Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Priceline HELP!!!

I mad a bid for a hotel on Priceline and I think (i am not sure) I was overcharged on taxes. I bid $43 for the room and know the hotel tax would be included but at 10% was charged $11 in taxes instead of $4 for a total of
$54. Is there some kind of commision I am paying I dont know about. I cannot find any customer service number for priceline other than the
automated diatribe. I am not happy with this service :(

The $11 includes a service charge that varies, but is typically around $6. So it doesn't look like you have been ripped off. Priceline combines the taxes and service charge into one number so that you won't know exactly what Priceline paid for the taxes.

The important thing is if you got a good deal overall. Hope you did.

Well, I really don't think you got ripped off. Priceline basically told you up front what the combined total taxes and service fee will be on the screen that you initial. It's there black and white and there should be no surprise. Next time, make sure you read everything on the screen before you click buy.

I don't remember seeing a grand total before I agreed to a bid price. I do remember seeing a total after it was too late and the bid accepted. I don't mind paying a 15% commision on a good deal to priceline but wish they were up front about it and had been more reachable for questions.I basically reduced my convention rate of $84 plus tax($8.40) to a priceline rate of
43 plus tax ($4.30) plus commission ($6.00) a savings of about $40a night
still not a bad deal.Thanks all for the insight. :)

Oh, I promise you it's there. It looks somethng like this ...

Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $10.00
Subtotal: $10.00
Taxes and Service Fees: $7.09
Total Charges: $17.09

The important thing is if you got a good deal overall.

Words to live by. Don't obsess over a dollar or two; I'm always thrilled to know I saved big compared to the best "discount" rate available for that star level even if I didn't get the absolute rock-bottom PL price. ;)

Enjoying My Stay in the PL Fog,

mrspilot

Before Priceline bundled the tax and service fee you were able to calculate to the penny how much Priceline had paid for the property and amend your future bidding accordingly.

I don't, however, like that they are bundled because I believe that I should know exactly how much the tax paid is.

I went to my reservation and read the terms and it sounds like the fees do not cover the TOT tax and I will have to pay another 10%
so the what are the taxes for that they charged me. TOT is the only tax I know of

What city is this for? What is the TOT tax?

I can assure you that the total amount appears on the screen you initial. Just go back to priceline and submit a $1 dollar bid to see for yourself.

What city is this for? What is the TOT tax?

sanFF refers to the transient occupancy tax. That, however is included in your total Priceline charge. This from Priceline.com: "The price you name is per night and does not include taxes or service fees. We will calculate these additional charges and present a total before you submit your request."

sanFF, I believe that you are mistaken. flyingstudent's idea will clear this up for you. Just put in your $1 bid for the same zone & star level as your successful bid. You'll see that Priceline was up front about taxes and fees.

Hold the phone. This also from Priceline.com:

Are taxes included in the price I name?

No, the price you name is for the hotel room rate only, exclusive of taxes and service fees. All hotel rooms are, however, subject to city and state taxes, which vary based on the city you are visiting. We will calculate these taxes and our service fees related to your offer and present a total before you submit your request.

Also, depending on the city you select, a local tax or "Hotel Occupancy Tax" may apply. These taxes will be added by your hotel and will be payable upon check-out.

These are the same taxes that apply if you reserved rooms through a travel agent or directly from the hotels.

What taxes am I charged for?

The tax charge on priceline.com hotel transactions includes all applicable taxes paid by priceline.com to the hotel in connection with your travel arrangements. Taxability and the appropriate tax rate vary greatly by location.

What are the service fees?

These fees cover the costs incurred by priceline.com in servicing your travel reservation.

Perhaps sanFF is facing such a "Hotel Occupancy Tax". I don't think I ever have, but this might be the source of the confusion.

