Would some of you please share your experiences using priceline.com in terms of reservations for lodging, for example? When you ask for a 3-star hotel, what, for example do they use for you? Do you find that priceline is reliable and responsible? Have never used it and am contemplating it. Thank you very much.

.

Coz,
I recommend that you read the FAQ at http://pub4.ezboard.com/bpricelinean...iabidding.html and then read through some of the NY bids that have been successful. You'll see what hotels Priceline considers 3* and get a feel for the range of prices that have been successful.

There are some really important points about bidding through Priceline that you need to know. For example, you are only guaranteed a room with one bed. If you have 3 or more people in your party you may decide to not chance it through Priceline, or you may want to consider bidding for 2 rooms. Also, know that your credit card is charged immediately, and that you can't cancel your reservation and get a refund. Only bid if the travel dates are written in stone and you won't be changing your mind.

Good luck! I'm staying at a hotel I got through Priceline this weekend - my first success!

I have had nothing but good experiences using Priceline.com, and they've always been considerably cheaper than the alternative. Granted, I've only used them for air travel, but I got the following deals:

$150 Indpls - Seattle
$345 Chicago - Frankfurt, Germany
$225 Chicago - Glasgow, Scotland

They were very helpful when I had to change my reservation mid-trip, also.

Good luck!

I have used Priceline once--to book a room in NYC for 4th of July. I was able to stay at a 4-star hotel (The Inter-Continetal) for $125/night. I have read that others have also gotten very good rates. As the poster above explained, you take a risk, for there are no refunds. Also, you pay for the room immedatiately, so savings may be lost if the bill sits on a credit card for any period of time.

I strongly second the advice Lori gave to check out that web site, and not just the NYC section. I used Priceline a couple of months ago to bid on a hotel in Philadelphia, and saved a lot of money. I learned a lot from reading that board first.
The thing that's great about it is that it's a place for Priceline users (and the merely curious) to ask questions and get bidding advice, and to share their bidding experiences (meaning, people post their successful - and unsuccessful - bids.) It has an excellent FAQ about bidding for hotels, and also can lead you to special offers that are available only when you enter Priceline through a special URL. (For example, they just posted a notice that there's currently a Priceline bonus that adds $25 to the value of your hotel bid - and gives the URL you need to use to access it.)
Take a look - it's an excellent orientation on Priceline, and an inspired use of the 'Net.