I have been a user of Priceline through BetterBidding.com for several years. A troubling trend is the mandatory resort fees (aka daily fees, convenience fees, facility fees). When bidding through Priceline, it is clear that you agree to pay the additional fees when you click that you agree to the terms, so I am not contesting the legality of the fee, only whether it is a reasonable business decision to continue to use Priceline in light of these fees. The issues with these fees are: 1. Some hotels within a star category have the fees, while others do not; 2. There is no cap on the fees (i.e. the hotel price could be $25, and the mandatory daily fee could be $75 per day); and 3. The lack of final cost certainty in Priceline when bidding. What I liked about Priceline was my ability to bid, see the total costs, and then decide whether this was a good enough value to risk the uncertainty related to the hotel and its location. The new mandatory fees have now added a new level of cost and uncertainty. In May 2013 I had 8 nights of hotel stay, and none were booked through Priceline. My reason for not choosing Priceline is due to undisclosed mandatory fees that cannot be ascertained at the time of bidding. Since the winning hotel may or may not have the mandatory daily fees, I must assume, for total cost comparison, that the winning bid will be the hotel with the highest mandatory fees. I then compare this total Priceline cost (bid + Priceline fee + maximum mandatory resort fee) to a direct reservation on a hotel's website using its discounted, pre-paid rate and the ability to generate member reward points. It is possible that the overall hotel stay booked on Priceline may be 5-20% less expensive, however in many cases there is a risk that the overall cost may be more expensive. In every case when I book directly on a hotel web site I can choose the specific hotel location and earn loyalty points. In all of the cases this month, the outcome is that the direct booking is less expensive when comparing the risk-adjusted price. I do not expect that my few hotel reservations will make that much difference to Priceline's overall profitability. I do expect that others will make a similar risk-adjusted cost comparison and find that Priceline no longer offers a value justifying the risk of blind bidding.
