Is Priceline Really A Scam?
Since starting the Priceline customer discussion forum in 2009, Priceline has been called “a scam” several dozen times. Given this perception, it seems necessary to explore some of the common Priceline complaints, and most importantly, help you avoid some of the common pitfalls that often anger customers.
Did you know that most Priceline complaints can be avoided? I recently received an email from a traveller complaining about Priceline. Although it’s unfortunate that this particular traveller was upset, I welcome learning about Priceline complaints. They’re a great way to educate fellow travellers about the pros and cons about Priceline, what pitfalls to avoid, and ultimately how to get a great hotel deal. If you have what you think is a valid complaint, I encourage you to write about it on the Priceline Forum here on HotelDealsRevealed.com.
This particular complaint was about the hotel rating of the hotel she received. As you likely know, with Priceline’s Name Your Own Price, you do not learn the name of the hotel until after you bid for a hotel room, and reservations are non-refundable. In essence, you’re stuck with what you get, even if you are unhappy with attributes of the hotel, such as the location, hotel amenities, rating or reviews. Here is the email I received:
Last night I booked a hotel through (Priceline) for Wilmington, NC. We used the Express Deal option. It stated “2 and half star hotel in Wilmington, NC’. Sounded great, we had stayed in a hotel similarly rated this last Labor Day weekend. However, once it sent the confirmation with the actual hotel, I was horrified. This hotel has multiple bad reviews on tripadvisor and even with your own priceline customers. Such as:
“The room was non-smoking but smelled like dog.
Would not go back and if Priceline doesn’t lower its rating of this Hotel to 2 or less I will not use Priceline again.”“After reading multiple reviews that were so discouraging and made me question the sanitary environment of the hotel, we decided to stay elsewhere an take the loss. The last thing we needed was to get our family sick.”
“the mirror was filthy from the people who stayed before me. Toothpaste all over mirror, hair in shower, and the door to the bathroom was so dirty.”
These reviews were all from the Month of May. And if these reviews weren’t discouraging enough, after booking the room, I found out the hotel allows pets. We will have children with us highly allergic to pets. This was not mentioned anywhere on the Express Deal site. This reservation is absolutely useless to us as we are completely unable to stay at this hotel.
I have spoken to two different priceline.com representatives and I am now aware there is NOTHING that can be done about this. This hotel seems to be absolutely rated improperly and no one in your company seems to care. No alternative has been given to resolve the issue.
I will not be using Priceline.com any longer
In brief, this person is unhappy with the quality of the hotel they received. I probably stay at 20 different hotels a year (averaging about 60 nights of hotels per year), and I can certainly attest that hotel quality ratings vary: they vary both across websties (e.g., Priceline might rank something as 2.5 stars while Hotwire gives it 3 stars), and they vary by person — in other words, they are very subjective. In fact, I compared 1,100 Hotwire and Priceline hotel ratings and found that in most cases, Hotwire was more generous with their hotel ratings that Priceline. See details here: Hotwire vs. Priceline hotel ratings.
This particular traveller is basing her complaint on negative TripAdvisor reviews. I am not sure what her expectations are, but 2.5 star hotels are pretty low end. I have stayed at 2 different hotels with 2.5 star ratings in the last 12 months, and both were miserable. The complaints by travellers on TripAdvisor are probably legitimate. From my experience, 2.5 star hotels suck and should be avoided. In fact, I try to avoid 3 star hotels too, but sometimes cannot avoid this due to budgets and other circumstances.
Avoiding Priceline Complaints: When considering Priceline as an option for booking your hotel, it is best to avoid Priceline complaints, and this typically means 2 things. First, it means accepting some risks when you book a hotel with Priceline. You are taking a risk because you do not learn the name of your hotel until after you bid, so like gambling, do not be too upset if you come out on the losing end. Second, do your research before you buy:
- Priceline Hotel Lists: This is a collection of hotels known to be on Priceline, as reported by forum members. Use the lists to help you figure out what hotel you might get. In the above case, the user probably could have narrowed down the selection of hotels to just a few, and probably would have seen that most 2.5 star hotels have a healthy number of complaints.
- Priceline Forum: A place where travellers discuss Priceline, find out and discuss the pros and cons of using Priceline.
- Priceline Articles: This is a collection of blog articles written by unbiased Priceline hotel booking experts offering tips and advice for better bidding on Priceline hotels.
I strongly encourage travellers to check out these resources and do a bit of research before bidding on Priceline. Of course, if you do have valid Priceline complaints, we want you to tell us about your complaints. I would also encourage you to pick of the phone and contact Priceline customer support at 800-774-2354.