? about Priceline, book early or last minute?
 

What strategy do you think gets you the best price with Priceline? To book way in advance or at the last minute? Or does it matter? Want to go to Santa MOnica in June for one night and wondering if we should book now or just wait and take our chances. Any advice on this?

Hello Heavens,

You should begin at this website:
biddingfortravel.com
Once you register (easy, no money) you have access to just about any question/answer you might have regarding Priceline (including your question of how far in advance to book).

Happy travels!

Heavens, there's no way of knowing. Some of the best deals can only be obtained well in advance and others can only be obtained at the last minute. There's no way to tell for sure, although there might be patterns in some areas.

Also check out http://www.betterbidding.com .

I tend to always try Priceline early, especially if I know the dates are firm and won't be changed other than an emergency at the last moment.

But, that said, there really is know way to tell about Priceline rooms. Bid low early and if you are lucky great! Then if the bidding goes nowhere I wait until closer to that time. You can repeatedly bid every three days for hotel rooms.

If the area tends to be fairly busy during that time of year, I think bidding early is a reasonable thing to do, if it tends to be the low season then bidding closer to your dates is more advantageous.

Some cities, don't work at all that way, especially Las Vegas. Those rooms are almost always cheaper within 5-15 days of arrival on Priceline.

Good luck! and yes, check out Biddingfortravel.com and look for Santa Monica posts, recent and last year's for possible patterns.

I bidded closer to my vacation dates. Like 2-3 weeks before. I guess it depends. We got a good rate.