When you approach the front desk at a hotel where you've "named your own price" and reserved a room with Priceline.com, how are you treated?
In my experience, courteous, professional treatment is the norm probably nine visits out of 10. But there are some front desks where hotel policy becomes confused with Priceline policy. Consider my experiences at two out-of-town weddings just one week apart.
Week one: I needed a room for two people with one bed for one night. I paid $50 USD plus taxes for a room that costs $160 per night in a large urban area. I did this by agreeing to give Priceline my credit card number and allowing them to book an unknown room in a three-star hotel within a certain geographic area, so long as the room rate did not exceed $50. Once the transaction was accepted, I found out the name and address.
At this hotel, we were treated as well as any other guest. Without being asked to do so, the clerk gave us a room in back of the hotel, away from the highway.
Week two: I arrived at a hotel in a small town where I also had made a Priceline purchase. This room cost me $60/night for two nights. The room rate was $89. Obviously, the savings were more modest here than I had achieved in week one. This deal had been closed for seven weeks, so my money was long since spent. Priceline "name your own price" purchases are finished business before you ever arrive -- one of the risks you must accept if you use the service.
In this city, I needed a room with two beds. But the clerk told me without blinking an eye that "Priceline does not allow any changes in the reservation," and my reservation was for one king-sized bed.
Part of that statement was correct. Priceline's default, pre-paid reservation is for a room with one bed. It is up to the customer and the hotel to work out any other arrangements. Sometimes, the hotel simply doesn't have a two-bed room available and therefore cannot accommodate the request.
But when I was told there were no two-bed rooms available a day before arrival, I went to Kayak.com to see if I could purchase a second room at another nearby hotel. Interestingly, the very first search result in this small town was for a two-bed room at the hotel in question for $89/night.
Let's assume there was simply a misunderstanding at work rather than overt deception on the question of room availability. The same cannot be said for the claim that Priceline would not allow the hotel to put me in a room with two beds.
Brian Ek of Priceline says "bed-type allocations are up to the hotel." Confirmation notes from Priceline include this statement: "bed-type requests (King, Queen, 2 Doubles, etc.) or other special needs such as a non-smoking or smoking room should be requested through your confirmed hotel, cannot be guaranteed and are based on availability."
No guarantees of fulfilled requests, but certainly nothing there about a prohibition from Priceline.
This statement is consistent with my experience. In many cities, clerks have been happy to check for two-bed rooms and make the switch if possible.
But spreading this falsehood about Priceline appears to be fairly common tactic for clerks who, for whatever reason, simply will not be accommodating your request. About two weeks earlier, I was told nearly the same thing by a clerk at a hotel in another state.
For these clerks, it's easier to blame Priceline than to simply admit they are not going to honor your request.
Be certain to make your request for a no-smoking room, two beds or whatever else you need as early as possible and in a polite manner. Be ready to accept "no" for an answer. But if the clerk tells you it's Priceline policy to turn down your request, you can reply with confidence that the statement is untrue.
