Hotwire & Priceline (1 Viewer)

[enfuego]

Were traveling and just booked a hotel via Hotwire. For some reason, I've never been a big fan of them...instead used Priceline via biddingfortravel.com. This time, I also tried betterbidding.com for tips. I tried several bids, but were rejected via Priceline, so gave Hotwire a shot and got a 3 star for $36/night in Denver...not bad as the rate online is $122/night.

What's your experience with Hotwire/Priceline or similiar?

 

[valhallan]

I've been using Hotwire for several years now and have never had a bad experience. Did Priceline once and it worked just fine, but I still go to Hotwire first. It looks like you got a great deal right off the bat, but I sometimes spend a week or two checking prices to gauge the market and at some point an awesome price will show up.

 

[ukshane]

I don't like to bid so I prefer Hotwire.

 

[saintfool]

i think hotwire is great for rental cars. not a fan of the air travel model they have, as it usually requires flying at weird hours of the day. never used it for hotels...

 

[Wrigley]

Big Priceline fan here.

 

[phthalatemagic]

Orbitz is horrible

 

[newteech]

I was visiting Sacramento during the summer so I thought I'd give Priceline a shot. I put in a ridiculously low bid of $30 a night.

It was accepted! Extended Stay of America, great room.

Makes me wonder how low I really could have gone.

 

[urbanhack]

I use both.

I have two instances with Hotwire where the hotel was listed as a 3 or 4 star hotel and it turned out to be much worse than advertised. That is my only complaint with them.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

Orbitz is horrible

Why do you say that?

 

[Da Guru]

I use Pricline all the time. When I travel for business I usually go to the same areas and know the hotels in the area.

Last month I had to go to DC, used Priceline and got the DoubleTree in Bethesda for 70.00 a night, the website price was 125.00 a night.

If you go 3 stars and above on PL you are usually safe. At 3 Stars I haved ended up at Courtyard, Hilton Gardens, DoubleTree for almost half the cost. If I am going for vacation I try to land 4-5 star hotels.

 

[azgroover]

I'm hotel shopping for Vegas without much luck as my trip is during CES and just about everywhere is expensive. I've posted in just about every other Priceline thread on this board as a big advocate of the site, but I just wanted to put out there that I've recently discovered Travelocity is now in the game with "Top Secret Hotels". The only problem is I don't think it's well known enough yet to have the other sites spring up that give the list of their offerings.

When renting a car, I always check the Hotwire and Kayak rates to find a ceiling I'm willing to pay. Then I lowball the lowest figure by about 75% on Priceline. I've scored better deals with specific coupon codes from the rental companies, but it's a ton of work.

 

[hooter311]

Big Priceline fan here.

I've used it for every hotel stay booked outside of Vegas for at least the last 5 years.For Rental Cars I've done better by dealing directly with Enterprise and Hertz than bidding on priceline.

 

[Ned]

 

[themeanmachine]

When renting a car, I always check the Hotwire and Kayak rates to find a ceiling I'm willing to pay. Then I lowball the lowest figure by about 75% on Priceline.

I check the Hotwire price for a starting point, then bid 20-25% lower on Priceline.

 

[Spike]

Were traveling and just booked a hotel via Hotwire. For some reason, I've never been a big fan of them...instead used Priceline via biddingfortravel.com. This time, I also tried betterbidding.com for tips. I tried several bids, but were rejected via Priceline, so gave Hotwire a shot and got a 3 star for $36/night in Denver...not bad as the rate online is $122/night.

What's your experience with Hotwire/Priceline or similiar?

I'm a Hotwire and Priceline rookie, but just looked at it as I'd like to get a room for a night next month.I have a question, though. When I filled out my particulars (date, rooms, etc), the results don't show the hotels by name. How are you people picking a place if you're not able to see it? I would think you'd want to see it; where it is, what the room(s) looks like, etc.

 

[[icon]]

When renting a car, I always check the Hotwire and Kayak rates to find a ceiling I'm willing to pay. Then I lowball the lowest figure by about 75% on Priceline.

I check the Hotwire price for a starting point, then bid 20-25% lower on Priceline.

Yep. 9 times out of 10 I just use hotwire because I trust them more for some reason. I've booked about 30 hotel stays with them and have never been disappointed. I typically try to book 3.5 stars and up since the prices are so good. If you get screwed or have to change something and have a record of multiple purchases, they will make adjustments for you (despite having a policy of all sales being final). You just have to ask.

