Complain about a product or service

Priceline - Hotels

Tom of Dallas, TX March 8, 2010

Orig. placed at this hotel via a bid on priceline.com. After a few weeks the manages suggested that I just pay them directly rather than mess with priceline - which was fine with me, much less hassle and inconvenience. I paid them the same amount that they were receiving from priceline.com. I paid the hotel sometimes weekly or for a few days at a time, sometimes a single day.

On the one occasion that I was asked to pay for an entire week, upfront - in advance and I was unable to do so (but did pay for about 5 days)I was told that I would receive no further discounts and if I wanted to keep that room I would have to pay more than twice my daily rate, which I could not. I returned to getting rooms on priceline.com and was sent back to that same location just two nights later for about a week. Then bounced out again, and returned.

About one week into the stay, I was visited up by the local Police Department and encouraged to leave the city of Farmerns Branch. The information that they gave me could only have come from the hotel - and is not just conjecture at best. They said I had too many visitors (which is not the case and selldom if ever did I see anyone outside in the hallway when a visitor was leaving my room).

I on two seperate occasions had friends that were leaving the hotel, stopped by the Police for minor traffic violations - and searched. I was stopped less than a block form the hotel, two nights prior to the Police showing up at my door - for an expired inspection sticker - at 11p at night. All of the information that was conveyed to me came from either anonymous sources or observation.

Dan of Brookhaven, PA February 24, 2010

Booked a hotel in Key West thru Priceline.com using a bid of 200/night for a four star hotel. After I found out the name of the hotel I checked out their website and found the same room listed for 25 less per night. When I called Priceline back they said they room was 225. I called the hotel to confirm and they told me that the room was in fact 25/night less if I had booked it direct. Follow-up calls to Priceline were either ignored or recording only.

TRINH of SAN JOSE, CA February 24, 2010

I would like to write about my dis-satisfaction with Priceline.com 2/24/10. Note, I've been a hotels.com for many years, but my best friend told me you should try priceline.com because it's cheap and that I'm a a really tight budget being a single mother and all. So I want a head and booked online for my upcoming trip in late March. I chose the exact date and a 2 star hotel, then I thought about my 2 kids so I've switched to a 3 star hotel instead. Long story short the system automatically changed my date for the next day which is 2/25/10, but that was not the initial date I've put in.

I plea to the Customer Support and was transferred to a Customer Relation to see what can be done and if a one time exception can be made, meaning no charge for first time user, due to an error an End User has caused, I've plea and asked but agents didn't seem to want to hear about it and says sorry but nothing can be done..etc. I've asked for someone higher, but the Customer Relation Daisy, (she should be fired) stated that she is the highest level of Customer Service. That is totally untrue, I know how the Customer Service works. It's not like a consumer makes the same mistake over and over.

I've sympathize that I was a new user and I didn't understand how their system works..etc.. but DAISY didn't seem to care, she should not be a Customer Relations. At this time, I've written to Corporate to see if there is an exception that can be made. If there is, then I may want to use priceline here and there, if not, I will never ever deal with priceline.com. I would like to note that a consumer should not have to go through this, especially it's the company's website's fault.

James of Anza, CA February 24, 2010

I went on the website for Priceline to take advantage of their "Name your own price" service when looking for a hotel for my vacation to Las Vegas. They state that "Name your own price" means you name the price you are willing to pay and they find a hotel that is willing to accept your price. They let you know within minutes if your final price was accepted if so, great they charge your card and give you a confirmation number and the hotel that accepted your offer and you are all set. If the offer is not accepted you then have the ability to counter offer and so on. I requested a 5 star hotel near the strip, and offered 79.00/nt which was accepted. My card was then charged the total for my 3 night stay plus any taxes.

