Beware the Priceline Hotels Pro App

You probably know Priceline’s gimmick — name your own price. But you might not know about Priceline Hotels Pro, or how it works.

Priceline Hotels Pro is not the same app as Priceline. For instance, it’s currently only for iPhone users and costs 99 cents. “But, even beyond that, Priceline Hotels Pro is unlike any app Priceline has ever created,” Skift says. It looks like an existing Priceline feature called Express Deals, but works a bit differently.

The older, free app allows you to browse published hotel rates, use the name-your-own-price bidding feature, or use the no-bid Express Deals, a feature where you know the section of the city, price and hotel rating up front, but not the actual hotel until you book, Skift says.

The new Priceline Pro app functions somewhat like Express Deals, in that you can find discounts of up to 45 percent without bidding, Skift says. But this app is different in that it will tell you the price and the name — kind of. The app will show you a selection of hotel photos and names at a certain price (before taxes and fees), but at the bottom it says that Priceline picks the hotel. Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like, with Skift marking the fine print.

Priceline even calls it the Express Deals App on its home page, and the only difference seems to be photos of the potential hotels — which may lead hasty consumers to believe they get to pick — and the $1 price tag. Is that worth a buck? Do you think it’s misleading? Let us know on Facebook.