Priceline has jumped the shark

[friedmmj]

I used to be a Priceline diehard.  I could always find solid value on rooms and rental cars and the value could be magnified with the Priceline credit card.  Now, not so much.  Something has gone seriously off the rails at that company. 

Now, the deals are not good at all and even seeing a lot of bait and switch tactics on there such as burying resort fees on name your own price deals.

I predict Priceline will be dead in 5 years.

[nessness]

I feel the same way about Hotwire - I used to love them before they started majorly inflating their star ratings.

[WhiteTrashCash]

Now that AirBnB exists, there is very little reason for Priceline/Hotels.com/Expedia/etc. anymore. We booked a weekend in the Big City for two days on AirBnB for about a sixth of the cost of a hotel room and we'll be within walking distance of everything we want to see.

[avrex]

Now, the deals are not good at all and even seeing a lot of bait and switch tactics on there such as burying resort fees on name your own price deals.

Yes, that was one reason that I stopped using their "name your own price" bidding.  The other reason was that you couldn't see to get any better deals than what was listed under their Express Deals.  So, I just stick with their Express Deals now.  In my opinion, there are still some good deals to be had in the Express Deals section.

[Bucksandreds]

Ive noticed something similar with hotels.com. I used to appreciate their buy 10 nights get one free.  The last room we booked was 20% cheaper on another site.  Getting a free night is only a deal if its actually free and not payed for by overinflating the cost of the 10 nights that youre paying for.

[rothwem]

Yeah, I usually just search for prices on google and then book at the hotel website. It’s not worth the hassle of going through the online travel agent sites.

I think those sites were good before hotel chains really figured out the internet, but I tend to agree that they’re basically obsolete now.

[chemistk]

There was a time when those sites actually gave you a benefit - the prices were almost always lower than on the airline site or other aggregators.

As of late, it's more advisable to look at those sites for the best flight option to/from your destination and then to book at the airline/hotel directly. Plus, when you book through third parties you actually have less flexibility if something changes to your itinerary than if you book directly with the airline.

[tipster350]

I lost interest in Priceline and Hotwire a few years ago. However, I recently booked a hotel stay and got a great deal on Priceline. It's back on my list as a site to check when making travel plans.