zbenye

Great deal! Hotwire wants $80 more ($282). Heck, if you were to fly out of JFK, then even Expedia ($261, non-stops) would beat Hotwire ($283, 0-1-stops).

To date, I have spent a total of $13,100 on Priceline: Hotel as a home (I live in a hotel, thanks to PL - see TV story): $10,474 (32 accepted bids) Hotel while on a trip: $1,885 (13 accepted bids) Flight: $446 (1 accepted bid) Rental car: $295 (6 accepted bids) The figures above include the PL fee. I earned 13,100 miles on Delta by using the Skymiles American Express for all these bids. The most I've paid through Priceline: $80 in Barcelona. The least I've paid through Priceline: $24 in Palm Springs. I've not thrown away a single stay. I haven't purchased anything from Hotwire ever since I started using PL. PL beats Hotwire every time.

Regarding amenity icons, I would actually prefer to have check boxes where I could require certain amenities when placing a bid, most important of which would be free parking. This would be sort of like the check boxes on airline bids where you can limit the number of connections, red eyes, etc. thereuare, requiring non-stops will not help weekend-getaway travelers. You're right that allowing a more restrictive time of day selection doesn't fit the current model, but we can all see that the current model isn't generating a lot of business... Must adjust to sell. And do you think the airlines care about opacity to such a high degree? I'm thinking, got lots of empty seats - release inventory to PL; seats selling out traditionally - withhold from PL. Business travelers who really need to be somewhere at a certain time don't use PL. Others have no brand loyalty and would go with the cheapest airline anyway. PL-Hotwire prices: it doesn't make a difference if Hotwire reduces prices to match PL, or PL ups theirs to match Hotwire. The point is that when they're significantly similar, Hotwire has the advantage of having a better product. And if PL signficantly upped rates (like $10 in your example), then often they'd be beat even by Expedia... Just my uneducated opinion.

Priceline would see much more airline booking business, I suspect, if only they allowed one to select an acceptable timeframe, such as morning, afternoon or evening. Otherwise, that product is only good for long trips, when losing a day at the front (late departure) and/or the end (early return) is not a big deal. For a weekend, PL is not a realistic option. Most of my flights are for weekend getaways. The only time I considered using PL (and eventually did) was on a 9-day trip. As for the hotel business, that's indeed the real business. But it will immediately go belly up when Hotwire manage to lower their rates to match PL's, and advertize that fact effectively. When there's no difference in price, it makes much more sense to use Hotwire, where you can see some clues about what you're getting (amenity icons).

The above is good if you're parking for up to 4 days. Longer than that, you'll pay less at SMA Airport Parking, where, with free membership, you pay just $9/day. It's only slightly farther from the airport than ParkSFO.

Some hotels actually do give miles/points for Priceline stays. In return, I favor them on business trips whenever I can book them at rates not exceeding my employer's allowance. I strongly recommend that you enroll in every program and always present your card when you check in.

Some hotels actually do give miles/points for Priceline stays. In return, I favor them on business trips whenever I can book them at rates not exceeding my employer's allowance. I strongly recommend that you enroll in every program and always present your card when you check in.

I did better than deleting cookies: I used a different computer! Still I was recognized. Not a problem for me, though. I mostly bid in San Francisco, where free rebids are plentiful.

I submit many bids and my experience has been that there's no correlation between the wait time and the end result.

pitflyer, I've been refused even after doing all three. I believe PL also compares billing address and name, so you might need to use not just a different CC number, but also an address, and perhaps have additional names on the CC account.

I've run into this too, but it was in my favor, ie the rate for two rooms was lower than for one. Any way you look at it, it's weird. Careful about getting two rooms separately. Although you might think you're picking the same hotel (same rating, same amenities), there always the slight chance that you'll end up in another hotel in the same area that appears on the Hotwire screen with identical characteristics. Also, once you book the first room, the hotel may no longer have availability for the second booking! It has happened to me that I selected a hotel, proceeded to book, entered my CC info, and then on the next page got an apology that the offer was no longer available.

Priceline zone: South San Francisco Hotwire zone: San Francisco Airport North - Oyster Point This hotel is old. It shows in the style and state of repair of furniture and bathroom fixtures, and the musty smell in some rooms. The rooms are not terribly clean, you'd want to wipe off the furniture and drawers with a wet wash cloth. Not much you can do about disgusting stains on upholstery. The "suite" is nothing more than a standard-size hotel room that has a sofa(bed) and coffee table next to the king bed. The room has a desk with a too-low chair; a large TV; a dresser and a closet; iron and board; two phones on one line. Kitchenette: coffee maker; mini fridge; microwave. These were installed in the bathroom... Best feature: free high-speed Internet access port in some rooms. No setup needed, just plug in and go. Ethernet (cable provided) or USB (bring a male-B cable). Other freebies: breakfast; toll-free calls; parking; airport shuttle. Local phone calls (very limited area): $.45 Laundry: $1.25 washer; $1.00 dryer. Only one each. Additional taxes charged: $2.50/night Conference Center Tax; $1.00/night County Visitors Tax. Front desk: not friendly but do their job.

I would guess that the tax rate at this hotel is 10%, putting the room rate at $24, meaning you only overbid by $1. It's odd, though, because the neighboring Hilton Garden Inn's tax rate is only 8%. In any case, El Segundo's tax rate is lower than Los Angeles', where LAX is. Of course it's also possible that the rate was indeed 8%, and Priceline's hotel sale gave you a $5 subsidy...

Priceline zone: South San Francisco Hotel Name: Comfort Suites San Francisco Airport 121 E Grand Ave South San Francisco, California 94080 4812-4812 Your Offer Price: $32.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 6 Subtotal: $192.00 Processing Fee ($5.95 per room): $5.95 Local Taxes and Fees: $15.36 Total Charges: $213.31

Is "Hotwire and Priceline Database" the name of this board? Somewhat cumbersome, when you want to recommend it to people during a conversation. Also, this forum's URL should be intuitive and without subfolder designations. Need a catchy name and an easy URL to be able to spread the word!

It is really lamentable that there is no way to require free parking, by checking a box on Priceline's bid screens. Priceline loses business, because I will not bid in a zone where some hotels charge outragous rates for parking, while others offer free parking. Such is the San Francisco airport zone: north of the airport parking is free, south of the airport some hotels charge $10 and more. So whenever possible, I prefer to pay $2-3 more in the adjacent South San Francisco zone (all free parking), than bid in the SFO zone at all.