Bidding website for hotels
Feb 28th, 2005, 02:47 AM
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If you plan on using Priceline, make sure you read up on the whole thing at biddingfortravel.com and/or betterbidding.com. Make sure you've reviewed the list of possible hotels/areas for each city you're visiting and understand the concept of free rebids.
If you use luxurylink, make sure you know the retail value of what you bid on (people evidently tend to overbid) AND make sure you check availablility for your dates. You buy a package on luxurylink, but the hotel doesn't necessarily have to be available when you want to go.
If you use luxurylink, make sure you know the retail value of what you bid on (people evidently tend to overbid) AND make sure you check availablility for your dates. You buy a package on luxurylink, but the hotel doesn't necessarily have to be available when you want to go.
Feb 28th, 2005, 08:59 AM
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<<make sure you read up on the whole thing at biddingfortravel.com and/or betterbidding.com>>
I think that this cannot be emphasized enough. If you are inexperienced, allow yourself at least 45-90 minutes time for the homework you need to do, reading on biddingfortravel.com and doing the necessary self-education about what are the locations of likely hotels and what are the typical best prices (that you can get without priceline) associated with various locations. It takes a little while to get the idea of free rebidding, but it can be very worth your while to master. And don't underestimate the value of "non-free" rebidding (i.e., just wait the required three days). The biddingfortravel.com website will give you some idea what is the relevant time window (I think that 2-8 weeks is typical), and how patient you can or cannot afford to be.
While my only experiences with priceline so far have been for hotels in the US (I have traveled to Europe a lot, but never used priceline for hotels there so far) - - both good and bad (actually, three good for me, and one bad for our aughter because she got impatient and careless about fully understanding the location maps) - - this has really made a huge difference.
For what it's worth, one of my three good experiences with priceline was knowing when NOT to put my bid as high as they suggested, and graciously accepting their rejected bids. By following the info on bidingfortravel.com I had the confidence to realize that the $49 promotional price we had found on our own through proper "due diligence" was excellent - - and when the recommended lowest suggested bids ($19 for 2 star, $24 for 3-star, I think, for Durham NC in January) were rejected, we knew that it didn't make sense to go up significantly.
Remember that your priceline bid is not your final price (they will tell you what this is before you bid) - - that's why it didn't really make sense to raise my bid of $23 (which is really more like $33), for an unknown location - - when I already had $49 for a hotel I was happy with.
Thus, at the low end, priceline CAN be helpful to reassure you... to be satisfied that you HAVE found a good price (without them).
Best wishes,
Rex
I think that this cannot be emphasized enough. If you are inexperienced, allow yourself at least 45-90 minutes time for the homework you need to do, reading on biddingfortravel.com and doing the necessary self-education about what are the locations of likely hotels and what are the typical best prices (that you can get without priceline) associated with various locations. It takes a little while to get the idea of free rebidding, but it can be very worth your while to master. And don't underestimate the value of "non-free" rebidding (i.e., just wait the required three days). The biddingfortravel.com website will give you some idea what is the relevant time window (I think that 2-8 weeks is typical), and how patient you can or cannot afford to be.
While my only experiences with priceline so far have been for hotels in the US (I have traveled to Europe a lot, but never used priceline for hotels there so far) - - both good and bad (actually, three good for me, and one bad for our aughter because she got impatient and careless about fully understanding the location maps) - - this has really made a huge difference.
For what it's worth, one of my three good experiences with priceline was knowing when NOT to put my bid as high as they suggested, and graciously accepting their rejected bids. By following the info on bidingfortravel.com I had the confidence to realize that the $49 promotional price we had found on our own through proper "due diligence" was excellent - - and when the recommended lowest suggested bids ($19 for 2 star, $24 for 3-star, I think, for Durham NC in January) were rejected, we knew that it didn't make sense to go up significantly.
Remember that your priceline bid is not your final price (they will tell you what this is before you bid) - - that's why it didn't really make sense to raise my bid of $23 (which is really more like $33), for an unknown location - - when I already had $49 for a hotel I was happy with.
Thus, at the low end, priceline CAN be helpful to reassure you... to be satisfied that you HAVE found a good price (without them).
Best wishes,
Rex
Feb 28th, 2005, 06:50 PM
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Bringing your message back up "to the top" since you are (more or less) brand new here (how did I know that? Click on your own name - - a tip for finding any post you have ever made - - that Fodors fails to divulge to all new registrants, when they send you that confirmatory e-mail).
