Well, in my (not so humble) opinion people that use Priceline are just plain nuts. Let's see, you pay up front without knowing which hotel, what kind of room, and in what part of the city, and even if it is a flea bag dump you have no recourse and can NEVER get your money back. What is WRONG with this picture? Why would anyone do that when there are hundreds if not thousands of very nice, small, inexpensive hotels all over Europe, most of which can be booked via the Internet or FAX or e-mail? It makes no sense to me and it is only logical that anyone that books a hotel this way is JUST PLAIN NUTS!!!!!

Hey John I agree with you. Now, I wouldn't call them nuts, just not too bright. Priceline built itself on the fact that many people are not smart enough to search out the best deals and are willing to pay up front for unknown airline, flight time, routing, hotels, etc. Perhaps we can descibe those that use Priceline as "intelligence impaired" rather than your rather crude "nuts".<BR><BR>Caio

Right SPOT ON, John. <BR><BR>In addition, no cancellation or refund even if you should die before you go. <BR><BR>I'm troubled by its popularity and the possibilities that other travel outfits will follow USAirwau=ys and PriceLine.<BR><BR>(US Airways keep the money and voids your ticket if you miss your flight. Only one exception. For an extra $100 they will permit you to fly standby on the same day you originally planned to fly. If no space opens up, or the flight you miss is the last one of the day, you're out of luck.)<BR><BR>It's getting so that the only travel left to those of us without a private airplane is driving or walking.

Actually, SeeMore, US Air was the first to announce the new policy and now ALL the majors are doing the same. Cheap tickets are null and void if not used by the date and time of the flight. I don't have a big problem with that as long as I know it up front. I DO have a problem with buying something without at least knowing what I am getting beyond a flight. That would be like going to a cafe and asking for something to eat for $3.98 and then hoping like hell it is edible.

Au contraire, John! PL users are savvy enough to know that by going to www.biddingfortravel.com you can find out what hotels are offered at the star level for which you're bidding. PL offers many more hotels in the US than in Europe, so I'm more likely to use it here than there. I have stayed at a Sheraton in downtown Sacramento for $45/night for a double and a Hyatt in Monterey for $45/night for a double. Neither was a flea bag dump. Know of what you speak before you resort to name-calling, John of Harvard (supposedly).<BR><BR>By the way, I'm in no way connected with PL or BFT.

I've never used Priceline for Europe, but using it for hotels in the US definitely isn't nuts. I've stayed at the Hilton Times Square in New York City for $75, at the W Lakeshore in Chicago for $41, and the Sheraton Anchorage for $54. By the way, it's not always true that you don't know what part of the city you're bidding on -- in large cities like New York, Chicago, and Phoenix you bid for a specific region of the city -- and since you are also bidding based on the star level of the hotel, you can be pretty sure that if you're bidding for a 4-star hotel in the North Michigan Avenue section of Chicago you won't be in a "flea bag dump." Biddingfortravel.com can be very helpful since it has lists of hotels by city, region, and star level, along with successful bids.

Just a word on US Airways, their policy is not that bad, it is really just so you don't buy the cheaper and then not show up until the more expensive flight and then get it.<BR><BR>Last weekend a friend of mine had an early flight and on the way to the airport was involved in a minor fender-bender. Of course she was held up over an hour and missed her flight. She took a copy of the police report with her to check in and they put her on the next flight with no problems because she had a legitimate reason for missing the flight. <BR><BR>As for Priceline, people are nuts to use them. I actually bid on a ticket one time but my bid was not accepted. I called an airline directly and acutally got the ticket directly from them cheaper than my bid plus all the add-n fees together. I'll never think of Priceline again.

John,<BR><BR>Sorry to disagree with your humble opinion, but I consider myself particularly savvy for using Priceline. You are right, I could find a great deal using the internet for my trip to Europe this summer, but Priceline was GREAT when I needed a hotel room in Boston in July. My son was at a summer program and I was going to be picking him up to fly him home. First, I knew I was NOT going to be cancelling the trip because I had to bring him home! Second, the hotel rates in Boston were through the roof and we wanted to stay in downtown Boston to see the sights. I looked at biddingfortravel.com and saw which hotels were in which location and bid based on that. The best bargain on-line was $129/night. I got a Radisson hotel in the location that I wanted for $59/night. This same room would have cost me $170/night if I had booked directly with the hotel. So who's the nut here?

I've used priceline.com and priceline.co.uk about 10 times now: twice for fares to Europe, once for a hotel in DC, twice for hotels in England and Scotland and six times for rental cars in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and England.<BR><BR>I'm an experienced traveler. I've been to all of the 48 contiguous states. I've traveled to Europe 18 times since 1990. I know the best places to find the best fares and prices. I know the best time to buy plane tickets, and how to negotiate good rates on hotel rooms. And I use, on occasion, priceline.com. The biggest savings come on rental cars. I have literally save more than $1,500 in total with six rentals over the cheapest rental car rates I could find/negotiate outside of priceline. As for hotels, you do know what part of the city, because you choose what part of the city you want to stay in. You also choose a star rating. I always choose 4 star, so I'm always assured of a decent hotel.<BR><BR>I place ridiculously low bids, and they are accepted 75% of the time. I only use it for flights when I am extremely flexible, which is why I've only used it twice.<BR><BR>I also only use priceline when my plans are very firm, as I realize I could lose the money if my plans change. But it's a risk I'm willing to take at times because the savings are so great.<BR><BR>John, it's obvious that you have no connection to Harvard, because they would have taught you how to better formulate an argument.

Let's see, John. Your PhD equips you to say that Priceline users don't know what part of the city their hotel is in, even though that's demonstrably untrue. Would that be a PhD in logic or just a PhD in your dreams?