I will say that I was not happy with the hotel choice "Trump Hotel", for many reasons, but understood that I was obligated, and that was the risk I took. THe reason for not liking the choice was 1. I assumed that all 5 star resorts would include a casino and would be on the Las Vegas Strip which the Trump Hotel is not. I assumed a 5 star resort would comfortably sleep 2 people in a room, but ALL rooms only come with one bed! I assumed being Las Vegas you would have the option of requesting a smoking room, but ALL rooms and the ENTIRE hotel is NON-SMOKING! Not only does the resort not have a casino, which was our reason for going to Las Vegas, but it was NOT even on the strip!

All this aside, I was willing to accept the fact that I was stuck with the choice, HOWEVER ...... once I called the resort to inquire about their pool and fitness center (this is a 5 STAR resort by the way), I was told that the price I paid on Priceline does not include the use of the pool, business center, or fitness center and that I would be charged an extra 20.00/nt once I checked in to the hotel on top of what I paid to Priceline! I was also told that this was not even an option, but I HAD to pay the 20/nt surcharge whether or not I even used the pool or fitness center!

I was given the old "BAIT and SWITCH" from Priceline and the Trump Hotel. I logically thought, well a reputable company like Priceline and Trump enterprises would surely let me out of the reservation now that I was being charged these extra fees without my knowledge prior to naming my own price. WRONG!!! Priceline took my complaint, but would not let me out of the deal, and basically said it is very typical for resorts to charge "resort fees" and that I would have to just accept it. I have never been charged a surcharge to use a pool at a 5 star resort or any resort for that matter in the 20 years I have been vacationing in Las Vegas and think that there should be a class-action law suit filed with Priceline. After researching the internet I have found many complaints of others who were scammed by this "bait and switch" involving both Priceline and Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.

Pauline of Dedham, MA February 23, 2010

I bid 180 per night on Priceline Name Your Price for a 4 star hotel in Miami in May 2010. I was given a reservation for the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel for 180 per night. When I looked up the room rates on line for that date, I discovered that this rate is the standard rate for this hotel. I complained to Priceline Customer Service and was told that Priceline does not guarantee discounted hotel rates. I was told that Priceline only guarantees that the reservation is not refundable and cannot be cancelled under ANY circumstances whatsoever.

Janice of Santa Fe, NM February 22, 2010

Just last month (January 2010) - I was in Hong Kong on business trip and wanted to do a side trip to Bali (just as I did in 2009). I spent hours trying to decide on hotel by searching websites, and even had a local travel agency assisting. The resort I stayed in last year was great, but since I convinced 2 friends to join me there from the USA, I thought I'd try for something better/or different. Returned to Priceline website: When you search Nusa Dua (a specific beach in Bali) ALL the 5 star hotels came up at 140 and higher.

So I decided to try NAME YOUR OWN PRICE. I bid 75 for a 5 Star hotel never thinking I would actually get it (was testing the waters to see what reasonable price would be accepted.) Surprisingly, my bid for NUSA DUA BEACH 5 STAR property was accepted for Novotel Nusa Dua. So, I went to the official hotel website and found that their daily rate was LESS than what priceline accepted.

I went back to Priceline website and re-did the search for 5 star hotels in that area. Again - nothing less than 140 appeared. So, I contacted Priceline by phone from Hong Kong, and they told me the hotels they post are just "sample" listings and that I should have done my research. About the fact that Novotel’s own website was cheaper - Priceline only said - "from my records you are still getting a discount." I argued that I was looking at Novotel's website and that IT WAS CHEAPER.

Also, for the record: I did do my research - using travelocity, kayak, etc. and generally came up with 100 plus for 5 star beach resort. Even the Hong Kong travel agency "package" prices were above 150 a night. But the MOST DECEIVING thing of all - is when you go to Novotel Nusa Dua WEBSITE – the primary photo depicts this marvelous beach. But you read the fine print and it is NOT ON THE BEACH AT ALL... it is surrounded by a golf course. Apparently they own a piece of beach that you can get to by shuttle bus, that looks NOTHING like the MAIN photo on their website.

