I Made A Big Mistake With PRICELINE

[MAKmom]

I think I ruined my Aug vacation. My husband & I started playing with Priceline today. We have ressie for ASMusic Aug 9.....but we thought we could get a deal at DD. I thought the zone I pick was only Disney property. I did not pick the Kissiimmee zone....BUT I was given a Kissimmee hotel. Renaissance World Gate. $49.00 a night. I'm sick. I still have 4 days at the ASMusic to go to. I called & begged they said too bad. :(

[DonnaS]

Can you afford to just pay for the priceline reservation even if you don't use it? That's what I would do.

[PamOKW]

Renaissance World Gate (http://renaissancehotels.com/dpp/PropertyPage.asp?MarshaCode=MCORK)

It's not ruined. You are offsite and you may not have regular bus service (it does mention complimentary transportation). But, the resort is a division of Marriott. It looks very nice and it really isn't very far from the All-Star location. Hopefully, you were already planning on having a car. And you learned about using Priceline.

[DonnaS]

After looking at PamOKW's link I agree with her. It is close to the All Stars and it's obviously more upper scale than the All Stars. Combine that with an awesome price and as long as you have a car it sounds like you may have improved upon your trip!

[MAKmom]

Thanks Pam & Donna. Yes, I could afford it & the brat in me wants to do that. I was just at BWI & AKL for 10 days in June. This is supposed to be a cheap Aug trip. The new plan will have to include a car....any suggestions? The good thing is if we rent a car I will really know my way around & DH can drop me of at ASMusic before he goes to the Airport. BUT I am a BRAT & I want to tell my husband I don't want to go there. But he says it is going to be fine...my bloodpressure is so high right now. I am really getting addicted to this board & Disney in general. MY dh thinks I'm having a mid-life crisis. 39 soon. But he says its a safe crisis.:(

[pentex]

I had a similar problem with Priceline once, where I chose a particular area of Manhattan and they gave us a different zone on the other end of Manhattan. I first called Priceline and they told me the same thing, basically "tough luck for you". I then called Amex and explained to them what happened, i.e. that they did not give me the area I had specifically chosen. They reversed the charge and credited me on the spot.

Usually, a credit card company such as Amex or VISA will take a few weeks to investigate such a claim before they decide whether or not to issue credit. But, in this case, Amex said that they have had so many problems with Priceline, they issue automatic credits.

It's worth a shot to try calling your credit card company and tell them how Priceline didn't follow guidelines, if you are really unhappy.....

[snoopylovertoo]

Actually the Renaissance World Gate is included in the WDW area for the 3 star hotels. If you look at the Priceline map, it includes an area on 192 near the maingate to Disney.

It really is a nice hotel and you won't be disappointed with the price that you paid.

[MAKmom]

After they gave me the hotel I could check it on the map & yes it is in the area... I did'nt know what I was doing I assumed since Kissimmee was another ZONE I really THOUGHT I was getting a DD hotel. It is confussing.... but as my hubby said "You spun the wheel & lost" Watch me love the renaissance & hate ASMUSIC.LOL:rolleyes:

[MAKmom]

Pentex did priceline do any thing to you?

[Buckleybunch]

We stayed there in March. We drove straight thru and did the priceline thing, and got the 49 a night at Renaissance World Gate.
I wasn't thrilled with the service their. We had an awful room.. The manager on duty was very rude. We didn't have hot water the next morning. The next morning we complaint at check out, and the manager was very nice, and said we should of never of been put in that room. So I'm not sure why we was or what the deal was... but I was very disappointed.. My dad retired from Marriott and I didn't think the room or the service was up to par.
The hotel isn't far from WDW.. but it's in a werid spot. ( you can't see it from the hiway)

I think if you have a complaint, made it be known.. We was only going to be there one night and basically just to sleep.. or I would of complained more.

The hotel looks great from the lobby.. The pool is HUGE!

[Jane E.]

You may want to see if you could sell your PL ressie. We stayed there for 2 nites in May. We enjoyed our stay. I guess it all depends upon who is working and what room you get. We were fortunate. If you do stay there, be sure and go the back route to Disney. It is much quicker. You may want to check, but I don't think you get early mornings at Disney or EE nights like you would at All Stars.

