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[blindman]

Priceline Hotel bidding site
Due to lots of questions about Priceline and some confusion and misadvice about their UK arm I have composed the following comprehensive How to Guide

I have used as my source the excellent Priceline for the timid guide written by Leigh Witchel as the guide includes all the tips and information I’ve been using for years.
I have condensed that guide and rewritten parts as appropriate, either to update information or add relevant bits for the UK site.
Obviously feel free to go to the blog and peruse the original.

Some links (in BLUE) refer to the priceline bargain of the Hyatt in New Jersey as this is a good example of PL bargains and is popular.

Success on using Priceline is down to the three R’s
Research, Research, Research
Web sites that help

BetterBidding
Really friendly site, the Administrator, thereuare is a nice bloke, lives in New Jersey just across from Manhattan (I've met him twice three times) and the site gives guides to Hotwire hotels too.
Not as much data as BFT but the Maps section is invaluable and Recent wins is a handy guide as to what to bid.

The Real Hotel Photos are useful and are similar to Tripadvisor photos taken by people who have stayed at the hotel.
There other tools on the front page which are worth looking at.

If you are a first time Priceline bidder then I urge you to look at BetterBidding and ask for a strategy.

I am not affiliated to the site but know that thereuare is a very genuine helpful guy.
If you want to DIY then look at my guide.

Bidding for Travel.
Has a great deal of useful data, BUT the moderator is REALLY strict and they will not tolerate ANYTHING about PL UK.
11th May 2007 Edit:-
BFT is undergoing meltdown, still useful data, the Dragon moderator has gone, but the board is becoming less up to date. Moderation is done by committee.
1st August 2008 Edit
Dragon moderator is back, though she is more mellow. Still NO tolerance of PL UK though.

(Clever Bidding :-Closed now)

And of course MSE

What is Priceline?
Wiki definition

A web portal…..where traveler's would name their price for airline tickets, hotel rooms, and car rentals.
The price would be compared to undisclosed prices in the Priceline database, with the purchaser knowing the location and name of the rental car company, airline, or hotel only after the purchase had gone through, with no rights to cancel.
(According to the web site, the no-cancellation no-refund policy is because Priceline offers the price to the hotel, airline, or car rental agency with the promise that the service would be sold and the seat or hotel will be filled, or the car will be rented.)
Priceline's cut of the proceeds was the difference between the price an individual named and the price charged by the service establishment…….

The success of Priceline's model does depend on hotels dumping "distressed" (unsold) inventory into the priceline database.
The general theme of the service is that you will get a great deal, but will only be told the name of the hotel after you agree to purchase it.
This is presented as a “win-win” since the hotel is able to get revenue for a hotel room that would have otherwise gone empty, and the consumer gets a great deal.

As well, by not disclosing the name of the hotel until it is purchased, the hotels are able to charge higher prices to guests that only want to stay at their specific hotel and book through “traditional” methods.

With Priceline you are able to pick :-

• The area you’d like the hotel to be in,
• The dates of your stay,
• The minimum star rating (quality level),
• The price.

Basically
You tell Priceline that you want a hotel in SOME city, 4 stars or better, and you are willing to pay £50 per night. Priceline will then see if they have any rooms that fit your criteria. If they do, you now own it.


When should I consider using Priceline?
1) You need a Hotel room than can accommodate only up to TWO people, probably in a DOUBLE bed.

If you're a family or a larger group, Priceline can still work for you, but you may not be able to fit everyone into a single room in certain situations
Priceline guarantees double occupancy, anything above that can be hit and miss.
If you must have two beds, Hotwire is your best option; they will let you specify occupancy in the room. Specify four adults; that will guarantee two beds

2) You are flexible in your needs, your Hotel doesn’t have to be on a particular street.
If you have specific needs as a traveller – a non-smoking room, a king-size bed, a view, to be within walking distance from a certain location that must be met or you will not be able to use the hotel, then Priceline is probably not appropriate for you. This does not mean you will not get basics like a large bed or a non-smoking room on Priceline; most often you do, or better. It means you have no recourse if you don’t.

