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Hotel FAQ
Hotel FAQ IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ONLY USE THE NAME YOUR OWN PRICE AREA OF
PRICELINE'S WEBSITE. PRICELINE HAS DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THEIR HOME PAGE;
HOWEVER ALL OF THEM DEFAULT TO THEIR RETAIL STANDARD HOTEL RATE SERVICE. THAT IS
NOT RELEVANT TO A PRICELINE HOTEL BID.
FROM THEIR HOME PAGE, YOU MUST CLICK ON THE NAME YOUR OWN PRICE BUTTON OR TEXT
LINK BEFORE PROCEEDING.
The best advice one can get is to read through Priceline's entire website before
placing your offer. By placing an offer on Priceline's website, you have agreed
to their Terms & Conditions. Please read them thoroughly. It is also very
helpful to enter your bidding parameters and go through the screens until you
have to enter your payment information. Common questions are often answered
simply by doing this, so we ask that you do so before asking for bidding
assistance.
1. We are 3 or more people wanting to share one hotel room. How do we know if
the hotel will allow this and that we will get a room with two beds? We want to
be guaranteed a smoking/non-smoking room. We want a room with kitchen
facilities.
If this is a concern to you, you must read THIS POST. Your circumstances are not
unique.
You are only guaranteed a room with double occupancy, regardless of what type of
rooms the hotel may offer. Any special requests must be made directly with the
hotel once your bid has been accepted, but the hotel is not obligated in any way
to accommodate the request. It is very important to note that there are some
hotels that Priceline uses that offer only one bed in a room, especially when
bidding 1* or 2*, but it has happened at all quality levels. This should be
taken into account if you require more than one bed. As to smoking/non-smoking,
a hotel will take a request but can offer no guarantees. There is no way to bid
for a suite or for a room with kitchen facilities. Again, you are bidding for a
room only and neither bedding requests nor smoking/non-smoking requests can be
guaranteed.
1a. I would like to be upgraded on my Priceline hotel reservation. What is the
best way to accomplish this?
Priceline reservations qualify for standard rooms. If you prefer a premium room,
such as one with a particular view, on a high floor, etc., you should not use
Priceline. While some hotels will allow you to upgrade your accommodations at
checkin (often with an additional per night fee), there is no way to be assured
that you will get a premium room.
2. Is it best to bid far in advance or at the last minute or somewhere in
between. When is the best time of day to bid so I will have the best chance of
getting the best deal?
There is no consensus answer to the best time to bid because a winning bid is
dependent upon hotels giving Priceline rates to sell which is at the hotel's
discretion and determined by many different factors, including, but not limited
to, special events, whether a hotel gets most of its bookings way in advance or
much closer to checkin and how well the hotel revenue managers keep on top of
their projected occupancy. Further, there is no best time of the day to bid.
It's possible that you could bid successfully at an amount lower than what was
rejected just a day or two before. For comments in this regard, please refer to
this post. Also, please see my post here.
3. Which hotels does Priceline use?
There have been winning bids posted for virtually every major/minor hotel chain
and several independent hotels that you may not be familiar with unless you've
previously been to that city. On each of the city/state categories, the first
topic is a Hotel List that includes all of the hotels that have come up on
winning bids posted to BiddingForTravel.com; however, any hotel is a possibility
through Priceline. It is very important to note that new hotels and quality
levels can appear at any time. You cannot assume that because there are no
hotels listed at a certain quality level that Priceline doesn't offer hotels at
that quality level in the zone you are bidding. Determining the quality levels
offered in each zone is explained in #10 below. If there are no hotels listed on
the Hotel List for the area you are bidding, refer to the Website Addresses List
for a guide to the ratings Priceline typically assigns to each hotel and check
their websites to see if they are located in the area you are bidding.
4. I bid for an airport hotel and the hotel is 10 miles from the airport. How
can they do this?
Priceline provides maps which outline the geographical parameters of each zone.
While the name of the zone can admittedly be misleading or even inaccurate, the
area outlined on the map prevails. Therefore, it is very important that you
study the map before selecting a zone to make sure you will be satisfied with
any location that falls within the boundaries of the zone which appear on the
map.
5. If I bid a certain amount, and there are two available hotels at that price,
which one will Priceline pick? Will it pick the one that is less expensive at
the regular rate?
Not necessarily at all. We've seen hotels assigned on winning bids that had
significantly higher available rates than others in its class/location. Trying
to figure out in advance which hotel you will be assigned goes counter to the
whole concept of name your price.