[MAKmom]

ugh....My husband want me to call Visa in the morining. I was mislead...I'm going to see if they will credit my money back.

[louisaho]

Let me share my experience:
i have the same trouble as you(World Gate), my immediate reaction is to call my visa, however, the lady said that :" Credit card is not like cheque which you can cancel anytime you want, youhave to contact priceline, not the visa to have refund"
therefore, i emailed a lot a lot back to priceline, their responce were always always: priceline is nonrefundable!!!
i was so upset, since i was expecting somthing closer than world gate. that i again send TONS of email to them(i tried to call them, it is always answering machine, I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE!!!)
FINALLY, a manager replied to me that she will call me back the next morning.
The next morning, she called me, very nice though. She offered me last chance to rebid, if success, she will refund the previous bid minus the process fee(5$), which i am glad

i'm sorry for the grammar, since, till now, i am still not 100% satisfied with priceline, because their customer service is so difficult to reach!
hope this can help :) good luck

[Gillian]

I don't think you will have much luck with Visa, but it can't hurt to try. I hope you go & enjoy your stay!

here are some reviews of the hotel from the biddingfortravel.com board --

http://pub4.************/fpricelineandexpediabiddingfrm78.showMessage?topic ID=66.topic

PS whenever I check into a Priceline room I just give them my name, not the # & ID like Priceline says. I don't say "Priceline" at all! I don't know if that makes a difference, but I've never had a problem, and we use Priceline a lot!

[pentex]

MAK Mom, Priceline did nothing to me as they could not. It was Amex's policy to automatically credit ANY Priceline disputes, no questions asked. This was about one year ago, so I am not sure if this is still Amex's policy. I hope it is though because Priceline is awful...when I was complaining to PL about my situation and threatened to call Amex, they told me to go ahead, that they'd fight me. I was quite pleased when I did speak to Amex and the rep was so strong on my side.

I hope that you have the same success with Amex.

I don't think my e-mail is on my profile, but it's jpentek@navg.com. If you get a chance, e me and tell me what happened...if I can help you pursue this in any way, I'd be happy to help you.

[sablair]

First, we stayed at the Renaissance for three nights a couple of weeks ago. It is a good place to stay.. not first class, but our room was clean and the staff was VERY nice. We would stay there again for priceline rates. They DO have a complimentary shuttle to and from the parks. The negative though is that you have to reserve your spaces 24 hours in advance for the shuttle. The shuttles only run in the morning and in the afternoon/evening. If you use your ressie, make sure you get your shuttle times confirmed if you want transportation the first day.

Priceline specifically shows that the area the Renaissance is in is part of the WDW zone. When you click on that zone for info, that part of Kissimee is circled. Now.. if anyone wants to be sure and get accomodations in DD through priceline... you can always bid on a resort level hotel in the WDW zone...... all of the resorts are in the DD area because the Kissimmee part doesnt have resort quality hotels. It is the ONLY way I know to make sure you dont get stuck out on 192 with priceline.

Priceline should let you do a one time re-bid for those dates... ask them if you can. Then you could re-bid for the resort level hotels. They are going for @54 per night and the priceline/expedia board has a bonus link for $5 right now. The website is biddingfortravel.com and there is a link to available bonus money if you arrow down the list.

Bid the WDW zone.. resort... and $49 (if you use the bonus money link $54 if you dont) You could probably get the Wyndham or MOWC for $49 + the $5 bonus.. that rate is coming up right now for August. If you want help to bid... post on the Orlando board and someone will help you with a bidding strategy. Do call and ask priceline if you can re-bid.. they will send an email telling you what to do. If you cant get a room, they also have a way of cancelling the reservation based on unsuccessful bids, but they require you to try to re-bid first.

Hope this helps!

Sheila

[juliebelle]

Also another way to be sure to get the WDW area, is to put in "Lake Buena Vista" ....

I have had many friends get good deals there, for the 4 stars resorts at the S/D, Wyndham, and the Marriott. Prices around $40-50...good luck!!!