3) Your travel plans are fixed, there are no refunds\cancellations once you’ve paid.

Newly added condition
4) You are staying in a major city (new York Chicago etc) for LESS than 3-4 nights.
It is not impossible to win one hotel on Priceline for more than 3-4 nights, BUT it can become increasingly more difficult in major cities etc.
Other areas like Florida or Miami etc are not so prone to problems with longer stay wins.

5) You are over 21

Should I use Priceline.com or Priceline.co.uk ?
A few facts:
The USA site is really for US or Canadians only, however there is a work around for this For the USA address use the format similar to below:

State CA
Zip code 99999
E.g
SANDIEGO, CA 92110 as the address.
Phone number format
Any number in the form of
xxx-xxx-xxxx

If you want a real US number then just Google a US city and pull out a phone number

You CAN bid on US hotels using Priceline.co.uk See Post #265

US site bidding
Pros
You have an extra useful option of Adding a Night if your bid wins.
This lets you rebid for the same Hotel at the same price. Not always guaranteed to get it though. This option can help if you’re trying to get a Priceline bid when the hotel is full or has a rate change that is causing problems in bidding.

Cons:
If you have a problem with the booking you may have problems with the US Priceline ‘Helpdesk’
You are bidding in Dollars, make sure your credit card doesn’t stiff you with extra charges.
You have to be 21 to book throught the US site, confusingly you only have to be 18 to use the UK site.

Why not have both accounts?
Can be useful to have two accounts, yourself and your partner preferably with different credit cards.
Used to be handy when there was a 72 hour lock out (no bidding again within 72 hours) can’t see the advantage now as it is now only a 24 hour 'lock out'
There is NO difference in inventory or price between either US or UK.

IMHO
With the new 24hour period lockout personally I’d stick with using the UK site, as you are bidding in £'s .
Each to his own.



Pre Bid Research
What star level should I bid ,
What Hotel might I win ?
How much should I bid?
When should I Bid?

What star level should I bid
Priceline ranks its inventory from 1* (budget) to 5* (luxury).
It describes what you expect to get in its FAQ’s though it can be notoriously wrong!
You’ll get a better idea by doing your research and finding out Hotel Reviews from both sites Check Trip Advisor to see what type of amenities the various star rated hotels offer
You may find 2* hotels that suit your needs exactly.
If you’re bidding for Europe, mentally deduct one star to get a more realistic equivalent to American hotels, which tend to be extravagant.
In the USA, a 2.5* hotel tend to be the best values, because they are places such as Residence Inns with all-inclusive prices including breakfast, high speed internet access, etc.

What Hotel might I win
Check the list of likely hotels in the city and zone in which you want to bid

I find that the Biddingfortravel site has the most data, but use both sites for lists.
BiddingForTravel List of hotels reported in the zone.

BetterBidding Hotel lists are available for all zones in most cities.
For big popular cities the BetterBidding Maps section is invaluable There are other tools on the front page.

WARNING
The hotel list on either site is NOT a comprehensive list of all hotels that may have been won through priceline. You may get a hotel through priceline that is NOT on the list.

WARNING ‘Upgrades’:
Priceline cannot downgrade your bid and give you a 3* hotel when you bid on a 4*, but they can upgrade you. This can be a good thing, but on occasion it’s not.
There are a few zones in most cities with 3* hotels that are dumps. If you bid 2.5* they may upgrade you to the 3* .It is a very common occurrence and you will then get a 3* hotel that doesn't give free breakfast, charges for parking etc.
There is no way to prevent an upgrade. If the 3* has a lower Priceline rate, you will get it, and you have no recourse.
Some reported Upgrade problems.


