Question about Priceline.com
 

I need help with Priceline. I've never used Priceline.com but I know I've read some of y'alls posts where you get good deals. So help me out here. I need a room in Cleveland, TN. I have looked at the website and they have four 2-star hotels. They are priced at: $55, $64, $80, and $106. How much should I put in for a bid?

I don't want to bid so low that they don't accept my offer because I won't be able to bid again for 24 hours, but I want the best deal I can get!

I prefer looking at places like expedia.com where you know what the price is.

Also travelosity.com (spelling may be off) is another source.

What do you mean that you know what the price is?

You don't bid.

You go to their site and chose what you need.

I booked a cruise through them once, and they were great. No problems at all.

Unless priceline has changed you bid and have to wait to see if it is accepted.

You can do that at Priceline too, but I know you can do that bidding thing and get it cheaper. The four hotels listed are all okay. It tells who they are and what price you can pay if you book direct through them. But if you bid, you don't know which one you get until they accept.

If you went to Travelocity.com or Expedia.com, what are 2 star hotels going for? Is it fair to ask for a $30 room when most are priced at $75?

Is there an event in town that drives prices higher?

At my local Denny's is a book of coupons with hotels/motels as low as $29. I try to stay at higher end hotels, such as LaQuinta or Hampton Inn. The breakfast is free, and it is higher end than frozen pastries. I have found the beds better, with exception of the last stay- the guarantee made that night free.

I bid the same money, on priceline that a one star was listed for on travelocity.com
64 bucks for a four or five star.

It was immediatley accepted at a DoubleTree in Orlando.

The standard Double tree price for the room we got was 189 a night.

It worked good for me.

Once accepted your price bid is immediatly charged to you, and is not cancelable, so be sure.

I don't know, I'll check their site and see what they have. The EVENT is the kids moving back to the local university - LOL. We move my daughter back to school Sunday.

The hotels that were listed for the prices above were Douglas Inn and Suites, Winngate Inn, Holiday Inn, and Comfort Inn. So I know these are all decent places to stay.

Tamor.. DO NOT do Two-Star.. you will be disappointed...

Go to Hotwire.com... Seems much better than priceline.. and sometimes I have called the actual hotel and got a much better deal than going thru the moneysaver sites... without paying their fees...

Go at least 4 Star..

Leave some options open, if possible, so you can re-bid right away if your offer is declined. Like, select an optional day of travel or something.

If you can't do this, subtract 40-50% off the regular price and make your bid.

If you are selecting PEAK travel days, you might want to stick with 40% as your chances start to diminish at 50%.

I don't have a choice of 3 or 4 star. It's a small town with limited hotels. But like I said, the hotels are Winngate, Holiday Inn, etc.

My night is not optional either, because we're moving Tabitha back to college.

LR, the only option I can leave open is to change it to a 1 star and I do not want to do that because there is one hotel listed that I would NOT want to get stuck with after reading the reviews.

SO - what is the general consensus? What should I offer if I'm gonna play?

Tam, if the lowest available price is $55, and you bid $50, you are almost sure to get into that lowest price place. But you are not really saving much. So I wouldn't even bother. IF I was going to try it, based on the $55 price, I'd start my bidding at no more than $30.

On the other hand, is that $55 place really a good one to stay in???? I'd be worried at that price that the place is really a dive.

I think in this case, I'd be more inclined to check out one of the other places and see what kind of fixed deal I could get or else I'd call each hotel directly and see what they have to offer.

Actually it is decent, Margie. My ex-husband and his wife stayed there last spring when we went for a parent/student introductory weekend at her school. We stayed in a place that was the same price and it was not real desireable. I didn't complain because we were only staying one night but I would not stay there again! Her dad said this place has nice sized rooms and is very clean and well-kept. Not five star hotel amenities of course, but they said it was very decent for the price.

I was thinking along the same lines as what you said though. I was afraid if I bid close to $50 and got that one, I would be disappointed since I've never done this. I can actually reserve that one for $51.99 over the phone because they offer a university discount. I know that's a good price at a guaranteed rate, but I just thought I would play with this because I read of the good deals other folks get and wanted to see what I could do!

If you already know that one is an acceptable place, then I'd bid the $30 and see what they say :)

It depends upon how much tourism or events in that area. I can book a 4* hotel in Downtown Indy for $50 any weekend when nothing special is going on... like the Indy 500 or races. Even in Black Expo last year, I still booked one for $50 on a Friday night. The girls and I do this for fun sometimes. :)

In Columbus OH for Youth Congress in 05, I bid and paid $50 a night for a downtown 3 star... so for Cleveland I wouldn't go over that.