[Gillian]

Please, please, please do not rebid for a resort assuming you will get DD!! Of course, a 4 star hotel or resort should be very nice, but, it may not be in DD.

If you are looking to book a hotel through conventional means (travelweb.com is good) then you can specify Lake Buena Vista. But if you decide to rebid on Priceline, you can't.

From biddingfortravel.com, here are SOME hotels that have come up on Priceline in the past for the WDW vicinity zone (warning - you may get other hotels as well!):

resort - wyndham palace, Marriott orlando world center
4 star - hilton in walt disney world village
3 star -
Buena Vista Suites
Courtyard in the Walt Disney World Village
The Grosvenor
Hyatt Orlando (note, on Hwy 192)
Renaissance World Resort
Sheraton Safari
Summerfield Suites
Doubletree Guest Suites

http://pub4.************/fpricelineandexpediabiddingorlandowaltdisneyworld. showMessage?topicID=650.topic

Hope that helps :)

[MAKmom]

:bounce: I just called my MIL & told her she won an all expense paid trip to WDW! She was planning on stoping by for 1 night on her way back form the north to Vero Beach. Now she is staying at the Maingate for 4 nights & she is thrilled! She will drive to ALLStar music & we will find the Renaissance togather. Then in the morings she can drive to our hotel & we will use Disney transprotion:bounce: She is up at the crack of dawn anyway. We will get her a play 4 pass. But I told her to bring who ever she wants with her. :smooth:

[sablair]

Ouch :o

MAKmom... Im glad you resolved your problem in such a creative way! Alls well that ends well :)

Just wanted to say too that although Priceline does show that area in the WDW zone when you click on it... it is confusing if you havent spent loads of time researching. That is one of the downfalls of priceline... their terms are so strict and they are not always forthcoming with info that can be helpful to their customers.... it can be very confusing. When I won a bid for the Renaissance I thought it was silly that area was included in the WDW zone also.. I knew it was, but even though I know the facts... it is still strange to me that they include that small area. Im sure many people overlook that and are disappointed. Priceline does show it and technically, they are not wrong, but I certainly understand where you are coming from. I made a BIG mistake once myself and bid the wrong dates... wasnt priceline's fault, but I emailed them and they let me re-bid.. one time only. That is why I have remained a priceline customer.. they gave me a break when I wasnt a priceline genius and made a human error..hehe. Now I thoroughly research every single bid and double triple check before I hit that buy button ... it is a pain, but considering that I have to travel on a budget, it's the price I pay to save money with them.

Biddingfortravel.com is a great place for priceline info. They are ABSOLUTELY helpful with bid information and in letting people know priceline's limitations. They answer questions up front and are very outspoken about pricelines rules (for our own good). I dont know where they find the time, but they will walk you through the entire bid step by step if you need the help. Priceline is a different planet all together, sometimes people dont realize that before it's too late, and it really helps to have a place to post where people are experienced and can help.

Again, Im glad this turned out OK for you :)

Sheila

[MJames41]

MAKMom, that was a great resolution. I've learned my lesson as far as Priceline is concerned - I will never again book a Disney vacation through them. I got the MOWC, which is an excellent conference resort, but it is not a Disney resort. It wasn't what we wanted, and if it's not what you want, it's not much of a vacation. After 2 nights of a 3 night booking, we (my kids and I) decided to skip the 3rd day, take the hit financially, and go to an All Stars (Sports) - best decision I made on that trip.

:bounce: :smooth: :bounce: :smooth: :bounce:

[Gillian]

I'm happy that worked out for you! The Renaissance is very, very close to the all stars. Now everyone gets to go to Disney!! :D

I understand your confusion about Priceline. Personally, I think that part of 192 is as desirable as the other parts of the WDW zone, and is better than the Kissimmee zone. Maybe the name "Disney World Vicinity" is misleading, but the map clearly shows that a decent chunk of 192 is included. And that zone is not described as including (or not including) a certain city. Lake Buena Vista isn't mentioned in any of the zones. Priceline is not for people who aren't willing to trade control for price.

