Is this true? "reducing profits for Priceline..." I think they get a fee no matter how low/high the prices is .. however, I am not sure.
Anyway, hotels wouldn't like this .. I guess!?
Hotels wouldn't like it, also. But from what I have read, Priceline makes a profit based on the spread between the hotel's database rate (say $50) and your bid rate (say $60). So they much prefer you bid a higher amount, so they get the profit. In this example, they would make only $1 if you bid $51, and $10 if you bid $60.
Location: Naples, Florida .... Clarification: USAFAN was chosen before George W. Bush became 43rd President of the United States
Posts: 7,119
Quote:
Originally Posted by WillTravel
Hotels wouldn't like it, also. But from what I have read, Priceline makes a profit based on the spread between the hotel's database rate (say $50) and your bid rate (say $60). So they much prefer you bid a higher amount, so they get the profit. In this example, they would make only $1 if you bid $51, and $10 if you bid $60.
... may be you are correct .... I really don't know, but, I make lots of my hotel bookings with Priceline.
That may be interesting for some FTs .. it's from 2002 ... but still interesting:
Thanks for the link - interesting reading from a hotel's perspective. I love the part about "You will place the Priceline guest in a room comparable to (or better than) your "best available" room assignment. " That is often not the case with Priceline rooms.
John
__________________
DELTA - Driving Every Loyal Traveler Away
Well...I feel as if I have joined a very exclusive club. I, too, was banned today after years. I can only assume it was due to my lack of using the A-B link.
As I have no explanation for my banishment, one can only assume.
Pretty simple, I lurk over there, haven't posted a winning bid in years. I don't log in to her site. I let them do all the work posting the winning bids and I use the info accordingly. She loses any kind of click though because of her attitude. In the end, I win.
This is EXACTLY why Priceline does not post detailed winning bid information - it would render meaningless the opacity that Priceline is built on (meaning that many hotels would stop using PL, as it would expose the (sometimes wide) disparity between the PL rate and the rates on their own websites.
Bidding for Travel - thank goodness I'm not the only one banned.
I'm a novice, and I was just banned by "Sheryl". I actually used to use BFT many years ago, when I did more travelling. Now that I'm finally taking a vacation to Washington D.C. next month, I thought I'd revisit and try to get advice on how to bid on a hotel. I read, and re-read, and re-re-read, and highlighted and underlined the infamous "Hotel FAQ" to study up before I filled out the Bidding Assistance Form. I read the threads where hands were slapped for not following the instructions to a T. I finally felt confident enough to face Sheryl and fill out a Bidding Assistance Form, making sure to sit by my computer because I must be ready at all time to immediately bid. I was told that I needed to specify all free re-bid zones. I replied with the one additional zone and the two zones within which I was hopefully winning. She said I had not read FAQ #9 and #10 and that I clearly did not understand what I was doing. I replied that I had paid special attention to those, because she had stressed doing so. She said it is evident that I didn't understand that the zones in which I was bidding can NEVER be used in the free re-bid. She also said I needed to list all the zones for the free re-bid (I had, but using her instructions, I used one additional zone in the free re-bid). I then asked, all the while apologizing profusely for screwing up, where does it say in the FAQ's (or anywhere else) that I cannot use my desired zones in the free re-bid, and where does it say that I cannot limit the free re-bid zones to only ONE ADDITIONAL ZONE? No response. I posted my failed bids on BFT and found myself BANNED.
Wow, she's not only low on people skills and blatantly rude, she's also very unhelpful. I couldn't care less that I'm banned, but I will let everyone know that the BFT site is not what it used to be....helpful.
Sorry, lady - you've also lost revenue because I'm certainly going to let everyone know that you collect on A-B bids and to discourage using that site in which to bid.
I've got a lot of other less-than-ladylike things to say, but I'll keep them off this board.
Andy
Welcome to FT and a very special "BFT banned me club". I was vadmited many years ago.
She had a great idea and the moxie to do it, but she is indeed a sad and troubled owner/operator.
