Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Inability to re-bid on hotels

I am sorry if someone has asked this question. I don't have much luck with searches any more.

Has anyone else had this problem recently? It has happened to me three times lately. I bid like I usually would and get back the message:

"Thank You for Naming Your Own Price – Unfortunately, we can't accept your offer. During our search, however, we did find special priceline rates available for your travel dates at the hotels shown below."

Then, they list a series of hotels in which I have no interest. There is no link to take me back to change the parameters of my bid (dates, star level, bid area, etc.). If I try to go back to the beginning of the process or try to go back, I receive the message that I have aready submitted a bid and can't do it again with 24 hours.

I've contacted PL Customer Service (twice) and am yet to hear from them.

Anybody know what's going on? It's really annoying. :mad:

ILP,

I have gotten that a few times.... usually if I had a very low bid.... or if I had tried for three different levels.

Just seems to be a quirk in the system.... I go back the next day and have no probabl rebidding.

ILP,

I have gotten that a few times.... usually if I had a very low bid.... or if I had tried for three different levels.

Just seems to be a quirk in the system.... I go back the next day and have no probabl rebidding.

I was bidding on Paris on Saturday. This happened. I bid on another city yesterday. No issues. Tried bidding on Paris again today - the same thing happened.

HHHmmm... the only time I had it happen that way to me was when I was bidding very low.... and knew I would probably not get it.

HHHmmm... the only time I had it happen that way to me was when I was bidding very low.... and knew I would probably not get it.

They were both first bids and only about $15-$20 less than successful bids I had seen elsewhere.

Just happened again on a second bid for another city. The bid was identical to a successful bid of someone else. :mad:

Clear your cookies and cache. Try a different email address and credit card, and preferably IP.

Clear your cookies and cache. Try a different email address and credit card, and preferably IP.

Well, good ideas, but it's still a pain in the you know what! :)

Look REALLY closely at the fine print on that page. I've gotten that message, and there was a word or two that was highlighted and was a hot link to take you back to your bidding so you could continue adding free re-bids or whatever.

It is pretty buried. I think upper half of the page, sort of centered but a little to the right. I could be wrong about it's location, but I'm sure I've found it while seeing that message. And recently too, as I just bid for a couple hotels in different locations about a month ago.

Romelle

I'd smoke it out for you, but hotels are so low lately I'd probably win one by accident.

Incidentally, do check your "Rewards" too. Quite a few people seem to be finding $25 ($5 a night) bonuses.

Look REALLY closely at the fine print on that page. I've gotten that message, and there was a word or two that was highlighted and was a hot link to take you back to your bidding so you could continue adding free re-bids or whatever.

It is pretty buried. I think upper half of the page, sort of centered but a little to the right. I could be wrong about it's location, but I'm sure I've found it while seeing that message. And recently too, as I just bid for a couple hotels in different locations about a month ago.

Romelle

I'd smoke it out for you, but hotels are so low lately I'd probably win one by accident.

Incidentally, do check your "Rewards" too. Quite a few people seem to be finding $25 ($5 a night) bonuses.


I did and can't find it. I kept the two windows open. I clicked on a couple promising links like "Change My Search," but no luck.

I have also gotten similar messages. I don't think they are in any way offering "free" rebids. Rather, they are offering inventory from the non-bidding side of their website (named hotel, listed price), as well as the opportunity to change the parameters of the original bid. You still have to wait 24 hours to bid the same area, same dates.

I have also gotten similar messages. I don't think they are in any way offering "free" rebids. Rather, they are offering inventory from the non-bidding side of their website (named hotel, listed price), as well as the opportunity to change the parameters of the original bid. You still have to wait 24 hours to bid the same area, same dates.

No, you misunderstand. They are NOT offering an opportunity to change the parameters of the original bid. That is what I'm trying to do and that is my point. I want to be able to add an area (that I am willing to stay in or to add an area that has a lower star level - i.e., a "free rebid") on subsequent bids. They are not permitting it.

You might try posting your problem in www.betterbidding.com. Maybe somebody there has an answer.

Romelle

I'm assuming you were able to fill out the full bidding parameters the first time - zone, star level, bid amount. And then the credit card stuff.

I'm curious as to what city were you bidding?

You might try posting your problem in www.betterbidding.com. Maybe somebody there has an answer.

Romelle

I'm assuming you were able to fill out the full bidding parameters the first time - zone, star level, bid amount. And then the credit card stuff.

I'm curious as to what city were you bidding?

Yes, my bid was rejected and then I got the message. I have been bidding on Paris (this has happened on two occasions, including today), Amsterdam (and it happened once - today) and Boston (didn't happen at all).

I did post it on Biddingfortravel and was told that it is happening from time to time and no one knows why.

Well, I did manage to trigger that message you've been getting.

I stuck in a one night $10 bid for AMS. 3*, a couple zones. The first time it came up with the regular failed bid message, asking if I wanted to change anything.

I added a zone and held firm at my $10 and 3*. The response this time was the message you posted, and indeed there was no way for me to get back to the bidding directly.

Not that I learned anything new to share, but I'm telling you this so you don't take that goofy message personally.