Check the Hotel Reviews from both sites and Trip Advisor to see if there are any dodgy hotels in the area or star rating you may want to avoid.

Advanced step for US Hotel bidding
Create an Imaginary Vacation Package on Priceline.com
Priceline Vacations offers packages with opaque air but transparent hotel, and many of the hotels also give inventory for opaque bidding. In order to get the least distortion from the bundled air/hotel price, search for an imaginary vacation package for one adult for your dates and city. Make the departure city a major gateway city such as New York; it doesn’t matter which but it helps to have an idea of what the ballpark airfare would be from the departure city to the destination. Sort the results by price. Make a note of the cheapest hotels coming up in your zone and star level. Those are the most likely hotels to win on an opaque bid. Don’t assume anything, but it helps you with an educated guess.

Check Hotwire
Check Hotwire for your dates and see if any of them can be identified with the assistance of the lists on Better Bidding (there aren’t any at Bidding for Travel), if so this gives you a rough idea of what is available through the opaque markets.
Be aware though that Hotwire does not use the exact same list as Priceline and sometimes the same hotel will only offer either Priceline a rate and not hotwire and vice versa.
Hence it is a rough guide.

How much should I bid?
REMEMBER
Winning bids on both BiddingforTravel and Betterbidding do NOT include the extra TAXES and FEES.
The TOTAL cost of your win will be higher than the bid price.

ALSO
There may be unavoidable extras payable to the hotel when you arrive. Parking can be expensive if not free and there may be a "Resort fee" .
Do your Research.

Easy Way
Register with Betterbidding and ask for a strategy, give the information required.
If you do ask for help then please support the site to help keep it going by bidding through their affiliate links.

Or register with Bidding for Travel. Ask for a strategy but heed my warning above.

Slightly harder way
Check the recent wins on both sites On Betterbidding the Map Recent wins is handy if your city is on the map.
If there is a recent win then check to see if the poster left a bidding history.
If you look at enough wins you can gauge at what price the Hotel is ‘won’
Also be aware the poster may have overbid because they were inexperienced.




Check for Availability and Rates
Check the lists of hotels reported at both Better Bidding and Bidding for travel at the hotel’s own website (not a travel agency); especially the ones that seem most frequent, and find out costs during your nights. Particularly note if there is a rate change. or if it’s sold out.
Check a few hotel discounters Some examples

• Orbitz
• Expedia
• Hotels.com
• Late Rooms
• Lastminute.com

Check Hotwire
Hotwire is invariably always more expensive for the same properties, so if any of them can be identified with the assistance of the lists on Better Bidding (there aren’t any at Bidding for Travel), it gives you an idea of a bidding ceiling.
Star ratings on Hotwire vs. Star ratings on Priceline.
Each company uses their own system of rating, and they are not standardized. Hotwire’s are usually, but not always, slightly higher, so a 2.5* hotel on Priceline might be 3* on Hotwire.

When to bid, early or late?
There is no good answer to this question. Some great hotels load their Priceline inventory months in advance. Others only load inventory or their best rates shortly before the dates.
Bid as soon as your dates are firm, but the lowest bid you’ve found with your research.
If you aren’t getting what you want, don’t keep bidding and raising your price through impatience. Stop bidding and make a cancellable backup.
Watch the two forums for winning bids in your city\zone and or wait until about one month to three weeks out, then bid more seriously.

Final Steps Before Bidding

You need to know:

1 What to do if you get a counter offer from PL
2 How to bid using "free" rebids
3 The minimum starting bids accepted at each level:
Presently these are :
1 Star $15
2 Star $17
2.5 Star $19
3 Star $25
3.5 Star $25
4 Star $40
4.5 Star $40
5 Star $55



Know Your Budget.
What can you really spend? Account for all costs.
A Priceline bid includes not only the actual bid amount, but taxes and a service fee bundled together.
Don't forget expenses that might be covered in a normal reservation, for instance a free breakfast, internet access or parking fee that may or may not be included in the Priceline rate.