I tried to priceline last week for Gatilinburg/Pigeon Forge area and couldn't get a bid for $50 a night on 1-2 Stars... so I drove on down and got a room in person for $44 a night. I know that Sun-Thur they put their rates down low.

I think I would start out at $30 or so too... if it is too low, then wait until the next day, but with Cleveland, I wouldn't go over $50.

40% less than the normal rate given will almost always be accepted. I generally check the hotel's own website for prices and/or any special offers going on and then bid accordingly. I've always had very nice rooms. Amazingly nice at a great price.

I use Priceline for airline tickets also.

I've thought about airline tickets, but my concern is timing. I know you don't know what airline you will be flying but you don't have control over the time of flight either, do you?

No, if you are going to "name your own price" then you must be flexible in regards to the time of day/night that you fly. You can pick the dates though. And you don't have to fly "red eye" hours unless you just want to.

If I fly, I almost always book through the airline themselves.

You have better results if you have to cancel, as sometimes external sites like Travelocity and Hotwire don't do refunds.

And the airlines will match the rates many times. These sites buy blocks of reservations from hotels and so discount them accordingly..... plane tickets change sometimes many times in a day.

You're right. I have seen ticket prices change more than once in a day's time. Weird....

Well...

I've flown multiple times by "naming my own price" through Priceline and I've saved alot of money. I've also had SEVERAL flight cancellation issues and overbooking issues. They have always taken care of things and I have never had to spend the night in an airport or hotel. Even at Christmas time, when things were just nuts cancellation wise due to weather and then theres the holiday crowd besides...they put me on another flight and I got to my destination within 2 hours of my original arrival time.

I love Priceline...can't you tell? :D

That's cool though. And that's why I asked for help. I've never used it but I hear stories like these of people getting incredible deals and want a piece of that pie!

When I "Named my own Price" I always made it about half of any published fare/price. If it's lower than the acceptable amount they will most likely offer you the lowest acceptable price.

Gotta watch for departure/arrival times and number of connecting flights. OK for a single person with flexible schedule though.

I have not read but the first few posts on this thread but I am the Priceline king!!!!

I use it extensively and have been 98% very satisfied. Here are some critical things to know when using Priceline;

1. There are two ways to use Priceline. The website first just lists their supposedly good prices on flights, hotels ,etc. Secondly, and the much cheaper way, is to use their "name your own price" option where you bid on what you want.

2. When bidding for hotels you are bidding for the quality of hotel (one through four or five starts depending on availibility) and location (most towns are split into two to five or more geographic areas).

Once you bid for whichever star quality hotel you want and the area of the city if Priceline accepts your bid your credit card or check card is charged immeditaely and THERE ARE NO REFUNDS if you change your mind or your plans change.

I have stayed at many nice hotels bidding just two stars but the last three our four years the two starts have tended to be older properties that sometimes are hit and miss. If you bid for a 2 1/2 star hotel you cannot go wrong as they are always nice.

In July I stayed at a Radisson hotel in Austin, TX for about $45.00 per night thats rate on any of the travel sites was over $100 per night.

In March I stayed at a Holiday Inn Resort in Anaheim, CA near Disneyland for about $50.00 per night and the cheapest I could find that same room anywhere else was $120.00 per night.

Last summer I stayed two nights at the Thistle Kensington hotel in London for $58.00 per night for a $260.00 per night room!!!

Just remember you can only bid the exact same dates, location, quality of hotel, once every 24 hours if your bid is rejected. You can rebid again immediately if you change one of those though.

Anyone can PM me for additional info or ask on this thread.

CC1, Thanks for sharing... I have booked a few few rooms that way, and one flight.

On a side note: PLEASE, PLEASE start a thread recounting your near death/drowning while on your trip (in UK?) That was such a great story! I promise I won't laugh.... much.

PS I really am glad you didn't drown, but, I just remember the way you told the story had me in stitches.

My poor wife has heard that story so many times she has forbid me from telling it in front of her again!

I still miss my brand new camcorder that is resting at the bottom of that Scottish loch!! But at least I am alive.

can you post your credit card number?

I have 4752 5860 5548 0910 and it seems to not work!

:nah

:toofunny :toofunny :toofunny

LOL!!!

That's because you need the expiration date and the 3 digit code on the back of the card.

Here they are. Use them as you wish.

Exp. 06/09

Code-156

Have fun!