 

[azgroover]

Were traveling and just booked a hotel via Hotwire. For some reason, I've never been a big fan of them...instead used Priceline via biddingfortravel.com. This time, I also tried betterbidding.com for tips. I tried several bids, but were rejected via Priceline, so gave Hotwire a shot and got a 3 star for $36/night in Denver...not bad as the rate online is $122/night.

What's your experience with Hotwire/Priceline or similiar?

I'm a Hotwire and Priceline rookie, but just looked at it as I'd like to get a room for a night next month.I have a question, though. When I filled out my particulars (date, rooms, etc), the results don't show the hotels by name. How are you people picking a place if you're not able to see it? I would think you'd want to see it; where it is, what the room(s) looks like, etc.

Biddingfortravel.com and Betterbidding.com have lists.

 

[pats3in4]

Priceline's "Express Deals" feature is outstanding, especially if you need to book something for the same day for just one night. I've been hotel hopping on a daily basis as I could not find an affordable multi-day reservation at one hotel. It seems the hotels work with Priceline on a daily basis to book that day's excess inventory with deep discounts through this feature. The feature advertises "Save up to 45%" and the last 3 nights I've saved over 50% each night. Like with Hotwire, you don't know what hotel it is before you book, but due to the area I'm staying, it's easy to decipher to which hotels the deals apply.

The cherry on top is that after I check out, Priceline sends me a 10% off coupon for another booking with 30 days. Since I've been hotel hopping daily, I'm getting the deep discount plus an extra 10% off.

 

[azgroover]

Priceline's "Express Deals" feature is outstanding, especially if you need to book something for the same day for just one night. I've been hotel hopping on a daily basis as I could not find an affordable multi-day reservation at one hotel. It seems the hotels work with Priceline on a daily basis to book that day's excess inventory with deep discounts through this feature. The feature advertises "Save up to 45%" and the last 3 nights I've saved over 50% each night. Like with Hotwire, you don't know what hotel it is before you book, but due to the area I'm staying, it's easy to decipher to which hotels the deals apply.

The cherry on top is that after I check out, Priceline sends me a 10% off coupon for another booking with 30 days. Since I've been hotel hopping daily, I'm getting the deep discount plus an extra 10% off.

Would also suggest adding the "Hotels Tonight" app for your smartphone. Which is what PCLN sounds like it's trying to combat wit this feature.

 

[pats3in4]

Priceline's "Express Deals" feature is outstanding, especially if you need to book something for the same day for just one night. I've been hotel hopping on a daily basis as I could not find an affordable multi-day reservation at one hotel. It seems the hotels work with Priceline on a daily basis to book that day's excess inventory with deep discounts through this feature. The feature advertises "Save up to 45%" and the last 3 nights I've saved over 50% each night. Like with Hotwire, you don't know what hotel it is before you book, but due to the area I'm staying, it's easy to decipher to which hotels the deals apply.

The cherry on top is that after I check out, Priceline sends me a 10% off coupon for another booking with 30 days. Since I've been hotel hopping daily, I'm getting the deep discount plus an extra 10% off.

Would also suggest adding the "Hotels Tonight" app for your smartphone. Which is what PCLN sounds like it's trying to combat wit this feature.

Good tip. I just downloaded it and looked at today's deals. The selection is *much* smaller than what's offered on Priceline, but the hotels are mostly higher-end and for that class of hotels the deals are pretty good. And you know exactly what hotel it is. But it's easy to figure out what hotels Priceline is offering with their Express Deals and some of those deals are much better than HT. I think anyone looking for a spot deal should use both apps and decide.

I do think Priceline's Express Deals is more to directly compete with Hotwire who popularized the "This discounted price is available for this class hotel in this city now! But we cannot reveal the hotel until you book" feature.

 

[McGarnicle]

We always use either Hotwire, Priceline, or redeem free nights with Marriott rewards (wife is a frequent business traveler).

We've used Hotwire for years and rarely had a negative experience. Lately added Priceline to the mix here and there, same success. Insanely good deals out there. My only advice would be never to go below 3 stars, and if 4 stars is just $20 or $30 more, it's worth it.

 

[azgroover]

Priceline's "Express Deals" feature is outstanding, especially if you need to book something for the same day for just one night. I've been hotel hopping on a daily basis as I could not find an affordable multi-day reservation at one hotel. It seems the hotels work with Priceline on a daily basis to book that day's excess inventory with deep discounts through this feature. The feature advertises "Save up to 45%" and the last 3 nights I've saved over 50% each night. Like with Hotwire, you don't know what hotel it is before you book, but due to the area I'm staying, it's easy to decipher to which hotels the deals apply.

