On regular Priceline:
Decide the area you want.
Find out the hotels/stars in the area you want.
Go to http://www.betterbidding.com, or a similar site that lists Priceline hotels in the zone(s); there can be surprises.
Check out the prices those hotels are available for on other sites, to make sure you don't overpay.
Start with your highest star/lowest price to test the waters.
Before you bid, though you might go to http://www.betterbidding.com for a refresher, tips, and hotel lists.

Priceline is not a good idea if you're trying to get a particular hotel. In that case, better to use Hotwire, since you can in many cases identify the hotel you will get by matching up the amenities on hotwire, with the lists on better bidding.com.

Also, although I would guess Nashville hotels have rooms with two beds, Priceline only guarantees a room for two people, which could mean one bed. You can avoid that problem (if it is a problem) by using Hotwire and inputting "3" adults.

I have used Priceline for Nashville (coincidentally with my then-college-age DD) a couple of times. Nashville is tricky with PL because that zone is so big, stretching from downtown clear out to Vanderbilt.

The good thing about PL there is all the free re-bids you get because that zone is the only one with 4-star properties. For our last trip (two years ago) we got the Loew's Vanderbilt.

I agree with using Hotwire in order to get a two bedded room.
www.betterbidding.com has a list of the Hotwire hotels.
Although I CAN do the Priceline bidding game, I much prefer using Hotwire. The price may end up being a little bit higher than Priceline, but it's still a deal and a lot less hassle.

Having said that, I would do a Priceline bid if the Hotwire rate is really high, which sometimes happens when there's an event in town. But, you have to be willing to share a bed, and you may very well get a full/double bed for 2 rather than a queen or king.

But you asked for a refresher, so here's an example - but using Atlanta instead of Nashville.

1) Look at the list and try to match up the descriptions with tripadvisor/hotel's website's icons.

2) Decide where you really want to be and where you'll be okay with ending up...and at what price. You have to increase your price with each bid and widen the circle so you need to have an idea of what your top price will be for the lower level you'll be happy with.

Example - I want a 3.5 to 4 star hotel and don't want to pay more than $66 for it.

Bid 1 - Bid on a 4* Midtown hotel for $62. If I don't get it, I'm going to have to raise my price AND add another * level and/or area.

Bid 2 - Add Downtown to the bid and bid for $64. This means I may get any 4* on the Midtown or Downtown list. If I don't, I'm going to have to bid "lower" while I have to raise my price.

Bid 3 - I didn't get anything. Now I have to add a new level. So, I add 3.5* and bid $66 dollars for it. I'm going to end up with any 3.5* (or up) in Midtown or Downtown.

Hopefully I won my bid.

If I didn't, I walk away. I don't want to pay more (now over $66) for a 3* hotel. A lot of the times if you walk away, you'll later receive emails offering you a deal.

My example - If the 3.5 star I like (or a 4*) is listed for $70 or less, I just go ahead and "buy" it on Hotwire.

FYI - In Atlanta, I almost always end up with the Indigo as the 3.5* in Midtown or the Sheraton downtown (Priceline). I got the Hyatt recently - 4* Downtown - for $65 which was 1/2 the conference rate. Parking and internet for the room was a killer, but still...

Just looked at biddingfortraveldotcom and the BNA Marriott, a 3 1/2*, was recently won on a bid of $57. (don't know if this is the Marriott you want or not).

Sheryl's back, it seems, on BFT. Also BFT no longer associated with AB.

Also BFT no longer associated with AB.

easytraveler, what do BNA and AB refer to? And is Sheryl still a jerk?

BNA is the airport location I think.

AB is Amazing Bargains.

Yes, pretty much, she still is.

in answer to sf7307's SECOND question.. YES.

My god, I cannot second enough how woefully inappropriate "Sheryl" is to so many people online.

I mean, to guide people in their travel bids should be wonderfully rewarding, given the great deals that can be garnered with just a brief education in the fine art of bidding for hotels and such.

How can the person named "Sheryl" be such a wreck of a human being despite all of that???

