Better Bidding on Priceline
An introduction to "Name Your Own Price": Priceline is unique. They have a feature called "Name Your Own Price" which lets you bid on a hotel room. As a traveler, you simply specify your travel dates, location (bidding zone), and the desired hotel rating. Then you name your price and find out if your bid is accepted or not. If yes, your credit card is charged and you have a finilized hotel reservation. Only then do you find out the name of your hotel.
The major benefit of using Priceline is that you can save a lot of money using their Name Your Own Price feature. Hotels with excess capacity sell off their hotel rooms to Priceline. But there are some drawbacks that customers should learn first in order to become a better bidder. Here's the most important Priceline bidding tip I can give you: reservations are almost never refundable, so do not book a hotel unless you are certain your travel dates will not change. I cannot stress this enough. Second Priceline tip: you may get a hotel brand you do not like or a hotel lacking a particular amenity you wanted. It is best to book using Priceline when your flexible on hotel location and do not require a specific hotel amenity.
Priceline Better Bidding Tips
The hardest part about "bidding" for a hotel is determining how much to offer as you do not want to overpay. You might think of starting at $1, and if your bid is not accepted, then rebidding at $2, then $3, and so on until your Priceline bid is finally accepted. This bidding technique will not work. You basically only get one kick at the can in a 24 hour period for any given travel date and destination. If your offer is rejected, you have to wait 24 hours, use a different credit card, or change your dates/destination.
Here's another great Priceline tips. There is a technique that allows you to rebid instantly on Priceline without having to wait. This can be risky for a new Priceline user, so make sure you understand how it works before trying it.
Before you book a hotel, it is best to first do some research. Find out retail hotels prices using other websites then subtract 25% to 40% (or more) on your bid. You should also try to become familiar with how Priceline works and spend a bit of time checking out HotelDealsRevealed.com's Priceline Forum to become a better bidder. In this forum, actual customers discuss Priceline bidding tips, help, and even share winning bids.
The best part about Priceline bidding is that the vast majority of the time, it can save you money on travel and hotels, but it really helps to spend some time researching how bid on hotels. It is a bidding site, and there are some risks involved, so it's best to familiarize yourself with how it works, and learn Priceline bidding tips before bidding.
Additional Resources for Priceline Hotel Bidding
Advanced Rebidding Techniques: Learn how to instantly rebid on Priceline for free, up to 8 times or more without having to wait the normal 24 hours.
How Much To Bid: Do not overpay for your hotel, using this technique to determine how much you should bid using Priceline's Name Your own Price.
Ten Priceline Tips For Better Bidding: Here is a quick summary of the best tips for saving money on Priceline and getting the hotel you want.
Priceline Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): This is a good article on additional Priceline bidding help. Some of the more common Priceline questions are answered in this section.
Priceline Forum: Join our forum and discuss Priceline bidding, find out how much others paid for hotel reservations, seek Priceline bidding help identifying a hotel, or discuss anything travel related.
Priceline Blog: More Priceline bidding help. This is a collection of blog articles written about hotel bidding on Priceline.