive certain fees when asked. But ultimately, it's up to the customer to decide if he wants to take a deal or not. Complain to hotels, plead with Priceline to lobby the hotels, but there's just no fraud involved.

Priceline can be a really good deal, but like all good deals it just doesn't fall unto your lap.