PriceLine - Anybody Use It?

[chinaco]

Have you used it? Was it worthwhile?

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Once on a hotel. No it wasn't.

 

[bssc]

Just used it in Sedona. Got the hotel for about half the price which is worth it for me.. Two things to be aware of
1) No guarantees on getting a non-smoking room.
2) However, I know that all the resorts in the area are non smoking because I checked out BiddingForTravel.com - Message Board - Yuku. This site gives a lot of tips plus lists of hotels you might get plus winning bids.

Also used it for cars and get about a third off the AAA price at Hertz.

 

[travelover]

I also use it for hotel and rental cars when I'm confident that I will not need to make any changes. To get cheap airfares we generally require an airport stay at the far end so we can get out early on a red eye flight. I can usually get a high end airport hotel room for around $50, which is less than the extra cost of a later flight.

Hotwire and AARP also can be good for rental car fares.

 

[Cruisinthru]

We once used it for a four star hotel in Miami in January. Got the hotel for $27 and paid the same to park the car. Was it worth it, you bet. It was a beautiful hotel (wish I could remember the name.) that would have easily been a couple of hundred.

 

[Achiever51]

I've used Priceline several times and have been satisfied with the results each time. Best buys have included a really nice hotel in Santa Barbara for $50/night and several days in New York City at a four star hotel, well located, for less than $90/night.

Suggest you visit some of the sites like Search Priceline Bids | Develop Priceline Strategies | Better Bidding for Travel to get an idea of how much/little to bid, etc.

 

[Cruisinthru]

My husband just got us a four star hotel in San Juan for one night in January (prior to a cruise). He checks the link that Achiever51 gave you. We got the hotel in San Juan for $90, but most hotels in that range are more like $300. Husband had to try several times to get the room that cheap, but his persistance finally paid off.

 

[bright eyed]

All the time! I also use the biddingfortravel site to "check" what the going bids are for a certain city - helps a lot.

Be careful - give yourself a few days because you can't do the same bid again without upping the bid and adding locations or changing the dates. You can get caught up and up your bid and end up bidding more than you want.

We use it about 75% of the time for traveling and get a good rate or just below the rack rate every time.

Also use it for rental cars - which come with an insane tax rate, so it doesn't feel cheap, but it is cheaper since the taxes will be charged wherever you rent from.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Well maybe I need to try something more than once All kinds of positive experiences.

 

[Moemg]

I use it all the time . It is especially good for big cities . I've gotten great hotels in Boston for $79.00.( in Back Bay ). I also check with Bidding for travel to check out what bids are winning and what hotels are available . I also check out the Hotwire & Priceline forum . Last year I got a Kimpton hotel in Washington,DC ,huge room , nightly wine ,great location for $79.. I also check out travelzoo . They have some good deals . Occasionally I use Quickbook I got a nice boutique hotel in San Francisco in a great location at a reasonable price . I guess it is obvious I hate to pay full price .

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Hmm I just tried to find a rental car for my trip to Connecticut in Dec. I got

We're sorry. Due to constantly changing availability, a car is no longer available for this time and location. Please try changing your location and/or dates.

I bet its nice if you can be flexible.

 

[chinaco]

Sounds like Priceline might be a great way to get some bargains for travel in ER when one has flexibility in timing.

 

[Moemg]

Sounds like Priceline might be a great way to get some bargains for travel in ER when one has flexibility in timing.

I used it a lot while I was working . It's great for trips to big cities . My daughter used it two week-ends ago and got the Hilton in Boston's Back Bay for $69.

 

[utrecht]

Ive never used PriceLine but from what Ive heard, you enter a bid without knowing which hotel you will get. Is this correct? Also, when you bid for a 3 star hotel, who is rating it as a 3 star? Ive seen different ratings for the same hotel at different places.

Lastly, can you bid for a room way in advance or is it only for last minute type deals?

 

[OhSoClose]

I have used Priceline on many occasions to obtain hotel rooms. Occasionally I use it to get a rental car, and once I used it for airline tickets. I have always had good hotel rooms (three or four star). They use national chains, so I have never had an occasion to say, for example, "this ain't really a three star hotel!"

I have a system I use. First I get a quote from Hotwire, which will show the general discout level for a hotel room in that area by star rating. Then I go to Priceline and try to beat that Hotwire quote by 30 to 40 percent. I game Priceline by starting low, and then adding city areas that I know do not have three or four star hotels (which is all that I use), and increasing my bid by five bucks each time until I get the room.

Sometimes I end up using Hotwire if I don't hit a good price on Priceline. I have always had good experiences with hotel purchases on Hotwire, too.

By the way, you can call the hotel right away after you get it through Priceline and Hotwire, and put in your special request (e.g., King or QUeen). That usually works, but I don't care that much about King or queen.

OhSoClose

 

[OhSoClose]

Ive never used PriceLine but from what Ive heard, you enter a bid without knowing which hotel you will get. Is this correct? Also, when you bid for a 3 star hotel, who is rating it as a 3 star? Ive seen different ratings for the same hotel at different places.

