I won a name your price on a hotel thru priceline.com. After winning the bid, and recieving confirmation, I read the hotel description. It said I had beach Access. I called the hotel directly, to make a room request. I was informed that priceline.com guests are placed on the opposite end of the resort where there is no beach access. I asked how long of a walk it was to the beach. I was informed that guests who stay thru priceline.com, are NOT permitted on the beach because the rooms on the beachside of the hotel are alot more than the rooms on the other end (we had to cross a busy street to get from the "main mansion" to the "villa side". I offered to pay for beach access but was declined. I was told this is mentioned on the hotels webpage. I checked it out, and yes, it did state that guests on the mansion side were allowed beach access but gests on the villa side were not. BUT according to the description of the hotel on priceline.com, it stated that thier private beach awaits us.I called priceline.com. They simply didnt care.After we got back, I filed a complaint with the Better Buisiness Beaurea. My final reply from priceline was that they stand by their decision.I tried to continue, , , all I wanted was some sort of compensation for the false advertisement.They simply DO NOT CARE for their customers. I suggest to use other discount sites.stay away from priceline and thier false advertisments.By the way, the hotel description slill remains the sameeven after a month later.They haven't changed the lie!

I had a bad experience with Priceline.com, also!!! In May 2009, I went to Priceline.com to rent a car for our trip to Hawaii in December 2009. My brother told me about their 'Name your Price' section of their website. When I did the request, the price was not accecpted for a midsize car. But, when I tried to do it again, the midsize option was not even there for me to request. I had to select another size car altogether. That seems like a 'bait and switch' tactic to me. The only way you can keep requesting the size car you want, with a different price, is to start all over again.

Two months after I got the rental for $25.00 per day for a compact car, I got one of those bulk emails stating that you could get a car for $13.00 per day in Hawaii. I called them to see if I could get that price, they told me NO. I couldn't even cancel the request and place it again to try to get a cheaper price, otherwise I would've lost my entire amount I spent on the first request.

I don't know how they can say "Best Price Guaranteed", if you DEFINITELY are not getting the best price!!!

I already contacted my Attorney General in Pennsylvania to have them find out if this practice is legal. I got a letter back from them today, and they said they will be in contact with me. It is just so unfair that you can't cancel ANYTHING you get from them, even if something unexpected happens to you!! I feel they are ripping people off COMPLETELY!!!

DON'T USE PRICELINE.COM FOR ANYTHING!!! I LEARNED MY LESSON!!!

I agree that hotels treat priceline.com customers badly. Nothing but reservation problems - both with the hotels and with priceline.com.

I will never again deal with priceline.com - the problems they create are just not worth a few dollars discount.

I booked a 4 star hotel that was accepted and ended up with maybe 2 star - the Westin Las Vegas. I pleaded with Priceline weeks before and no answer except person that could barely speak english telling me that it is was a four star hotel. I sent 2 FexEx letter to the VP of Hotels and President, pleading to change since I booked three rooms for myself and 2 friends. The hotel was a dump with dog pee all over the place, noisy, and smelly. Avoid "name your own price" at all costs. Horrible customer service and they could care less if they lose a customer for life.

I was a recent first-time customer of Priceline. My recent atrocious experience in booking a hotel room in San Francisco and the subsequent interactions with Priceline’s inept, ineffective and “sorry-excuse” for a customer service team has ensure that I will never use Priceline’s service again. I have chosen to write this message to highlight my issues with Priceline and to warn potential travelers to stay away from Priceline.

My nightmare began when I decided to give Priceline a try based on a recommendation from a friend. I went to the Priceline website on Thursday night (5/21/09) and made a $100-per day bid for a room in 3-star hotel in San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend. Within a minute of submitting my bid, I received a message that my bid was accepted by the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway hotel in downtown San Francisco (by the Civic Center).

