I Made A Big Mistake With PRICELINE

[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.

 

[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!!

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

 

[louisaho]

so what did you do finally?

 

[MAKmom]

It is posted on page 2.

 

[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.