Make a cancellable backup
If your travel dates are well in advance and it is not a busy period, you may be able to skip this step.
Otherwise, from your research find a hotel within your budget that allows a no-penalty cancellation and make a reservation.

Make a note of “Free rebid zones"
Click the Checkbox for the topmost zone in the list
Make a note of all available stars in that zone.
Click the PREVIOUS button on that page, unclick the topmost in the list and then click the next one down, check available star ratings.
Repeat.
Warning: You should do this for every time you bid as PL does on occasion change zones add star ratings etc, so what you noted in a previous bid may not be true now.

What is a "Free Rebid Zone?"
If Priceline does not accept your bid, it will come back with a screen saying that your price was not accepted and allow you to rebid if you change either the dates of your stay, the quality of hotel you’re willing to accept or the zones you are willing to accept.

Your free rebid zones are zones whose maximum star listing is lower than your desired star level.

So if you can choose another zone which only has LOWER star ratings than you want then this is a free rebid as PL will not give you a lower star than you asked.
Read the FAQ’s on FAQ Paragraph 9 biddingfortravel

Another Free Rebid explanation
Advanced Rebidding
An excellent if slightly complex way of getting the exact price for your hotel without overbidding.

This post here explains it (Rocket Scientist degree needed )

Probably not worth the effort now as lockout period has reduced to 24 hours and you are only saving an extra £ or £2

Even more advanced rebidding tips
Using smaller towns, in less populated areas.

[blindman]

The Bidding Process

Walking through a Bid- I’ll refer to the UK site for now.

Make sure you’re at the Name your Own Price page on Priceline.
They’ve altered the web-page and they automatically load their normal Travel Agent Page.

Fill in the City, dates and number of rooms (maximum is 4 rooms )

The next screen will ask you to “Select the areas where you want to stay”.
Note the zone map on this page there may be several
Then for each zone look at the AREA DETAILS link.

You agree to a hotel anywhere within the area of the zone you bid, so make sure the zone works for you.
In cities like NYC, this is usually not a problem because the city is divided into manageable zones. In other cities, Barcelona especially the zones are so large that you risk getting a hotel well away from where you were hoping to be.
Also the zones as sometimes changed by Priceline so may be different on your next visit.

The next screen is where you put in a price which is for
Per Room, Per Night, in Pounds Sterling –
don’t forget that taxes and fees are added on top of this the next screen gives you the total.
It’s also where you put the name of the person checking in, this doesn’t have to be you!

You can buy rooms on PL for others. BUT that person must check in.

Next screen could be a warning screen that says you’ve bid too low, if you’ve done your research then ignore it and click Next.

Next screen is the bid confirmation screen showing your dates and zones
It is titled Please Review your Request. any mistakes here will NOT be refunded (99% of the time)
It shows the full fee including taxes and services. and you place your initials at the bottom to indicate you’ve read and accepted Priceline’s terms ( read them!)

Added after odowdchr post
Important
It is VITAL that you Review your Request to make sure you have everything correct.
Correct Dates?
Correct city\zone\Star rating
Correct Price (in £'s or $'s depending on which site you are bidding)
Correct number of rooms

The next screen asks for credit card information.
Make certain everything is as you want it; there's no going back if your bid is accepted.
IF you make a genuine error there is a slight possiblity you will get a refund if you contact Priceline and are prepared to bid again BUT this is not guaranteed

Jot down the time of your bid (I'll explain why soon)and then you would click “Buy my hotel room now!”

Bidding Results

There are two possible outcomes:
Acceptance: Congratulations!
Be sure to record your winning bid at Better Bidding, Bidding for Travel, or both Print out your reservation and you’re all ready.
I keep a copy with me with my travelling docs but have never been asked for it.
Rejection comes in 2 types

1) Priceline couldn’t find you a room at a given price and offers you the opportunity to bid again if you change either the zones you’ll accept, the star level of the hotel, or the dates of your stay. You cannot change only your offer price. That's why free-rebid zones are so important.
If you can stay in other zones then add them and bid again.

