Puzzled by Priceline Hotel Rule

[MIChessGuy]

I booked a one-night hotel stay with Priceline for my return road trip from Disney. Although I am reasonably satisfied with the rate and the cash back from the Capital One Shopping Portal, the following note in the confirmation surprised me: "If you are arriving after 9pm on the day of check-in, contact the hotel directly or your reservation may result to cancellation."

Really? The way travel works in this day and age, 9:00pm?? I found this extremely customer-unfriendly and was just wondering how common it was to see this in Priceline hotel bookings. Perhaps it is just an unusual rule for the specific lodging that I booked. I have this mental image of a sinister hotel clerk waiting for the clock to hit 9:01 so he can cancel me.

 

[tvguy]

Not unusual at all. I have booked many hotels that on the reservation form have a box to check if you will be checking in late. Usually checking that box commits you to paying for the room if you don't show up.

 

[barkley]

i can't speak to priceline bookings but i believe expedia has a similar rule, and i've experienced it working at a hotel/personally traveling.

most hotels have a designated 'check in end time' and if a customer hasn't checked in or alerted the hotel of late arrival then the hotel releases the room. for many it deals with when they make 'no-show' rooms available to other customers waiting/seeking rooms which has to occur prior to the nightly audit run during which systems often don't allow for check in's.

I have this mental image of a sinister hotel clerk waiting for the clock to hit 9:01 so he can cancel me.

naaah-the automated system would do that BUT the hotel clerk could be standing starting at the screen at 9:01 to see if any rooms just popped up so he can give the good news to people in the lobby trying to snag one.

 

[MIChessGuy]

Hmm, okay then. If there has to be a cutoff, I would have expected it to be after 9:00pm which still strikes me as not so reasonable. But now that I know, I can just call before that time and head off any problems.

 

[bluezy]

I thought 9:00 was pretty generous. I can remember years ago and having to pay a little more for a room that was "guaranteed for late arrival" and the standard arrival time cut off was 6:00. Now we just book our rooms on the fly -- literally pulling into the parking lot of a hotel and booking while we're sitting there -- so I don't even pay attention to the arrival time thing anymore.

 

[tvguy]

Hmm, okay then. If there has to be a cutoff, I would have expected it to be after 9:00pm which still strikes me as not so reasonable. But now that I know, I can just call before that time and head off any problems.

The longer I think about it, I can't remember when there was a time that I didn't notify a hotel if I was going to be a late check in. In 1979-80 I traveled a lot of work and we often flew into town, loaded up our rental car with our equipment, went out and worked for 8 or 9 hours before we even went to the hotel. I remember the nightmare we had finding a place to eat in Hollywood at 9 pm on a Sunday night. This was back in 1980 back before Taco Bell was open 24 hours.
We found a health food restaurant. First and only time I have had a pizza with sprouts on it.

 

[EACarlson]

Hmm, okay then. If there has to be a cutoff, I would have expected it to be after 9:00pm which still strikes me as not so reasonable. But now that I know, I can just call before that time and head off any problems.

The vast majority of no shows at hotels are booked through Third parties like Priceline or Expedia. By putting the 9pm cutoff on it, there is still a chance the hotel can sell the room. If they moved it back to say midnight, chances are much slimmer that they can sell that room that night. One of the reasons I almost always book direct, I can tell the hotel when I'm going to get there on the app and not have to worry about them giving my room away.

 

[Annabell]

I think cutoff time at 9pm is very generous. Some will even release the room by 6pm if you don´t notify the hotel.

 

[Moliphino]

Doesn't seem crazy. I stayed at a hotel in Belgium last fall with these terms and this was booked direct.

-If you plan to arrive after 16:00, the first night must be paid in advance.
-If you have not guaranteed your reservation by paying for the first night, your reservation will automatically be cancelled at 16:00.

 

[MIChessGuy]

In my case, the room is a nonrefundable Priceline deal so they get the money whether or not I show up. I understand that this is just the way it works now, but I prefer past practice where a room that's fully paid for will wait for you all night if necessary for you to show up.

 

[EACarlson]

In my case, the room is a nonrefundable Priceline deal so they get the money whether or not I show up. I understand that this is just the way it works now, but I prefer past practice where a room that's fully paid for will wait for you all night if necessary for you to show up.

Priceline gets the money whether you show up or not. No guarantee the hotel gets the money unless someone checks in. If you want the past practice, you should book as you would have in the past, calling the hotel. If you had booked directly with the property this is usually less of an issue.

 

[Apiary]

I’ve only experienced something like this with small hotels without a 24/hr front desk.

 

[MIChessGuy]

I suppose all this just illustrates my lack of understanding of the current system. Since the room is prepaid at a major-chain hotel with 24-hr front desk, I figured (wrongly) that it shouldn't matter when I show up. Also it was interesting to learn that Priceline just keeps all the money in the event of a no-show. Another thing is that the 9pm warning did not actually appear until the final confirmation displayed, which I thought was kinda weak.

Oh well, I made a note of it and will adjust my booking engine preferences accordingly in the future.

 

[scrapquitler]

I often stay at a couple places that don't have 24/7 front desk coverage. If you haven't checked in by around 5pm, they call you to ask about your arrival and if you are arriving after the clerk leaves (usually 8PM), they give you instructions about where/how to pick up your key. The idea of calling before 9 might be for a reason like this.
That said, I've ALWAYS called to let the front desk know when I'll be arriving if it's after around 7 or 8 PM. I never want to risk showing up and finding out that they overbooked and I'm out of luck.

 

[tvguy]

I often stay at a couple places that don't have 24/7 front desk coverage. If you haven't checked in by around 5pm, they call you to ask about your arrival and if you are arriving after the clerk leaves (usually 8PM), they give you instructions about where/how to pick up your key. The idea of calling before 9 might be for a reason like this.
That said, I've ALWAYS called to let the front desk know when I'll be arriving if it's after around 7 or 8 PM. I never want to risk showing up and finding out that they overbooked and I'm out of luck.

Wow, not sure I would feel safe at a hotel that isn't staffed around the clock.