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Luxury Hotels: Bidding for Savings

March 2010 update

• See actual winning bids for Priceline hotel rooms in larger cities:
  
  See Winning Hotel bids in Top Cities from $28 per night!
  (When the map opens, click on a city to see winning bids.)
  
  During peak travel times such as a large convention or special event, plan to bid higher than what is shown. Also, Priceline's "Name your own price" works best for 3- and especially for 4-star hotels. You won't usually get such a large percentage off lower ranked 2- or 2.5-star hotels.
  
  
• You can now bid for hotels up to 11:00 p.m. local time in the city where you want to stay. Great for standby travelers!

Quick overview of priceline deluxe hotel deals

• what you need to know about the top-rated accommodations priceline uses and its Best Price Guarantee,
  
  
• and of course the bidding tips you need to get the best deals on the best hotels on priceline.
  

Priceline.com Hotels works exceptionally well for luxury hotels in all the countries it serves. You'll receive big discounts from the Big Island of Hawaii to NYC to London and Paris.

Some are independent and some are members of hotel chains, such as the Waldorf Astoria New York, Intercontinental Chicago, Westin Bonaventure Los Angeles, or the Hyatt Regency Maui. In some cities, priceline also offers boutique hotels—unique and often historic hotels—which may provide a more personal level of guest service.

Priceline's accommodations

• On priceline, you do not bid on a specific hotel. Instead, you bid on a star-quality range in a neighborhood. This feature works well because most people want particular amenities, price, and neighborhood, rather than a specific hotel.
  
  
• Priceline.com uses many of the most famous hotels in the world, such as the Mark Hopkins "Top of the Mark" in San Francisco and the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills (home of the premier Oscar party). All must meet rigorous quality standards. Priceline's advanced screening is especially helpful when you travel to new places.
  
  
• Very few hotels qualify for priceline's 5-star category, and these are usually in the largest cities. Most deluxe hotels are given 4 stars.
  
  Priceline's star ratings approximate the American Automobile Association's 1- to 5-diamond rankings.
  
  
• Priceline lists the amenities you receive with each star rating.
  
  
• You can bid up to 11 p.m. local time in the city you want to stay in, as long as rooms are still available.
  
  
• Some older deluxe hotels may not have space for more than two people to be comfortable in their rooms.
  
  
• As with any hotel reservation, you should phone ahead if you want to request a nonsmoking room.
  

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Best Price Guarantee

Complete bidding tips for priceline hotels and resorts

Be aggressive when bidding on hotels. Priceline travelers report discounts from 40 to even 60% off, except during the busiest seasons. But there's technique involved, too, so follow these step-by-step bidding tips for the best prices:

1. Do your research.
2. Consider days and seasons.
3. Remember priceline rules.
4. Prepare your money-saving bid on luxury hotel rooms.
5. Compare you proposed bid to Hotwire's price.
6. Submit a "smart bid" that increases your chance for savings.
7. What to do if your bid is accepted, or if it isn't.
   

1. Do your research.

As always, BidonTravel's best best tip for bidding on deluxe hotel rooms is to do your research first. Look for the best current prices on the discount travel websites like Hotels.com that list prices for specific (named) hotels. Be sure to check these prices the same day you intend to bid on priceline.

And of course check hotel prices with the same star quality and dates in the same general neighborhood as where you want to stay. Seeing the lowest room rates available allows you to avoid overbidding on priceline.

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2. Consider days and seasons.

Keep in mind the days of the week you want to book.

Hotels in most cities, such as Dallas, Houston, Boston, and NYC, offer their lowest rates and biggest discounts on weekends—Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sunday nights—and around holidays, except during special events.

Because weekend rates are usually priced 25 - 50% off regular rates, do NOT base your bid on a Tuesday rate if you are actually arriving on Friday.

Exceptions: Weekend prices are higher in Las Vegas, Orlando, Reno, and most resorts.

Of course, hotels in resort areas give bigger discounts during off-seasons. These include Boca Raton, Palm Springs, Cancun, Bali, and others.

Go on to Priceline.com Hotels to bid  Top of Page

3. Remember priceline's rules.

You can rebid on hotels with the same particulars only once every 24 hours. You can rebid immediately if you change the neighborhood, city, dates, or star category.

