Priceline

[jazzykeb]

Since folks are still making travel arrangements, I thought it appropriate to post....this morning on NPR they had a piece on the myriad of miscellaneous hidden charges that consumers a hit with, and how business models now focus on the fees rather then the end product (whether it be banks, credit cards etc.) Anyway, one example was hotels. They used the example of how all the hotels have these hidden fees (resort fees etc.) that aren't revealed during internet searches through sites like Priceline. To counter that, Intner Continental started providing "Up Front Pricing", so what you were quoted was what you would be charged when you checked out. They had to discontinue it because they always lost out to competitors who used "bait and switch" pricing. The consumer never wins.

Anyway, here is the link if you would like to listen for yourself: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18212223

[AtPontchartrain]

Couple that with the guy testifying in Congress yesterday that he doesn't like to tell people how much of their donations to the veteran's charity he runs goes to him, because then they wouldn't give. Depressing.

I always shake my head at the cable, phone, and related ads that promote some $$ amount for the first 3 months. It's like nobody ever says to them, lay out the real monthly costs upfront right now, or forget about it.

[swag]

So why is this thread titled "Priceline"?

[jazzykeb]

as referenced, hotels hide those fees when placing offerings on sites like Priceline (according to the interviewe on NPR). That is the "bait and switch".

[JoeDDD]

Actually, unlike some companies, Priceline discloses all "fees and taxes", and terms (repeat after me: "no refunds, transferred reservations, cancellations or free room service") completely before you make that final click. Sometimes I like having it all budgeted and paid for before checking in.

Cell phones and credit cards, that's a different story.

[AtPontchartrain]

Parking. That's a kicker.

[almarco]

I did priceline fo satchmo fest , the hotel gave me a room with no ac and charged me a 65 fee for safe and contintiel breakfast , came down in the am had no coffee, one stale bagel and nothing to put on it , talk about a rip !Needless to say will never stay there again.

[PaulC]

So why is this thread titled "Priceline"?

this past fall in Santa Fe i got a room for $70 a night through priceline,.. nice digs "buy" the way,.. but the place had a $30 per night resort fee :eek: ,.. almost half the price tag of each night.... $250 was the normal charge for the room,.. so obviously still a deal...

took a busted air conditioner to get me out of the charge.... called priceline to whine a bit,.. but they didn't care one itsy bitsy bit..... still gladly use em',.. but the fact remains,.. priceline ain't protectin' ya' at all from this kind of stuff...

[PaulC]

Actually, unlike some companies, Priceline discloses all "fees and taxes", and terms

ain't true...............

they don't announce the resort fee,.. nor swags beer roll:rolleyes:

[swag]

The beer roll comes from their end of the cut, not out of your pocket.

Resort fees are especially problematic with opaque sites like Priceline (and Hotwire). If you book with the hotel directly, they may advertise $250, but the $30 small print is usually in the small print somewhere on the site. But with Priceline, you are saying you want the room for $70, agreeing to a total including taxes and fees of maybe $76, and only after the nonrefundable purchase is made do you find out there's an extra charge on top of that. And even if you try to avoid resorts, say, by bidding 3*, Priceline may "upgrade" you to a resort and accept the bid. There was a big stink about this on some of the bidding chat boards a while back, but I don't know if anything ever got resolved.

But, the good news is, I've never heard of anyone winning a Priceline bid in New Orleans and getting hit with a resort fee. It seems that if there are any hotels in N.O. that charge the resort fee, they do not sell thru Priceline. So as far as Jazzfest bidding goes, I wouldn't worry about it.

Several years ago, I did have a N.O. Priceline win that apparently did not include the occupancy tax. The regular sales tax was included, but I had to pay the $2/day occupancy tax at checkout. It wasn't enough to fight about then, and isn't enough to worry about now. And I haven't heard of that happening again in the last 5 years anyway.