iPhone Priceline app Review

[SinatraFan]

Priceline has released their "Hotel Negotiator" application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app has gotten a low rating on the Apple store, but judging from the written comments a lot of people reviewing it are not familiar with regular Priceline and the strategies we use to get the best deal.

There is a lot to like about the new app: it is very easy to navigate and enter information. It is clear and simple and allows both negotiating a price and using a list of available non-opaque hotels. It is free.

Although technically you can use the app for things other than hotels (cars, flights and so on), those choices merely transfer you to the standard Priceline webpage (not the mobile site). Some people complained about this, but Priceline specifically calls this app the "Hotel Negotiator" and that is where they have put the effort. The interface is different from what veteran Priceliners are used to, more streamlined. But this streamlining also deprives us of the important tools necessary for smart bidding.

The app starts with a cheesy opening screen of Shatner breaking through a wall and the words "Priceline Negotiator" sung just as in the TV commercial. Then you enter the name of the city and it takes you to a screen listing the areas in that city. In each area it shows winning bids for some star levels. Find the area you want (there is a map symbol next to each area's name so you can see where it is) and touch the winning bid for the star level you want. The next screen allows you to enter the dates you want and set a bid. Unfortunately, there are several big limitations for Priceline-savvy bidders:

- It does not show all the star levels in each area. Some areas show only a single winning bid, for, say, a 3 star hotel. There is no way in the app to change the star level - you can only bid at the star levels they give you for your area.

- There is no way in the app to see what the highest star level is for a given area, or if there are areas that are not being listed.

- There is no way to bid on multiple areas at the same time and no way to tell how old are the "winning bids" that they show you.

- you must use a slider to choose your price - you cannot type it in. The slider limits how high and how low you can bid (although in fairness it seems to give enough leeway for any bidder).

Not very promising for those in-the-know. But it probably works well for Priceline newbies - making the process much simpler and clearer. And the winning bids are not unrealistically high trap type bids, they are about right. So the average user can choose his area and star level and bid according to the previous win he is shown.

So what happens if your bid is rejected? Can you change something and rebid? Yes, because at that point the app exits and starts the standard (not mobile) Priceline website with the page we are all familiar with, listing all the areas and star levels and obviously here you can change whatever you want.

So all in all you may as well go straight to the main Priceline site and start there. Or, I should say, use the BetterBidding link to go straight to the Priceline website.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for providing an excellent review! :)

[thereuare]

It used to be that if you went directly to PRICELINE via a smartphone/iphone it would automatically take you to the mobile version of their site, which didn't allow "Name Your Own Price" bidding (only retail hotel purchases).

However, by coming to BetterBidding first and using the search box on the top right of the board, you're taken able to bid from any smart phone and you're taken thru the 'normal' bidding process from the start, just as if you were on a desktop or laptop computer :)

If there is an interest i can make a new page with just the search box for easy/fast page loading while on a cell phone.

[hounddog01]

I may start using PRICELINE more now. Is there a HOTWIRE app also?

[thereuare]

No, but the search boxes at the top of BetterBidding each work on all smartphones :)