(note: I've never even registered or posted on her site, and have had zero direct dealings with her, yet I can still painfully see the truth)

I'm not defending Sheryl, but I can fully understand why she has so little patience with people who just will not read/follow directions and expect assistance with no effort on their part. Her endeavor is hardly "rewarding" when people expect much for little.

Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people are either using "Name Your Own Price" on Priceline OR reporting their results on BiddingForTravel (same goes for Betterbidding).

What used to be incredible resources for using Priceline and/or Hotwire are no longer due to severe lack of participation.

The problem with the "fine art of bidding" is that you could "win" a property with which you would be dreadfully disappointed. Priceline and Hotwire redraw their areas all the time, some of which have objectionable properties within. Without considerable participation, the "pinned" hotel lists cannot be kept up to date, along with the current star ratings (which Priceline and Hotwire also change frequently, and for no apparent reason).

Sheryl posted recently that she had been very ill , and had some other family issues. It was very close to an apology so I hope people can give her some slack. She may be a jerk still but BFT has saved me literally thousands of dollars in my years of traveling. Trick is to never register so she can't berate oyu

True enough, but if people don't register, they can't post their winning bids, and if nobody is posting those, there isn't much point to the site! Having her site available is what gave me the nerve to do Priceline the first time, and I appreciate it and her for that, but cringe when I read some of her remarks.

It's through the contributions of winning bids that Sheryl collects her data. The lower the participation, the less useful the information.

Can you people not understand exactly whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nobody bothers to register on biddingfortravel??

Sheryl is no more than a leech who is taking and taking and TAKING from society without being willing to give anything.

Oh, and you should be sure to use "Amazing-Bargains" too... (isn't that right???)

With Priceline stock having gone up 800+ percent since the start of the recession, you can be sure that people are still using "Name your Own Price". Once again, djkbooks, you should be able to conclude that Sheryl IS the problem.


Websites like biddingfortravel work NOT because Sheryl and (any) others of her ilk (if such cloning were possible) have anything to offer the world, but because the Priceline concept is so delightful (in letting the bigger, better hotels have access to guests who would otherwise be driving from freeway exit to freeway exit looking for a "Vacancy" sign at 10:00pm) that there is LOTS of room for the leeches to try to cut out a slice of the commerce for themselves.

The leeches only drain society little by little for as long as society will put up with them.

If Sheryl spent half as much time updating and modernizing that cluttered mess of a website as she does berating everybody there, perhaps people would want to put it to better use.

I am sorry to cut this short but I've decided to go and read some hotel reviews from 2003 that Sheryl so kindly keeps us linked to

"Rewarding?" On the internet with a bunch of strangers who never say "thank you?" GET real!

Have you guys seen www.biddingtraveler.com? I needed a hotel in Seattle last week and tried it and it is very sophisticated. It calculated the bidding strategy for me and I just followed the directions. Plus, it doesn't have a mean-spirited administrator!

Oooh! Thanks for that link! I have a couple of trips coming up that I am hoping to use Priceline for and that will come in very handy!

Have to add that Sheryl has recently added a photo of herself (I assume) as her avatar on her posts...she's smiling in it; I wouldn't have thought she was capable of it.

first post for janeyzi.. but the website does look interesting.

Good catch that this was her first post, but you are right...the website is intriguing...I'll be interested to hear if anyone else has used it (and if I do, I will report back).

hey guys, I was wondering if i could get some help on this. I found an amazing deal on Priceline's Name you own price, but we have 2 kids traveling with us on this flight. Can we pick our seats right after we book the flight? Like, will we get a reservation number and be able to go on say Delta's website and pick our seat? Will we get bumped at the airport? I just dont want to be delayed on our trip or sitting in different seats than our kids. Please respond and thanks!

seems you could call delta? I don't understand how you have found a good deal on name your own price but haven't booked it yet? I think the deal is simply on Priceline.

I would call one of those two places and ask.

Most people on flights do prefer the parents to be sitting next to their kids and will make amends so you can in cases/when ( even having the BP ahead of time with selected seats) sometimes there are glitches or plane changes that make them unusable.

I've found that just by putting your bid as low as $1 get you super cheap flights you have to be prepared to leave whenever though so. I usually try to leave a day before I need to be anywhere because my flight could leave at either 6am or midnight which It has left at 10pm before.