I'm afraid of Priceline! (but want a good deal)
 

I was really getting daring and bidding for a room on Priceline. Then I read some of the reviews for 2 different 3* hotels and got nervous (one in Vancouver and one in Victoria). Both had very poor reviews. Now I'm chicken to use Priceline. In my opinion, they really do have the best deals. Am I being silly, or should I just go for it?

I'm not leaving until September, so have some time. Should I just keep trying for a 4* hotel at, say, $65?

Thanks. I've always had good luck with Priceline (several years ago). Not sure why the cold feet now!

The question that you have to ask yourself is: What is the worst hotel in a given zone and star rating and can I live with it? If the answer is no then I would not use Priceline. I only bid on four star hotels with Priceline.

I also usually only bid 4* on Priceline. But looking at recent bids on biddingfortravel.com, I'll say you have a very low chance of getting a 4* for $65. There are several successful bids for 3* Burnaby at that price, getting the Hilton Metrotown for your price range. You may want to try that.

And yes, if you find hotels on the winning list that you don't want to stay at, then you just cannot use that Priceline zone/level. No way around it.

IMO your real "problem" is with the reviews, and the quality of those reviews, NOT with Priceline.

Are you willing to pay less for a place and then find out the other reviewers were way off or stick with paying more ane never know for sure?

In September you stand a great chance of getting a 4 star at a good price. I have friends who got the Terminal City Club hotel in late September for $80. It was their first bid so who knows it could have been even cheaper. Stick to four star and downtown.

All good advice,and DO IT with 4 star.

Just a thought, as I just did Toronto Priceline. If you are USA citizen, doing Priceline and paying first from home, omits some of the GST taxes etc.

The day I paid for extra, NOT THROUGH Priceline, I was taxed an extra total of 17% with different GST and other taxes.

It adds up. BIG TIME. And I can't get a rebate on the GST taxes because I don't have enough of "over $50.00 individual purchase" category to do it.

It's another GREAT aspect of using Priceline that I never realized until now. I've used Priceline at least 50 times in the last 10 years. And I have NEVER been bummed out with the result.

Hotel reviews usually come from the fingers of someone who had an unsatisfactory experience, and not an "average experience". Consider the sources of hotel reviews before writing-off the business in question.

If I were you, I would totally EXPECT to be able to land a 4-star downtown Vancouver hotel (after Labour Day) in September for a base bid of $65 or so.

Those hotels are all pretty solid in downtown Vancouver (but of course a $20 per day parking charge is a distinct possibility)

Even in the past, where you had to wait 72 hours between identical Priceline bids, it would have been the right move to keep checking and bidding at the price YOU want to pay. Now, at 24-hour intervals, you should turn up there as often as possible until landing accommodations that suit you.

I don't know where you're from, but if you're from the U.S.... the neighborhoods and surroundings to hotels just can't be as terrible as the American counterparts.

I can't think of a spot in downtown Vancouver where there is a hotel that could turn up on Priceline, that I wouldn't be perfectly fine with staying in.

Keep plugging away... and stick with 4-stars this far out - why shouldn't you?