Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - When did Priceline stop guaranteeing "no smoking" rooms?

On a recent PL bid I read that that PL no longer guaranteed no smoking rooms. When did that happen? There is very little more disgusting than staying in a room in which the entire room has the stench of cigarettes and cigars.

Was there ever a "hard" guarantee of a N/S room?

I do know that in the past, PL used to automatically request n/s rooms (they may still do so, but I'm not sure).

However, one newer development is that some properties are intentionally "dumping" their smoking rooms into the PL pool. This happened to re back in July - the front desk clerk told me specifically that the property only put smoking rooms on PL and Hotwire, becasuse, as he put it, 'most of the direct-booking guests want nonsmoking rooms'.

On a recent PL bid I read that that PL no longer guaranteed no smoking rooms. When did that happen? There is very little more disgusting than staying in a room in which the entire room has the stench of cigarettes and cigars.

I've seen worse. Blood stains on the ceiling, and mold were some the worst I've personally encountered. And I recall one thread about a guy who smeared tons of vaseline over everything in the room.

Even though PL said they requested NS rooms, I often checked into a hotel that said, "PL requested a smoking room for you."

Best way to have a good shot at the room type you want is to call the hotel about 8am the morning of check in. They usually do room assignments that morning so you have a decent chance of getting what you want unless the property has "PL" rooms that they will only book you into.

This is actually the one and only reason why I don't use PL... :td:

On a recent PL bid I read that that PL no longer guaranteed no smoking rooms. When did that happen?

I don't think Priceline ever guaranteed nonsmoking rooms. I started using Priceline in 2001 and it was already "Smoking preferences not guaranteed" back then.

The policy hasn't changed over the years. It's one of the few Priceline policies that hasn't changed. If Priceline guaranteed nonsmoking rooms at one time it must have been at the very beginning, in 2000 and 2001; but I've never heard that they guaranteed nonsmoking rooms back then either.

This is actually the one and only reason why I don't use PL... :td:

Unless the hotel you book is a totally smoke-free hotel, even booking through conventional sources doesn't always "guarantee" a non-smoking room. Have had that experience before.

Unless the hotel you book is a totally smoke-free hotel, even booking through conventional sources doesn't always "guarantee" a non-smoking room. Have had that experience before.

I always book directly on hotel websites. I think that the only place where I ever saw non-smoking treated as a preference and not as a guarantee is Las Vegas.

I think that the only place where I ever saw non-smoking treated as a preference and not as a guarantee is Las Vegas.One way to guarantee nonsmoking in LV (albeit off the Strip proper) is to book a Marriott property - I like the Renaissance, as it is next to a monorail stop

On a recent PL bid I read that that PL no longer guaranteed no smoking rooms. When did that happen? There is very little more disgusting than staying in a room in which the entire room has the stench of cigarettes and cigars.

I've been using Priceline continually since 2002 and never recall their guaranteeing non-smoking rooms in the past. I just looked up 2 past bids, one made about 2 weeks ago, and the other in July of 2007, and the wording about smoking/non-smoking rooms is the same:

All rooms will accommodate 2 adults. Bed type requests (King, Queen, 2 Doubles, etc.) or other special needs such as a non-smoking or smoking room should be requested through your confirmed hotel, can not be guaranteed and are based on availability.

Did you see different wording that suggested the above is a change of previous policy?

This is actually the one and only reason why I don't use PL... :td:

I have booked about 150 rooms through Priceline and only twice had to accept a smoking room because the hotel was sold out. I'll take my chances to save 50% or more.

assume that I've saved $50 for each booking, that's $7500 in savings....even if I received a smoking room 10% of the time, I could still "eat" my Priceline reservation, book a guaranteed non-smoking room and be dollars ahead.

I have booked about 150 rooms through Priceline and only twice had to accept a smoking room because the hotel was sold out. I'll take my chances to save 50% or more.

Same here.

I always book directly on hotel websites.
I wish I had money to burn, too. With all due respect, why are you posting in this forum?

PL never guaranteed a n/s room. Technically very few hotels will GUARANTEE it even when booking directly.....they say it, along with the bed type, is a preference that they'll 'strive' to accommodate.

Heck most chains are smoke free anyways nowadays at least the 4 and 5 star.