dll

Indeed. They basically told me to go pound sand and take it up with the hotel directly, which as we all know is a non-starter. Hotels will not generally touch PL reservations. As soon as they see it is a PL rate they tell you it's non-changeable, cannot be cancelled and to call PL. PL tells you to call the hotel. It's a failure of circular logic in these cases.

FOX85

I know people in the hotel industry.
As far as customers go
Number 1 is people who visit the property often
Number 2 are members of their own loyalty program
Number 3 are travel agency like Expedia
Lastly are the hotwire/expedia rates

This order also determines when people could check in. For example, I booked a hotel on Expedia and was told I cannot check in until the check-in time of 3:00, however they kept checking in other guests. It was just because I booked an Expedia rate that they did not like so they are much stricter on the Check-in/Check-out times.

However, a room at a five star hotel is still a room at a five star hotel so while if you book a cheap priceline rate the crappy rooms tend to be pretty decent.

Secondly, if you are unhappy with the room why don't you pay the hotel for an upgrade at check-in (this is sometimes what I have to do to get away from the aforementioned crappy room).

heraclitus

Interesting thread.

I have used PL/HW for about a decade and while I can think of a couple of instances where I have obviously been given "the hotwire room" (e.g., room at the Edmonton Westin with a view of a brick wall), those few cases are probably outnumbered by situations where I have been upgraded.

For the most part, though, I usually get a standard plain-jane room that is probably no different than what I would have received through Expedia. I know this by looking at the traveller photos on Tripadvisor... usually my room never looks any different than what I see on that site.

As for service, I can't say that I detect any real difference in how I'm treated by the desk clerks beyond simply having it acknowledged that I have booked through HL/PW.

All things considered, I am very happy with the deals I have obtained by using those two sites. The fact that I pay less for many of my hotel rooms now than I did 20 years ago blows me away... it makes the status issue seem trivial to me.

dogcanyon

I have had pretty much the same experience. After perhaps 40 Priceline stays I have detected some "attitude" by the desk clerk maybe twice and have been given less desirable rooms (e.g. near the elevator) occasionally, but overall I have been very happy. Just to show that anything can happen, last summer I booked a 4 star hotel on Priceline in Singapore. I checked in around 1 PM and was upgraded to the Executive Floor (free cocktails and very nice selection of hors d'oeuvres in the evening, excellent free breakfast in the morning). That early in the day, I don't believe that they were overbooked and were forced to give me that room because it was the only one available.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

I rarely have gotten attitude from front desk staff. And if I do, so what, I'm saving money, sometimes big bucks, so why would I remotely care.

teriyaki

Never had a problem with priceline/hotwire rates. If they are professional about their job, they should treat you as a "guest".

B1

The contract of the hotel with Priceline requires that guests who have booked with Priceline be treated in the same manner as preferred guests. This is from the agreement that they sign: "Extend Valued Guest Treatment: You will place the Priceline guest in a room comparable to (or better than) your "best available" room assignment. You will welcome the Priceline guest just as you would welcome any other valued guest. (Remember this is your opportunity to "brand" that guest for a return visit.) "

heraclitus

I have to admit that in spite of having had some fabulous experiences at PL/HW hotels, I have never once returned to any one of those properties through regular booking channels. Not to say that I wouldn't if the price was reasonable, but I haven't done so yet.

mkt

Different properties, different rules.

Many years, and two career paths ago, I worked in hotels. I never once worked at a property where you wouldn't be given a different room based on deep discounted rates. Hell, one property I worked at- belonging to a major chain- would only guarantee the room you had reserved if you booked it directly through the hotel. You could call the toll free chain reservations number, the elite booking number, etc.. but unless you reserved by calling the hotel, they'd throw you in another room.

Reprehensible, terrible field to work in. I can't believe i used to defend them.

rmbl

I've done much business with p-l (probably >200 room nights, mostly in the last four years). The bad experiences have been few and far between and are far outshone by the stellar experiences. I have definitely discovered properties that I loved and have booked again at transparent rates (even at 270EUR/night!).

