Priceline
 

I have never used Priceline but I keep noting how widely it is used.

Please advise, is it a "last minute" service or can I try booking a hotel in London and Copenhagen say six months out ?

You can book early, and you can book late (all the way to the day of the stay). But in general, it's not a very good idea to book too far out for two reasons:

1. There is no refund. You should only book after you're very sure you'll be there.

2. Many hotels won't give inventories this early to Priceline, or the price they ask for won't be very good. As they're still hoping to sell those rooms at higher rate through other channels.

You should go to http://www.priceline.com/

select Help > Frequently Asked Questions


Or you can email them questions at
Help > Frequently Asked Questions > Contact Us.

If you have an accepted request you can contact Priceline Customer Service via phone.

When calling from the US or Canada: 1-800-PRICELINE (1-800-774-2354)

When calling from outside the US or Canada, please use a number below which is reflective of where you are calling from:

* Australia: 02 8223 9711
* France: 157 323 025
* Japan: 033 570 8726
* New Zealand: 099 200 062
* UK: 020 7136 8462
* Elsewhere from within Europe: + 44 20 7136 8462
Anywhere else: +1 212 444 0022

The websites www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com are the most helpful as people actually post winning bids there.

If you read all THEIR info and look up the bidding process posted by winners, it should all fall into place.

However, since it is all non-refundable, I would make a cancellable back-up reservation and do this closer to the date for priceline/hotwire.

Priceline is like baking a cake. Takes learning and practice to do it right. ((*))