Priceline recently announced that it was killing off the William Shatner “Negotiator” character. In a final act of heroism (and promotion), the Negotiator urges people off a bus, right before it teeters off a bridge, crashing to the ground below, seemingly killing the Negotiator. The point of the ad is to shift the focus of the company from the “name-your-price” bidding system to a non-bid-based business.

The bidding system is very popular, as it can save consumers a lot of money. Unfortunately, the system is also wrought with problems. The bidding system does not allow the consumer any options when bidding on a room. You get whatever room the hotel has set aside. In addition, too often the consumer is treated like a second-rate guest at the hotels.

The hotels’ stand is that they set aside “generic rooms;” therefore, if you wanted two beds and not one big bed, it is really up to them. Additionally, they claim that since the rooms were secured through a third-party source, they are not responsible; nor can they change the rooms (to your requests).

In all fairness to the hotels, I have had great luck with getting excellent prices, and my room requests granted, although at times it has taken a lot of smooth talking. Still, when using a company like Priceline, sometimes the risk isn’t worth the reward.

I can see both sides of the issue, but I think there is an easy solution. Reveal the type of room up for bidding. Certainly this can’t be that hard. I know there would be a few specifics to iron out, but the basic system already works. Priceline should tweak the system, not eliminate it.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist