what is priceline.com?
 

There seem to be some real bargains. Is it a last minute site? Why is everything so cheap?

what am I missing?

Priceline is allotted any number of hotel rooms, rental cars, etc., by hotels, car agencies, etc., which Priceline can then sell at a discount to the consumer.

Priceline gets a cut and the vendor sells a product...better than not selling the product at all at the more "regular" price.

This method also helps the vendor avoid (direct) anger from customers who rented the same space or item at the more regular price.

There are real bargains when you use the <i>Name your own price</i> system, and not their regular reservation system.

It is not a last minute site. It is cheap because you have to bid, and your bid, when accepted, is non-refundable. What you are missing is a great deal by not learning how to use it. It works. But you have to learn how to bid correctly. If you want to do that, study the instructions at biddingfortravel.com. ((*))

Hi J,

&gt;you have to learn how to bid correctly. If you want to do that, study the instructions at biddingfortravel.com.&lt;

Heed that warning.

((I))

What you are missing is that once you press enter your money is gone - you have paid for the hotel. It doesn;t matter if you're hit by a car and in the hospital - your money is gone (so I would assume you would want travel insurance if you use Priceline).

Also - you don;t know what hotel you're getting until AFTER you pay (so you can't pick exact location or specific amenities - just a general area and # of stars - by their definition - not yours.)

Finally - if a city is busy they won;t have much or any inventory to sell you - so it really works best when you're going to a city when it's not very busy.

Indeed, if you want &quot;exact location or specific amenities&quot;, then Priceline is not for you. But you can get a good idea of what is available, so you know what to expect. I have never been disappointed. ((*))

Priceline (the name your own price section) often has great deals for hotels but understand you get a room for two people and there are no refunds. London is a terrific city to use priceline, if the terms work for you. Study www.biddingfortravel.com closely and then re-study it again before bidding.

I've had a couple of friends who went on PL without doing their homework, bid on a flight or hotel and were very surprised.

- the flight won had either multiple stops and one very long layover. they assumed it would be a non-stop flight from a to b.

- the hotel was not 'downtown', at least not by their definition. For that city (I forget which one) PL's definition of downtown stretched about 10mi into the suburbs, not walking distance to the central/historic district.

If you know what you're getting into and that's ok, then PL is great. I use it frequently for hotels when I'm traveling alone. I never use it for flights, as I like to know exactly which flights I'm choosing.