biggestbopper

Sure you could. For example, you could site some hard data rather than anecdotal "evidence" from a website which appears to get referral fees from Priceline.

B1

I assume you are referring to the previous post - her site has links to both Hotwire and Priceline, but she can defend that herself. The facts are available in the contracts hotels have with Priceline and Hotwire, links to which have appeared in other threads. The simple logic is that Priceline accepts any bid above its costs, depending on people putting in higher bids thus giving Priceline a potentially unlimited margin on any sale. Even the lowest bids are hit with a fee in addition to taxes. Expedia attempted a bid system but the violation of Priceline's patent was upheld in court and Hotwire was established as an opaque alternative. Hotwire has to disclose the price it will accept since there are no bids; therefore, the margin depends on the difference. In other words, with Priceline you might "voluntarily" give them a larger margin than Hotwire would accept. Therefore, if you can do your research, start with a low enough bid, and get lucky, you can do better with Priceline - but not without some effort. If you are really interested in details, as Priceline is a public company, their annual corporate reports explain how they make money.

Sheryl

Too bad you think our data over a 12 year period is compromised because we make money in doing what we do. Do you not make money in what you do? Do you not trust the apples at Kroger because they are in business to earn a profit? Sounds like rotten apples (pun intended) to me.

lougord99

I don't know that anyone can factually prove that PL beats HW for the same hotel. However, everyone who bids smartly proves, every time they win a PL bid, that they got a cheaper rate for the same star level in the same neighborhood. I find that neither service overrates the hotels any more than the other.

90% of my opaque bidding stays are with Priceline and 10% with Hotwire. That is all the proof that I need that Priceline undercuts Hotwire.

Quokka

It's actually pretty easy to do since it's relatively straightforward to identify many Hotwire properties by their listing details (zone, star level, amenities). When you can bid lower than the amount listed on Hotwire and get the bid accepted by the same hotel on Priceline for less than on HW, you've proven it.

B1

People continue to believe that you can't find the facts. Here's a recipe.
1. Go to Sheryl's web site.
2. Search for "Utell" and you will find a link to a web entry that explains how a hotel chain that uses Priceline sets its minimum acceptable bids.
3. After you are satisfied that you understand Priceline, change the address in the link that gives the Priceline information from "Priceline" to "Hotwire"
4. From that page, find a link to the Hotwire contract.
5. Read the contract and on page 4 you will find the condition that the Hotwire rate must match what amounts to the Priceline minimum bid and in another location you will find a clear statement that Hotwire adds on its markup and shows ths sum to the potential customer.

None of this is new or different than what has been posted but it is the closest to an official statement I've seen for either.

Dieuwer

Since Priceline created the "Express Deals" section, opaque hotel rates have been pretty bad IMO.
In most - if not all - cases I can get a better deal using a 20% off Orbitz coupon code than to accept an Express Deal or bid through Priceline.
Has Priceline become too greedy and do they try to keep all savings for themselves?

tommy2tone

TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU. I've probably booked over 50 hotel bookings on Hotwire or Priceline. I generally go through the same process of checking Hotwire first and then bidding (lower) on Priceline.

However, I don't know with 100% certainty that its the same hotel, since I only book one or the other. Agree that its probably the same hotel, but not 100% certain.