Dilemma Regarding Big Island Rental Car

[rmb]

Unfortunately, the California state budget crisis has hit directly and we will have to cancel our 2 week stay on the Big Island and Maui. Fortunately, I'm able to cancel most everything with a nominal fee, with the exception of a SUV rental on the Big Island that I got off of Priceline (name your own price).

The price for a week of unlimited mileage for the full-size SUV is $308. I would be willing to work out a great deal for someone who would need a vehicle such as this for July 19-July 26... the car would be picked up at the Kona Airport.

I talked to the car rental company and they said all I would have to do is call the car rental company to have the reservations changed to the new driver upon arrival. Does anyone know if this can be done, and do you have any suggestions on how I can work this out with a potential vacationer that would get a steal of a bargain for this car rental? I'd let it go for $200 and just eat the rest myself, if I am able to do so.

My concern is that the 'name your own price' aspect of this purchase gives me NO flexibility to work out such a deal.

Please advise if you have any ideas or suggestions.

 

[Luanne]

Good luck with this. I was under the impression that if you rented through Priceline you did NOT have the option to change the driver's name. In other words, you would need to be the person who picked up the car. I was pretty sure that if you got something through Priceline and ended up not being able to use it, you were pretty much sunk. But you said you talked to the rental car company and they said you could?

 

[Cathyb]

This is a lesson we all can learn in this time of airlines filing bankruptcies, etc. that the cheapest isn't necessarily the way to go......sorry about your circumstances.

 

[rmb]

But you said you talked to the rental car company and they said you could?

No, I'm not sure the guy I talked to knew what he was talking about... I'm asking for any suggestions or knowledge on this type of situation.

Maybe I just have to eat it... but if there is a way to pass this on to someone else giving that person a great deal and on my end, alleviating some of the loss, it would be something I would like to do. If there is no way, then lesson learned.

 

[Luanne]

I was trying to see if I could find anything on the Priceline site and spoke to this, either confirming that it could be done, or prohibiting it. I couldn't find anything easily, but they do have ways for you to contact Priceline and ask the question. You might want to simply ask if you could change the driver's name on your reservation. Can't hurt to ask.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Usually as far as Priceline is concerned, changes in the reservation are strictly a matter between the customer and the Priceline vendor. PL will not get involved in trying to make any changes to the reservation, nor will they provide any assistance if there is a dispute with the vendor about any changed conditions.

So, if the rental company is willing to change the name on the reservation, PL probably wouldn't care. Nor, for that matter, does PL need to know the name has been changed.

To the rental company, a PL reservation is simply a prepaid reservation. It's the same to them as if you paid money to a travel agency for a vacation package, and the reservation was paid through the travel agency. The fact that the reservation is coming through PL doesn't make much difference to the car rental company. So if the company doesn't have a policy prohibiting changing names on a reservation, there really isn't a reason why that policy wouldn't also extend to a PL reservation.

For a number of reasons, though, I think it unlikely that a car rental company would allow the name to be changed on a prepaid reservation, particularly when the payment came from a party other than the renter.

 

[rmb]

Because far too often we hear of only incompetence and a 'lack' of customer service in this day and age, let me briefly tell you what a wonderful National Car Rental agent from India did for me regarding my situation (stuck with Priceline, who wouldn't budge if their life depended on it!):

- he contacted Priceline and took over the reservation
- he created a new reservation using whatever date just to get it on the books
- he had me cancel the original by phone
- the new reservation is now good and available WHENEVER I want it, but it must be picked up at the same location as originally booked
- I must bring the voucher from priceline to pay for the car - if the car is higher at the time I use it, I pay the difference
- the reservation is now booked for next year when we will be available to make the trip

This sure was customer service at its best! Otherwise, due to personal circumstances that caused us to cancel this year's trip, we would have eaten $300+ and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it per Priceline.

 

[DeniseM]

Congratulation on finding a workable solution to your problem. That being said, I think it's important to remember that one of the reasons Priceline can offer bargain basement prices is because their reservations are not cancelable and that policy is clearly stated upfront and agreed to by the bidder. In this case, Priceline did nothing wrong by following their cancellation policy. If your plans are not set in stone, or you are worried about last minute emergencies, then buying travel insurance, or making cancelable reservations, is the way to go.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Because far too often we hear of only incompetence and a 'lack' of customer service in this day and age, let me briefly tell you what a wonderful National Car Rental agent from India did for me regarding my situation (stuck with Priceline, who wouldn't budge if their life depended on it!):

I'm sorry, but you have a misperception of Priceline. PL exists by saving customers money via offering non-cancellable, non-changeable reservations in exchange for lower rates. That is stated very clearly at the time the reservation is made. You clicked on a link that says you understand the reservation is non-cancellable and non-changeable. I don't understand why you think it's poor customer service when they say non-cancellable and non-changeable means that you can't change or cancel the reservation.

In PL's business model, customer service primarily consists of one thing and one thing only: lower prices for guaranteed reservations. Low prices is the prime reason people use Priceline. Priceline's business model is explicitly to offer lower prices in exchange for prepaid, hard reservations and zero accommodation for changes. Anything that interferes with that model is not customer service. Their model specifically and explicitly excludes flexible travel plans or changes in travel due to illness, emergency, or whatever.

PL was exactly correct in not doing a thing to help you. That's not their business plan, not their business model, and not embedded in their relationships with their vendors If that to you is poor customer service, then you clearly should not be using PL.

I use PL regularly, and I certainly do not want PL creating unnecessary overhead cost dealing with customers who don't understand that non-cancellable and non-changeable means that once a reservation has been made it cannot be cancelled or changed. I, along with most PL customers, prefer that PL keep its costs as low as possible and pass the savings on in lower prices. When I have to eat the occasional PL reservation where my plans do change, I simply chalk it up as part of the overall cost of doing business with PL. I've still come up with huge savings even with the occasional unused reservation.

I agree you got wonderful customer service from National. That customer service is obviously important to you, and the way you can ensure such customer service in the future is to reserve directly with National. Of course, you will pay significantly more, but that is the price for the customer service you want. For others such as I, we will continue to use PL for the customer service we want, which is the opportunity to save 25%, 50%, or more in exchange for making prepaid non-cancellable and non-changeable reservations.

Oftentimes, good customer service involves outplacing customers who really shouldn't be your customers.

 

[Tiger]

Did you call priceline and tell them your story? I don't know the details of your situation of course but perhaps it's compelling. I once made a huge error ( $4000) on a priceline reservation, contacted them through a customer service number and while having a small version of a heart attack on the phone, they cancelled my reservation after reciting a long paragraph that they weren't legally required to cancel the reservation but were doing it in the spirit of customer good will.

 

[rmb]

> but you have a misperception of Priceline.

No, sorry... I do not have a 'misperception' about Priceline. It is understood that when you make a bid on a 'name your own price' item, you get a discounted price and it's in stone... there are very few allowances, if any, to change the deal.

My point was simply stating that a kind rep from National took it upon himself, after hearing why I have to cancel the trip, to help us... nothing more and nothing less.

It has absolutely nothing to do with a 'perception' or 'misperception' of the said company. It does, however, speak of a representative that went above and beyond because he felt a desire to help his customer. I'm not sure that isn't an aberration in today's world.