Priceline accessible rooms?

[pokeypoke]

I have never bid on priceline but am thinking of doing so for our pre-cruise. How do you bid if you need a wheelchair accessible room?

[Umbarger]

You just bid as anyone does. After you get a successful bid then you e-mail or call the hotel and tell them you are in need of an accessible room. They will tell you they will request it but can't guarantee it. We never had a problem.

[pokeypoke]

Thanks for the info:)!

[kyriecat]

I've had the opposite problem. I've been told twice (Holiday Inn & Radisson) that H/C people booking directly with their websites/reservation agents get first choice for H/C rooms. People booking through Priceline, Hotwire, etc get whatever is left. Holiday Inn claimed to have us listed for an H/C room, but when we arrived, we were told the H/C rooms had all been given to people who had booked directly with Holiday Inn. It was one night for pre-cruise and nothing else was available. We called several hotels to check. We could get the wheelchair into the room but not into the bathroom. My mom used the bathroom in the lobby, which was H/C accessible but she wasn't able to take a shower.

 

We had better luck with Radisson. They told us at the beginning that they couldn't guarantee an H/C room. When we arrived, we were told none were available. The room they gave us was big enough to get the wheelchair around and into the bathroom, although you couldn't close the door with the wheelchair in the bathroom. Radisson provided a tub seat, but there were no bars in the tub or around the toilet so that was difficult.

 

If you are traveling during a low period or to less popular destinations, then I would guess that you have a better chance of getting the H/C room. The bad side about Priceline is even if the hotel cannot accommodate you, you are still out the price of the room. I won't use them anymore, even if I can get a better rate because it's more important to me to be guaranteed an H/C room than to get a cheap price.

[pokeypoke]

Thanks Dee. I would hate to bid on priceline and not be able to get a H/C room:eek:

[Queenie2]

what kyrie said is correct. The consolidators buy blocks of rooms, and in fact the res. isn't under your name (but just a block) until a few days prior to arrival. That's when folks are assigned rooms by the hotel, and they pretty much get what's left over. That's OK inmost cases, because the consolidators don't promise a beach view or ground floor room -- just a room in a particular class (number of beds, etc.). But it's not so good for accessible rooms, as they are pretty much gone by that point. I've had lots of complaints from readers who have used Priceline. They only treat access as a "request".

 

Now, just last year Hotels.com was sued for the exact same practice (also expedia) and an out-of court settlement was reached regarding the issue.

http://barrierfreetravels.com/serendipity/archives/413-Breaking-News-Landmark-Disability-Settlement-Changes-Hotels.Com-Reservation-System.html

The result is that they now provide access info on their properties and they will work with customers to make sure the accessible room is blocked for them (it's not just a point and click thing and it involves some back and forth phone conversations). Not real sure how the whole thing is working. I do know some of their access info is incorrect, but haven't really talked with many people who have booked accessible rooms post-settlement. http://barrierfreetravels.com/serendipity/archives/557-Hotels.com-Warning.html

 

So if you want a cheapie accessible room, I would recommend hotels.com and expedia. The new ADAAG may actually require this for all third party reservation systems, so that will be a big help.

 

Candy

[kyriecat]

Umbarger may have used them more recently than me and has apparently had good luck. I've used them a few times for rooms when hubby and I travel together and need a room for one night but don't care where it is. I quit using them for H/C rooms in 2007 after the Holiday Inn problem. My mom was literally in tears after seeing the room and realizing that she couldn't get into the bathroom. I spent 40 minutes on my cell phone calling other hotels to try to find one with an H/C room, but nothing was available. The hotel clerk was really snooty about us not booking directly with them.

 

On the plus side, Holiday Inn refunded the price of the room after a letter and a couple phone calls to complain. They did, however, tell me that the person I had spoken to when booking the room should have never said we could have an H/C room. Thier corporate policy is to honor requests made through their website/telephone reservations before those made through other sources (like Priceline).

 

Now I will only book H/C rooms directly with the hotel chain. I also call the actual hotel directly a couple weeks before and again the night before to verify that they do have an H/C room available. So far, we've had good luck.

[Umbarger]

I bid on Price line for Hawaii March 2009. I got the Hyatt and the Sheraton for a week each at little over $100 a night sometime in February. I e-mailed the Hyatt and called the Sheraton and told them my mom was disabled and needed a handicapped accessible room. The Sheraton booked me in the handicapped room while I was on the phone with them. The Hyatt e-mailed me back saying a accessible room was being held. We received handicapped rooms upon check in. It worked great for us.

 

Sorry to hear that this is not the norm.

[metawnny]

I have always had good luck using the third party systems. I have booked on Priceline, Hotwire, Travelocity, Expedia, etc. In every case as soon as I get the hotel info I call the hotel directly and give them my confirmation numbers and request a wheelchair accessible room. I have booked more then 50 rooms using this method and never had a problem. I guess I should knock on wood because we have a Hawaii trip coming up : )

[Fattony]

Priceline and Hotwire can save you money, and are great in many circumstances, but if you are particular about the type of room, having more than 2 people in a room, etc., you need to deal directly with the hotel after you get your reservation AND you need to know that once you bid, you have paid. No cancellation permitted because you can't get an accessible room, whether the hotel doesn't have them or they don't have any such rooms left. You won't even know the name of the hotel until you've paid. Hotwire, which does not involve bidding, at least shows icons with the hotel's amenities (I haven't seen one for accessibility). A valuable tool when using such sites is www.betterbidding.com. You can get an idea of the hotel you might get, based on what others got for the same price (Priceline) or using the same amenity icons (Hotwire). There's also a discussion board which you might use to post this same question (other travelers, or the moderator, might reply).

[Fattony]

I would not bank on getting an accessible room from Priceline. It's the luck of the draw as to whether you get a hotel that still has accessible rooms available. It may be a hotel with few, if any, such rooms (and, of course, there are various definitions of accessibility). You may get a hotel with available ha rooms and a cooperative management, and maybe you won't. You're not exacty in a bargaining position, since you've paid, and they're getting a lower than normal payment for you. If you book directly with a hotel you can back out before paying if they don't have accessible rooms available (at least not in your price category, and you don't need to get an expensive room to get an accessible one). I've read about some people complaining that they got the hotel's worst rooms when going through Priceline or Hotwire, but I've not run into this. There are differnt types of third-party sites. With Orbitz, for example, you usually don't even pay until you arrive and you're paying at or close to the regular rate. With Priceline and Hotwire you're usually paying (and hotel is getting) a fair amount below their standard rate.

 

I'd start out by phoning Priceline's main number (also Hotwire) and asking them for advice. Also check Betterbidding.com. All we can give is anecdotal evidence. But the bottom line is that for the lower price you are giving up some flexibility. Obviously the odds are more in your favor if you book well in advance, so if you can book very early, you might just take the risk.