On Tue, 13 Sep 2011, pumsparky wrote:
> Also, there has been a lot of noise at Priceline, Bid Your Own Price,
> does not include Resort Fees! Vegas, and elsewhere.
This was true at least as of July this year, based on personal experience.
Priceline blames the hotels, and the hotels blame Priceline.
I think this is bullshit on both sides for various reasons, but bottom
line, I have had some success calling my credit card and explaining why I
think surprise resort fee sprung on people when they are in no position to
argue* is bullshit, and my CC companies have generally agreed and reversed
the charges for me.
So if enough people start doing this, maybe policies will change.
*Yes, Priceline warns you when you submit a bid that resort fees might get
added on. I don't feel this is a defense, because you don't know when you
submit the bid whether a resort fee will be added, and bids are binding.
Are you truly naming your own price then?
Googling shows this is hardly a recent complaint, so I guess it isn't
actionable.
Priceline blames the hotels, but I feel at a minimum Priceline should
attempt to maintain a list of places that charge resort fees, and either
warn you if your zone/star criteria might include resort fees, or let you
specify that you want to exclude properties with resort fees. Otherwise
you don't find out until you are potentially far from home and have zero
bargaining power.
Meanwhile the hotels blame Priceline, but if you ask me they are just as
responsible. A bid of $X should mean $X, not $X+$Y. If they won't
settle for less than $X+$Y then they have no business accepting a bid
of $X.
So to reiterate, my suggestion if this happens to you on a
name-your-own-price stay, is to explain politely why you think it is
wrong, sign the charge slip under protest, then call your CC afterward
and try to get it reversed.
