Priceline.com-I'm glad I tried it!
Apr 21 '00
I will first say I was very hesitant to try out priceline.com to book a hotel. I was not nervous about using my credit card online but I was very nervous about having my reservation booked without knowing first where it would be. Once you click the submit button if priceline finds your price in the area you selected they book you, no changes, no refunds. You do not have the choice to see what they found and say yes or no, you just get it.
I was just trying to book a night away for my husband's birthday. We have babysitter's for the kids and just want to go away somewhere close by, have dinner, catch a movie and then actually get to sleep in the next day (we have an infant and a toddler, sleep is a thing of the past at our house!). I decided to try priceline because I had heard some pretty good things about it.
I selected my area and what star rating I wanted to try for. They rate the hotels as 1,2 or 3 stars with 3 being the best. Of course I went for that! Then you had to name your price. I went with $50, thinking full well I would get rejected but I wanted to see how it worked. I used to work in the hospitality industry, in the very area where I was looking to stay, so I know what the going rates are and which properties are the nicest.
Next I had a choice to apply for a Discover credit card and get $25 added on to my price (meaning priceline would look for a hotel that would accept $75, I would pay $50 and Discover pays the rest as part of this promo). Sure, I applied. It was no annual fee so nothing to lose.
Now you get to the final screen where you must click the submit button to get the search going. I hesitated and then just clicked. It tells you that you will receive an email within 60 minutes with notification. Well it only took about 20 minutes and boy was I surprised! I got my price and I got a really, really nice hotel! A Sheraton Tara Hotel which typically offers rates in the $120-$140 range! I was thrilled!
I would definately use this again. Since you can specify what level of hotel you would like I can't see how you could really lose. I would always try for the 3 star the first time. If you get rejected try a lower star or raise your price but heck, go for the luxury hotel and see what happens!
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
my2girls
|
|
Member: Allyson
Location: Massachusetts
Reviews written: 93
Trusted by: 36 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.