6. How do I know if I'll get a hotel that really is the quality I bid for? I'm
wondering because I know that Expedia rates some hotels 3 star that Priceline
rates 4 star.
You don't. After learning of thousands of winning hotel bids, there have been
some quality issues reported. If you truly feel that you have been deceived, you
need to provide that feedback to Priceline. As to Expedia's ratings, please
disregard them altogether as they are meritless. Expedia rates some 4 star
hotels 2 star and some 2 star hotels 4 star.
7. How much should I bid for a hotel?
Check at least three hotel websites (make sure that you check rates at hotels
that Priceline rates the quality level you are bidding, based on the hotels that
appear on the Hotel List) to determine the lowest published non-government rate
for your exact dates of stay and in the same area of the city in which you plan
to bid. If you ask for bidding help, you must use the hotel websites for rate
checking purposes. Do not use Expedia or Hotels.com or any other travel agency
website including Priceline's retail site for rate-checking purposes as they do
not always provide accurate rates. Some travel agency websites will show No
Availability when in fact the hotel is empty, as evidenced by the very low rates
that may be available on the hotel's own website. Their ratings can be
inaccurate as well. In the case of Priceline's retail site, the zones are often
different than on their Name Your Own Price site. Post the accurate rate
information on the message board assigned to the city in which you plan to bid.
Please refer to the Websites for Checking Hotel Rates forum for the proper way
to determine the absolute lowest available rate. If you do not follow these
guidelines, it is possible that you will rely on inflated rates that do not
truly reflect the amount of availability for your dates and may result in an
overbid. There are also lists posted at the top of the city categories that list
the hotels we have seen come up on winning bids posted to BiddingForTravel.com.
These lists are provided to assist in checking available rates for your travel
dates and are in no way indicative of all the possible hotels that could come up
on a winning bid. Modified to stress the importance of using the hotel websites
only and not Priceline's retail site. 5/22/06
If you add a zone on a re-bid that offers the same quality level you are
bidding, it is very important to check rates in that area as well. Rates vary
considerably by zone in some cities. Your first bid could be rejected, and if
you add another zone and do not properly adjust your bid amount for that added
zone, you run the risk of either overbidding or wasting a bidding opportunity.
If you decide to add a zone that offers the same quality you are bidding after
you have already included one or more free re-bidding zones or if you have no
free re-bids, rather than add that zone to your existing bid, you should start a
completely new bid because that way, you have all of your free re-bidding zones,
as well as the initial zone, to add once again as free re-bids. All of the
information in this paragraph applies just the same if you change your travel
dates (even by just one day).
Priceline has set minimums at each quality level by which they will not even
consider your bid if it is below their self-imposed minimum. Those minimums are:
1* $15; 2* $17; 2.5* $19; 3* $25; Boutique $50; 4* $40; 5* $55; Resort $40
This does NOT mean that you should just randomly bid these amounts for their
respective quality level. This only means that you should not bid less than
these amounts or you will be wasting a bid. Bidding strategies should always be
determined based on available rates, how far in advance you are bidding, how
many re-bidding opportunities you have, and what has generally been an
acceptable amount when available rates are similar to what you are finding for
your travel dates.
Please do not ask how much to bid for a specific hotel or how to increase or
decrease your chances of getting a specific hotel. That's just not how Priceline
works. You are bidding for a zone and a quality level and if the zone you are
bidding offers a higher quality level than you are bidding, you could be
upgraded. There is no way to avoid an upgrade if you do not want one and when
you initial Priceline's website, you have agreed to the possibility of an
upgrade since it is addressed in the Terms & Conditions. Bidding higher in the
hopes of getting a specific hotel or avoiding a specific hotel most often
results in an overbid for a lower priced hotel (typically the one you didn't
want). Dead link removed. 4/1/06
8. I saw that Priceline now tells you the average price for a hotel room based
on the city and quality level you are bidding. Wouldn't it be easier if I just
used that information to determine a bid amount?
Absolutely not, and I cannot stress that enough. Ignore that information as
though it didn't even exist. The rates listed on Priceline's website have been
proven to be completely false. Please take a look at this post from the
Administrator Announcements category. Please follow the guidelines in #7 above
for determining your bidding strategy.
9. What is a free re-bid?
A free re-bid is adding a zone that has only up to a lower quality level than
you are bidding, to a rejected bid. It is not adding a zone that just doesn't
have the quality level you are bidding. It must be a zone that has only up to a
lower quality level.
