Priceline launches new version of hotel negotiator app

January 26, 2010 | Online Travel

The app lets travelers use their iPhone or iPod touch to quickly find and book last-minute hotel rooms using priceline.com's hotel service. Version 2.0 features a new Hotel Radar feature that seeks and finds hotels located in a desired direction.

Correction: While priceline.com’s Hotel Negotiator app works with both published-price and Name Your Own Price hotel purchases, our new Hotel Radar feature currently only looks for published-price hotels.

Hotel Radar is a cool new feature that’s a little retro and futuristic at the same time - something The Priceline Negotiator (aka William Shatner) would appreciate. Hotel Radar takes advantage of the electronic compass built into iPhone 3GS’s. Travelers point their iPhones in a desired direction and the radar sweeps the area looking for hotels. Each time the traveler turns, a new radar search begins. When the radar detects an individual hotel, it displays a price and star level. Tap the price and hotel details appear. Sometimes, the radar identifies a cluster of hotels. Tap the cluster and the app shows a list of all of the hotels. In addition to hotel info, the radar lets travelers see how far away they are from different hotels.

Hotel Radar also works with older iPhones and iPod touches. Instead of pointing the device, travelers simply swipe their finger across the screen to rotate headings. Once hotels are located, they can be booked online or by automatically calling priceline.com’s dedicated hotel booking specialists. Hotel Radar only works with priceline.com’s published-price hotel service.

Version 2.0 of Hotel Negotiator also contains several enhancements based on user feedback. Faster hotel bidding is made possible through the use of native iPhone programming for the checkout process. The same native programming significantly speeds up the display of maps and makes them easier to use. Travelers browsing hotels will see up to eight high-resolution photos per hotel instead of the previous one. And, there’s a new mute button to turn the sound off or on.

“Hotel Radar is an excellent complement to our Hotel Negotiator App because it enhances the ability for travelers to quickly find an affordable room for the night when they’re on the road or at an airport,” said priceline.com Chief Marketing Officer Brett Keller. “It’s especially valuable for travelers who are in a new area and aren’t sure where the hotels are located or how far away they are.”

Priceline.com’s Hotel Negotiator App includes several other unique features:

- The Priceline Negotiator. Activate the Hotel Negotiator App and The Priceline Negotiator (William Shatner) gets the whole phone vibrating as he punches his way through the screen.

- Winning Bids recommendations. Choose a city and the Hotel Negotiator App displays multiple recent winning bids made by other priceline.com customers for hotels in different parts of the city at different star levels.

- Shake-Down geo-locator-triggered hotel search. Shaking the device establishes the traveler’s location using location-based features and then performs a Winning Bids search for hotels in the surrounding areas.

- One-Page checkout. A specially designed one-page checkout screen speeds users through the bidding process.

- Instant Bid Results. Users will know instantly whether their bid is accepted. If it is, they’ll receive all the details on their hotel and its location.

- Native iPhone navigation. Users will instantly recognize the slides and wheels that help them navigate through the Hotel Negotiator shopping and booking experience.

- Not in the mood to negotiate? The Hotel Negotiator App also contains an option for browsing priceline.com’s broad assortment of published-price hotels for a particular city or town. Browsing can be initiated by choosing a city or by shaking the device which will bring up a selection of hotels within that specific area.

Hotel listings can be sorted by star level, price, proximity and popularity. Hotel listings include address, star level, customer reviews and satisfaction scores, zoomable maps, pictures and descriptions. All of the hotels on the list can be booked either online or by automatically calling priceline.com’s hotel booking specialists.

Travelers who need help with other trip arrangements can select another option on the Hotel Negotiator App that takes them to a priceline.com website configured for iPhone and iPod touch. There, they can check flight status and browse and book airline tickets and rental cars on a published-price or Name Your Own Price® basis.