Best Price Guarantee and bidding

[8thSin]

I've used PRICELINE couple of times, and I have a good idea how it works, but I hope I can get some advice from pros about the bidding algorithm.

 

I see there's a "Best Price Guarantee" above price field in Name Your Own Price, and it describes how they would refund differences.

If Priceline.com lists two hotels in identical area and same star rating, assume Hotel 1 is $100 and Hotel 2 is $150 standard price, just directly bidding $70 etc will probably get you Hotel 1, but does that mean if I bid $101, I can avoid Hotel 1 since it would violate the best price guarantee?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

PRICELINE's objective is to find you a hotel that will accept your bid price... not to determine if you are bidding too high or not.  So in your example above, let's assume that each of the hotels loaded the following minimum bid prices to be accepted:

Hotel 1 - $60 (retail rate $100)

Hotel 2 - $115 (retail rate $150)

 

If you bid $101, should PRICELINE tell you that there are no hotels that are willing to accept your bid price?  No, they will award you Hotel 1 and you would then need to follow the process to submit a claim.

You can also see this post from DON'T Bid Higher for a Specific Hotel which answers your question in quite a bit more detail.

 

If you would like help with a suggested bidding strategy for an upcoming trip feel free to start a NEW TOPIC with the details of your travel plans (dates, city, zone, desired star rating, maximum bid amount, etc) and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[8thSin]

I see, thanks for the tip.

Will make sure to use your link when I book.

[thereuare]

Once you're ready to bid, if you'd like help with a bidding strategy feel free to ask.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Good luck!