I've never used Priceline.com before. Now I want to try it and would like to bid on a 4* hotel in Seattle. I know that I have to provide my credit card number in order to start the search. They say that if I do not get my bid, they won't charge my credit card. Well...obviously they should not... However, excuse my paranoia, did anybody have a bad experience with Priceline?

Thank you

Generally speaking, those that have bad experiences w/ Priceline are those who don't know how to use it or expect more than they promise.

I would not bid priceline until after you carefully read/study biddingfortravel.com. It gives you lists of probable hotel "wins", and even gives you bidding strategy.

There is nothing shady or underhanded about PL - but you have to understand its limitations.

if you are nervous about it after checking BFT, or if you need a specific place/property, then PL isn't for you.

I'm a huge fan of Priceline. As mentined above, however, you really must do your homework by studying the hotel FAQ's at BFT, along with recent bids, and shopping like the dickens through other resources so you know what the rates are for your dates - and it's also good to familiarize yourself with the Priceline hotels (on BFT or TripAdvisor.com)

For a first-timer, highly recommend submitting the Bidding Assistance Form on BFT - they offer expert assistance for you.

HOWEVER, though I've used Priceline all over (even London), we are going to Seattle next week and I booked a hotel directly. You'd probably want Downtown Seattle. Very few winning bids have been posted recently for 4* properties, and those have had very mixed reviews.

Priceline is much more useful in some cities than others...

Well, Priceline is no more or less liable to charge your credit card when they say they wouldn't than any other company you do business with on the web. If you win a bid, you get a "congratulations!" email with the name of the hotel. If you fail to win, you get a "Sorry, we could not find you a room at this time" and your credit card is not charged. If it is charged, it's just a mistake, which I've never heard of happening, ever.

I've used Priceline over a dozen times for myself and family/friends, and no one has ever been disappointed. As has been said, however, you should really take the time to learn how to use it if you want to avoid making a mistake and want to save money. Try to follow the bidding on BiddingForTravel.com and understand what people are doing. Above all, don't bid too high your first time - that's a rookie mistake.

Here's another tip: if bid for downtown Seattle, factor in about $25/night for parking if you will be parking a car there. Once when I got the Westin downtown I managed to park on the street just overnight for free, but you can't necessarily count on that. Parking, unless free anyway, is never included in a Priceline rate. Sometimes people will bid a different zone to avoid getting a hotel where parking is expensive for that reason.

Andrew

There are tons of Priceline experiences shared in these forums - mostly positive. Have you done a search?

I'll admit to not being any expert at all regarding Priceline, but I started a rather lengthy thread here a few months ago specifically about 4 star Priceline hotels in Seattle. You might want to search for that post.
I don't recall the specifics, but after studying Bidding for Travel, I had a pretty educted guess of which hotel I'd "probably" get and pretty much at what price, since I was going in July. I was getting special prices from the same hotel for about $20 or so more, but with no prepayment and the ability to cancel. Several experienced Priceline bidders admitted that the deals aren't so good for 4 stars in Seattle as they are in many other places.

After playing around a while, I decided to go another route, and I've booked Inn at Harbor Steps for a single night. I suspect I'm paying about $20 to $30 more than whatever hotel I would have gotten with Priceline, but for me -- I'm more comfortable doing so. If I even suspected I could have saved big time, I probably would have continued with the Priceline route.

I've never heard of a credit card being charged if your bid isn't accepted!

With Priceline, it's always important to find the best deal any other way before bidding. While you can save some money with Priceline, you are giving something up for that savings: freedom to pick a hotel and to cancel/change your reservation. (That's the main reason I often don't even bid on Priceline until just before a trip, because I know you can get good Priceline deals at the very last minute without having to worry so much about the non-changable thing.) But, to give up that freedom, I need to save a certain amount of money. I'm not going to book on Priceline if I can save only $5/night! Sometimes I can get a hotel 30-50% cheaper (or more!) with Priceline than I could any other way.

Andrew

Two other things to be aware of with Priceline bids:
(1) There is a Priceline service fee added to the room rate, in addition to taxes.
(2) If you are not flexible on the number of beds you need, Priceline is not a good option. It will be up to the hotel to decide whether to give you two beds.
Definitely have a look at the bidding for travel website.

I am a big fan of Priceline and have never had a problem of being charged by mistake. I've used Priceline for San Francisco, Chicago, Phoenix and New York and always been extremely happy with what I got for the price I paid. I've always gotten a room for half the price I would have paid through other channels. That being said, I am not using Priceline for my trip to New York this month as I need to have a room with 2 beds. Priceline has it's limitations and you just have to accept that. From previous posters' comments, I would say that Seattle is not a good Priceline city. Some are, some are not--another limitation. But if you do decide to use Priceline, definitely check the Biddingfortravel website. They helped me get a room in New York this time (through easyclick.com) even though I couldn't use Priceline or Hotwire.