I talked to a PL rep today and it was like talking to a prerecorded empty head., I asked what taxes I was paying and all I got was a "we do no know just a total of $11 for taxes and fees for your $42 reservation." I asked if TOT was included as this is the only tax collected and he said no this would be collected at the hotel. I added that since TOT is the only tax collected on a hotel room then what was the 25% surcharge for. Again he said taxes. So we went round and round he not listening to my question. A supervisor came on and I got the same litany of nothing. I finally thanked them for their lack of candor and told them I would let others know to expect; a 25% comission called a tax and then to expect to pay all hotel taxes again when you check in. At least I now know how they operate for next time

sanFF, let's see if the hotel tries to charge you for any additional taxes. I'm pretty sure I've never paid such a tax in over 12 Priceline reservations (beyond what I paid Priceline). I'll certainly agree with your implication that Priceline has made this very confusing. Your final Priceline total includes "city" and "state" taxes, but not the occassional "local tax", also known as a ""Hotel Occupancy Tax"? Huh?

Isn't "city" about as "local" as taxes get?

I think New York City charges a $2/day tax that is not collected by Priceline, but the hotel directly. I'm not sure of its name.

Why not phone the hotel and ask what taxes they might charge you?

In any event, like dhuey, I've never been charged extra above the Priceline price that I already paid.

sanFF, let's see if the hotel tries to charge you for any additional taxes. I'm pretty sure I've never paid such a tax in over 12 Priceline reservations (beyond what I paid Priceline). I'll certainly agree with your implication that Priceline has made this very confusing. Your final Priceline total includes "city" and "state" taxes, but not the occassional "local tax", also known as a ""Hotel Occupancy Tax"? Huh? Isn't "city" about as "local" as taxes get?

I was dinged for $0.75 tax at a very nice P/L **1/2 hotel near SFO. Considering I paid P/L about $35, I had a huge room, had a cooked to order breakfast, had a 3 hour nibblies and wine and beer fest, and their "shuttle" was a stretched limo for me etc. Considering all this, I decided it was not my time to spend much time disgussing the matter (not my normal style I might add).

MisterNice

>Disgussing<

Now, that SHOULD be a word! Perhaps when you're discussing something that disgusting to you?

There was a previous case (either on FT or on another forum) concerning a stay in New Orleans. To make a long story short, the determination was Priceline's system can only accomodate ONE tax charge.

In jurisdictions that charge one or more additional, separate taxes, such as (but not limited to) a tourist development tax, a stadium/arena tax or a local occupancy tax, Priceline apparently cannot include the additional taxes in the initial calculation, and that is the reason for these additional taxes not being included in the total at the time of the acceptance of the bid.

Examples I have encountered:

Sacramento - at the HY Regency, a separate $1.50 tax is added at the time of the stay.

Copenhagen - The VAT is included in the initial bid calculation, but the small environment surcharge is not (WillTravel, weren't you recently in CPH - if so, can you verify this)?

I was in CPH on a Priceline stay in July 2003. There wasn't an environmental surcharge at that time and I did not have to pay any extra charges at all.

In New Orleans, your PL bid includes the hotel sales tax of 13%, but does not include the occupancy tax of $1 - $3/day. That tax is charged by the hotel at or after checkout.

I still fail to see how PL can justify a $11 tax/fee on a $42 reservation
when the Hotel charges no tax other than the 10% room tax which they clearly stat that I pay at check in. So I guess their commision is 25%
Please correct me if I am wrong.

I still fail to see how PL can justify a $11 tax/fee on a $42 reservation
when the Hotel charges no tax other than the 10% room tax which they clearly stat that I pay at check in. So I guess their commision is 25%
Please correct me if I am wrong.

Before priceline bundled their taxes and fees together, they had a ~$6 service fee for every transaction (independent of length of stay). Now that they've bundled the two, the service fee is variable, but is usually at least $6 and seems to go up $1 for each additional night.

For 1-night stays at cheap hotels, the fee does represent a significant portion of the bid cost. For those bids, you have to decide whether or not it is worthwhile to use priceline (especially since most 2* and less hotels tend not to give huge discounts to priceline since they aren't starting from high list prices). I have booked conventionally for some of these types of stays. However, for multi-night stays at more expensive hotels, the fee works out to much less percentage wise of the total cost.

At any rate, the TOTAL cost for the hotel stay (eg including all taxes and fees) is very clearly listed on the final page before you press the "submit my bid now" button.

In terms of the hotel stating that you pay the 10% tax separately, I imagine that they are giving you incorrect information. Alternativley, some less scrupulous hotel operators have been known to try to "double-dip" for the taxes.

