Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Using PriceLine to Bid for Hotel- success stories& help

And yeah, the only thing I never touched upon is how laughable are those who use and adore Priceline and then grumble that the hotel treated them like "Priceline scum".

It's OK to beeeeeeeeeee Priceline scum when you're looking at your 40-70% savings from the rack rate, in some Priceline situations. In all honesty, while I might not have had the room with the best view when the places were full, I've never had an instance of being truly mistreated for my having booked through Priceline.

I look at Priceline as a means through which the more expensive hotels have a legitimate shot at (your dad) when he would cart the family into various towns on vacation, and then have everybody search for the red "Vacancy" sign late at night. And that's fine (for all sides).

(*** Dad really wasn't going to pay anymore than he typically did - he was just likely to land in better digs for his hotel dollar)

and Millie:

With a window of "7 nights" you may (because you offer them 7 "room nights" {vs. Priceline's more typical night or three} find them more inclined to accept your bid), or you may find your {week-long} bids repeatedly stuck/rejected because of one particular date among your 7 where all rooms are full (and nobody has anything left to give Priceline).

It is very easy to break-up your stay across two hotels, perhaps checking out of one on the morning of a day when some big shindig is scheduled nearby to that one... and into another hotel a way down the street (perhaps for the remainder of your stay, or perhaps just for the one or two challenging nights).

Have to admit that such a picture looks better to those who know what they're doing and who are very familiar with the Priceline layout.

As for the immediate future, because you ARE wanting to bid for a full 7 days, your business might be enough of a plum to find a place accepting you for 7 days so far in advance. But by all means, toward that end, start LOW and just inch-up your bids.

I just now looked at the Priceline website, to see the various "zones" offered there.

Let me say that the first operation anybody should DO upon going to Priceline with serious interest in getting a room now/today (for a future stay, I mean) is to list ALL of the zones in the town/city of interest. THEN, you go ONE-by-one through them, as if you were ONLY going to stay in THAT zone. Write down the HIGHEST hotel class for each zone remembering to UN-CLICK the previous zone, so you get a clear read!!!!!!

In NYC as of right NOW... zones #8 and #13 do not have 4-star hotels contained within them. That means they are "free-rebid zones" for persons trying for 4-star hotels in any other zone. (definition: Because Priceline requires that you change something about your original bid before bidding again, you would then add this impossible zone, which would not affect your original bid at all - they can't give you a 4-star hotel when none exists in zone #8)

(for the most part, that isn't a comfort relative to other cities, which tend to have many MORE free-rebid zones. However, perhaps NYC has more areas in which you would consent to STAY - which partly makes up for it )

(Then it is very wise to familiarize yourself with the "rack rate" among LOTS of the hotels in your targeted area - if, for example, some spot is having a giant special of $150 a night that week, YOU certainly don't want to pay $180 a night and the Priceline fees)

So, for further example, IF in New York I would consent to stay most anywhere in zones #2, #11, #12, or #16, I guess I'd list those in my head in order of preference (maybe 16-2-12-11), then I would add the aforementioned "free-rebid zones" (#8 and #13).

Maybe with my $180 (dream??), I might start this far in advance bidding $150 (base rate) for 7 nights as my very first bid, then maybe boost up the bid $5 worth while adding my 2nd choice zone, my 3rd choice zone, my 4th choice zone, then my first free-rebid zone and then my second free-rebid zone.

IF my wishes were heavily centered on staying in ONE particular zone, then I'd alter the order in which I did my bidding, using the free-rebid zones before my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th preference zones. Not that it would make that must difference as decribed, but maybe.

Hopefully though, your NYC lodging needs are flexible, and afford you a vast swath of real estate from which you might pluck a 4-star hotel at an affordable price.

Hope this helps paint a clearer picture.

PS - Oh yeah, I never even THOUGHT about the could-be added convenience to relocating yourselves mid-week, for the specific purpose of placing yourself nearer to new and different attractions (perhaps having a positive impact on your transportation budget in the process). And yeah, I know it is "traditional" to drop your bags and accumulate all of your souvenirs in one room, for a week.

Good luck