Priceline tricks
 

I just came across a website called biddingfortravel.com

http://p070.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding

They have message boards where people post their successes on priceline - they provide dates, * rating of hotel, name of the hotel they got and the history of prices that they bid.

They also have boards on rental cars and flights and a section for each that gives bidding tips....

I just booked 4 nights using Priceline, thought I did great but found out I could have done better!! Just thought I would share as I wish I had found this site a long time ago.

thanks for the reminder.

bft gets a lot of mention here on Fodors - basically every time someone asks about Priceline they are directed to bft for exactly the reasons you mention.

I've saved a bundle on PL using bft tips, espeically on hotels.

What 'tricks' did Priceline use? ((*))

Thanks for posting this. I have just created an account, where do I go for bidding on Hotels?

BiddingForTravel.com as mentioned above is an INFORMATIONAL site for Priceline.com users. Priceline is the actual "bidding" site. While you could just go directly to Priceline.com, to be an "informed" bidder you should first read a site like BiddingForTravel. On that site you find feedback from previous bidders in the same regions you might bid in, including lists of hotels others have received and how much their successful bids were. So then your bidding on Priceline.com isn't complete guesswork.

The biggest "trick" I found at BFT (years ago) was the "free rebid" for hotels. Basically, if an area has several bidding zones and you wish to stay in only ONE of them, you can add one of the other zones one at a time IF that zone has no hotels of the same quality level as your desired zone.

For example, here in Portland, only one zone, downtown, currently has 4-star hotels. If you bid on a 4-star downtown and fail, Priceline says that to bid again at a higher price, you must either add another zone, lower your quality level, or change your dates...or wait 24 hours to try again. BUT, you can just add one of the zones (like Beaverton) that have no 4-star hotels, KEEP the quality level at 4-star, raise your price, and bid again immediately at a higher price, knowing you won't get a 4-star in Beaverton because there ARE none. You have to be careful that you don't add another zone that does indeed 4-star hotels.

You can "test" each zone just as you start your first bid by choosing only one zone at a time and seeing what quality levels are offered. If you did this for Portland, you'd see that there are currently SEVEN free rebid zones for 4-star hotels in Portland and TWO for 3-star hotels(even more if you use "permutations", an advanced bidding strategy explained on BFT). For a 4-star in Portland, if your "maximum" bid price is $100, you could bid eight times, say $65, $70, $75, $80, $85, $90, $95, $100, adding one of the free rebid zones each bid until you succeed. Of course, bidding strategies with Priceline are also based on the regular available pricing on the days you bid.

Yep - the free rebid thing is great. I had good luck with that in San Diego. I wanted 4 star near the water. There are several inland zones with no 4 star hotels that participate with Priceline, so I was able to increase my bid by adding those zones. Ended up with the Marriot Coronado, which was great.

Any tips for newbies? Is there chance to get a good price fro hot seasons?

Confused some more. I just opened Hotels, Florida looked at the List of Hotels in this city and what have I seen? Some crummy choices! Am I doing something wrong?

The tip for newbies is to read the Hotels FAQ on BiddingForTravel since it answers many of the Priceline questions you might have.

Florida hotels - can you be more specific? There are several categories on BFT for different areas of Florida.

tips for newbies? yes - learn everything you can from biddingfortravel.com before even going to priceline.com

It seems like so much time to spend reading and if I will find this is not for me? Time well wasted?

All of us were Priceline newbies the first time and we all had to go through the process of reading BFT and other stuff before getting into it. It does take a little bit of time to understand how it works. I certainly think it was worth the time invested for me, given all the money I have saved on hotels and cars with Priceline. It's up to you whether you think that kind of savings is worth your time investment.

OK, thanks for the advice.

My tip for priceline newbies is to be sure you are following the "name your own price" path, as the site now more prominently features named hotels at set prices. However, "name your own price" is still available and offers the biggest savings.