[Trekker]

This is not a Disney Resorts thread, in an effort to keep the resort board on topic, this thread has been moved to the Orlando Hotel board

[mysharonna]

I too got the Renaissance World Gate, my story sounds the same as alot of yours. I wanted DD, didnt know part of Kissimmee was with this. I learned my lesson, has anyone ever successfully sold these? I have 6 nights for a total of $235.00

[stlrod]

I have successfully sold prepaid reservations on ebay (at a small loss). It might help though that I have a good ebay rating. You should first call the hotel reservations manager and make certain that another name can be added (not replaced.) In my experience, at Wyndham it has been easy to do so. Not true with Marriott properties.

[stlrod]

It might help if you can pacage them with some tickets or something. I had a tough time selling a room at the Wyndham Bel Age in LA until I added Lion King tickets. Then it was easy.

[LuvTigger]

If you get no where with Price line, take a chance and WRITE (see below) to the bank where your VISA card is. You can dispute any charge you have under different circumstances (i.e. did not receive products/services as promised, etc.). Many cards will even allow you to file a claim for something you purchased and was subsequently lost or stolen.

My situation is not exactly the same, but I once made an online reservation for a hotel in Florida. I then cancelled the reservation, but I was never given a cancellation #. They sent me a form to complete and fortunately, I kept all the e-mails and filed a dispute with my credit card company and gave them copies of all the e-mails I kept. Soon after, they credited my card.

Read the back of your credit card statement carefully, it usually says to WRITE, as a phone call will not protect your rights.

[JenniferW]

Glad it got figured out. It did sound like a nice resort anyway.

Jenn

[kellymonaghan]

And the moral to the story seems to be: if you use Priceline, use American Express.

Good thread!

[mysharonna]

Well I called this hotel and they will not let me add a name to the reservations.
Thanks for all the help on this board. I have really learned alot. I did use American Express Blue card, so what do I need to tell them in order to get a refund? I would be so relieved if that happened.

[Lewisc]

You're wasting your time with a credit card dispute. The hotel is in the area Priceline said it would be. You agreed to Priceline's terms, AMEX can't do anything for you.
Your hotel is very close to Disney property. Rent a car and enjoy your vacation.

[BedKnobbery]

MAKmom, that was a great solution. :) Gramma will surely love spending the time with you all at WDW, and will definitely appreciate having her own space for down time! Good thinking!

[Gillian]

How/where did everyone get the idea that if you bid in the WD Vicinity zone you will get a DD hotel?? I really am curious about this!

I wonder how people would have felt if they received the Sheraton Safari hotel. It often comes up as a 3* hotel in the WD vicinity zone on Priceline. It is not a DD hotel, but it is around the corner from them. Like the Renaissance, it is clearly on the map of the zone. The address is Lake Buena Vista. There are other non-DD hotels that come up as well.

[BedKnobbery]

Hey folks, lets cut MAKMom a little slack here--no need to slam her for not realizing how priceline works. I can very easily see how someone not familar with priceline would think that 'Disney World Vicinity' would mean DD or WDW hotels because they are within the confines of the Walt Disney World property. A new person would not realize that you need to look very closely at the map to understand where exactly priceline means when they state a certain area.

Experienced Priceliners know that the colloquial name of an area of a city does not mean on Priceline what it means to a person in the city; a new person may not realize this, and may assume that when Priceline says "Disney" they mean disney owned properties (For example--here on the boards, when someone says they are staying 'in Disney' we all assume it means a disney hotel--if we are staying on I-4/international drive/downtown, we say that area--not a generalize 'disney area').

For people who are new to priceline and want to learn more about it, the best site to visit in my opinion is www.biddingfortravel.com. Read all the advice sections closely before you bid on priceline to get the most of it. I'm a HUGE priceline advocate--I have never paid more than 50% of the best going rate for a hotel room since using priceline. (An example--I stayed in a hotel in downtown Boston for $55/night--best available rate anywhere was $200/night--so I save nearly 75%)

Now, insofaras Priceline and Orlando are concerned--if you are on a budget and your primary goal is to get the cheapest accomodations possible, I would not advocate using priceline. There are sooo many good lodging deals out there that is makes better sense to search out where you want to stay and pick your hotel that way.