The cherry on top is that after I check out, Priceline sends me a 10% off coupon for another booking with 30 days. Since I've been hotel hopping daily, I'm getting the deep discount plus an extra 10% off.

Would also suggest adding the "Hotels Tonight" app for your smartphone. Which is what PCLN sounds like it's trying to combat wit this feature.

Good tip. I just downloaded it and looked at today's deals. The selection is *much* smaller than what's offered on Priceline, but the hotels are mostly higher-end and for that class of hotels the deals are pretty good. And you know exactly what hotel it is. But it's easy to figure out what hotels Priceline is offering with their Express Deals and some of those deals are much better than HT. I think anyone looking for a spot deal should use both apps and decide.

I do think Priceline's Express Deals is more to directly compete with Hotwire who popularized the "This discounted price is available for this class hotel in this city now! But we cannot reveal the hotel until you book" feature.

(I missed the part above where you mentioned you don't know the hotel with the new priceline express too.)

 

[Cjw_55106]

Been a couple years for this thread. Anyone still using Priceline? Im looking at Vegas, first week in July. 

 

[kutta]

I use Priceline all the time in NY. Have had great success.

Be careful in Vegas. Be sure to use Betterbidding.com and get a list of Vegas hotels. The Trump hotel is off the strip and has no casino, but for a long time it was included in the 5* strip hotels. I think it's it's own special category now, but I'm not sure. There is some other new hotel that is way down the strip that is included in one of the categories now too (I don't remember the name). Just be sure to find the list of hotels and * number and be sure you would be happy with any of the hotels.

I have found that the Express Deals tabs usually has great deals without bidding. They come and go pretty quickly, so if you see one you like you should grab it.

Also remember that it takes an act of Congress to get a refund with Priceline. If your trip changes, you are pretty much out the $. I was successful one time getting my money back, but it was only an hour after I booked and I had to beg.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Thank you sir! I'll check out the Express Deals. 

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Seeing an enfuego thread pop up makes me

#### Cancer...

 

[Cjw_55106]

I use Priceline all the time in NY. Have had great success.

Be careful in Vegas. Be sure to use Betterbidding.com and get a list of Vegas hotels.

Wouldn't you think by selecting 4* Las Vegas Strip South Area, I should be pretty safe? 

 

[kutta]

Wouldn't you think by selecting 4* Las Vegas Strip South Area, I should be pretty safe? 

According to Betterbidding.com, these are the hotels you would get:

Mandalay Bay

MGM

Monte Carlo

Tropicana

NYNY

Paris

Planet Hollywood

If you are good with those, then go for it.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Thanks again. 

 

[Emerson Biggens]

So if I'm looking for a deal on a hotel in Nashville for this Friday and Saturday night, what is my best bet at finding a decent price.

What is the best last minute hotel site? 

I am looking at downtown or the West/Vanderbilt area. Everthing seems like it is $300-400 a night. I bid  on priceline $165 a night which after their BS fees still ends up at $215 and it told me to raise my bid by $74! 

 

[kutta]

So if I'm looking for a deal on a hotel in Nashville for this Friday and Saturday night, what is my best bet at finding a decent price.

What is the best last minute hotel site? 

I am looking at downtown or the West/Vanderbilt area. Everthing seems like it is $300-400 a night. I bid  on priceline $165 a night which after their BS fees still ends up at $215 and it told me to raise my bid by $74! 

Go to Priceline, put in your info, and click on the "Express Deals" tab. Those are probably the best deals you'll get on the site (you might get slightly lower by bidding but it's usually not worth it). You can go to betterbidding.com to check out exactly what hotels you will be getting in the * range.

 

[parasaurolophus]

Wouldn't you think by selecting 4* Las Vegas Strip South Area, I should be pretty safe? 

You will likely get luxor or tropicana. 

 

[parasaurolophus]

Been a couple years for this thread. Anyone still using Priceline? Im looking at Vegas, first week in July. 

In case you havent booked yet, what are exact dates? I am pretty savvy to what hotel you will get. For July 1st-7th 

5 star north strip $98- Trump

5 star north strip $122- Venetian or Palazzo

4 star south strip $103- gut tells me Monte Carlo, but not as sure here.

5 star north strip $151- Wynn/Encore

4.5 star south strip $120- Elara

5 star south strip- Vdara

4.5 south strip-Signature MGM

4.5 star strip north 120- The mirage

 

[Cjw_55106]

My dates are close to that. June 30-July 4.

weekend will cost me a bit more I assume.