Well I, too, was banned from BFT the middle of last week without warning or explanation. After reading this forum, it probably was because I did not use the A-B link. I've been posting to BFT for years and I, too, thought I was doing a favor to everyone who uses the board. Sheryl had stated several times at the end of my posts that she would appreciate if I would use the A-B link. Unfortunately, I never seemed to remember to do that. You would think she could have given some kind of warning.
So, I thought I'd write her and ask WHY I was banned and if she would UNBAN me. At first I thought it was a website problem. I wrote to Yuku and asked to be unbanned but they don't have anything to do with that. Of course I have no way to get Sheryl's email address since I can't get back on the site to get it. GRRRR. All of my internet searching has been fruitless.
I guess I'll just use BB instead - never been to that site until today but it looks like it has similar information.
Well I, too, was banned from BFT the middle of last week without warning or explanation. After reading this forum, it probably was because I did not use the A-B link. I've been posting to BFT for years and I, too, thought I was doing a favor to everyone who uses the board. Sheryl had stated several times at the end of my posts that she would appreciate if I would use the A-B link. Unfortunately, I never seemed to remember to do that. You would think she could have given some kind of warning.
So, I thought I'd write her and ask WHY I was banned and if she would UNBAN me. At first I thought it was a website problem. I wrote to Yuku and asked to be unbanned but they don't have anything to do with that. Of course I have no way to get Sheryl's email address since I can't get back on the site to get it. GRRRR. All of my internet searching has been fruitless.
I guess I'll just use BB instead - never been to that site until today but it looks like it has similar information (with the exception of stating which hotels Priceline uses in certain zones).
Welcome to FlyerTalk and also the BFT "banned" club.
I wouldn't lose sleep over being banned. You can still view the site and get out of it any data that may be useful to you in the future. As far as contributing your Priceline successes back to the community, just start posting them at BB as you've already discovered. Although BB's moderator won't ban you for not using their links, it's still a good habit to get into as that does support the site.
Not sure what you meant about BB not stating which hotels Priceline uses in certain zones. Like BFT, the BB site also has a "hotel list" that is continually updated as new hotels are reported by users.
Welcome to FlyerTalk and also the BFT "banned" club.
I wouldn't lose sleep over being banned. You can still view the site and get out of it any data that may be useful to you in the future. As far as contributing your Priceline successes back to the community, just start posting them at BB as you've already discovered. Although BB's moderator won't ban you for not using their links, it's still a good habit to get into as that does support the site.
Not sure what you meant about BB not stating which hotels Priceline uses in certain zones. Like BFT, the BB site also has a "hotel list" that is continually updated as new hotels are reported by users.
Thank you.
Yes, after I posted my message I went back to BB and saw that they DO have the hotels listed by City. I then came back and edited my post to take that part out - but you had already begun your reply apparently!
I can't get onto BFT at all. My whole IP has been banned. I didn't know this until I tried to make a new userid on a different computer in the house. It was at that point that I learned the entire IP had been banned, not just my username. Originally I thought it might be just my userid, but the original message I got stating that I had been banned said my account had been banned. THEN when I tried making a new userid, I found out it is the whole IP.
I guess her attitude is "if users aren't going to use the link through A-B, then they don't need to be benefiting from the information on my site".
I promise, though, I will try and remember to use the link on BB. LOL
I can't get onto BFT at all. My whole IP has been banned. I didn't know this until I tried to make a new userid on a different computer in the house. It was at that point that I learned the entire IP had been banned, not just my username. Originally I thought it might be just my userid, but the original message I got stating that I had been banned said my account had been banned. THEN when I tried making a new userid, I found out it is the whole IP.
There are some other BFT threads in this forum -- I suggest doing a search and you'll find suggestions on how to "work around" your IP issue with BFT so that you can at least view the information over there. Since your experience mirrors that of countless others, I wouldn't recommend creating a new username, but rather just viewing BFT anonymously.
(I do the same thing)