If, however, you are a person who enjoys visiting different upscale hotels and resorts, and don't mind being placed where-ever, PL is a great way to 'explore' at a savings. You won't get the best prices for Orlando lodging, but you will probably get the best prices for upscale Orlando lodging. (Hope that makes sense to people).

Susanne

[pentex]

LewisC, it's not a waste of time to try a credit card dispute. As I said earlier, I had no problem getting my Priceline dispute credited. The Amex rep did not even want to hear about the details, never even took them asked me for them. As soon as I said the merchant was Priceline and she entered it into her system, a flag told her that it was an "automatic credit", that they did not even do investigations because of the multitude of claims on that merchant. She simply credited me. The credit hit my account two days later.

Now, this was a year ago, so I'm not sure if they have changed policies on this. Perhaps the huge volume of claims was due to their previous involvement with grocery stores and now things are different? I have no clue as to the present situation but I can tell you my experience took all of three minutes to resolve.

In any case, it is worth a try. Amex is wonderful at resolving any claim you have. I have heard great stories of people who thought they didn't have a leg to stand on, but Amex spoke to the merchant and resolved the claim in the person's favor.

MAKMom, I am so happy you were able to figure out something to work your situation out. Your mother-in-law is a very lucky person to have you for her daughter-in-law!

[MAKmom]

Thanks Pentex & Bedknobbery(BLUSH):)

Gillian everyone probley like me thought.... The map only said Lake Beuna Vista, its the only name at all printed on the map....that means Lake Beuna Vista. Then the zone next to it only said Kissimmee printed on the map. Is'nt it strange that they do not just list what is included in a zone? Hey the only people who never make mistakes are ones who never try anything new.

To anyone who does'nt think we have a right to try for a refund; everyone has the right to feel the way they feel. Companys get in trouble ALL the time for misleading bussiness practices. What I found misleading may have been very clear to someone else,which is why Judges are used at times. That being said it would be silly not to try for a refund.It is a normal reaction on the part of a consumer. They do let you re-bid sometimes...from what I have read here. Anyway, I have a happy ending. I was very upset when I posted my original post...But I knew I would find good advise & yes moral support on these boards. I admited on my first post that I made a big mistake:p

[louisaho]

so what did you do finally?

[MAKmom]

It is posted on page 2.:D

[Mercy]

The key to using Priceline is DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!! I love Priceline and it can be a great way to get good bargains on hotels, but you need to explore all the options with Priceline before you bid. The http://Biddingfortravel.com website is an excellent sorce of information. Once you realize all the possibilities your bid can produce, and are comfortable with whatever outcome will result, then you can bid. Priceline is always adding different hotels so you can never be 100% sure of what your possibilities are, but that doesn't seem to happen too often.

[Planogirl]

I love Priceline if I need to budget and we stayed in a wonderful hotel in Kissimmee one year for very little thanks to them. However, I did understand how Priceline works and what their zones include (assuming no changes! :) ) so I wasn't caught by surprise. I can see how a person might end up with something they don't want if they don't clearly understand the rules and zones.

Why can't Priceline list possibly participating hotels anyway? It WOULD make things a lot simpler.

[sablair]

hmmm.. good question. Maybe someone knows the right answer :)

I think it offers a lot of protection for the hotel and priceline to do it that way. Priceline doesnt have to spend its resources constantly updating web pages of hotel lists every day. Their inventory available from the hotels changes and it would require a search engine in concert with all the hotels, or for priceline to manually update constantly. Also, by making it clear we dont have a choice, they probably have better luck in dealing with complaints when someone doesnt get the hotel they want. The hotel too doesnt lose customers willing to pay the full rate because everyone wont use priceline due to the chances involved... if we positively knew we would get a certain hotel(s) we would be much likelier to bid and wait it out than to call the hotel direct. This way they can put a number of rooms up and look at it as advertising.. or just filling empty rooms that wouldnt be filled otherwise. I say that because I know I am less likely to pay full price for Orlando because I have become so familiar with the hotel choices and bids that are likely accepted. If everyone could do that just by going to a page on priceline they might stop paying the full rate. This is all just speculation on my part of course, but I can see how it makes it simpler for Priceline to do business the way it does.

Sheila