On the Saturday morning (5/23/2009) on my way into San Francisco, I decided to give Holiday Inn Golden Gateway a call to check on the hotel room configuration (twin sharing or king/queen size bed). I spoke to the hotel representative who informed that my Priceline confirmation number was invalid and that there were no more rooms available. Confused and worried but still confident that Priceline would be able to straighten this confusion, I called the Priceline customer support number. Spoke to customer reservation specialist named Crystal and she called Holiday Inn Golden Gateway to find out the problem. She got back to me, explaining that she did not know why my confirmed reservation was not valid. She also mentioned that the hotel was overbooked and that Priceline can only give me a refund. I told that this was NOT ACCEPTABLE. I had a CONFIRMED reservation (not a “tentative”, not a “maybe” but a “CONFIRMED” reservation). I told Crystal that I expected a call ba
ck in an hour for a status update because I was on my way into San Francisco and I needed someone from Priceline to be on top of this.

At 12.15 pm, there was still no word from Crystal or any Priceline representative. I decided to call Priceline again. Spoke to another representative, Layla or Leila. I told her that I needed to talk to Crystal as she was helping me. Layla explained that there no way to transfer the call to Crystal and that she would help me instead. I had go through my issue with Layla again and had to wait while she contacted Holiday Inn Golden Gateway (which had already been done by Crystal). After 20-30 minutes on hold, Layla got back to me – giving me the same explanation as Crystal: Priceline does not know what happened to the confirmed reservation, the hotel was overbooked and Priceline can only provide a refund. Again – I explained my position: I am IN SAN FRANCISCO, I do not want a refund, I needed a hotel room. I told her that I do not really care where the fault lies but I am holding Priceline responsible because I received a confirmation number from Priceline. Layla said she w
ould call me back.

Later in the afternoon, Layla called me back that she had tried contacting the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway’s “sister” hotels and can get me a room for $180. I was fine with that as long as Priceline pays the difference ($80). She told me that I needed to pay $180 for the room and that it was not Priceline’s policy to pay for difference in the hotel room charges (even if it was Priceline’s mistake in the first place). I drove the point home that my accepted bid was confirmed for $100 which was what I have been charged and was willing to pay. I also mentioned that this mistake was ultimately Priceline’s fault and since it was Priceline’s responsibility in providing the confirmation, Priceline would need to ensure that I get a 3-star hotel room for $100 (the bid that was accepted by Holiday Inn and confirmed by Priceline). Layla was adamant that there was nothing Priceline can and will do except provide a refund. I told her that I wanted to speak to her supervisor. She refused – explaining that I would need to go to the Priceline website and escalate my complaints there. After a few choice words (in the heat of the moment), I accepted the refund under protest. There I was – stuck at the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco at 6.30pm on Memorial Day weekend without a hotel room (despite having a Priceline confirmed reservation at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway).

I was very lucky to have some good friends in San Jose and drove 40 miles to bunk with them. I wonder what kind of MICKEY MOUSE operation is Priceline running? One that strands their customer in the middle of a foreign city, with a confirmed hotel reservation that is not even fit to be used as toilet paper and utilizing customer support resources from the Philippines who can’t even speak English well or slow enough for Priceline customers to understand (though they seemed very good at saying “Sorry”). Priceline and Holiday Inn were given a chance to go above and beyond to help a customer in need, a customer through no fault of his own was left in a lurch by Priceline and without a room by Holiday Inn BUT BOTH PRICELINE AND HOLIDAY INN FAILED MISERABLY.

I have been wondering if there has been some form of racial profiling from Priceline and Holiday Inn, especially with my Asian last name. How convenient that my confirmed reservation would mysteriously disappear or given away to another guest. I also found it convenient that a more expensive room ($180) would be made available to me while Priceline and Holiday Inn refuse to honor the $100 confirmed reservation. Perhaps the racial profile had Asians at a higher income bracket who could afford more expensive rooms. I sincerely hope not but I shall be looking more into this.

I have emailed the entire Priceline and IHG (parent company that owns Holiday Inn) management team. What I got as a response was another pathentic apology call from Paula (some executive communication resource). Stay clear of Priceline. Rubbish, useless, horrible are key words to decribe this pathetic company.