There are so many websites available online now that give us the option to get the best possible deal on hotels in places all over the world. Perhaps the best of these websites is Priceline.com, but there are some quick tips you can follow to get the best possible deal using this website.
Priceline allows you two options when searching for hotels and these are:
1) Hotel search - This will search for hotels in the area you want to stay and give you a list of available hotels and prices.
2) Name your own price - This is where you can save some serious money as you name your price for a hotel giving you a great discount.
With the normal hotel search a list of specific hotels is displayed and you can select your hotel and price which is presented. This allows you to pick which hotel you want and then book it online via Priceline. This is a similar option used by other websites such as Travelocity and Expedia.
Name your own price is a bit different as you select a hotel class, such as 4 star, in a certain zone of the city you want to stay in. You won't know the hotel until your bid is accepted. You will just know the hotel star class and zone and if you follow these guidelines then you will always get a high class hotel in the area you want.
The most important thing you need to know when bidding is what hotels are in each zone and the star class of each hotel. By using another website such as biddingfortravel.com you can get a list of hotels in each city and the star class for each hotel.
This website will show you something like:
City A
Zone 1:
4 Star
Hotel Uno
Hotel Dos
3 Star
Hotel Four
Hotel Five
Zone 2:
2 Star
Hotel Six
Notice that the website lists two zones and in each zone it lists all possible classes of hotels with the hotel name (substitute uno, dos, with a real hotel name). In Zone 2 above we only see a 2 star hotel listed, which means there is no other class of hotel available in that zone. This is the information you can use when making your bid on Priceline.
You select the "Name Your Own Price" option in Priceline, enter the city and then select the zone you want to stay in. There will be a map to show you where the hotels are located. Then select the hotel class, but only select 4 star.
For your bid amount there are 2 things you can do:
1) Enter a price that is close to 40-50% of the normal website price (Typically $55 is a good starting price)
2) Check biddingfortravel.com and see what bids values were recently accepted on Priceline. (Users will post successful bids)
Enter your bid value and then all information such as guest name and billing information, then go ahead and process your request.
If your bid is accepted you will get a message that then tells you that you were successful and the hotel name with your hotel confirmation. If your bid is not successful it will ask you to change something such as star class, zone, or date before you can enter a new bid again immediately. If you don't change anything except price then you'll need to wait 24 hours for another bid to be allowed.
However, you can change the hotel zone and increase your bid by $5 and try again. You might be thinking "Why would I enter another zone when I want to stay in this area of the city?". Well this is where biddingfortravel.com comes in handy.
Increase your bid $5, but keep the star class at 4 stars, but then check the hotel listings on biddingfortravel and which class hotels are in each zone. Select a zone that does *not* have 4 star hotels, preferably only 2 star hotels. You have made a change, increased your price, but will still only get a 4 star hotel in the area you want. After all, its not possible to get a 4 star hotel when there are only 2 star hotels in the other area or zone. So you're essentially getting an extra bid right away and you're not really changing anything or settling for a lower class of hotel or different area.
If you continually try and the bids are rejected there are a few things you need to consider:
1) Are you trying to book during a holiday? Holidays are typically harder to get lower prices on Priceline.
2) Is your bid extremely low? Are you trying to get a $400 hotel for $25? This just won't work!
3) Are there only a few hotels in that area? With a few hotels its sometimes harder to get a good deal.
If you need to you can then do the same thing with a 3 star hotel class and still get a great hotel for a great price. However, there is one important thing you need to keep in mind. Hotels sometimes change their star ratings and new hotels are sometimes built in zones and not listed in biddingfortravel.com. Do a little research before making your bid so that you don't end up in the wrong zone thinking there were no 4 star hotels there.
With these tips you are sure to be successful in bidding on Priceline.com to get a great hotel for your trip.