Priceline Launches Version 2.0 of Hotel Negotiator App

Priceline.com has announced the availability of version 2.0 of its popular Hotel Negotiator App on the App Store. 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.

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. The Hotel Negotiator App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.