Priceline???

[busy mom]

My daughter is trying to book a last minute trip using Priceline and the prices just seem too good to be true.

While I know that Priceline is a reputable site, I am still a little nervous about it...can anyone share first hand experience and or tips with booking travel (air, car) this way?

 

[danceintherain]

We used Priceline for a car rental and hotel stay in August, and the hotel especially was definitely discounted.

The main thing about booking through Priceline is to make sure to read the fine print. They can get you some really great deals, but usually you can't get a refund if you cancel. Also, you want to make sure you know what you're getting. For example, Priceline only guarantees double occupancy for their Name Your Own Price option hotels.
I'm sure they have similar rules with airfare.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

I've used it twice for car rental and twice for hotels.

The car rental was great. You are guaranteed one of the major brands- I bid about $11 per day and ended up with Hertz both times. This was about half price from the online price on the rental websites.

Hotels were also good. Here's how I did it for Orlando. I chose the area in Orlando I wanted, and they showed me the names of hotels I maight get. Then I researched the hotels to make sure they weren't gross. Then I bid $50 and they matched me up with a GREAT hotel in the Downtown Disney area. Way nicer that the Disney values and the shuttle to the parks was awesome!!
The other time I used Priceline I chose that I wanted a 4 star hotel and then read up on the hotels to make sure i'd be happy. Once again, I bid and got quite the nice deal

 

[Huff]

I've used Priceline for hotels many times. Always a great deal. Use biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com to do your research on. They list the recent deals people have gotten for a given area. That allows you to know which hotel(s) you may get and what others bid for it. Theres also sections for cars and airfare as well.

As previously stated Priceline maynot be a good idea for parties greater than 2 since you could end up with a king bed. For parties over 2 you may try the deals on Hotwire. You'll know the price, star level and amenities but not the exact hotel. Usually you can save quite a bit. The above websites help with Hotwire as well.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I have used Priceline for hotels about 10 times, in large major cities. NYC, Philly, Chicago, Baltimore, Raleigh NC, Wash DC, etc. GREAT DEALS, when you bid. I bid only on 4* if they are available, and get them for $65-99 night, usually.

I have used for car rentals with no issues a couple of times.

I have not used it for flights, because I think you could get stuck with 2 layovers? Or very very long layovers? Scares me to deal with that. (I am fine with one layover, up to 4 hours, but that's my limit).

 

[RadioFanatic]

I'm actually laying in bed right now in a 3.5 star hotel in NYC that I paid $118, tax etc inc. that is very nice. I use it all the time and have had only one place I didn't like. Key is to stay at 3.5 stars and up.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I have used priceline for hotel, rental car and airfare and found it to be great. No problems at all and paid a lot less than if I had bought it directly.
Layovers have usually been the normal 2 to 2.5 hours. The flight priceline gives you is for a flight that the airline has already determined the layover time. Its not like Priceline will put you on one flight out of your hometown airport to a connecting city and then put you on a flight leaving your connecting city hours later - the flight is already predetermined by the airline. Airlines can not give a person more than a 3.5 hour layover - its the law & I know because my husband a pilot.


as long as you are okay with the fact it is a non refundable/non changeable transaction then go for it!

 

[mieuxmew]

A possible negative using Hotwire or Priceline - Some hotels treat PL an HW customers as 2nd rate, meaning if the hotel has a small room near a noisy elevator and a view of the dumpster it will be given to the PL or HW customer.

I have used both PL and HW many times with only 1 problem. I arrived at a 4* beach front property and was informed there was no room available, as the hotel had to take some rooms out of service! They offered to refund our money and put us in a no name small non-beach front hotel. Not what I wanted to hear after driving 13 hours with my 2 kids. It took MANY phone calls to Hotwire and a month and a half to get our money refunded. I asked the hotel why we weren't notified in advance of the problem and they said we were Hotwire customers and hotel had no way of reaching us.

I will still use them, but only for a one night trip where I truly don't care where I stay or what kind of room they throw at me.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

......Airlines can not give a person more than a 3.5 hour layover - its the law & I know because my husband a pilot.....

This is news to me - I've had layovers longer than this and I believe this is untrue. Please provide a source for this statement (not just that your husband says so).

 

[wiigirl]

I have used priceline several times for hotels and really had no issues. A few times the rooms were on the first floor or next to something busy, but really not bad for the price.

 

[PatMcDuck]

This is news to me - I've had layovers longer than this and I believe this is untrue. Please provide a source for this statement (not just that your husband says so).