Well, sanFF, given the history reported here by several of us Priceline regulars, it would appear that you'll probably face no additional tax, or one so small it's not worth an argument.

Very helpful with dealing with PL.

Stayed in SFO at both 4* and 3* in November 2003; there were no additional taxes or fees imposed upon my PL res. I agree with others above that this will likely not be collected. I'm not exactly clear where you're staying sanFF so made the assumption it could be SFO.

Trying to be Helpful in the Fog,

mrspilot

I was charged a .10 tax upon check-out at the San Francisco Marriott (downtown) last December on a Priceline stay.

If you go to Marriott's site to book a room conventionally at this same hotel, you'll see this appear when you click "rate rules"

Tax Information
CURRENCY RATES QUOTED IN USD - US DOLLAR AND EXCLUDE TAXES
TAX 14.000 PCT PLUS 0.10/ROOM PER NIGHT

No explanation what kind of tax it is..... :rolleyes:

I was charged a .10 tax upon check-out at the San Francisco Marriott (downtown) last December on a Priceline stay.

If you go to Marriott's site to book a room conventionally at this same hotel, you'll see this appear when you click "rate rules"

Tax Information
CURRENCY RATES QUOTED IN USD - US DOLLAR AND EXCLUDE TAXES
TAX 14.000 PCT PLUS 0.10/ROOM PER NIGHT

No explanation what kind of tax it is..... :rolleyes:

Last December? I believe that was the Willie Brown retirement party tax. Appetizers alone must have cost six figures.

PL now combines its service charge with the tax, supposedly so you can't figure out what PL paid. But often you can: 1) Sometimes the amount PL paid appears on your registration material; 2) Sometimes you can read it upside down at the front desk; 3) Sometimes it is shown on the Video Checkout; 4) The lowest bid on BFT, etc. is probably equal to or within $2 of what PL paid. PL has its pros and cons. Pros: You don't get a Hotel Tax Surprise at the end of your stay like at a non-PL stay. Almost never will you pay more than what you paid PL. Cons: You don't get a tax breakout so you can take a tax deduction for the taxes.

Hotels are notorious (on non-PL stays) for adding on bogus "taxes," figuring you won't dispute them. Bigger scammers include the car rental companies, which charge for "vehicle registration," "concession recovery," etc. surcharges, often the PL rate is kinder and gentler. The biggest thieves of all are the local airport bureaucracies which charge you $4.50-$15 for walking through their airport, in addition to other fees you pay via the airlines for gate and landing fees, via the airport restaurants, and also the fee you pay to ride on the rent-a-car shuttle bus, which is usually more than it costs to take a taxi to the off-airport rent-a-car facility.

...Cons: You don't get a tax breakout so you can take a tax deduction for the taxes....

You lost me there. If it's a business trip, the entire amount you pay PL (inc. taxes & fees) is a deductible expense. Likewise, if you book with the hotel and you get a tax breakout, you can deduct the whole amount, including any local sales, hotel tax, or any other tax you pay for your room on business.

How would it matter whether the tax is listed separately?

dhuey, I work for an employer that's a 50/50 for-profit, not-for-profit partnership. 50% of sales tax is exempt because of the company's non-profit status while 50% of the sales tax is paid because of the company's for-profit status. Therefore, I've been asked to provide detail about tax paid when submitting expense reimbursements. My answer? I can't say exactly (anymore) what the exact tax amount is but PL's receipt together with information about the area sales tax rate is sufficient to get most of the tax benefit for the tax-exempt side of the company.

This may not very well explain what mbstone was referring to above but is one possible explanation why the amount of tax paid could matter. IMHO, I think PL changed the math formula for the same reason they underrate some hotels in the same area...to keep PL opaque.


Splitting Tax Hairs in the Fog,

mrspilot

I stayed at the Sheraton SFO the night before I flew to Athens. They charges a local $3 tax that was not included in the priceline bid, and had me sign a form for it. I've had the same thing happen in Amsterdam, with a local tax being added in addition to what priceline has already collected.

Last December? I believe that was the Willie Brown retirement party tax. Appetizers alone must have cost six figures.

Does that mean SF can look forward to a .20 "centerfold" tax to cover the Newsom-Guilfoyle Harper's spreads ?? :D