Priceline - Should I trust it?
Oct 10th, 2003, 12:35 PM
#22
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I agree that Priceline may not be a good fit. You can get some terrific deals with priceline, but you have to be willing to do a little reading about the process and see if the terms and conditions fit with what you want to do.
Oct 11th, 2003, 04:08 AM
#23
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Planning a trip for many people isn't the main problem here -- you can request up to 4 rooms in one PL bid, so the rooms will all be in the same hotel. In my experience, renting 3 rooms on PL would be cheaper than 2 rooms (e.g., ensuring that one will accommodate 4 people) any other way.
Oct 11th, 2003, 01:31 PM
#24
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Anonymous is absolutely right about getting 3 rooms cheaper on Priceline than you could get 2 rooms anywhere else. My family of 7 went to Florida this summer and we got 3 rooms at the airport Hyatt in Orlando cheaper than we could get 2 rooms through the Hyatt website or any of the Expedia-type places.
But I also agree that Priceline does not sound like your cup of tea. To use either Hotwire or Priceline you need to do some background work or you could end up regretting it.
But I also agree that Priceline does not sound like your cup of tea. To use either Hotwire or Priceline you need to do some background work or you could end up regretting it.
Oct 12th, 2003, 04:11 AM
#25
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Earlier in this thread, someone recommended not bidding below a 3* or 4*...if they meant that spec for SF, I can see it, I guess. But just for the edification of folks reading this post for P'line information, we have almost always bid at the 2.5* level and have never been disappointed (also, of course, have sometimes been upgraded by PL from there to a 3*). But Amerisuites, for instance, consistenly seem to come up as a 2.5* and we've found them always to be very comfortable and pleasant accommodations. 2* tends to land in spots like Fairfield Inns and Baymont (..or they have a new name?) Around here, our new motto is: If we don't go PL, we don't go!
Oct 12th, 2003, 05:08 AM
#26
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I agree, in many places you can get perfectly nice hotels for 2.5*. New York City is one of them! Because of the quirks of PL's star-rating system, some nice hotels get under-rated, perhaps because they don't have restaurants on the premises (not really important in a city with multiple restaurants on every block).
For instance, when I checked Biddingfortravel last summer, I found that the past 20 reports of 2.5* hotels won in Midtown East had won the Courtyard by Marriott on Third Ave, which I, too, won for $75 and was very satisfied wtih their staff and acommodations.
For instance, when I checked Biddingfortravel last summer, I found that the past 20 reports of 2.5* hotels won in Midtown East had won the Courtyard by Marriott on Third Ave, which I, too, won for $75 and was very satisfied wtih their staff and acommodations.
Oct 12th, 2003, 09:46 AM
#28
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If you bid 3* in San Francisco, I think you can be "upgraded" to Boutique, which is not really an upgrade in many cases, and you might end up with very small rooms. This only applies if Boutique is available in the zone you are bidding, though, so you could just avoid zones that include a Boutique level if you bid 3*. Otherwise, consider bidding 4* only.
In my experience in other cities, I have been perfectly happy with every hotel I've gotten through Priceline, including 1*, 2*, 2.5*, and 3*. Some of the rooms, though, would definitely only accommodate 2 people.
In my experience in other cities, I have been perfectly happy with every hotel I've gotten through Priceline, including 1*, 2*, 2.5*, and 3*. Some of the rooms, though, would definitely only accommodate 2 people.
