We're headed for a wedding near DC next week - big family event. To make the trip even more worthwhile, we're staying in DC three days before. I booked a room back in January with Hotwire at the Omni Shoreham for $164/night. "Net Savy Rate" is currently $424/night (slightly lower than before). My niece, the bride, blocked rooms at a hotel across from the reception location for a ridiculously low rate. It's a long drive from NH, but rather than fly (driving you can bring everything you want and not deal with airports/airlines) and rent a car, we're staying in Philadelphia one night on the way down at the Hyatt Regency Penns Landing for $99/night with Hotwire (Hyatt.com rate $269). On the way home, we're staying at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City for $100/night with Priceline (Hyatt.com rate $299). Hotwire also had what I'm certain was the Hyatt for $136/night.

Biddingfortravel.com and Betterbidding.com are invaluable resources for using Priceline and Hotwire, especially for narrowing down the possibilities.

Booking does require significant time and attention, but it is well worth the effort. You really can stay at 4* properties for 2* prices (or less). (Note Priceline and Hotwire both play with those stars.)

And, we've always been treated very well at check-in. Last time we stayed at the Hyatt Penns Landing, we were given a terrific King Corner room.

I too have really good luck with both sites. Lately HotWire worked out even better..as I have health problems, I get very nervous about "no cancellations" Has any one tried the Insurance on the Priceline site?

I adore priceline and am luke warm on Hotwire. It sounds like I need to give them a closer look!

I love Priceline and doing the research pays. My 2 most recent wins are:
1) 4-star Il Lugano hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for $95/night (cheapest room on hotel site $159/night).
2) 4-star Renaissance Harborplace in Baltimore for $95/night (cheapest room on hotel site $359/night).

I've only used Hotwire once. Sounds like I also need to give it a 2nd look.

Wishing everyone great deals!

I haven't stayed at a non-PL/HW room for my US travel for several years. Really.

Most recent good deals I've had:

Sunday night before Memorial Day 2008 - Doubletree Charleston Historic District. Beautiful suite, location that can't be better. 3* PL $70 + tax/fees = ~$84.

Independence Day 2008. 7/4-7/6. Westin Time Square. 4* PL $152 + tax/fees = ~$182 per night.

I do love Priceline for large city hotels. My latest was last weekend, Toronto 4star Marriott for $81.00. I've never done Hotwire. Does it work the same way?

I have to join in on the "I love Hotwire and Priceline" chorus!

I just won the Westin Times Square on Hotwire for $199/night for 3 nights in New York in July - Pre-paid rate is $300/night. I'm seeing 3 or 4 shows, and I wanted to stay in Times Square at least once, and love Westin hotels.

I got the Wyndham Chicago in April for $80 - pre-paid rate was $220. Last September I got the Millennium Hilton for 2 nights in NYC for $135 on Priceline. Also have gotten the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the Chicago Omni, the Intercontinental in Chicago, and more.

I like Hotwire because if you use betterbidding.com and some other tricks, you can figure out what hotel you are getting before you pay. You can also request rooms for up to 4 people on hotwire. It's a little more expensive than priceline, but still a great deal.

I use PL more than HW when it comes to hotel stays; though more with HW for car rentals.

On my recent trip, I had to contact customer service of both companies. I have to say, the CS of HW wins hands down! Contacting them was easy (email address posted on every HW webpage), and reply was prompt and thorough. OTOH, it was a challenge to get thru to PL's CS. Their "contact us" webpage doesn't work, and when I called, the CS refused to give me a direct email address so that I could email them; instead only took down the info over the phone.

This was my one and only time having to contact either one's customer service. Though I have been favoring PL more in the past, I now prefer HW more.

It is really helpful to see postings like this one..esp for newbie Bidders like myself..I am still learning and appreciate all teh insights.
Esp about Customer Service..

I've had to contact Priceline customer service a few times and honestly, both were excellent experiences. In one case I emailed them to request a partial refund for a hotel stay where the room was really noisy and the front desk was not helpful; I got a full refund instead. In another case, my flight was canceled due to weather and I obviously could not use the hotel stay at the airport at my destination. I called Priceline, explained the situation, and all they asked for was my canceled flight number before giving me a full refund. I didn't have to make much of a case.

I've used Hotwire only once and it was fine. I was just trying to get the same hotel I'd already gotten for someone else with Priceline (which had been a few bucks cheaper). Didn't want to re-bid on Priceline and risk getting a different hotel.

Priceline seems to have cheaper prices on hotels in general in my experience but it is definitely more work than Hotwire. Both Hotwire and Priceline generally have a "no cancellations/changes" policy though, except in case of things like weather.

About the insurance - as with all travel insurance, you have to read everything and know the definitions of terms, what's included/excluded, and not make assumptions regarding "covered" events/situations.

The common concensus is that if Hotwire has rooms at a particular hotel, Priceline will have them also, but for less. However, it's easier to narrow down the Hotwire possibilities, with Betterbidding and by shopping the packages (if you have a good map and are familiar with the areas).

Over all the years, I've used both, all depending on where we're going. In the overall, I've gotten better rates with Priceline, but nicer hotels (and well worth a bit extra) with Hotwire.

I usually check Hotwire first, and book if there's something reasonable, rather than endure the bidding process with Priceline, especially if there are no appealing "recent winning bids" for our destination/dates on BB or BFT.

And, I've scored some really amazing deals. Best was the Marriott Marquis (Times Square) over New Year's for $100/night. I was tipped off early in the year on Biddingfortravel. I expected a small room near the ice machine. But, we were assigned an enormous corner room overlooking Times Square!

Also, Millennium Bailey's in London for $80, Waldorf Hilton in London for $100. Both with Priceline.

And, the Hilton Paris last September with Hotwire for $110/night. (Usually €330!)

I've also found some incredible packages with both.

And, I've always had excellent experiences, when necessary, with Customer Service for each.

I strongly encourage everyone who uses Priceline and Hotwire to post their results on BFT and BB each and every time - and bid through their links to support their sites. Those postings are invaluable to you and to others.

PS When we do fly, I try to use Hotwire, as after you've booked the room, car rentals are presented at ridiculously low prices! Or, after booking flight/hotel package.

I got the Hilton on 6th in NYC for $120/ night - on my first bid. I quickly cancelled my boutique hotel reservation and am loving the Hilton via Priceline (again).

What an amazing deal Starrs. Hope you're having a good weekend in the city.

Me too, I have not had good luck with PL lately but Hotwire has worked well for me in Seattle and Toronto..Seattle Hotel Vintage Plaza 124$...Toronto Intercontinental for 149$ I probably could have tried for a lower PL on Toronto, but sometimes I do not feel like bidding.

I love Priceline as well and have used them for years. Always had a fantastic rate at an excellent hotel eg Westin Back Bay in Boston $100. However, the one time I used Hotwire I needed a hotel close to the airport in Tucson. I decided to try Hotwire - that was a big mistake. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere and was miles from the Airport. The area by Tucson airport has dozens of hotels so don't know why that happened. So I am sticking with PL

With both Hotwire and Priceline you really have to pay attention to the zone(s) you pick. Look carefully at the map shown for your city of interest. If the "airport" zone is rather large and includes areas miles from the airport, assume you could get a hotel anywhere in the zone. Doing some research on BetterBidding.com and BiddingforTravel.com helps too but you can't rely on their hotel lists for 100% accuracy, as things change when hotels get added or zones change.