If You’re Not Bidding on Priceline… You’re Missing the Boat

Fishing4Deals is all about traveling well and saving money.  It kills me when people are missing out on great deals because they are afraid to use Priceline, or they don’t know the ins and outs.

Last weekend, my sister-in-law came to Washington, DC to see friends and visit family.  She made reservations to stay in the Crowne Plaza hotel in old town Alexandria, VA near her friend’s place.   “I got a really good deal on the hotel website,” she said.  Just $85 per night.

This kills me because I am guessing she could have gotten this same hotel, or an equivalent one on Priceline for half the price.

How do I know this?

I have been to the Crowne Plaza hotel several times for business meetings or conferences.  This hotel  is hopping during the week with business travelers but deserted on most weekends.  This is exactly the kind of place that often turns up on Priceline’s name your own price website.

By checking a few message boards like BetterBidding or HotelDealsRevealed and postings on TripAdvisor, it is easy to ascertain the options.  My sister-in-law really wanted to stay in this particular hotel.

The message boards indicate that the Crowne Plaza is located in the Alexandria East -Old Town zone on Priceline, where it is rated as a 3.5 star hotel.  There is only one other 3.5 star hotel in this zone — the Sheraton Suites — which is just 3 blocks away.  Both hotels receive great reviews on TripAdvisor.

The message boards indicate that people have won the Crowne Plaza on weekend nights for for as low as $43/night.

Recommended bidding strategy:  First, check Hotwire for your travel date to ascertain availability.  In my experience, Hotwire and Priceline are often working off similar inventories.

Old Town Alexandria is part of the Washington DC metropolitan area on Priceline.  There are 15 bidding zones in the Washington DC.  Five of these zones are “free rebid” zones, meaning that they have no 3.5 star or greater hotels.

If you start your bidding a $43, you will have at least 5 additional opportunities to rebid.  Priceline guarantees that you will get a hotel at your preferred quality level, so by  bidding for a 3.5 star in Alexandria-East, in combination with any  of these other zones, you an raise your bids in $5 increments until your bid is accepted.  Priceline will only place you in a hotel in Alexandria-East. Worst case–the 3.5  star Sheraton Suites.

Priceline zones and hotel quality ratings can change at anytime so always verify things by checking the zone maps, the star levels available in other zones, and the current listings on message boards.  Bidding Traveler is one such forum where people post their winning Priceline bids. This service has been favorably reviewed by Lifehacker.

Priceline reservations are nonrefundable and no changes are allowed so this only works if your travel dates are set.

Good luck!

As my father-in-law liked to say, $40 is $40.