Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Are there any competitors for Priceline? (hotels)

Are there any companies competing with Priceline on the same business model? I know that Hotwire is similar, but are there any direct competitors to Priceline?

Priceline holds a patent on the bidding method and they have been to court to defend it successfully. Expedia had a bidding site that was challenged by Priceline and they agreed to a settlement. They came up with Hotwire as a workaround.
Here's an old story: http://www.pcworld.com/article/15823-2/working_the_web_bazaar.html

I think PL's business-model patents run out in 2011. As soon as this happens they are toast (they will quickly be replaced by a competitor with a customer service orientation.) Please somebody who knows, correct me if I'm wrong.

There´s nothing wrong with Priceline´s customer service. I have used them dozens of times and I´ve had no reason to call them. some might have, but that´s mainly due to not understanding what they are all about.

I think PL's business-model patents run out in 2011. As soon as this happens they are toast... I think that's premature. They're preparing themselves for the patent expiry by building a strong, high-awareness brand that has entered the language, like Kleenex and Scotch tape, and even become a verb ("I'm going to Priceline that for you."). I think PL will survive the eruption of generic equivalents. Most people who understand PL are satisfied with it.

Customer Service problems? Never had a single one.... In reading complaints, it appears as though people did not know what they were doing.... and wants Priceline to protect them from their own personal mistakes.

I had one issue post stay... and Priceline answered it within 24 hours and refunded my money.... much more than I was wanting or expecting.

I also have had nothing but good service from Priceline. They've run their patented method rigorously and fairly. We know the rules and play by them. The resort fee problem is caused by the hotels. How many opportunists would be out there with fake bidding sites if there was no patent? Would your credit card information be safe? Would hotels go along with committing inventory to minor players? Priceline lets the hotels set their prices and makes its money mainly from those who overbid.
Who would do this better? Orbitz? Expedia? I see real complaints about them in this forum all the time. If Priceline closed tomorrow and there was a free for all, we would be a lot worse off - and so would the hotels.

Are there any companies competing with Priceline on the same business model? I know that Hotwire is similar, but are there any direct competitors to Priceline?

Sites that come close are Hotwire and LastMinuteTravel, but Priceline is the only on as far as the bidding model is concerned.

Many times I've been able to call the hotel directly and have them match or undercut successful bids on Priceline (I use biddingfortravel or betterbidding to check prices).

So no to your question, but there are workarounds.

I've had two experiences with PL's CS.

The first was via e-mail, concerning an error in one of the zone boundaries for Berlin. I never received a reply, but the error WAS corrected a few days later. ^

The second involved a case when the system timed out before giving me either a success or failure message for my bid. I called CS, which was adamant (as was the supervisor) they they had no way to tell whether my bid had been accepted or declined (the e-mail verifying a failed bid came some six or seven hours later). Both the first level person and the supervisor were courteous.

Sites that come close are Hotwire and LastMinuteTravel, but Priceline is the only on as far as the bidding model is concerned.

Many times I've been able to call the hotel directly and have them match or undercut successful bids on Priceline (I use biddingfortravel or betterbidding to check prices).

So no to your question, but there are workarounds.

That's interesting. Since most PL hotel stays are ineligible for points/credits, were you able to get them on these directly negotiated rates?

LAX

posted to wrong thread

Hotwire is somewhat similar in that you can get a low price if you're willing to not know the specific hotel you're staying at until after you've paid, though with Hotwire you say what level of hotel and area you want, and they give you price choices. With Priceline you bid (some call it "name your own price," but you bid and see if your bid was accepted). I've not used this feature of Priceline yet, since so often we have specific areas or even hotels we want to stay in, but may give it a try on our next trip. Just need to rely on their map to make sure you don't end up being further away from a certain location than you thought. The Web site says you can save up to 50%, but I've heard you can bid any price you want (no guarantee the bid will be accepted, and then you can't bid again for 24 hours).

Hotwire is somewhat similar in that you can get a low price if you're willing to not know the specific hotel you're staying at until after you've paid, though with Hotwire you say what level of hotel and area you want, and they give you price choices. With Priceline you bid (some call it "name your own price," but you bid and see if your bid was accepted). I've not used this feature of Priceline yet, since so often we have specific areas or even hotels we want to stay in, but may give it a try on our next trip. Just need to rely on their map to make sure you don't end up being further away from a certain location than you thought. The Web site says you can save up to 50%, but I've heard you can bid any price you want (no guarantee the bid will be accepted, and then you can't bid again for 24 hours).

I have used PL quite a bit and it has either saved me a lot of money and/or allowed me to stay in much nicer hotels for the same price I would have paid for a lower quality hotel. I have often saved well over 50% on some hotels.

You need to do your research before bidding so you don't bid some ridiculously low amount and "waste" a bid. biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com have tips about this. And there are ways around the 24 hour waiting rule - check those two sites out for the free rebidding options.

John

I had to go to the BBB to get a problem resolved. At the time a 4* hotel featured "fine dining" and the hotel I won didn't have any kind of restaurant. PL first claimed a local restaurant would deliver to your room. That's not the same as a restaurant. PL then disclosed that restaurant wouldn't deliver on a weekend. The hotel clearly wasn't a 4* hotel, even if they added a coffee shop, but this was the easiest way to document the misrating. I didn't stay in the hotel and informed PL and the hotel in advance I wouldn't be staying there. Customer service has gotten better.

Sorry but the resort fee is a PL issue. A hotel that wants to charge a mandatory resort fee should be required by PL to include that fee with the rate that's loaded into the GDS system. How can PL justify claiming a reservation is non-refundable because "your price was met" when the price we bid doesn't include a variable extra charge?

I don't think there is enough demand for a second service. Hotels are already undercutting the PL model with pre-paid, non-refundable 50% deals.