Priceline?..
 

I've been reading where some people have gotten hotel rates from Priceline? I've never used Priceline. How exactly does it work? Are you bidding against another or are you just quoting a price to a hotel(s) and see who'll meet your offer?

Thanks
Annie

Check out biddingfortravel.com
This is an excellent website with a wealth of information.
And, no, you are not bidding against others....you are bidding to see which hotel will accept your bid.
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Go to Priceline.com and read all the rules and guidelines. This is very important. Then go to www.biddingfortravel.com, which is a bulletin board where PL users report on their deals, sorted by area (or destination/origins for flights). Read the FAQ at Biddingfortravel, which will help you use the best strategy for bidding on Priceline. This is even more important.

It's basically a "blind auction" for hotel rooms (or flights, etc.) at a given quality level (one to five stars) in a given "zone" (several zones in larger cities, only one zone usually in smaller ones.) You tell PL when and where and at what level you want to stay, bid your amount, and if PL has access to hotel rooms that meet your criteria, and which the hotel will sell to PL, then you get the room for your bid. Your credit card is charged right then (PL adds a service charge and taxes for US hotels, your bid is for all-in charges for European hotels.) You don't get to pick the hotel, only the quality level and area. At Biddingfortravel you can see lists of hotels by zone that have been "hit" by PL users.

Biddingfortravel is an invaluable resource in helping PL bidders get the best deals. In our numerous PL bids, we have never spent more than 50% of the hotel's listed price (on their website); last weekend, for example, we stayed at a Hyatt in southern Calif. for $27 a night while the hotel's website quoted $169+ for the same room. In Alaska later this summer we're paying $47 for a room at a Sheraton listed at $199 on the website.

BE AWARE of their policies....
NO Cancellations and NO refunds---regardless of circumstances...Doctors note of clients illness or hospitalization carries no weight.
Read everything on Bidding for Travel web site..
Good luck---you can realy save a lot of money with Priceline and Hotwire.

I've saved a bunch of money with Priceline, but like others have mentioned, there are limitations. So make sure you read all the FAQs and guidelines before bidding to make sure the service will work for you.

I think I read somewhere that Priceline was instituting some sort of cancellation insurance available for about $5. So check their site in case you do have such an option, IMHO it would be a good investment.

Just used priceline for the 1st time. My 1st bid of $60 was accepted for the Marriott desert Springs resort. We stayed here 2 months ago for $180/nt. On Biddingfortravel you can see what bids have been accepted for the hotels you are interested in so you will have an idea of what to bid.

We use it alot and I dread going somewhere now where Priceline doesn't have availability, like my mother in laws!

Yes, BiddingforTravel is invaluable, and yes you need to have firm plans to make a bid because you are out the money otherwise.

We are taking our vacation to NYC using the Vacation option and four of us are flying to NYC from Omaha, staying six nights at the NY Hilton for $1550 including fees and taxes for flights and hotel. Less than $390 per person.

"On Biddingfortravel you can see what bids have been accepted for the hotels you are interested in so you will have an idea of what to bid"
What part on the biddingfortavel.com site can I see this information? Is it under the "Hotels" section

Thanks to all responses. Much appreciated.

Yes, you check in the hotels section, then you just find the heading for the area you are looking for.