I thought the same thing! I had 4 1/2 hour layover in Denver last year, coming home from John Wayne (DL trip) to Philadelphia, on Southwest.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Priceline is the only way I book rental cars. They guarantee you a major company and I can always bid below what any discount website is offering. Before you big, go to kayak or something and find the lowest price they're offering for your type of car, then bid lower on Priceline. The closer you get to your trip, the lower the bid they'll accept. I've gotten cars for < $10 per day when booking a couple days before leaving.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We have used Priceline for car rental 2 times. Both times we didn't do the bid your own price thing where you don't know what company you are getting and you have to pay for it in advance. I used the search function on the Priceline site and searched for car rentals and the prices and companies came up where you can choose what company you use. I chose Advantage rental out of MCO and got a full size car for $13 a day plus taxes and fees. We have been happy using Advantage and one benefit to using them is they are the very first rental counter you come to when you get to the lower level of terminal A at MCO. Their refill gas prices they offer for you to refill the tank upon your return were almost $1 a gallon cheaper than the local gas prices. They weren't pushy about us accepting their insurance or upgrades.

 

[sweetdana]

I have used it for cars 2-3 times and hotels prolly 1/2 doz + times ALL great experiences.!!!!!! The only thing I would be afraid of is air, as I will only fy direct, and they allow up to 1 stop.. I wish they had a non stop option I would be all over it.

 

[RedsDrew]

I've used Priceline many times. I've always gotten at least good rates, and more often have gotten amazing rates. That being said, in addition to the other circumstances that have been mentioned here such as king beds and poor room locations, I encountered one bad circumstance.

I booked a room through Priceline for a 3-night stay in Savannah, GA once that got me a great rate. However, the fine print indicated the hotel where I was staying had the right to charge me resort fees, parking fees, etc even if I chose not to park my vehicle with that hotel. I ended up oweing more per night in resort fees ($30.00 per night), parking fees ($35.00 per night), and taxes on those fees at an inflated tourism rate than I did in nightly room charges. My bill was more than double what I expected off of the room rate. The charges alone were $65.00 plus each night!

Moral of the story: it's a safe site to use imo, but make sure you read the fine print and if you know the name of the hotel ahead of time, call to check ancillary fees. Also, budget more money than you anticipate in case you do get charged nominal (which aren't really that nominal) charges.

 

[mollymar]

This is news to me - I've had layovers longer than this and I believe this is untrue. Please provide a source for this statement (not just that your husband says so).

You are correct. It is not true. I also work for an airline. There are laws about airlines leaving passengers stranded on planes on the tarmac or at the gate without being allowed off. There are no laws about layovers between flights. Some cities only have one flight a day or multiple flights a week, especially Internationally.

 

[redbirdgrad]

FYI - Advantage Rent a Car is now offsite in Orlando - you have to shuttle to their location.

 

[NotUrsula]

The trick w/ Priceline in re: flights is that flight timing can be an issue.

Essentially, it is only truly feasible if you are willing to go in with the understanding that you cannot plan on doing anything else on your flight days except traveling. It is not at all uncommon to arrive at your destination on the final flight of the day (which may actually arrive in the wee hours of the following morning), and need to catch the first flight out on your return day. The upshot of that is that it works pretty well for longer trips or situations where you MUST travel on short notice, but it really isn't a great idea for any trip of less than 3 days' duration.

I've told people before that it is a good choice if you need to get to a funeral, but only if the funeral is at least 2 days after the day that you buy your ticket -- cut the timing any closer and you might get there after the funeral is over.

 

[texasroni75]

We used Priceline in August to book a hotel stay for a week while visiting family out of state. The price for a week was the same as other hotels were charging for just 2 nights! So, the price was great - but - I have to say the hotel was less than stellar and if it wasn't nonrefundable I probably would have cancelled it and gone elsewhere upon arrival. So check reviews carefully before booking!!

 

[set1208]

I'm actually laying in bed right now in a 3.5 star hotel in NYC that I paid $118, tax etc inc. that is very nice. I use it all the time and have had only one place I didn't like. Key is to stay at 3.5 stars and up.

We use Priceline about once a month for hotels and I will never stay in a hotel and pay full price again. We are always happy with 2.5 star and up and typically win bids for about $60-70. The 2.5's are always very comfortable and clean and often offer free breakfast. The 3.5's are very nice and my husband and i like them when we travel alone but we travel with our kids a lot and have found that the higher star hotels don't offer free breakfast.

This winter my husband got stuck in bad weather with our daughter on the way home from the airport so I went online quickly and got him a room. Because of the heavy snow, he couldn't get to the hotel. I called Priceline and explained the situation and we were refunded.

The front desk clerks are often amazed at how much of a discount we are able to get.