Unless you are bidding REALLY low also? Are you no lower than, say, 15% off Hotwire prices??

Romelle

Well, I did manage to trigger that message you've been getting.

I stuck in a one night $10 bid for AMS. 3*, a couple zones. The first time it came up with the regular failed bid message, asking if I wanted to change anything.

I added a zone and held firm at my $10 and 3*. The response this time was the message you posted, and indeed there was no way for me to get back to the bidding directly.

Not that I learned anything new to share, but I'm telling you this so you don't take that goofy message personally.

Unless you are bidding REALLY low also? Are you no lower than, say, 15% off Hotwire prices??

Romelle

Actually, my AMS bid was the same as a successful bid posted on BiddingforTravel.com

I just heard from PL Customer Service. Not surprisingly, my question was not understood and I received a non-response to my question from a gentleman apparently from the subcontinent. It was as though I asked why my bid wasn't accepted. And then, a recitation of Priceline procedures.

One funny thing, however. The person who responded to me is named Aswind. Just missing one letter. :D

Still wrestling with what that missing letter might have been.

Still wrestling with what that missing letter might have been.
At least he didn't make up an English name. Perhaps Richard might be appropriate? :D

Still wrestling with what that missing letter might have been.
Could it be two Ss instead of one? ;)

Back to OP's question.

I'd only run into rebidding heldup when I used up my bidding options. Then the 24 hrs wait, same as wharvey.

I have to conclude that Priceline is unaware that this is happening. I received another response from them late last night after I told them that I didn't need instructions on HOW to bid, but wanted an answer to why I wasn't being allowed to bid. I even included a copy of the page I get when this happens. They gave me the stock answer to a question I'm not asking, telling me to:

- Star level - decrease your selection
- Area -- Add or change your selected Area(s)
- Change your dates of stay

Oh well. :confused:

Incidentally, do check your "Rewards" too. Quite a few people seem to be finding $25 ($5 a night) bonuses.

Sheesh, how long has that been there? i would have never thought to look there and I just bid a 4 night stay recently. Oh well, it is only $20.

BillJ

My third response from Customer Service. I guess I'm out of lunch.

We apologize if you are having difficulty using our website. We work
hard to make our service convenient and accessible for all customers; however, technology is not uniform across all Web browsers (i.e. Netscape, AOL, Internet Explorer, etc.) and operating systems (i.e. Windows 95, Macintosh). Technical difficulties can occur.

Additionally, if you are still unable to receive the resubmit option, we suggest you submit a new request through our website.

Of course, a new request results in the message that I have already submitted this bid and am not allowed to do so twice within 24 hours. I guess I'll have to do this, but it is really inconvenient to have no free re-bids and no ability to choose more than one bidding area. :mad:

This is a little extreme, but how about using one of those free computers in a library, and then set up a different PL ID also, and use a different credit card and spell your name slightly differently - add middle initial, drop it, or something similar. Anything to look like an entirely different person on a different computer. It probably is just the computer/browser/ISP/whatever of your home configuration, but thought it also a good idea to make sure PL didn't give you any stored info from your home ID.

Incidentally, what sort of computer/OS/ISP etc. are you using now?

I'm on a Mac/OS X 10.5.6/Safari/Comcast and was able to trigger than annoying message. There are enough people wandering through this site, maybe we could pin it down to some specific configuration and have something more to take back to PL. PL has some history already of giving different results for the Macs. For a long time I couldn't get the "greying out" of unbidable zones that people with PCs could get. Also there was a short spell of just being locked out.

Romelle

This is a little extreme, but how about using one of those free computers in a library, and then set up a different PL ID also, and use a different credit card and spell your name slightly differently - add middle initial, drop it, or something similar. Anything to look like an entirely different person on a different computer. It probably is just the computer/browser/ISP/whatever of your home configuration, but thought it also a good idea to make sure PL didn't give you any stored info from your home ID.

Incidentally, what sort of computer/OS/ISP etc. are you using now?

I'm on a Mac/OS X 10.5.6/Safari/Comcast and was able to trigger than annoying message. There are enough people wandering through this site, maybe we could pin it down to some specific configuration and have something more to take back to PL. PL has some history already of giving different results for the Macs. For a long time I couldn't get the "greying out" of unbidable zones that people with PCs could get. Also there was a short spell of just being locked out.

Romelle

Mac/OS X 10.5.5/Firefox/AT&T

Maybe it's a Mac thing.

ILuvParis,

I saw thereyouare's response to your post on betterbidding.com. Essentially it amounts to getting clear out, and then coming back in with a new bid as you add your free rebid zone, but I thought it was a nice short cut to the process. Any luck with that? Sounded like it could work.

And I share your suspicion that the bug/error could be Mac-specific.

Romelle

ILuvParis,

I saw thereyouare's response to your post on betterbidding.com. Essentially it amounts to getting clear out, and then coming back in with a new bid as you add your free rebid zone, but I thought it was a nice short cut to the process. Any luck with that? Sounded like it could work.

And I share your suspicion that the bug/error could be Mac-specific.

Romelle

I didn't post on betterbidding.com. Someone must have posted a similar question. I'm not sure I understand what the suggestion is.

