You need to report this to Priceline. They should either prevent the hotel from working with them in the future, or make them give you the kind of room you paid for. I would demand a refund in this case.

AGREED!

Followup:

I'd probably use Priceline more on biz trips, but if plans change at the last minute, clients don't like to be billed for empty hotel rooms.

I have used PL all over the world.I have found that I can stay at 3, 4 or 5 star properties for less than the motels which use #'s for names.

Actually, PL says that they'll request a non-smoking room, and the room will accommodate 2 people. This can mean two twin beds, a double bed, or some other configuration.

Would everyone feel the same way if the other hotel brands went the same way as SPG is going with no Elite Benefits for Priceline bookings?

I have been a Hilton Diamond member for many years and until this year I tried to give most of my business to that chain. When Hilton devalued its points at the beginning of this year I began to look at other alternatives.

I found I could stay in comparable properties usually for half the price I had been paying, using a combination of Hotwire or Priceline. I am self-employed so the money goes in my pocket! In the past I could rationalize paying more by telling myself it was tax deductible.

I enjoyed the perks of being a Diamond, but have noticed a steady decline in the program the past few years. Suites are virtually never available, very few properties have lounges and lately the greatest advantage (Award Room Availability) has disappeared. I am still a Diamond and my last three award room requests were met with “NO AWARD ROOMS AVAILABLE” answer. The only advantage left is a free breakfast and half the time I have to beg for the coupon. The fifty to one hundred dollar savings per night can buy a lot of brealfasts.

As for the above posters comment about losing elite benefits for Priceline stays, Hilton has already implemented this policy and I don’t miss it much. I have traveled a great deal this year and my saving already exceeds five thousand dollars. The points or breakfast just are not worth it.

One other point I would like to make! When you are an elite member of a Hotel Group you tend to expect special treatment because you give them so much of your money. Most of the time my stays as a Diamond were disappointing because very little acknowledgement was given. On a Priceline or Hotwire stay I expect no special treatment so my expectations are always met or exceeded.

I have not used priceline but many of my reservations were in out of the way places where it was not available. I may try it for an upcoming trip. I would not use it for a plane trip as I would not want an itenary that I could not see first, but for a hotel, it probably will work out fine. As for the points & programs, the best thing they have going for them are affinity credit cards - I spend no more than I wouldn't spend already, save the annual fee, which is easily recovered with a reasonable amount of spending on the card.

I no longer travel as much as I used to so I have nothing more than lower level in my hotel programs. My leisure travel is never really enough to earn status so I am moving more towards Priceline. I had my first PL stay recently saving over $100 a night for 3 nights. I got an ES so I got the free breakfast/happy hour which was an added bene. The room was a N/S King which is what I wanted but was a little scared @ the possibility of getting a smoking room.

I would definitely use PL again but probably if I knew the hotel I was going to get was 1 of 2 or 3 in that zone or the only one in that zone. Especially if the savings is great. I probably would opt for a higher points earning rate if it was only $20 more to get a specific hotel in other cases.

Mostly I think it would depend upon the specific situation and what kind of rates I could find.

The effect is actually worse than Starwood realizes, as I am reluctant to choose Starwood for my business trips since they won't count my priceline stays towards status. For the same reason, I am switching my lucrative business travel to Hyatt and others - precisely because I receive status recognition for priceline stays.

As someone pointed out above, no one forces a hotel to offer priceline rooms. If they choose to do so, then they should honor their obligations to their elite patrons rather than being penny wise and pound foolish. How much does it cost to upgrade a room, drop off a newspaper and provide access to a lounge with bad pastries and coffee? Not to mention that many of these lounges are closed on weekends, which is primetime for priceline.


[This message has been edited by Boraxo (edited 10-22-2003).]

I have been using priceline for years and love it. Biddingfortravel takes much of the guesswork out of the process, and I can usually be 90% sure that I will be able to get a specific hotel.

I just got the Beverly Hills Hilton for next Sunday night for $82. I also got the Hilton LAX for next Monday night for $40. Both of those represent savings of more than $100/night, so if neither honor my HHonors Gold, that $100 will buy plenty of breakfasts. Half the time I am able to have my hilton # input and when I make a phone call from the room (for an incidental) I get stay credit.

To DCW. I relate well to your view of Priceline. I tried it once, and when I found that I was committed to paying before I knew at which Hotel I would be reserved, I backed-out at that point, never to try again.

About 25% of my Priceline Bookings are no shows for me due to travel plan changes. I still book priceline where possible despite my poor "show-up" record. I am still Hilton Gold the hard way.

Priceline is not useful for many third world destinations.

[This message has been edited by davistev (edited 10-23-2003).]

Huh? Using Biddingfortravel will usually reduce your potential choices to about 4-6 properties. For $50, how different is a 4* Marriott from a 4* Westin from a 4* Hyatt from a 4* Hilton from a 4* Intercontinental?

That's a good reason to avoid Priceline when you absolutely need a particular property. For example, if you are doing business at a convention center and absolutely need the hotel that's attached to it.

But Priceline isn't after that market. There are other complaints about Priceline, but for the most part the size of their zones doesn't seem to be a common one.