Priceline Hotel: 3.5* San Diego (Downtown-Harbor Island) Sheraton Suites

[shunga]

Opened for 3.5* DT-HI @ $52 for 2/20-2/22/10

Added Coronado@ $53

Added Escondito@ $55

Added LaMesa@ $57 accepted With tax $137.24 total. Used your PRICELINE link.

[akin]

AND the surprise of $22/night parking fee! Total price doesn't sound bad but never knowing what - or IF - there will be for extra fees is why I hardly use priceline anymore. Some 3.5 * may not have any parking fee so it's hard to bid.

Why don't they just give it to priceline for $20 dollars and compete with 1* hotels -- and then surprise them with $60 parking fee.

[shunga]

I took the time to read the Tripadvisor reviews of this hotel before I started bidding so the parking fee is no surprise to me.

But I'm not renting a car so it doesn't really matter to me. It's the dreaded "resort fee" that I really fear. Do the tagged lists on betterbidding.com alert us to undisclosed fees? Should they?

[akin]

They warn that there MAY be undisclosed fees. If you happen to know which location you are bidding on then it is easy to check but I have no idea which unit I am bidding on. What I think is a MAJOR problem with priceline is someone could think they are bidding $29 on a 1* (or better) hotel and still end up paying $70 (or more, I see no limit to what these undisclosed fees can be). They may get a better hotel than they thought but if they were willing to take a 1* unit so they could get it cheaper these unknown fees seem pretty sneaky. You are not bidding a price any more, you are just throwing darts blindfolded. Another point is even if you are bidding on a 3.5* + when some have the 'fee' and some don't how is this fair to the ones that have no fee when the ones with fees can go to lower bidders. Say one would take a $40 bid and have no parking fee but you bid $35 and get a unit that adds $30 parking fee. whoopee.

I only use priceline when I think I know the area and am 99% sure there are no parking fees. So I don't use Priceline often anymore.

[thereuare]

I understand the issues, but the fees charged to PRICELINE customers is the same charged to 'conventionally' booked guests, so this in theory should keep them reasonable and prevent a property from selling their room at $20 and then charging a $70 resort fee (since the resort fee would need to be the same as charged to traditionally booked guests)

It's not a perfect system, but if you do you research the savings still almost always outweigh the 'unknown' additional expense.

I've stated before my position is that, industry wide, any fees that are mandatory should be included in the room rate (regardless of how the room is being booked), as this will make it easier for the consumer to make an apples-to-apples comparison and avoid any 'lowball room rates' when there are excessive additional fees tacked on at check-in. As far as parking (which is optional), hotels are free to charge whatever the market will bear in their particular area... if they charge too much, there are usually alternate garages nearby where guests can find cheaper parking (in exchange for the inconvenience of having their car parked off-site)

shunga, thanks for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay. :)

[akin]

This is true. Others pay a parking fee and so should priceline customers. The part that isn't good is the non priceline customers know in advance that there will or will not be a charge and make their decisions. This is all hidden from priceline customers but they are still must pay for it. - Surprise!

If all hotels had the same 'extra' charges then it wouldn't matter in the bidding. It would be like knowing priceline will put fees and taxes on the final price. That is known and expected. But the extra fees can vary from $0 - $$$$?

The only way a Priceline customer can logically bid is to bid very low because there MAY be extra fees.