I just went on Priceline to bid for a hotel and it seems to me that once you give them your credit card number, you are obliged to take whatever hotel comes up. I know several people in Fodors have gotten get deals on Priceline, but what happens if they come up with a hotel where you might not want to stay?

You don't have any choice as to where Priceline makes a reservation for you. But, you do get to select the rating of the hotel, and you do get to select the area. Those are your only choices.

But, to get some idea of pricing and the hotels, check out www.biddingfortravel.com. Sheila, one of the administrators, will also help you formulate a bid.

You need to do your homework if you're going to use Priceline. I've had great success, and swear by it.

That is correct...if they accept your bid, you've bought the room, whether you like the hotel or not. You cannot specify a specific hotel, only the star rating and area. That's the risk you take with Priceline. Now, there is a good site called biddingfortravel.com where people post their winning (and sometimes losing) bids and what hotels they've gotten. They've pretty much sussed out the likely hotels one would get when bidding a certain star level in a certain area, so check it out for the city where you would like to bid...cuts down greatly on the uncertainty. In some cities you really can't go wrong, in others there may be a lemon in a zone that you might want to avoid, in which case you're probably better off booking elsewhere.

You are quite right Julie. ONce you give your credit card, you do not have a choice. That is what priceline is all about and how we are able to get such great deals. The above posters are correct. You are able to specify area of city and number of stars for hotel. I was thrilled with what I ended up with and will always try to get a room through Priceline. Do check out biddingfortravel and you will ahve a lot of your questions answered.

As other have said: yes, once you give Priceline your CC number, if they find a room at your bid price, you've bought it. No way to cancel or change it, whether you like the hotel or not. (The same goes for Hotwire.com by the way.)

BiddingForTravel.com is great. I've booked almost a dozen hotels with Priceline this year using BFT as my guide. Once you get the hang of Priceline, you can save a ton of money on hotels. But it does take some time to understand how to use it effectively. And of course, your travel plans must be firm.

Read the FAQ's on BiddingForTravel.com - they explain tons about how to use Priceline. The dozens of successful bids from other satisfied travelers there might convince you that Priceline is OK.

Andrew

As the others have emphasized, it is essential to do your homework. Shop all the web resources for your dates and the area you prefer. Study the FAQ's at biddingfortravel.com so that you know how to bid for best results. Biddingfortravel also lists Priceline hotels for various destinations, neighborhoods and star ratings, so you'll have an idea which hotels may "come up" if your bid is accepted. It is highly unlikely that you'll get a hotel "where you might not want to stay". Particularly when you re-check the rates for your dates through other booking resources (the hotel's website, other online booking sites, phoning the hotel directly). There have been times when I may have preferred to stay elsewhere, but surely not for the difference I'd have to pay!

and aren't I correct in assuming that once you've gotten a hotel and you've paid for it in advance as you have to do, that you can't change your mind or you lose the total payment? Like for example if your trip is cancelled, or your flight is delayed till the next day or whatever.

That's right, no refunds for any reason whatsoever.

Here's how I look at Priceline for hotels:

Many people, when they have a trip to a particular city - Seattle, Boston, San Diego, etc. - will look for a place to stay in the general area they want to be at the *best price*. They might want a decent hotel above the level of an Econo Lodge, if they can afford it, and they don't care if it's a Hilton, a Marriott, whatever as long as it's decent, near where they want to be, and cheap enough.

Priceline is great for this scenario. Using Priceline might even allow some people who would otherwise be staying in the suburbs at a Motel 6 to afford staying downtown.

Unless your plans are not firm (no refunds) or unless you need to be at a specific hotel (conference, whatever), or unless you are very particular about getting a specific hotel, Priceline is terrific for saving money on hotels.
Note that Priceline works great for last-minute bookings as well. I've booked Priceline hotels less than 24-hours before check-in in a few cases and still gotten great deals.

Andrew

I just called a bunch of downtown Minneapolis hotels for weekend after next. They were all booked or quoted $169 and up as their best rates. So I went to Pricline and got a Doubletree Suites for $70 per night. I had JUST called the Doubletree 15 minutes prior to my Priceline bid and was quoted $169 as the cheapest room! A deal with Priceline, I'd say.

Thank you everybody for the information. Now I understand how some people have gotten such great deals on Priceline. Certainly, if you don't really have a preference but want a great deal in a category, it's a good way to go.

Jen, first of all you need to use the internet more. I just brought up the Doubletree's website and got rates for weekend after next of $107. Now that may not be $70, but it sure is less than $169. And frankly I'd rather book a room at $107 and not pay till I get there and have until 6 PM day of arrival to cancel, than to risk getting sick, missing a flight, or any of a dozen things that could happen and lose my entire couple of hundred dollars that I had to pay up front with Priceline and not be able to get refunded should there be a problem. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I have a folder full of cancellations of hotels that I've had to do for one reason or another (I do a lot of traveling). I'd be pretty upset if I had to cancel and lost my entire stay's cost anyway.

(Can you folks who don't want to give email addresses at least give names besides "xxx" so we can address you in our replies???)

xxx: I understand your reluctance to book on Priceline if you fear you might not make the trip. One potential compromise is to book a backup (e.g. Doubletree at $107) that you can cancel until 4PM without penalty, then try Priceline at the last minute. You can often book the night before or even the day of travel (before 6PM in many cities) and still get a good deal. If you get a room via Priceline for $70 the night before you leave, then cancel your other reservation. If not, you've still got that $107/night deal.

$37 might not be a huge savings, though it depends how many nights you are staying, too (plus there's tax on top of that). Three nights saving $37/night and you've saved over $100 - is it worth it? Probably is to me if I've got non-cancel-able plane tickets and I'm 99.9% sure I'm taking that flight.

Andrew