However, there are specific ways to rebid to maximize your savings. Exact instructions are given in Bidding Tip #6.

Once you authorize priceline to charge your credit card, your reservation becomes non-refundable and cannot be changed in any way, even by paying a penalty.

Go on to Priceline.com Hotels   to bid

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4. Prepare your money-saving priceline bid.

• Priceline lists typical average discounts for top hotels in
  
  Save up to $100 per night on Hotels!
  
  Use these to help determine your bid in major cities.
  
  
• In general, the higher the star category, the greater percentage off listed prices you should bid.
  
  
• If you saw a lot of hotels in your quality range available at an online site like Hotels.com, you can bid lower on priceline. If not, you'll need to bid higher.
  
  
• When determining your bid, consider everything, such as season, school holidays, days of week, the prices for specific hotels you found in your online research, and how much you want to go.
  
  
• Currently, the majority of successful priceline bids range from 25 to 55% off prices available on discount sites. BidonTravel believes you should never bid less than 30% off these prices, unless you are traveling during a convention or especially busy season.
  

Click on Priceline.com Hotels to bid.

5. Compare your proposed bid to Hotwire's prices.

• A great way to avoid overbidding on priceline is to check Hotwire.com's prices just before you bid on priceline.
  
  Priceline and Hotwire.com are similar. (You don't know your hotel name until you pay, no refunds, no changes . . ..) However, Hotwire offers only fixed prices and no bidding.
  
  Although priceline has relationships with many more deluxe hotels, which increases your change to save, Hotwire.com does give you more room choices (such as kitchen facilities).
  
  
• The 15% rule: In most cases, plan to make your priceline bid 15% less than Hotwire's displayed price, which excludes taxes and fees.
  
  
• The 30% rule: Before you submit your priceline bid, make sure that 15% off the Hotwire price is at least 30% off the rates you found on other online sites, for the same dates and star rating. In the rare instance when Hotwire's price is unusually high, this policy will help you avoid overbidding on priceline. (Again, the exception is that you may need to bid higher during large conventions, special events, or busy seasons.)
  
  
• If your priceline bid or rebids are not successful, you can go back to Hotwire within its payment deadline (usually two hours from when you started to check its prices), and still get a bargain price for your deluxe hotel.
  

6. Submit a "smart bid" to priceline hotels.

• When you tell Priceline.com Hotels what city you want, you are usually given a choice of neighborhoods. If you are interested in more than one neighborhood, hold back your second choice neighborhood (or several) in case you have to bid again.
  
  Using this flexibility allows you to rebid immediately, and also to make an especially low first bid. You may get lucky! And, if you have to bid again, both your first choice AND second choice neighborhoods are included in your bid.
  
  
• Also, use star quality as part of your bidding strategy. Start bidding with a higher star quality so that you can make immediate rebids using lower stars.
  
  For example, if you start bidding with 3 stars, priceline checks for 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels in your price range. You cannot rebid using 4 or 5 stars, even if you want to bid a higher price.
  
  But, if you start with 5 stars, you can rebid for 4 stars and then for 3 stars right away. You may still end up with a 5-star hotel.
  
  
• When you enter a bid, priceline gives your total cost, including taxes and fees, before you confirm payment. If this total is higher than you want to pay, adjust your offer as many times as you like before submitting it as an official bid.
  

7. What to do if your bid is accepted, or if it isn't.

Once you authorize priceline to charge your credit card, you bid becomes official, unchangeable, and non-refundable.

Write down the transaction number you are given.

You usually find out if your bid is accepted within one minute.

• If your bid is accepted, congratulations!
  
  Print out your combo itinerary and receipt and take this with you to your hotel.
  
  Also, be sure to visit Hotel Check List to help your trip go smoothly.
  
  
• If your bid is not accepted, review Bidding Tip #6 above to prepare to rebid.
  
  You may also choose the lowest price on Hotwire.com or another site.
  
  If these are still too high, consider changing dates. You may be bumping against a convention or other special event.

This current listing tells where you can find the best luxury hotel rates.