Can anyone educate me on priceline?

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Looking to book a trip down south, and would like to try Priceline where you name your own price. I'm terrified that we will get a dump.

Looking in San Diego. 4 stars. It says the average prices is $245. What should I bid?

If I bid $ and they accept, I'm locked in right?

 

[kylie71]

Start low, put in 3 stars, for a rate like $245.00 start at $150.00, and go up $10.00 each time.
You cannot get a hotel/dump at 3 stars...

I've used it around Disneyland several times, and got the Hyatt for $45.00 a night, or the Red Lion for $70.00

Good Luck!

 

[kylie71]

Yes, you have to put your credit card # in, and your are "locked" in.

 

[LavenderPeach]

You should look at the site betterbidding.com. It will give you a lot of info about priceline (and hotwire) and you can look to see what hotels other people have won to get a good idea of what you can expect.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Thank you guys so much! I really, really appreciate your assistance!

 

[specialks]

Check out info at betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com. They show winning bids for hotel rooms and sometimes have some tips on how to bid.

 

[lcasa]

I just used betterbidding.com for help bidding on a Napa hotel - they were dead on based on what I got - the 3 star in Napa they said would be Embassy Suites was indeed that ( got it for 95, expedia had 199 rate!). Also interesting was they offered - after acceptance - to give me more nights at that rate. Don't know if they always do that, but could be handy if you're willing to move and nervous about what you'll get - try for 1 night, if happy, add more?

If you use betterbidding please post your result - that's what makes the site useful. They'd like you to use the link to priceline from their site - they must make something off of it to pay for the site. But it's not required - and didn't seem to affect bidding at all.

 

[SplashMo]

Someone told me 3 star $50.00 near DLR.. However I do not know how they told priceline the location. They said it does not always work. Sometimes they say no...

 

[c&m]

We used Priceline.com's Name Your Own Price in August this year. We were 2 weeks before our trip to DL/SD and we didn't have many options. SD hotels are always so expensive, esp when booking last minute. I used biddingfortravel.com, and it indicated the Marriott La Jolla was accepting bids in the area we were bidding on and for the 3* rating we selected, and going bids were accepted between $106 and $110. Got it for $108, which isn't bad since the hotel website rate was $200+.

We were really happy with the Marriott La Jolla, with the exception of parking. You have to be prepared to pay a high daily rate for parking for most (if not all) of the SD hotels on Priceline. The Marriott La Jolla's daily parking fee is $20 - hefty, I know. But everything else was great with the hotel, right down to FREE guest laundry on the 3rd floor.

So when you bid, keep in mind that you have to pay for parking on top of your rate, and maybe even a resort fee (in the case of the Sheraton Carlsbad).

 

[tinkcollector]

I have used Priceline Bidding a lot. I usually end up in a Hilton related hotel, Crowne Plaza or Red Lion. These are all very good hotels and I have never once been disappointed. But, here's what I want to throw in. If money is the issue you can do better with on-line shopping. Parking, taxes and resort fee's can really add up, and are not included in your bid price. So, if you are trying to do a budget vacation, I would shop on-line. For example, I checked several hotels today with a Nov. 2, check-in (I used the same date to be fair on all of them).
Fairfield $99.00
Park Vue Inn $96.00
Anaheim Marriot $189.00
Hilton Anaheim $199.00
This gives you an idea of what to bid for a comparable hotel.
However, for example if budget is your drive for Priceline. The Cortona Inn has a posted rate for Nov. 2 at $61.10, with tax that is $83.13. They do not charge a parking fee. I have stayed at all of the above mentioned hotels and I would compare the Cortona to the Park Vue, other than location. Well, there's my two cents. If I want to stay in a nice hotel for less I use Priceline, but if I am on a budget I on-line shop for my best deal.