Cheap hotel site?

[WishMom09]

Which site do you use to find the best deal on hotels (non Disney)?
We are planning a couple of weekend trips this summer...but there doesn't seem to be such thing as a cheap hotel anymore!!

 

[librarygal]

Priceline. Priceline. Priceline. We have saved hundreds using it. We just got back from Boston and got a 4 star hotel for $65. The hotel's rate was $150.

Hotwire also sometimes has some good deals.

 

[henri + katie's mum]

there doesn't seem to be such thing as a cheap hotel anymore!!

I was thinking the same thing. I figured that this year I could find a bargain, but the prices are outrageous! A decent hotel in a small city like Rochester, NY is about $120 - $130.

Priceline is good, but know that most rooms will only house 2 people! You are not gauranteed to get two beds. If it's just you and a partner, do your research and you should be able to find a good room at a great price!

 

[robinb]

Priceline. Priceline. Priceline. We have saved hundreds using it. We just got back from Boston and got a 4 star hotel for $65. The hotel's rate was $150.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Go to www.betterbidding.com for help on pricing and rebidding when using Priceline. My last winning bids $45 for a $99 hotel (Hyatt Lodge in Oakbrook IL) and $32 for an $89 hotel (Sheraton Suites in Elk Grove, IL). I'll be bidding again today for a hotel somewhere in the Chicagoland area for Saturday night. We're going to the Cubs game on Saturday and then my DD has a swim meet on Sunday afternoon.

 

[richmo]

I would agree that Priceline usually has the best deals. If you do go with them, as mentioned, check the betterbidding and/or biddingfortravel sites to see what people are paying and what hotels they're getting. If you're careful with locations and stars, you can get a pretty good idea of what you'll get.

If you're not into playing the Priceline game, look at the Orlando section in TravelZoo. Sometimes they come up with some excellent deals. Another place to look is BookIt -- I stayed at Regal Sun for $69 this spring using them. It also doesn't hurt to look at the traditional sites -- Expedia, Travelocity, etc. One final comment on BookIt -- they come up with some good deals, but you should read the fine print -- they have cancellation charges if you want to cancel or modify your ressie. Of course, if you do Priceline, you're really committed.

 

[vinnie73]

Priceline is the way to go. I started using this tactic about a year ago for booking hotel rooms and it has worked awesome in many different cities. You have to use the bidding portion of the website though to get the really good deals (the other portion of the Priceline website...which runs similar to Orbitz, travelocity, expedia, etc. won't give you the kind of savings you are looking for.) The deals for bidding through Priceline are really INCREDIBLE! I even got the Hyatt in MCO for a Saturday night coming up in June for $55 (that is with the tax!!) You have to use the website "Biddingfortravel.com" though to research what people are bidding for hotels in what cities and what offers are being accepted by Priceline. Once you have that info, you know what to bid to be successful.

Good luck and go get yourself an awesome hotel room and save some $$$.

 

[xmlguy]

I agree that Priceline is one of the best ways to get rooms at the lowest price.

I should mention that there are some areas where PriceLine doesn't work very well for getting good rooms at the lowest price, like Las Vegas or in areas with a limited supply of rooms and mostly fleabag hotels, such as in rural or small suburbs. Vegas is it's own special market that could fill a book about how accomodations work there, between comps, hotel vs. casino vs consolidators vs. public reservation block reservations. In the rural and suburb locations without much Priceline activity, I use the following alternatives:

Extended Stay Hotels
National Chain Discount Hotels-Motel 6, etc.
TravelAxe.com to compare all the major internet listings
Booking the cheapest I can find with a good cancel policy, then driving around upon arrival to survey the rates elsewhere nearby, if not for the first night then for the 2nd night forward.
Entertainment.com
AAA discounts/guide book
Travel guide books like Rick Steves

 

[pomlover]

Also, another thing is if you are going to use discount sites you should go for higher star ratings. They have more rooms for discounts as opposed to cheap motels where you might only save $10. A 4* you might be saving $100.

 

[toledo13]

We like hotwire, but if you're willing to take a gamble, priceline is good too!

 

[xmlguy]

Also, another thing is if you are going to use discount sites you should go for higher star ratings. They have more rooms for discounts as opposed to cheap motels where you might only save $10. A 4* you might be saving $100.

That depends entirely on the specific zones, not for bidding in general on Priceline. In Anaheim, for example, there's a better supply of good 1* Extended Stay hotels that are accepting bids from $25-$28/night. There are also 2.5* Residence Inns in the area that accept under $30 bids with free breakfast. They have free parking, full kitchens, and cheap wireless internet. The 3.5* often have $20 parking fees and/or resort fees, Internet Fees, PPV fees, room service fees, business center fees, telephone fees, expensive mini-bars, and overpriced restaurants. Your travel budget can go broke saving all that money on 3+ star in that zone. That's why I call them FEEbag hotels, because they try to hit you up for a fee at every opportunity.

 

[thomascaldwell1]

Apparently you guys are experts at this! I got frustrated a few days before Memorial Day as I had to re-route our trip (it was going to rain cats & dogs at the beach, and no one wants to take a vacation to play in the rain...) to Gatlinburg. I jumped on hotels.com and priced out some hotels thinking that should be a pretty good deal, but I decided to call the hotels direct (once I narrowed it down to 3 options) and with my AAA discount (or I could have used my father-in-law's AARP discount, or military discount), I got a better rate by $10-20/night than booking through hotels.com....

So, perhaps you should use one of these sites to get some info on the hotels, then try calling them direct to see if you can get a better deal? Just my procedure when booking hotels... Good Luck & Enjoy your time away!