Hi everyone--

In the summer of 2003, my wife and I visited Hilton Head, SC. We bid for travel on priceline and stayed at the Mariott for $100/night. A great deal. We haven't bid for travel since then, and were wondering if there have been any improvements such as selecting the hotel to stay at, instead of just the categories of hotel, (i.e.- selecting the Westin instead of a 4 star resort); and whether the prices have remained consistent.

While we really enjoyed the Mariott, it appears the Westin is a nicer property. I'm not sure of the Westin locaiton so any insight there would help as well.

thank you!!

Mitch

Hi, can you tell me which Marriott you stayed at on Hilton Head, we are going in April and are staying at the Marriott Grande Ocean and were wondering if it is a nice property. I use Hotwire for Hotels so can't help at all with Priceline but I think it is still the same.

The whole premise of how priceline works is that they sell inventory that hotels can't otherwise expect to sell. Allowing you to choose your hotel doesn't fit with their business strategy, so no, when you bid you still can't choose a hotel.

There are plenty of places to find deals on hotels and you should search them before bidding on priceline anyway, so that you understand how much would be a good bid.

To research priceline bidding further, check out www.biddingfortravel.com

mcmckissic - I'm curious why you use hotwire for hotels instead of priceline? Is it because you can see the amenities beforehand? From my experience hotel rates are generally significantly lower on priceline than hotwire, with this amenities listing being the only advantage of hotwire. Oh - and you can also specify 4 to a room with hotwire. So, just curious if there's an advantage to hotwire that I'm not aware of.

We stayed at the Mariott Beach and Golf Club. It was a nice hotel and we couldn't beat the deal. I think if we had our preference we would have selected the Mariott where you are staying. I think your hotel is a little newer and has a better pool area.

What did you bid?

Hi, I just use Hotwire because I am not sure on Priceline how the bidding actually works or how much to bid, Hotwire just seems easier but I suppose to save more I should begin using Priceline. You are probably right I have just never tried it. I did use it once for a rental car and it worked out great. As far as the Marriott goes, we are doing one of those timeshare presentation tours and we got the three night deal for $289.00 (but we upgraded to a 2 bedroom so it was more). We are looking forward to it as I have not visited HH for at least 12 years...we have two girls, ages 3 and 1.