Lastly, can you bid for a room way in advance or is it only for last minute type deals?

You can bid for it in advance or last minute. YOu can get good deals either way, but I think the best deals are last minute, off-peak.

Understand that you can't expect to get a good deal on either Hotwire or Priceline during peak season. They are discounters, and the travel industry uses them to get rid of excess capacity.

 

[bright eyed]

You can use it way ahead of time or last minute, I've done both.

You can often "guess" which 1 or 2 hotels you will get because you'll see the frequent hotels on bidding for travel.

I go up to the bay area in CA once per month and occasionally need a room. I know if I bid about $60 I can get the double tree in Berkeley, if I choose that region or the airport hilton if I choose another region. You pick the star level so that helps give you some security. Once every 5 times or so you can't get a room because of the time of year, holiday or some convention.

I got a 4 star hotel in San Diego for $90 per nite (rack rate was well over $200) for a vacation.

Only other snags is that I found the fancier the hotel (above 3 stars) the more extras you have to pay for - like parking, internet - arg!

The 2.5 star ones are awesome for free wifi and parking, shuttles to airport etc.

I've bid for rooms same day too.

 

[Moemg]

When my daughter was graduating from Boston University I bid at least six months in advance and got the Park Plaza for $79.00 . You could not find a room under several hundred dollars at the cheapest hotel that week end . So I got a great deal in a perefect location quick taxi ride to the graduation .

 

[Zoocat]

Yes! once I got a very nice hotel in Denver for $25/night. Also a hotel in SF in Fisherman's wharf in high season for $70/night.

This site might be helpful
http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/

 

[chinaco]

When we ER... I am sure we will be fairly regular customers.

Has anyone used this for cruises? Do you get a discount that is worthwhile?

 

[youbet]

We've used priceline six times and had great results on five of the six. The one loser was a well known chain motel poorly located ref the interstate exit. It was a long way and tough to find. When we got there, the parking lot was near empty and things were a bit shoddy...... Obviously, they chose the site poorly, had little business and things were detiorating. The staff was great, in uniform and very professional. They were just managing a location with close to zero volume and probably doomed to be closed.

The other five experiences were fantastic! It's fun to stay at three star properties and pay budget chain rates while on the road! Last spring we were in Madison, Wis at a canoeing/kayaking show. We stayed at a downtown three star hotel in an upper floor room overlooking the attractive, domed state capital building. Nice view. Nice room. Nice hotel with great amenities. Friends who met us in Madison paid more to stay at a Red Roof Inn out on the interstate!

Not knowing which "brand" you'll get makes it interesting and I keep the surprises to a minimum by going no lower than 2.5 stars.

 

[clifp]

I almost always use Priceline for booking rental cars, cause it saves money, and who really cars that much between Thrifty, Avis, Hertz, Enterprise etc.

A couple of times for hotels, it was ok but nothing too earthshattering.

On the other hand, I find it somewhat risky to use it for booking airline flights. You run the risk of being locked into some horrible flight schedule, inflexible travel arrangements, and for me the kicker is no frequent flyer miles which for me balances out the cost savings.

On the other hand if was very confident of my schedule, either way in the future or you need to catch a flight in the next day or two... you can save money with priceline.

I am curious has anybody else being finding the best deal on flights is use Orbitz etc for finding the flights and then booking directly with the airlines, or is there a new cheap airfare travel site which is consistently a good source of bargains?

 

[Moemg]

I've never used Priceline for flights . I usually go to kayak to find the best airline deals and then go to the airline web site and book . Interestingly some of the best deals I've gotten were flying out of one airport and returning to a different one . I recently flew Air Tran and I have to say I was impressed at how efficient they were . I will definitely consider then again.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I almost always use Priceline for booking rental cars, cause it saves money, and who really cars that much between Thrifty, Avis, Hertz, Enterprise etc.

A couple of times for hotels, it was ok but nothing too earthshattering.

On the other hand, I find it somewhat risky to use it for booking airline flights. You run the risk of being locked into some horrible flight schedule, inflexible travel arrangements, and for me the kicker is no frequent flyer miles which for me balances out the cost savings.

On the other hand if was very confident of my schedule, either way in the future or you need to catch a flight in the next day or two... you can save money with priceline.

I am curious has anybody else being finding the best deal on flights is use Orbitz etc for finding the flights and then booking directly with the airlines, or is there a new cheap airfare travel site which is consistently a good source of bargains?

The best deals I get for flights is searching on expedia or orbitz. Then book directly through the airline. Since all those sites basically take the flight the airline offers and slap a fee on it. Im particular about how I fly. I do not enjoy long layovers or multiple stops

 

[clifp]

The best deals I get for flights is searching on expedia or orbitz. Then book directly through the airline. Since all those sites basically take the flight the airline offers and slap a fee on it. Im particular about how I fly. I do not enjoy long layovers or multiple stops

I hate long layovers also. I notice that often booking directly with an airline in addition to saving the Orbitz fee also nets you some additional frequently flyer mile or an e-coupon.