For re-bidding purposes (when your bid has been rejected), add a zone that has
only up to a lower quality level than what you are bidding, because that just
gives you a free re-bid for your original zone. In other words, if Zone B has
only 1*, 2* and 3* hotels (or 1* and 2*), and your original bid for a 4* hotel
in Zone A has been rejected, you can add Zone B as a free rebid to your Zone A
offer. You will not get a hotel in Zone B because it does not offer 4* hotels.
Of course when you add the zone, you'll need to increase your bid amount and not
lower your original quality level. To determine which zones offer which star
levels, see #10 below. The Hotel Lists should never be used to determine your
free re-bid zones for the reasons stated in the introductory comments on the
Hotel Lists which you should read to learn how the Hotel Lists are compiled.
For purposes of free re-bidding, a zone with the highest level as Resort is only
a free re-bid when bidding for a 5*. Bidding any lower than 5* and adding a zone
that has Resort can result in what Priceline refers to as an upgrade to a Resort
in the added zone.
In order to re-bid, you have to change at least one parameter of your bid. That
could be adding a zone (as shown above), or changing the quality level, or
changing the checkin or checkout date. Once you have exhausted all of those, you
must wait 24 hours before bidding again. change from 72 hours to 24 hours
10. How can I tell which zones offer which star levels on Priceline?
YOU MUST USE PRICELINE'S NAME YOUR OWN PRICE SITE WHEN PERFORMING THIS EXERCISE.
Just place a check mark in the box of the zone as though you were going to bid
that zone. Scroll down and note the highest quality level offered in that zone.
Then scroll back up, uncheck the zone and check the next zone and note the
highest quality level offered in that zone. Do this for each zone listed. Make
sure that only one zone is checked each time. Priceline has not comformed recent
website changes to comply with some browsers. Mac users are also reporting
problems. Windows users should use Internet Explorer and Mac users should use
Firefox. And you should always re-check zone definitions and quality levels
offered prior to each bid (even if you just bid the same city the day before),
as Priceline makes changes to quality levels offered and zone definitions all
the time. We've seen this happen many times. When performing this check, make
sure the checkin date is not the current date, or you will not be able to check
the zones that do not offer same day bidding. Edited 9/3/06
11. With some small towns, there are no zones, just the town itself. Is there a
way to get a free re-bid?
With the help of a map, you can sometimes locate small towns between Priceline's
towns where, if you start a completely new offer for that small town, you will
be given several zones to choose from, including your desired city. The other
zones can then be used as free re-bids for your desired city, provided they
offer no hotels at or above the quality level you are bidding for. Please see
THIS POST for some examples. #11 added 5/3/05
12. I just received a counteroffer on my hotel bid. Is this new? If my bid is
rejected and I don't receive a counteroffer, does that mean Priceline doesn't
have access to inventory?
Priceline counteroffers on hotel bids on a random basis. Priceline will accept
less than the counteroffer price, so if you have an available free re-bid, you
may want to raise your bid by half the counteroffer. This is merely a guide.
Sometimes raising your offer by less than half of the counteroffer will be
enough to garner a winning bid and sometimes it will require slightly more than
half. In order to undercut the counteroffer, you must add a free re-bid zone.
Priceline will not allow you to undercut the counteroffer otherwise, so if you
have no free re-bids, you cannot undercut the counteroffer unless you wait 24
hours to bid again, which is what you may want to do unless it's a last minute
bid. #12 edited 3/6/06
The lack of a counteroffer does not mean Priceline lacks access to hotel
inventory. Priceline's counteroffers are completely random -both the instance of
a counteroffer and how much higher than the actual acceptable price the
counteroffer is.
13. I just bid for a 3* hotel and my bid was rejected. I want to try for a 4*
hotel now but 4* is greyed out on the re-bid screen. How can I bid for a 4*?
You cannot add a higher quality level to a re-bid. You can only add a zone and
keep your quality the same, or lower your quality level. For any change that you
make on your re-bid, please note the comments in #7 above about adjusting your
bid amount.
14. I've already bid up to my limit for a 4* without success. I'm getting
anxious and I just want to get something, so I'm going to bid for a 3* now, but
I don't want to get a hotel in a zone that I added for a free re-bid when I was
bidding for a 4*. Is there any way I can make sure I won't get a hotel in that
zone?
Yes. When you decide to lower the quality level you are bidding, it's usually
best to start a completely new bid. That way, you won't have any zones included
that you don't want to have. This is allowed when using Priceline, because you
have not previously bid that quality level in that zone.
