The ‘Negotiator’ runs out of deals
The curtain is coming down on Star Trek Captain William Shatner’s five-year-long role as "Priceline Negotiator."
Shatner pitched Priceline’s "Name Your Own Price" bidding offer where hotels offered steep discounts but consumers would not know the name of the hotel under their bid was accepted. But Shatner, the "Negotiator," used his persuasive powers and brute force to get hotel discounts.
In a final episode, Shatner rescues stranded vacationers dangling over a bridge and apparently is killed in a fiery crash. "You don’t have to bid. At Priceline, you choose from thousands of hotels every day. Save yourself — some money," says Shatner.
The ads will end but the "Name Your Own Price" will continue, says Tnooz.
Perhaps in part because of Shater, Priceline’s published-rate hotel service has tripled in size to more than 200,000 properties in 140-plus countries, says Priceline’s non-celebrity spokesman, Brian Ek.
One of the new messages is that there’s no need to negotiate if travelers can get a good deal with published rates.
Speaking of the published-rate model and the demise of the Negotiator, Ek told Tnooz that "we’d like a whole lot more people to know about this side of the business than currently do."
By David Wilkening
David
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