I contacted Novotel directly to see if they would swap for their other Novotel BEACH location, but they said no changes allowed. I literally think this is the ONLY property in all of Nusa Dua that is not on the beach.

Again I called priceline, and they: a). refused to match Novotel's website price b). refused to let me use the money (almost a week's stay) as credit to another property. In fact, they refused any attempt at resolving the conflict, or standing by their “GUARANTEE”.

I then called my credit card company (again from Hong Kong) and they were gladly willing to help me fight the charge, but cautioned that I might be stuck with the bill and would still have to pay for another hotel on top of it. As we were leaving in less than 3 days, we decided as a group to grin and bear it. THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.

Let me point out that I was in Bali last year with my 3 year old son while I was 5 months pregnant-without incident. Within 24 hours of arriving at the Novotel, (where the rooms were remarkably lovely and spacious) all but one person out of 5 - two children (8 mo. old and 4 year old) plus 2 adults - were severely afflicted with stomach “bug”/gastroenteritus. We rarely left the hotel room and spent our time projectile vomiting and/or having spontaneous diarrhea. Housekeeping had to replace towels and linens at least 2x a day.

This is a 5 star resort. Nowhere in any of the bathrooms, etc, does it say the water is not safe to drink (or brush your teeth, etc.). Notably, we never ate any food outside the resort (room service mostly) because we could not DARE be away from a bathroom. Also noteworthy, none of us actually “drank” the tap water. The baby’s water was boiled for making a bottle. But we did brush our teeth using tap water; we did order fruit smoothies and drinks from the hotel bar; on our first day by the pool, and we did drink the water served to us by Novotel’s own restaurant.

Most decent "RESORTS" I have visited (like in Mexico, Cambodia, etc.) where the water is questionable, either very clearly state this in the hotel room and provide bottled water, and/or they have INCREDIBLE water filtration systems. By the 3rd day, the baby had to be hospitalized for 5 nights, to the tune of 3500. This was no small ordeal without cell-phones, language barrier, etc. Thankfully, one of the people in our group was a medical doctor (the only one who did not get sick), and we are all well-traveled individuals (even the kids) so we eventually found the necessary resources, which were not what Novotel offered or suggested.

Ironically, while driving between the hospital and the hotel – we saw at least two billboards with the Novotel Nusa Dua BEACH PHOTO!!! I wish I had my camera because I would have taken a picture. It is the MOST misleading advertising I have ever seen from a hotel. Novotel Nusa Dua should have a picture of a golf-course, and not the “flat” beach chair scene - which is not even what their “private” beach really looked like (it was a large sloping hill to the water and the chairs were nowhere close to the shore line.)

For our last 2 nights, after checking the baby out of the hospital, we HAPPILY switched to Nusa Dua Spa and Hotel, where I stayed the year before. We noticed the HUGE water filtration system, and the SHORT distance to the beach/sand/water from the hotel, and the flat accessible chairs near the water. No false advertising here. While the price was a wee bit more - it included buffet breakfast for each of us (Novotel charged 18 per person for this option.) We breathed a huge sigh of relief being out of Novotel.

Did I mention that Novotel had only ONE restaurant on the entire property, plus a pastry cafe? How is that 5 star? Nusa Dua Spa and Resort had at least 5 restaurants that I could tell. Although we were at Nusa Dua Spa and Resort for only 2 days – it was the best part of our “vacation.”

I will never trust Priceline’s guarantee or stay at any Novotel again. I don’t care if this was a unique situation or not, I felt duped, mislead, and was extremely disappointed. Even if the baby had to be hospitalized, or we were all still got sick from “Bali Belly”, at least if we had stayed at the Nusa Dua Spa and Resort, we would have been way more comfortable.

We felt like prisoners at the Novotel – literally – not able to leave our hotel room or eat anything besides room service (which is how we think we all got sick in the first place –either that, or the pool water). When we really needed help, Novotel did change the linens, but finding the hospital and the rest of our medical needs including the least of which - buying bottled water/Gatorade (no help in finding pedialyte until we got to the hospital), we were on our own.