15. I need a hotel room near the airport because I have a very early morning
flight the next day, and I need to make sure the hotel provides a shuttle van
ride to the airport.
If you absolutely have to have the use of a hotel shuttle, then Priceline is
probably not your best option. While the majority of hotels located within
airport zones do offer complimentary transportation to/from the airport, not all
of them do, especially when the zone is large and covers a distance several
miles from the airport.
16. I'm bidding in a city where there are no zones displayed, so how do I know
what geograhical area Priceline considers in a situation like this?
When this question was asked directly to Priceline, they responded: "When you
request a hotel room in a city and no map is provided for you, we will search
for a hotel located within city limits. We are unable to search for a hotel that
is within a specific area of that city."
17. Can I bid for a hotel room on the same day as I want to check in?
Priceline offers same day bidding up to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time in most zones.
You will know if your desired zone is available for same day bidding if you are
able to place a check mark in the box next to the zone. If the box is greyed
out, same day bidding is not offered. All other areas require that you bid no
later than midnight EST the day prior to checkin. Edited 3/28/06
18. I've been bidding for weeks for my 10 day vacation. There is plenty of
availability but I cannot get an acceptance. What is the problem?
Priceline has to have access to inventory at the same hotel for your entire stay
in order to accept your offer. While available rates may indicate plenty of
availability, if the hotel projects they will sell out on even one night of your
stay, they will not give Priceline access to inventory for that date, which
results in your bid being rejected. While we have seen some bids accepted for
extended stays, there are certain cities where it will be difficult, if not
impossible to get a bid accepted for more than three or four consecutive nights
and when it does happen, it is often at an amount higher than we typically see
for that zone and quality level. You may have to consider splitting your bid,
which could result in getting two different hotels.
Conversely, we have seen some winning bids that would suggest the hotel has a
lower Priceline rate per night for extended stays than they do for stays of a
shorter duration. I would say this is much more the exception than the rule
though.
19. At checkin, is it necessary to submit the credit card that you used to bid?
No. With your bid, you are paying Priceline. Priceline does not give out your
credit card info. to the hotel. A bid can be placed with anyone's credit card,
even in a name different from that on the reservation (you must provide accurate
credit card information including the billing address). The bid, however, must
be placed in the name of the person checking in. Any card in the name of the
person checking in may be used to guarantee incidentals.
20. Where are the hotel reviews and how do I post a review where there isn't
one?
The Hotel Reviews section of the board is near the bottom of the screen on the
main page. Note that reviews are limited to one topic per hotel so if there is
already a review for your hotel, please add your comments as a reply. You can
determine if there is already a review to your hotel by looking for the "LINK TO
HOTEL REVIEW" link on the Hotel Lists at the top of each state/city hotel
category. Follow the link and post your comments. If you wish to post a review
for a hotel where there isn't already a review posted, please do so in the Hotel
Reviews section of the board (not in the main hotel categories). An
Administrator will then link it to the appropriate Hotel List.
As a result of a major hacker attack on 5/31/05, we have lost many of our hotel
reviews. If you receive an error screen when clicking on LINK TO HOTEL REVIEW on
a Hotel List, that means we have lost that review. Added 6/10/05
Also note that reviews should be limited to Priceline stays and comments
regarding affinity programs are off topic for BiddingForTravel.com. In order to
post a review, you must have first posted your winning bid at the time you
obtained it. Non-complying reviews will be removed without further comment.
Edited 11/7/06
21. I am concerned that if Priceline goes out of business that I will lose what
I paid for the hotel I bid for several months prior to my stay. What will happen
if Priceline goes out of business?
Your Priceline reservation is prepaid. Personally, I don't think losing your
money is a valid concern.
22. Can I sell my Priceline reservation?
Contact the hotel directly and ask them. Reselling is a violation of Priceline's
Terms & Conditions and therefore is not allowed on BiddingForTravel.com.
23. Can I add nights at the same hotel to my existing Priceline reservation?
Priceline now provides links directly on your winning bid to do this. It must be
done within 30 days of when the original offer was accepted but no later 11:00
a.m. local time on your checkout date and you can only do this one time (neither
the 24 hour re-bid rule nor free re-bids apply) and for the same number of rooms
and bid amount as your original bid. If attempting to add multiple nights fails,
you cannot try again for fewer nights or vice versa. You cannot add more rooms
to your accepted bid. It appears that the Add a Night feature is only offered
for hotels in North America and Europe. Europe added 6/06/06
For the full terms of this feature, search for "add nights" through the Help
Section of Priceline's website. Added 10/11/06
Additionally, we have had reports that even in some cases where Priceline tells
you that you can add nights, when the attempt to do so was made, Priceline came
back and said there was no availability for those additional nights. Added
3/29/06
24. Will it be harder to get my bid accepted if I am bidding for more than one
room?