Logging in here with my humble MBA: I've used Priceline repeatedly to book visitors into hotels here in Chicago, and previous posters were correct. If you select a 4 star hotel in the North Michigan Avenue region, you are in a good hotel. Period. When I can book guests into the Fairmont or the Suissotel for less than $100 per night, I consider it well done.<BR>Also, if you know that there is one and only one airline servicing a particular airport, and you know the schedules, Priceline is the only way to go. When I fly to Eureka/Arcata, I know that I'm connecting through San Francisco, and I know that I'm on United. Have to be - nobody else goes there. So I set my price, pick my day, away I go for a lot less than United will ever sell them direct.<BR>Most graduate schools teach you to never generalize about anything unless you have a statistically significant sample to represent the entire population. Strongly doubt that John has that much information....

If you use it as Ann's comments suggest, you're nut not to use priceline, only if you're interested in saving a few bucks. If you got the money spend it elsewhere. We're leaving tomorrow, Austin to Frankfurt RT for $629 which we got through Priceline.com. The closest I've seen any other sites or paper specials is $650 for this particular period of time. Not a big saving, but some. Like any company out there, use with discretion, but I wouldn't overlook them if you want to save a little.

Hi John, Priceline's appeal must be to people whose idea of smart shopping is to buy a pig in a poke. Why would Priceline, or any other seller, fail to disclose the specifics of what they are selling? To save the buyer money? I think not. People who shell out money for something with no specific knowledge of what they will get are clearly foolish. But are they nuts? Not necessarily. Perhaps they lack whatever it takes to ferret out a genuine bargain of the type you and I prefer.

Harvard or not, Jocko and John clearly don't like to be confused with facts. While not as experienced with Priceline as the posters above, I've gotten similar deals and have been able to afford getaways which I could not previously work into my budget. This weekend, for example, I'm attending a party in Philadelphia because I got a room for $45. I know the hotel, the location, and the fact that the rack rate is three times that.

This is nut searched for months for a reasonably priced hotel in Amsterdam at Christmas. This best I could find in Amsterdam was $150 for our family of 4. Instead I booked a little place in Alkmaar (20 miles away) for $105. Then someone told me about Priceline.com. Now I'm staying in the Renaissance hotel (4 Stars) for $75.00 per night. True, I'll miss some of the charm of little hotels, but the price is too good to miss.

Could Harvard John possibly be a TROLL?

I use to be one of those "priceline is lame, etc". I JUST booked my 1st trip on priceline. I booked a direct rountrip flight from JFK to AMS for $299 (tax incl) on Delta. That SAME exact flight is on travlocity for $535. <BR><BR>The way I looked at it was, most flights that go to Europe leave in the evening, so my chances were greater to leave in the evening. But I was prepared to take an earlier flight, or 1 connection if I had to.<BR><BR>As for hotels, priceline ask you what zone in the city you want to stay. And they YOU choose the star level. I booked 3 nights in Downtown Toronto Courtyard Marriot for $30 a nite!!! that SAME room retailed for like $70! Priceline usually uses major hotel chains. As for booking hotels on your own, can you really believe the pictured you see of the hotels when you book on travelocity? <BR><BR>Priceline is for people who have flexibility and are willing to save a few bux. The savings can be tremendous.<BR><BR>I think priceline is making a believer out of me.

John, I don't give a damn if you think we're nuts to save tons of money using Priceline for hotels. Obviously you have the money to burn. Me - I would rather pay $83 (total with tax/fees) a night for the Renaissance in Amsterdam than the $195/night AAA rate - or about the same amount for a dump with a small bed. Because using biddingfortravel.com I knew I was very likely to get either the Renaissance, the Marriott, or the Radisson SAS when bidding for a 4-star hotel, I felt no fear bidding for Amsterdam on Priceline. Sure, I'll save only about $400 for my four nights in Amsterdam (almost as much as the cost of my plane ticket) - I must be out of my mind! I'm sure the king bed in my room will be insane, too!<BR><BR>Actually, I'm glad you are spreading the word to scare people away from Priceline - just means more available discount rooms for those of us who are savy enough to use it. That's right - Priceline is BAD! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY! <BR><BR>Andrew<BR>

I agree, partially, with the distinctions drawn re USAirways. However, if you show up on time with ticket in hand and play by every one of the rules, they can still refuse to seat you. Why? Oversell.<BR><BR>Yes they have to accomodate you on a later flight but they reneged on the deal by not letting you fly as per your schedule.<BR><BR>Now. When you can't make it on time for your flight, too damned bad for you if the rest of the flights are sold out (or yours was the last flight of the day). You don't go and you don't see your money. Too damned bad for you again.<BR><BR>USAirways wins on both deals.

Here are my recent savings on Priceline -- <BR><BR>Labor Day weekend in Montreal at the Crown Plaza -- 3 nights @ $67 USD/night vs. $210 USD/night rack rate, and I also ended up with a 2 bedroom suite, breakfast each morning, daily newspaper and a complimentary pass for the metro and buses.<BR><BR>Two nights at the Hyatt Harborside in Boston on Monday and Tuesday -- $38/night vs. $280/night rack rate. Have 4 other nights booked there for the rest of the year.<BR><BR>Three nights at the Intercontinental Barclay in NYC -- $110/night vs. $380/night.<BR><BR>Roundtrip airfare Boston to London over Thanksgiving -- $279 RT including taxes vs. $500 RT plus taxes at the time I booked (6 weeks ago). The current lowest airfare for the time I booked is now $400 RT plus taxes.<BR><BR>5 nights at the Disney World Dolphin, a 5 star resort hotel, at Epcot for $75/night vs. $379/night rack rate.<BR><BR>I was very confident about the hotels that I would get, based on the areas and star levels that I bid for, as I did my research through Biddingfortravel.com.<BR><BR>