Greg of Harbor City, CA February 22, 2010

I bid on a 4-star hotel in Las Vegas. When my bid wasn't accepted, I received a 'special offer' that included a price for a 4-star hotel in Las Vegas. I had to 'act quickly' because this 'special offer' was very limited.

After I agreed and completed the transaction, I checked other travel sites to see what I saved. The price was exactly the same as orbitz and travelocity, but the difference is that I lost flexibility with priceline as the reservation cannot be changed or canceled as it can with other sites. What a rip-off!

Harry of Walnut Creek, CA February 17, 2010

I purchased a room Saturday, February 13, 2010. Drove several hundred miles to Monterey with my family and my room was over-booked. I called and after spending an hour on the phone was only given the option of a refund (which takes 6-10 days) –It is very upsetting that there was not an escalation process- I have called twice to deal with this with no escalation path to a supervisor or manager. I was offered nothing more than two options,

#1.) Refund my money- which the operator was suppose to refund the entire amount she said- an email was sent to me stating that 99.68 was refunded, I had paid 104.68 I did not ask for anything other than my refund. I should have been refunded the full amount since I did not cancel the reservation for any reason.

#2.) Look for the same room price- at this point I was in Monterey it was 6:00 and there was a Pebble Beach Golf Tournament going on- so finding a room was not going to happen.

I understand that while this may seems very petty to ask for 5.00 back, I paid for and was given a confirmation on a room that should not have been offered to me- I was not the only person that happened to- the manager at the hotel explained to me that 8 people had been over book and should have been contacted by Priceline. I have asked for nothing more that the return of my money that in good faith I immediately paid on a non-existent product and in return have yet to get any type of resolution.

This could have been avoided had someone contacted me through email or called me, I would not have driven the distance- imagine had I flown there from somewhere else.

My concern is that this may be a bigger issue with this happening to more than just me and are there other people who are having this happen to them as well. This amount becomes more substantial times every users that gets over booked on their system and priceline does not refund a portion- to me that is a break in their system that should not be ignored.

Vicky of brewster, NY February 17, 2010

I went to priceline.com and bid on a room at the Holiday in in North Adams, MA. I was given the Howard Johnson Hotel close by which I did not want & then was told I could not get a refund.

I called the 800 number & spoke to 3 sales & customer service people, all of whom said there was no way to reverse the charges or change the hotel. The bid I made was 60.00 & then I was stuck with Howard Johnsons that was listed at a 55.00 rate on their website . Additionally Priceline stuck me with a Travel Insurance: 5.00 (USD) charge. Unless there was some fine print, I did not want that either. The website is set up to "get you" & really not helpful to the consumer. I feel I was ripped off!

Chandler of Arlington, TX February 16, 2010

My family and I booked a hotel on priceline.com for only 1night. What we saw on their website aboout this particular property is what we were looking for traveling with 4 kids. When arriving we were giving a totally different type of room and amenitites were not available to us in this particular room according to the front desk, such as a role bed. We were very frustrated with the fact that we were sold due to the acoomodations priceline would be as shown on their website. Upon checkout I receieved a receipt for a lower price of about 35, than priceline had charged our credit card. WOW deception is what I call it.

Upon our arrival back home, I called priceline, and just as others I have now read their stories, this company has know idea about CUSTOMER SERVICE nor CONSUMER RELATIONS. Their was not a single voice on the other end who could help me resolve the fact of why I was charged so much more than the hotel or given a totally different type of room, after we are lead to believe they gurantee a lower pricing. Mechanical voices continued to tell me that this amount would be charged and how sorry they were.I was then told that there is never a manager, supervisor or any one in authority there to speak with after there is no resolution with a complaint. I was told over and over to e-mail to whomever see fit. This will be a company that any of my family members and friends will make a point to never become a customer of AGAIN.

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