Bidding for more than one room (you can bid for up to 4 rooms in a single bid)
will have no effect on your bid, with the rare exception that the zone you are
bidding is limited to small hotels. For all practical purposes, this shouldn't
have any bearing on your bid.
25. How can I determine how much Priceline paid for my hotel room?
It can no longer be determined how much Priceline paid. Until recent changes,
knowing the tax rate in the jurisdiction of your hotel would allow you to
determine Priceline's cost as Priceline will accept an offer at their cost. With
this recent change, Priceline now assesses the tax based on the bid amount and
then combines that amount with a processing fee that is based on a proprietary
formula.
26. I see comments about Saturday checkin problems. What does this mean?
Some hotels will not allow a Saturday checkin on a Priceline rate because it
prevents them from selling the room for the entire weekend. This makes sense
during periods of high occupancy; however, we are seeing this happen in a number
of zones even when available rates indicate low to medium occupancy. Examples of
some of these zones appear in THIS FORUM.
We do sometimes see Saturday checkin restrictions removed within a week or so of
the checkin date. Added 5/5/06
27. If a hotel's website or reservation system is down, will that have any
impact on my chances of getting a bid accepted?
Yes. As an example, if you are bidding for a 4* hotel in Downtown Houston and
Hilton's reservation system is down, Priceline will not be able to book you into
the Hilton even if Hilton has given Priceline access to inventory at the price
you name. This will either cause all bids to be rejected or a higher bid to be
accepted as a result of binding at the next highest Priceline rate. This is one
more reason why it is so important to check available rates on the hotel's
website prior to bidding. When the reservation system is down, do not bid until
it comes back up because you will end up locking yourself out for 24 hours or
overbidding. You can also confirm that Priceline doesn't have access to
inventory when a hotel website is down by checking to see if any hotels of that
brand are displayed when doing a Priceline vacation package search.
28. Do I really have to select two zones because I really just want to stay in
one zone?
Priceline's website says "Improve Your Chances - Select 2 or More Areas Below."
You do not have to select more than one zone. That's just an enticement from
Priceline to increase your chances of getting your bid accepted because
obviously the more zones you include, the greater your chance of an acceptance.
You should only select more than one zone on your first bid if both zones are
equally acceptable AND they both have the quality level you are bidding. If you
are bidding for a 4* hotel, you do not want to include a zone in your first bid
that has only up to a lower quality level than 4*.
29. Do airport hotel stays qualify for Park and Fly?
No. While there may be a random airport-area hotel that will allow you to leave
your vehicle at no charge, you should not count on that. Even for guests who
have paid published rates, they generally pay a higher room rate for park and
fly privileges.
30. Our friends are joining us the day after we check in but we need to stay at
the same hotel. How can we make sure they get the same hotel we get?
The only way to guarantee that both rooms will be at the same hotel is to place
one bid for two rooms for the same dates. In this case, you may want to put both
rooms in your name so you can check into both rooms when you arrive. The second
room will go unused the first night and then you can give the keys to your
friends when they arrive the following day. Alternatively, if one party is
checking out a day earlier than the other, they can just check out and let their
room go unused the last night. Obviously there will be an additional expense
having a room go unused for one night, but this is the only way to guarantee
that both rooms will be at the same hotel. The Add a Night feature mentioned
above only works for the same number of rooms as the original bid.
31. When my bid was rejected, instead of letting me re-bid by using free re-bids
or changing my dates, Priceline is displaying a screen with regular hotel rates
and there is no way for me to continue to bid. What can I do to keep on bidding?
Priceline is now displaying regular hotel rates in some cases and they want you
to think that you cannot bid anymore. While this is sometimes an indication that
they do not have any Name Your Own Price rates available, in most cases, that is
not true. In doing so, they have eliminated any possibility to continue bidding
through that screen. When this happens, you must abandon that bid and start a
completely new bid. So that your new bid will not be kicked back as a duplicate,
you must change something. A simple change would be to include both the zone you
are bidding as well as a free re-bid zone in your first bid. This will prevent
your bid from being kicked back as a duplicate. Hotel FAQ #31 added 7/11/05
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