A Must-Use for All Travelers
Written: Jan 18 '02
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Bidding for a hotel on Priceline is the easiest and best way to save money on your next trip. I am regularly astonished by how few people, even those who use Priceline's airline tickets service, take advantage of the incredible bargains that Priceline provides with minimal sacrifice. Unlike bidding for airline tickets, bidding for hotel rooms requires minimal flexibility.
Every time I travel, I use Priceline to look for hotel rooms. I have not yet been disappointed. Let me tell you about a few of my recent experiences:
1. New Year's Eve, Arlington, Virginia (just across the Potomac from Washington, DC.)
My significant other and I decided at the last minute that we would like to spend New Year's in a hotel as a special treat. Hoping to find a place near our existing plans in Arlington, I started calling hotels and researching online. The minimum price I could find was $89 at the Holiday Inn, and $129 at a nicer Marriott. So I turned to Priceline, and obtained a luxurious room at the Hyatt Crystal City (see my review), with a gorgeous view. The cost? $55 (+ Priceline's $5.95 service charge). Wow!
2. I had a wedding to attend south of Atlanta on a Saturday in November -- economizing on the flight, I found a morning departure on Sunday, so I looked for a hotel near the airprot. $44 was the cost for an EconoLodge. Yuck. But Priceline came to the rescue. I bid $20, looking for a 3* hotel. I got the Hilton Airport and Towers (best rate: $79). It was a wonderful stay that gave me extra money to spend on a wedding present.
3. Vancouver, June 2001. Looking for a hotel stay before leaving on an Alaskan cruise. For $35 per night, we landed in the Renaissance Harbour Hotel, right on the water, three blocks from the cruise ship docks. Our room had a balcony overlooking the harbour, was huge - nearly the size of my apartment, with high-end toiletries, two sofas, a dressing room, and floor-to-ceiling windows. It was awesome, and the best price available without Priceline was $134 per night.
Over the past two years, I have stayed in the Swissotel in downtown Washington for $75; in the Sheraton Manhattan (near Times Square), for $82; in the Doubletree at Seattle airport for $20, and at the Crowne Plaza in Albany for $35. These rates are unbeatable *anywhere.*
How does it work?
1. Research the area in which you'd like to stay: the nicer the hotel, the better the deal on Priceline, so look at the best rates offered by high-end chain (Marriott, Hyatt, Radisson, Sheraton) hotels in the area.
2. Enter the city into Priceline: it will then give you a list of "zones" from which to choose. These "zones" should represent familiar geographic areas from your research of your destination.
3. Identify all zones in which you would be willing to stay. Priceline will allow you to rebid as long as you raise your price or lower your star-rating with each bid.
4. Place your first bid -- take 50% off the lowest special rate (for any night -- in business areas, Saturday is usually the lowest, so use this regardless of which night you're bidding), for your most preferred zone.
5. If your bid is not accepted, gradually raise your bid, adding zones and star-levels one at a time to ensure you get the lowest bid you can.
Notice: you get a hotel room at a great price, in a narrowly-defined area, on the night you want. Yes, you trade away control of the specific hotel, but the savings are extraordinary.
This is great for family trips, vacations, even business travel (in these expense-conscious days).
Occasionally, there will be no hotel rooms available through Priceline, in which case you do need to turn to another booking tool. Always ignore their "raise your bid - this is too low" requests, and have a great trip!
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Somerville, MA
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 4 members
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