2) Rebid\Counter offers:
Basically you get a “If you raise your bid by £xx right now we will allow you to make the same bid again.” or We could not find you a hotel at £X, but if you raise your price to £YY we will let you purchase your hotel room now.”

A rebid\counterbid offer means there’s inventory to be had, often just a little more than your bid but RARELY at the price they’re asking you to pay.

A good rule of thumb is that the minimum winning bid is about ½ way between what you bid and what is now being offered.
There are very few times that you cannot beat a counteroffer or a re-bid offer with a free re-bid, especially if you are more than 24 hours from your hotel stay.
So you either take the rebid at the higher price and pay over the odds (if you are short of time) or you Rebid again.
Look for the button on the page that takes you back to the bidding process.
Priceline wants you to take their counteroffer or rebid offer because they make more money on it, so the link on the page to regular rebidding is not prominent, it’s simply a text link that says something like “if you would like to change the dates of your stay or the star level, click here”.
Another explanation Paragraph 11
Priceline inventory changes constantly. Don’t assume the offer you made before is automatically too low.
Go back and check the rates at likely hotels. Have they changed?
Look at Hotwire to see if their rate has changed.

When can I rebid? You can now make a new bid 24 hours after the original bid, but there have been reports of glitches. I suggest you jot down the time of your bid if you desperately need to bid just after 24hrs.

Rebidding by dropping down in star level or by changing dates.
If you have already been rebidding when you choose to make this change close the browser and start a new bid.
You have more rebidding options, if you intend to bid on a range of quality levels, by bidding on the highest one first.

Make sure to drop your price if you drop your star level. Unless your price was really low, dropping quality levels should also mean dropping your bid, not raising it. Make sure to look up likely hotels and rates for that level, if there’s any information available.

Changing dates or splitting a bid. To accept your bid, Priceline needs to have availability on all dates of your bid, and your bid has to be high enough to be accepted on all dates.
If there are one or two dates within your stay when rates are significantly higher or availability more limited than other days you may want to consider splitting your bid and doing one bid for the high rate days and another for the less expensive ones.
If you split your bid you have a good chance of winning two completely different hotels, so think carefully!

Quasi free-rebid zones. If you know the bidding history of an area well enough, you can use certain zones as a free rebid, even though they are not. If historically, a zone\ has not got accepted for less than bids in your selected zone and you’d be quite happy to stay in either zone then add the more expensive zone.
Unless you're experienced and can accept the risk I'd leave this idea alone unless you're really short of time\rebids.

Should I contact the Hotel I've won?
Each to his own really.Once you've won then the hotel treats this as any other prepaid booking.
Priceline guarantees late check-in, but if you're going to be really late,no harm in telling the hotel.

Late Check-in: As with any hotel reservation, we suggest that you contact the hotel if you plan to arrive late in the day. If you are going to be delayed or find that you cannot check-in to your hotel on the date you requested, you should contact the hotel to let them know. If you don't check-in to the hotel on the first day of your reservation, and you do not alert the hotel in advance, the remaining portion of your reservation will be cancelled and you will not be entitled to a refund. Calling the hotel to make them aware of the delay will help to secure your room.

Hotel details are on the Confirmation of Acceptance screen along with the confirmation number

Oh NO! I've won a bid for the wrong Dates\City\Month
If you make a genuine mistake (despite double checking BEFORE you bid !) then there is a slight chance that Priceline will give you a refund if you immediately bid again.
There is NO Guarantee they will allow this and they charge a small fee (£15.00)
One lucky escape for rmd

[tweetie]

you are an absolute star! I've been looking about all these sites for the past few days and my head was spinning - this is exactly what i needed - thank you!