I have often been given rooms with other-than-my-preferred bed arrangement (e.g. doubles when I preferred king), but I can only think of one occasion when it was an unusually small bed and/or room. On that occasion, it was a single full size (double) bed stuck against a wall, but it was still a comfortable and pleasant hotel. More commonly, I've gotten a normal room.

I can only recall one occasion with a truly bad hotel. In that case, I actually convinced the hotel and priceline to refund the remaining nights of the stay and booked elsewhere (also using priceline).

In general, trying to get priceline to do anything special has been a pain, despite the volume of business I throw their way. On the other hand, I've typically had good experiences.

MarcJ55

You guys who believe that are Hotwire customers are treated like second class citizens are crazy. Hotels aren't "forced" to use Hotwire or Priceline. They choose to do it, and generally perceive this service as value add. If you're a hotel owner with excess capacity, why not fill those rooms without spilling the beans about the price. This is AWESOME.

It's true that hotels have different classes of rooms, and you'll likely get one of the lower classes. But to think that hotels have crappy rooms market just for hotwire or Priceline is insane. Did you know that hotels rely on all sorts of websites and pay them all roughly the same amount -- about 30%. This includes Hotwire, Priceline, orbitz, Expedia, travelocity and the list goes on and on. Hotels also work with vacation companies, and offer bulk rates for airline staff. Airlines are paying a lot less per night than Hotwire or Priceline customers.

I encourage you to ask the hotel clerk about this next time you check into a hotel and see what they say. I have. I've also raised this issue on sites like BetterBidding and HotelDealsRevealed.com. There isn't a unanimous opinion on this, but I don't believe Hotwire customers are treated any differently than other sources of bookings that offer bulk, low rate hotel reservations.

bazers

I don't get upgrades when I book with Priceline - but I have never been treated 'second class'.

XCstud

I've generally had very good experiences with priceline and hotwire hotel rooms and never felt treated like a lower class guest. I've definitely had times where I'm in a small room or a room with a bad/no view and I'm not surprised since I'm on a hotwire rate, but I've also stayed at a hotel on a hotwire rate that was an absolute steal and they put me on the concierge floor which included a free breakfast and free wifi that I wasn't expecting.

pezzy669

I was previously an Assistant Hotel Manager for a midlevel chain hotel which participated in Priceline.

1) Room type - we had it you could stay in it. No complimentary suite upgrades unless you were elite level in the hotel program, afrequent non-elite guest or a important corporate contract guest. This was the same policy for standard bookings across all booking channels (direct, 3rd party, travel agency, etc.).

2) Elite members of the hotel program would get complimentary upgrades upon request and flash of their non-expired elite card. However any benefits that had a hard cost tied to them would not be extended as they would erode/eliminate the razor thin profit margin we made on Priceline rooms. I would say about 5% of our Priceline reservations were high level elite customers - blew my mind. Guessing they were elite due to work travel but saving $$ on accommodations for personal/family travel.

3) Rates. The hotel clerk does know what Priceline is paying the hotel for the room, we never knew what the customer paid unless they shared that information with us.

Some Priceline customers were complete toolbags though. I had a few customers with the nerve to complain loudly about not getting the location they wanted - give me just a moment while I pick up a 100+ room hotel and move it to a location more suitable to your liking. Then the non-elite gems who would complain loudly about not getting a complimentary suite. Sure hold on while I extend you elite level benefits for the first and last time you will stay at a hotel you did not even choose!

tommy2tone

Anecdotally, I'm currently staying at a hotel booked on Priceline. It's a "superior room" which is their cheapest room available. I asked for an upgrade. They wanted to charge me $40 per night for a high floor ocean view. I got them down to $20 per night. Very happy with this,

Overall, I'd take Priceline anyday over not having it.

I see Priceline as a tool that I use only if the $ savings more than makes up for it.