I've cautioned readers before about the dangers of making low-ball offers on sites like Priceline but it probably never hurts to remind people of what they are getting into. This topic was prompted by yet another Priceline report we recently received that shows us how many 'offers' and money we missed out on by NOT participating with them. I suppose this is their way of trying to drum up business - show all hotels what they missed out on.
I'll state again where I see a problem. Admittedly, it may not be a problem for some people but it will be for those who expect a decent hotel or motel room even though they make a low ball offer. Such as the fellow who called me weeks ago and offered me $30 for a room that has a 'sticker' price of $93. He added 'I see it on Priceline for $30' but of course he didn't know which hotel he was really seeing. And therein lies the rub.
The hotel he was seeing rents rooms for $39-44 per night EVERY NIGHT. They end up getting $25-29 net if booked thru a Third Party site like Expedia so getting $23 off a $30 'bid' is nothing out of the ordinary for them. But here are the exact last 5 review headlines for this hotel off of Tripadvisor: 1) "A Cheap Place to Stay", 2) "Price is the Overiding Reason to Stay", 3) "DO NOT STAY HERE", 4) "Worse Than Any Third World Hotel I've Been To", and 5) " I also do not recommend you stay here". Within these headlines, people wrote things like "THe bed and linens were dirty as was the shower stall and carpet", "Bed Bugs devoured my daughter, even though mattress appeared to have a waterproof cover.", " The advertised free internet was way too weak to use in the room. The TV, that I had to plug in, got 4 channels." and "What an unbelievable, decrepit, dump!".
I can assure you that the vast majority of reviews said the same things. The only people that semi-recommended it noted that is was only because the price was cheap.
On the Pricleline offer recap sheet, they noted that the lowest 'bid' they received was $28 and the highest was $39. Of 11 offers made, only 4 were accepted - 7 were rejected as being too low. I can almost guarantee you that all 4 were accepted by the above hotel too. What perhaps shocks people making these low ball bids is that they think a $80-$90 per night perfectly acceptable motel with good ratings might be so desperate that they will accept a $35 offer. Like the guy offering me $30. And it simply doesn't work that way. If you want a decent property, you at least have to bid high enough to stay away from the dangerous, dirty or far away places.
But if your overiding parameter is cost only, Priceline or Hotwire will work for you. As this reviewer said however; " Cheap and you get what you pay for". So don't expect much and you might get surprised, though it is far more likely you will be like these people:"Worst Experience Ever!"
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