Priceline Hotel: 5* Prague (East) Hilton Prague

[jptorny]

A cautionary tale (sorry, a little long):

I have an upcoming trip to Europe for which I've booked 4 hotel stays through Priceline. I typically call the main reservation hotline before travelling to confirm my reservation, and I've never been surprised until recently. This time, my stay at the Hilton Prague came up as cancelled in the Hilton reservation system, with no reason for the apparent cancellation. Since this was a Priceline reservation, the agent told me there was little she could do and that I needed to contact Priceline to resolve the issue. I immediately called Priceline, who told me I still had a valid reservation. After hearing this, I called Hilton back and asked to speak with a supervisor, and was transferred to Guest Assistance at the corporate headquarters. The woman I spoke with there was incredibly helpful, looked into my cancellation, saw that it was cancelled at the hotel itself (as opposed to through the central reservation system), and actually called the hotel with me on the line. The girl who answered said the reservation was cancelled the by reservations manager, and we'd need to call back to discuss directly with them. The Guest Assistance agent and I called back the following morning, and were assured that I did have a valid reservation. To avoid future issues, the Guest assistance agent emailed the hotel's General Manager directly (and copied me on the email) with my reservation number and "conflict resolution ID". At this point, I think the reservation issue has been resolved (let's hope), but only through 90 minutes of phone calls. The Guest Assistance agent told me my reservation was probably cancelled "by Priceline, and that you need to be careful with 3rd party booking", but there's no way of knowing what actually happened.

The tip: always, always, ALWAYS confirm reservations made on Priceline before travelling. For hotel stays on my upcoming trip, I've actually emailed the hotels directly (most have an info@... address on the hotel's web page that will get routed to somebody on the property, NOT a central reservation sysem). That way, I have a written confirmation from the actual hotel with a staff member's name (typically a reservations manager) on it. Maybe I'm naive thinking that will help me if something goes wrong, but just an idea for you all out there. Hope it helps somebody.

[thereuare]

Hope it helps somebody.

Thanks for your post... can you please share your winning bid(s) with the board so that that information can help others too! :)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Enjoy your upcoming stay.

[jptorny]

Successful Priceline bid of $72/night, Prague "East" for 9/21-9/23. Bid was accepted by the Hilton Prague (not Old Town). Total for 2 nights w/ fees of $170.62.

Bid was made a while back, so may not be representative of current rates.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Stellar deal for this Hilton property! Hope you are looking forward to your stay.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.

[jptorny]

Stellar deal for this Hilton property! Hope you are looking forward to your stay.

Perhaps the fact that this was a "stellar" deal caused the random cancellation (see my post on Priceline tips forum). Got it all figured out, though (I hope).

[jptorny]

An update for you all:

When I tried to check in the Hilton, they informed me my room was unavailable and I would be moved to another hotel. Supposedly, a pipe had burst and flooded a portion of the hotel. I didn't believe this at all, since when I initially tried to check in the agent said quietly, "Oh, another Priceline customer...", then called the manager over to explain. I later found out that at least 12 other Priceline guests had been relocated to the same property I was sent to (Hotel Friday). We were unhappy with the new arrangement, so complained loudly enough that we got moved to the Intercontinental.

In any case, be careful with the Prague Hilton. It seems as though they are somewhat inconsistent with their treatment of Priceline guests.

[Elane Hua]

I can't believe this is happening in 5-star hotel.

Sorry for your unhappy exprience.