Q: Price Line - Bidding for Travel - Hotel

• Save More - Name Your Own Price®

Looking for a brief description of how Priceline works for Hotels
I see that you can only reserve a standard room but how much
is the Priceline fees. Any suggestion on using Priceline dot com

The answer is in your subject line. Check out Biddingfortravel.com

Almost any answer you could need is there.

Marty Giggard said:

• Save More - Name Your Own Price®

Looking for a brief description of how Priceline works for Hotels
I see that you can only reserve a standard room but how much
is the Priceline fees. Any suggestion on using Priceline dot com

Click to expand...

We use Priceline.com often, especially for our trips to Milwaukee. The "Name Your Own Price" is a click from the reservation page. We never do the "reservation" thing, only the "Name Your Own Price."

Here is the history of our recent transactions with Priceline.com:

June 07 Milwaukee 2 nights - bid $33/night - - total price paid $83.16
June 07 Minneapolis 1 night - bid $32/night - - total price paid $43.10
Aug 06 Minneapolis 1 night - bid $31/night - - total price paid $41.96
Apr 06 Milwaukee 4 nights - bid $38/night - - total price paid $182.92
Mar 06 Milwaukee 2 nights - bid $31/night - - total price paid $78.98
Jan 06 Milwaukee 3 nights - bid $31/night - - total price paid $114.37

In most cases we received Homestead Suites or Extended Stay America Suites. I used to routinely get the Hampton Inn or Baymont Inn (in Milwaukee) for between $25-$30, but not lately. Usually we asked for 1 star accommodations, although the two this year were 2 star requests, but we got the same lodging accommodations as we had the last time in those areas . . . the above mentioned hotel chains.

I think that they (Priceline) charge around $5/night as their service fee. The rest of the additional charges are the local, state and occupancy taxes (if any).

Note that all fees are charged at the time of booking and are not refundable.

Hope this helps!

Priceline - Hotels - Service Charges and Fees


Brand new hotel - Wyndham Gettsyburg - PA

Looks like it will be expensive. Going to drive up this weekend
Unable to find any info on what the star rating is would be in

I have been trying to read all the material!
Its not as simple as I thought (alot to read)

Q: How does the hotel get their money

Thanks

We are longtime users of Priceline. We generally bid for a 4 star room and frequently get it for around $50.00 a night. Even in London, we were under $100.00 a night.

On www.biddingfortravel.com look at the first listing for each city on the forum. The first listing will tell you what hotels Priceline uses for each city and what bidding zone they are in--plus * level. You'll find that for each * level, Priceline uses only 3-5 hotels in any one bidding zone. When you bid, you won't know what hotel you'll get, but you'll know that it will be one of 3-5 and you'll know the location. Checking the most recent bids accepted by Priceline for your *level and bidding zone on the forum where people report back their successful bids will give you a pretty good idea what you'll be getting. There are places where you know exactly what you are bidding on: for example, The Venetian is the only 5* on the strip Priceline uses, so if you bid 5* on the strip, The Venetian is it (usually for $100 a night during the week); in Albuquerque, if you bid on a resort, there is only one--Tamaya--if you bid for a resort there, Tamaya is what you get; it's the same for a resort in Las Vegas; they use only one.

It isn't as complicated as it seems at first--and the savings if you do your research first are definitely sizeable.

Marty Giggard said:

Q: How does the hotel get their money

Thanks

Click to expand...

Priceline pays them.

Another helpful site is betterbidding.com.

I've had great, great luck with Priceline in major cities, where I try for four-star hotels. Outside major cities, I'm not so enthusiastic about the Priceline prices. There's not as much competition for guests and the better one-, two-, and three-star hotels fill up fast, especially in tourist areas.

I use tripadvisor for hotel reviews, then I decide if I'd rather pay more to know that I'm getting the best two-star in the area, or pay less and take my chances with Priceline.

But Priceline is definitely fun.

