New Priceline Email

[fly_up_front]

I got this email at 2am after winning a KC hotel about 5pm.

Tips 1 and 2 I understand but what's up with 3?

Dear xxxxx,

We are writing to confirm your priceline.com hotel reservation for Hotel Request Number XXXXX checking in on Aug-12-2003 at the following location: AMERISUITES KANSAS CITY AIRPORT in Kansas City, MO.

This e-mail contains helpful travel tips for your upcoming hotel stay:

1. Itinerary Retrieval

2. Special Requests

3. Guaranteed Late Arrival

1. Itinerary Retrieval:

Your current itinerary can be viewed at: http://www.priceline.com/hotels/checkstatus/default.asp?id=XXXX.

You should print out the itinerary web page and bring a copy with you to the hotel, as well as a valid photo ID, to verify your reservation. The hotel will also require you to provide a credit card to guarantee any charges that were not included in your offer price such as additional local occupancy taxes and incidental charges (phone calls, room service, parking, resort fees, etc.).

Please Note: If clicking on the link above does not work, please cut and paste directly into your browser.

2. Special Requests:

Special requests (such as: specific bed type, room location, smoking or non-smoking room, etc) are at the discretion of the individual property. Priceline rooms are guaranteed to accommodate two adults, however the bed type is not guaranteed. In addition, while rooms are requested non-smoking, availability is based on hotel inventory. We are not able to guarantee that your hotel can accommodate your special need or request, and any considerations made by the hotel may require an additional charge or fee payable directly to the hotel upon your arrival or departure.

3. Guaranteed Late Arrival:

Rooms are guaranteed for late arrival. However, if you will not be checking in until after 6:00 p.m. local time, you must contact the hotel to guarantee your room. If you do not check in by 6:00 p.m., the hotel may assume you are not going to arrive and may open up your reservation to other guests. The hotel contact information can be found in your itinerary.

Thank you for using priceline.com and please enjoy your trip!

Sincerely,

The priceline.com Customer Service Team

[thereuare]

Number 3 is definately contradictory but i assume it comes from a few customers getting walked.

We all know that at busy times hotels (and airlines) overbook, and perhaps in the past they have given away 'pre-paid' rooms at the 12th hour, assuming that the room would be going empty and they could 'double-dip' and get additional revenue for the room. Eventually the pre-paid customer shows up at 2am and they've already re-sold the room and have no other vacancies. In instances such as this i have heard the customer 'walked' to another property and Priceline refunding the money, although i don't think it's a written rule and your milage may vary.

I hope the above 'unwritten rule' doesn't change on account of this letter, and perhaps they're trying to avoid the above situation by having the customer call the hotel if they will be checking in late.

[thesqueegeekid]

I got that email too for my Sommerset, NJ reservation coming up ... I wonder why they only sent this for that particular booking???

I actually got one of these many months ago too ... so, there must be an exceptional circumstance to these particular reservations...???

[WillTravel]

What hotel chain was that Somerset reservation for? On TOBB, people are speculating that it's Hilton and Marriott who are behind this.