[GlennTheBaker]

Awesome guide, mate - all bases covered!

Cheers

[GIRLPOWER]

you have explaied this great.. have put it for post of the month if anyone one wants to go and give it a vote.

[albalad]

thanks blindman , very helpful......save me from bugging/suggesting you everytime I / others need PL help.


this should be made sticky for everyone to see !

[odowdchr]

One little thing to look out for (especially when your head's full of lists and free re-bid zones) is to be very careful when putting in your bid.
The 'recommended' prices for individual star zones on all sites are shown in US Dollars, but the bidding box is in UK Pounds on priceline.co.uk.
If you use both sites, it's very easy to forget that you're on the UK site and then accidentally bid in £'s when you're thinking in $'s......
I complained about it some time ago but it's still the same.

[blindman]

Originally Posted by odowdchr

One little thing to look out for (especially when your head's full of lists and free re-bid zones) is to be very careful when putting in your bid.
The 'recommended' prices for individual star zones on all sites are shown in US Dollars, but the bidding box is in UK Pounds on priceline.co.uk.
If you use both sites, it's very easy to forget that you're on the UK site and then accidentally bid in £'s when you're thinking in $'s......
I complained about it some time ago but it's still the same.

Yes, good point which is why you MUST Review your Request before you
press the Buy My Hotel Button

I've edited the guide to reflect the importance of this.

Thanks

[GlennTheBaker]

Originally Posted by odowdchr

One little thing to look out for (especially when your head's full of lists and free re-bid zones) is to be very careful when putting in your bid.
The 'recommended' prices for individual star zones on all sites are shown in US Dollars, but the bidding box is in UK Pounds on priceline.co.uk.
If you use both sites, it's very easy to forget that you're on the UK site and then accidentally bid in £'s when you're thinking in $'s......
I complained about it some time ago but it's still the same.

I've never come across this! If I click, say New York City, Downtown/SoHo, 4* it gives me a 'Suggested Retail Price' of £185. No dollar signs anywhere. On which screen have you seen the prices in dollars?

[odowdchr]

[IMG][/IMG]

[micrar]

Hey i'm looking to make by first bid on priceline but only have a debit card. Priceline say they accept debit cards (I'm able to book hotels normally with the Maestro) but for some reason the drop down box is limited to 3 credit cards. Any ideas?!

[blindman]

The VISA option can be used for Debit cards.

My Cahoot debit card has a huge Visa label on it

[GlennTheBaker]

That is weird because I get this:-

[blindman]

Betterbidding is now back up.

The problem was that an LA News show ran a little piece on Travel bidding and mentioned Better bidding.
Consequently their servers got hit with tons of traffic and couldn't cope, but all is sorted now.

The link is here, Cyber Hotels starts with a commercial then the actual piece starts with the relevant bit starting after 35 seconds and ending at 2mins 25s
No real info though

[pin]

Wow Blindman, excellent guide. Didn't even know this was ever posted.

Thanks for that.

[blindman]

Thought this might need a 'bump'

[TraceyJ]

Hadn't noticed this guide before - thanks so much. Just about to try for Edinburgh - will have a read later.

Thanks again

[n1cn1c]

thanks blindman, great post hidden in the depths of MSE

thanks

[blindman]

Originally Posted by n1cn1c

thanks blindman, great post hidden in the depths of MSE

have spent the afternoon reading up and got a cracking deal for london next week

thanks

Glad to help.

Did you post the win on BetterBidding?

Winning bid information helps others to get good deals.

Ta

....hidden in the depths of MSE

that's because numpties post "Where do I buy currency, Where to stay in New York, How do I get to Disney " ad nausium in the travel thread and knock off the important stuff.

BTW it's in albalads sticky

[n1cn1c]

Did you post the win on BetterBidding?

Winning bid information helps others to get good deals.

Ta



have just posted winning bid details,

thanks again... have saved £198 on prices direct with the hotel