Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Any success in challenging what Priceline calls a 3* hotel?

I used Priceline for the first time ever tonight to book a one night stay at the Seattle airport.... they list the Hilton and the Marriott as their 3* examples.... I got the Doubletree for a rate of $40 plus tax and service fee....The Doubletree has gotten really bad reviews lately and is certainly not comparable to the Hilton or the Marriott.... although the rate is good, based on the reviews I am not sure it is worth it....Is it possible to challenge Priceline on what they consider three star properties?

Is it possible to challenge Priceline on what they consider three star properties?

PL rates properties according to their amenities, not their subjective quality. PL does not read the Mobil or AAA guides, nor does it employ ex-Marines to go over hotel rooms with white gloves. A PL 3* merely means that there is an on-premises restaurant and (usually) room service. Of course, there are dumpy and run-down properties that fit this description, e.g. most airport Hiltons. You could do two things: 1) post negative reviews of the hotel on BFT or Travelocity or wherever you can; 2) write to PL. If enough people complain to PL the property will be downgraded.

Oh, and would somebody please bulldoze all the Doubletrees.

Here is a REVIEW (http://www.betterbidding.com/show.php/act/ST/f/421/t/4606) of somebody that stayed here recently on a Priceline win.

They suggest the 'tower rooms' if you can get one.

I used Priceline for the first time ever tonight to book a one night stay at the Seattle airport.... they list the Hilton and the Marriott as their 3* examples.... I got the Doubletree for a rate of $40 plus tax and service fee....The Doubletree has gotten really bad reviews lately and is certainly not comparable to the Hilton or the Marriott.... although the rate is good, based on the reviews I am not sure it is worth it....Is it possible to challenge Priceline on what they consider three star properties?

The Doubletree at SeaTac should work just fine for you. I've stayed there recently, and although it's seen better days, it is a good deal for $40 if you're just staying there prior to an early morning flight. I wouldn't pick it as a vacation destination, but then I wouldn't pick any SeaTac hotel for a vacation.

I wrote to Priceline about their choice of Doubletree Seatac as a 3*.... I got a long and personal email back this morning. Essentially they said they cannot rate each hotel individually but by brand only. So that one Doubletree might really be a 3* but another in the chain may be slightly less.....makes sense......but still I am disappointed I did not get the Hilton right next door.......

I wish that PL *would* consider the date of the last renovation in its criteria. I agree that some of the DTs are slag heaps that sorely need evne basic renovations (if not the outright demolition called for above) ;)

FYI: I called the DT direct and they confirmed that we had 2 queens in a non-smoking room (excellent)..... she also said that we could be upgraded to the new "tower" for an addtional $10 at check-in.......bringing the price to $50....seems fair.....

Oh, and would somebody please bulldoze all the Doubletrees.
You must have had some exceptionally bad experiences. The DTs I've stayed at have all been good to excellent.

Late last year I was disappointed with a hotel I got through PL and complained about the star rating via e-mail. There were a few e-mails exchanged, but basically PL just blew me off. However, as an apology they DID send me a bonus money link good for $10 off per night for up to 5 nights, which I've never used -- hmmm, expires December 31, maybe I'd better use it soon! ;)

Last November I got the Doubletree in Boston (near Chinatown and a big hospital) for one Saturday night by bidding 3* $70. When we checked-in around 5pm, they had no more non-smoking rooms, and the desk clerk was a little snotty and adamant about giving us a smoking room. I definitely should have called ahead with my room request, but I didn't, so there's nowhere I can point the finger other than the mirror.

Thankfully, such occasions are rare with Priceline, as ever other time (50+ bids) I've gotten a non-smoking room.

It was properly rated as a three-star property, IMHO.

Since Priceline requests are handled 100% by email, you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult for them to send out an email survey a few days after each hotel stay and allow guess to rate the hotels themselves.

Jeff

Since Priceline requests are handled 100% by email, you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult for them to send out an email survey a few days after each hotel stay and allow guess to rate the hotels themselves.

Jeff

Guest appraisals would be extremely subjective, much more than the current system. Right now, guests do get email surveys about the stay, but there's no request for a star rating.

If someone can point to an objective factor that is lacking, like a restaurant, Priceline does seem to agree to the rerating.

Otherwise, what does it matter if Priceline uses a 5* system or a 20* system? We all can have a pretty good idea of what hotels Priceline will offer, thanks to the two major bidding sites and commonsense. The shortcomings of many 3* hotels are well-known. So it's just a risk you can decide to take - or not.

To the poster who said it's not worth the effort to reconfigure pricelines totally misguided star-rating system:

How many nights have you stayed in a priceline hotel in the last 2 years? How many different priceline hotels have you stayed in during the last 2 years?

To the poster who said it's not worth the effort to reconfigure pricelines totally misguided star-rating system:

How many nights have you stayed in a priceline hotel in the last 2 years? How many different priceline hotels have you stayed in during the last 2 years?

Who are you addressing? If me, many dozens of nights in somewhere over a dozen hotels in six countries. Certainly not the number of many here, but enough to know a little bit.

Since Priceline requests are handled 100% by email, you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult for them to send out an email survey a few days after each hotel stay and allow guess to rate the hotels themselves.

Jeff
Priceline does, in fact, send out brief e-mail surveys asking you to rate your stay. I've received these a few times, though I don't believe they send them after every stay.

PL rates properties according to their amenities, not their subjective quality. PL does not read the Mobil or AAA guides, nor does it employ ex-Marines to go over hotel rooms with white gloves. A PL 3* merely means that there is an on-premises restaurant and (usually) room service. Of course, there are dumpy and run-down properties that fit this description, e.g. most airport Hiltons. You could do two things: 1) post negative reviews of the hotel on BFT or Travelocity or wherever you can; 2) write to PL. If enough people complain to PL the property will be downgraded.

The Red Lion in Modesto, CA used to be rated 3* by Priceline. A friend of mine stayed there in August and reported shabby room conditions to Priceline. About a month later, it was discovered Priceline had downgraded the hotel to 2 stars. When accessing the Priceline bid confirmation page, the restaurant icon no longer appeared in the hotel's list of amenities. That alone would explain the downgrade from 3 to 2 stars as the poster above pointed out. Whether the complaint(s) had anything to do with it as well is unknown. But I believe Priceline takes customer feedback somewhat seriously. I'm sure if they get enough negative feedback on a certain property they adjust the quality rating accordingly.

To the poster who said it's not worth the effort to reconfigure pricelines totally misguided star-rating system:

How many nights have you stayed in a priceline hotel in the last 2 years? How many different priceline hotels have you stayed in during the last 2 years?

Deadreader,

Off topic here, but did you ever get your missing EBAY points? If I'm not mistaken, you're the only one who complained about missing points, but didn't provide a follow up once the points started rolling into everyone else's accounts. Let us know!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=346354)