Prce Line Hotels - Star Levels for Gettysburg


June 16

Checked out both of these new hotels on Route 30 & 15
They are both newer hotels and are located not far from
the main attractions and the National Park Service areas


Wyndham Gettysburg
3 Star
3 star hotels offer a higher level of guest service with several amenities. Guestrooms and public spaces place a greater emphasis on style and generally offer such conveniences as hairdryers, iron and board, fitness centers, luggage assistance and on-site dining.
Gettysburg, PA (Gettysburg)


Courtyard By Marriott Gettysburg
2 ½ Star
2.5 star hotels place a greater emphasis on comfort and convenience.
These hotels generally offer a 24-hour front desk and daily housekeeping, however, other hotel services may be somewhat limited. In-room amenities typically include color television, telephone, voicemail, hairdryer, iron and board, and coffee maker. The hotel will often have a restaurant or area for breakfast, although on-site dining may not be available for all three meals. Gettysburg, PA (Gettysburg)

Discovered how to find more hotel info and photos!


Wyndham Gettysburg

http://travela.priceline.com/hotel/...0a2103010a2007061707555103D710043676&plf=PCLH

Anyone booked Gettysburg via Price Line

I am still interested in Gettysburg
and noticed the star rating for the
Wyndham Gettysburg is now 3.5

If I bid and my bid gets accepted
How does Insurance for $5 work?

Hi Marty,

We used Priceline last summer and bid in the low to mid $50 range for our Gettysburg hotel. We got Wyndham Gettysburg. It is a very new hotel and we were very pleased with our stay and the price that we paid. You won't be disappointed.

By the way, we were looking for you next door to us this week at the Summit in Virgina. Did you go last week instead?

Mark

Marty,

If you want to bid for your room, make sure you're in the section where you can "name your own price". If you're seeing something on PL's site that says you are getting a specific hotel and that it's a specific star rating you are most likely in the wrong place. On the part of your site where you name your own price, hotels will be given as examples only (the description they give for a 3* in Boston is: The hotel brands shown below are for example only and may not be partnered with priceline.com. You may get another name-brand or independent hotel of equivalent quality.

• Marriott Courtyard • Hyatt Place • Holiday Inn
• Doubletree Club • Four Points • Indigo


If you look at betterbidding.com you will be able to get an idea of what the hotel MAY be.

PL is a great way to get hotels for cheap, when I've used them I've always gone with 4* and above and have never been disappointed.

We Look At HotWire Dot Com, Then Try To Beat That Via PriceLine Dot Com.

Others on TUG-BBS have pointed out that HotWire's star-level standards are lower than the standards on PriceLine, so we have to take that into account when Naming Our Own Price over at PriceLine.

Our most recent PriceLine experience was the Jameson Inn Indianapolis North (Castleton) -- $38 for a very nice 2-star room, with free breakfast. That was June 26-27, when we were in the area for a funeral.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Marty,

I went to the Bidding for Travel Website and looked up the hotels that had been awarded on Priceline for the Gettysburg area. The only 3.5 star hotel listed was the Wyndham Gettysburg. That means that if you place a Priceline bid on a 3.5 star hotel for Gettysburg, chances are high that you will be awarded the Wyndham Gettysburg for a winning bid. Not guaranteed, if there are any other 3.5 star hotels in the area but there probably aren't.

Looking at the historical bid information on the BiddingforTravel website I noticed that someone received a successful bid for the Wyndham Gettysburg for $60 for 1 night for July 8th (best website rate was $138). Taxes and Service fees were $13.48 - so there total fee was $73.48. The initial bid was $60 and accepted, so a lower price starting point probably would have been a good idea.

Also, if you make a bid (e.g. $50) and Priceline gives you a counter-offer of
$65 - folks generally recommend not to accept the counter-offer at face value but rather you offer a counter-bid back - usually half-way inbetween.

Also remember if you get a winning bid - the reservation is non-refundable.


Good luck

Richard