Priceline.com Sends Customers to the Competition
“There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.” – Ronald Reagan
I was reminded of this quote yesterday when a colleague relayed an experience she had a few days ago on Priceline.com. In planning her Memorial weekend trip to Puerto Rico, she thoroughly researched the top online travel sites for the best price. She discovered that Priceline.com offered the most competitive rate.
Excited, she started to book her trip through Priceline.com, but every time she neared the end of the multiple steps required to book and was ready to complete her order, the system would pop up a message that read “We cannot confirm your order.” Because the company’s rates change so rapidly, the trip she was trying to book had changed in price while she was going through the process. She tried 20 more times with the exact same results before finally switching to Travelocity where she ended up booking the trip for $150 over the Priceline offer.
It seems as though Priceline’s strategy—to offer the best value—may be backfiring. In trying to be the most competitively priced travel site, the company is missing the bigger picture. And competitors like Travelocity and Orbitz, which are known for ease of navigation and great customer service, will gladly accept Priceline’s dejected visitors.
Priceline’s new “Chop-a-Thon” ad campaign features William Shatner chopping prices. Hopefully, the company will remove its barriers to booking travel or be prepared to chop itself right out of the competition.
recent horrible experience with priceline. Booked via priceline at Crossland. When we arrived, was advised non smoking rooms had extra charges. Due to chemo & lung cancer, called priceline & asked for nonsmoking room. Priceline cancelled the reservation, (not at my request). When my credit card bill arrived, priceline had charged me $75.00. Terrible company. lvbe