I think that instead of saying Seattle is not a good city for Priceline, we should say instead that the downtown hotel zone is not good for Priceline. 4-star hotels are very expensive, in part because Seattle's hotels are expensive, and 3-star hotels in the "downtown" zone could be further outside of the core downtown than most visitors would hope for (e.g. Seattle Center, where I have gotten hotels twice with Priceline).

But other zones seem better. I'm going up there in a couple of weeks and have decided this time to try bidding for Lake Union. There are apparently some decent 2.5 star hotels like a Residence Inn, a Courtyard by Marriot, and a Silver Cloud that come up on Priceline. These aren't going to be in the prime downtown area, but they aren't far and considering the chepaer prices there, you might more than make up for the cost of parking downtown now and then with the much cheaper hotel price you pay.

Andrew

Unless you have a specific reason to stay in downtown Seattle, I'd suggest bidding Lake Union or Bellevue zones. Lake Union has some very good 2 and 1/2 star properties and Bellevue starts with 3* properties. You'll achieve significant savings with these two zones with hotels at their highest zone ratings. Don't go any lower than the highest star rating for any one zone - you don't have to.

As suggested, do your homework with biddingfortravel.com first and you'll come out OK.

Good luck!

The inquiry here, Andrew, is regarding a 4* hotel in Seattle, not a 2.5* hotel in Lake Union.

We booked a hotel in downtown Seattle directly for the upcoming week because we wanted a 4* downtown and Priceline did not seem like a good bet for the reasons you mentioned, and others.

I can think of a couple hundred reasons for specifically wanting DOWNTOWN Seattle. We all may have different tastes, but if I'm going there, I want to be able to pop out of my hotel early morning for a bit of a walk in a downtown area (call me crazy, but I like that). I want a choice of a few coffee or breakfast places in the neighborhood. Then back to my hotel to shower and change. Then sightsee the various places downtown. Then lunch, then back to the hotel. . .in the evening I love that huge choice of restaurants in Seattle within walking distance of my hotel. Don't ask me to get into my car and drive back to the suburbs after the drinks and wine. Well. . .maybe you get the idea. I personally hate going to a major tourist city like Seattle and having to "pack up for the day" to drive into town, look for parking and explore. It's nice to save some money, but not at the expense of enjoying a city the way I like to do -- right outside my hotel lobby.

Don't get your undies in a bunch, dkjbooks. Someone made the general comment that Seattle isn't a good Priceline city in general, and I was just disagreeing, pointing out that other zones besides downtown might be OK in Seattle.

Andrew

Patrick, I agree that downtown is the best location to stay in Seattle if price weren't a factor - but for many of us, it is. I stayed at the Westin once ($55 on Priceline, back in 2002 when things were slow) and I know exactly why it's a great location. But today, you're probably looking at perhaps $100+/night for a 4-star in downtown, even WITH Priceline. That's without tax or maybe $25/night extra for parking. That's simply not in everyone's budget.

Andrew

Check www.biddingfortravel.com for information and advice before bidding on Priceline. I have used Priceline for years and have never had a bad experience.

Thank you very much for your responses! I do need a downtown hotel as I have to be at a conference in Seattle in July (for one day only)at the Convention Center, and for some reason I need to stay as close to it as possible. Of course, I do not want to pay a lot for one night. I have checked that the Kings Inn is very close to the Convention Center. Is it a safe place to stay in for one night?

Andrew, I guess my point is that if I were on a strict budget, I'd opt for a one star or two star downtown, rather than looking for a more expensive place on priceline in the "suburbs". Location is worth even more than quality in that case -- to me.

I'm with Patrick all the way on this one. I am joining my husband on a business trip. We could stay at the company provided hotel in Redmond, but getting myself into the city and back every day seemed to be too time consuming and awkward, and we have restaurant reservations in the downtown area each evening.

If the Seattle area had a more efficient transit system, or even better resources on its website for figuring out how to use it, staying beyond downtown might be more practical.

Most of all, like Patrick, I want to wake up in the city and enjoy every minute of my visit there.

For sure, you can often stay in 4* properties at 3*, even 2*, prices with Priceline. But, everything depends on your destination, your dates, and what else may be going on.

I guess it's like (and yes this is an extreme variation) wanting to spend your vacation in New York City, but discovering that the hotels in Peoria were cheaper, so you go there instead. My destination is more important than the quality OR price of the hotel I stay in.