Most people do not book Priceline reservations too far in advance. That is because Priceline fully charges your credit card at time of booking and that is "typically" non-refundable. If your plans should have to change due to work schedule or illness, you might have to forfeit the cost of the entire reservation.
Another factor would be the hotel chains releasing inventory to Priceline. If it is a high occupancy time, Priceline might not have the rooms to offer for bidding.
For either scenario, the best thing to do is first make a standard, cancellable reservation at a hotel you would be comfortable staying at, trying for the best discounts available to you (
AAA, AARP, "codes", etc). This way, there won't be as much intensity to getting a room through Priceline - you already have a room!
Keep checking the
Bidding For Travel website to check rates and availability.
Disclaimer -What others have bid and availabilty of rooms at a certain hotel are only informational. There is no guarantee that you will end up with the same rate at the same hotel as another bidder.
If your plans are pretty concrete, it is not too early to bid. Research what quality level/ hotel zone you wish to stay at and average winning bid. Try something about $5.00 under that for your first bid. If that doesn't work out, learn how to add free rebids by adding zones that do not contain your selected quality level.
Priceline bidding is not easy. But with a little work and patience, it can sometimes pay significant savings in your travel spending.
Good luck, Steve