At any rate, I have asked to speak to a supervisor because I have gotten five responses from them today, each of them a recitation of how to bid and basically ignoring (or, more likely, failing to understand) my question. They gave me a number to call.

"If you use the search box on the top right corner of the board, enter your info, and use that to bid... then if you're rejected and re-directed to the 'retail' section of PRICELINE, simply close that browser, re-press the GO button on the search box, then add the zone you want and your re-bid zone and bid as usual.

Although not the intention when created, the search box comes in really handy for re-bidding when there is a need to close the browser."

The above was the suggestion from betterbidding for getting around the problem you described.

I did mis-read your note about posting. I see now it was on BFT, rather than BB. Sorry. The search box mentioned is on the BB board.

I'm admiring your persistence on this whole thing. Lots of people would have just thrown up their hands and given up.

Earlier Mac issues simply went away when they presumably fixed the bugs. No announcement or anything, things just started working right.

Romelle

For those of you who are following this saga, I had a conversation with Priceline today and made no progress. The gentleman with whom I spoke told me that I'm getting the retail suggestions because the system recognizes that the retail situation would provide the best deal for me. I asked how the system knows that there are no hotels in any other area that would accept my bid and how do they know that I wouldn't bid a price that was acceptable? Of course, he couldn't explain.

I think the key issue is that in India, they can't pull up the page that I was getting after one bid, so they are unfamiliar with the problem I was having. Anyway, the gentleman told me they would look into the problem and I also told them about our "Mac suspicions." :)

At any rate, I decided to change my tactics and bid again. In the past, I always bid Opera Quarter East first (and have never been successful) because that is the choice location. All the other areas that I would be interested in are large and I usually end up at a hotel far from the city center - near the Perepherique. :mad: Nevertheless, I bid Opera Quarter West, hoping to change my luck. I was successful on the first bid, at a price lower than I bid yesterday (which suggests Priceline has no idea what they are talking about). More importantly, I got a 4* hotel (Concorde St. Lazaar, 800 meters from the Opera Garnier).

So, all's well that ends well, I guess, but it does nothing to solve the real problem.

I've had the kick-out happen and assumed that there simply is no inventory at the star level I was bidding at in that zone at anything less than the prices on the retail site. After all, Priceline does want to make a buck. I find if I re-enter and change the zone (to a possible one, not an impossible one used for rebids) or go to a lower star level I am able to bid successfully. When Priceline shows you zones and star levels on entry, they don't know the dates. When you bid, you are giving the computer an idea of what you want. The system will never suggest specifically that you try another zone, or change dates, or lower the star level in order to succeed on the kick-out but they do it on rejected bids - but it's the same thing. So if OQE in Paris has nothing at 4* at anywhere near the offer you made, which does happen, then they kick you to retail. So then you can go to OQW, which might have more inventory and see what happens. The OP succeeded in this case. If you get kicked out again, then go to one of the other popular zones. It also helps to look at Hotwire to see if there are properties in the area at your level.

Trying to contact PL regarding things like how to do a free re-bid is just pointless. All you have to do is go all the way back out to priceline.com and start over. This will require you to write down, on a piece of paper, which combinations of dates, star levels, and/or zones you have already bid. If you have added a new zone, or a lower star level, or you changed one of the dates, you will be allowed to bid again. If you haven't, you won't.

Of course, a new request results in the message that I have already submitted this bid and am not allowed to do so twice within 24 hours. I guess I'll have to do this, but it is really inconvenient to have no free re-bids and no ability to choose more than one bidding area. :mad:Huh? I've never had that problem, as long as the new request is different in some respect from the original bid. I usually end up doing this frequently, as you can't subtract zones from an existing bid -- you have to bid A, A & B, then start a new request for A & C, then A & B & C.

Huh? I've never had that problem, as long as the new request is different in some respect from the original bid. I usually end up doing this frequently, as you can't subtract zones from an existing bid -- you have to bid A, A & B, then start a new request for A & C, then A & B & C.

You sound like a Priceline Customer Service Consultant, ignoring my question and telling me how it is supposed to work. I know these things. The point is that it wouldn't let me make a new request.

alanh - any chance you are a Mac user? I am, and in an earlier post told IluvParis I was able to generate the same error as she has been getting. Also, a couple years ago there were some Mac specific bugs on PL that eventually got corrected. Romelle

alanh - any chance you are a Mac user? I am, and in an earlier post told IluvParis I was able to generate the same error as she has been getting. Also, a couple years ago there were some Mac specific bugs on PL that eventually got corrected. Romelle

Or even he. ;)

Or even he. ;)

Oops.

Romelle

Trying to contact PL regarding things like how to do a free re-bid is just pointless. All you have to do is go all the way back out to priceline.com and start over. This will require you to write down, on a piece of paper, which combinations of dates, star levels, and/or zones you have already bid. If you have added a new zone, or a lower star level, or you changed one of the dates, you will be allowed to bid again. If you haven't, you won't.

This I will try next time it happens. My mistake, I guess, was backing out, keeping the same area and adding a new one. At that point I got the message that I had already bid and could only do so once within 24 hours.