Why Post the Taxes from an Accepted Bid?

[thereuare]

The taxes shown on an accepted Priceline bid page are the taxes that are passed on to you from Priceline "buying" the room. Therefore, the taxes are based upon the price Priceline paid for the room, NOT upon the price of your winning bid.

So let's assume an example where the taxes are 12% (don't forget many areas have a hotel tax in addition to a state/county/local tax) and the taxes on your Priceline accepted bid page are $6.00.

TaxDollars/TaxRate = Priceline's Rate for the Room

$6/.12=$50

You now know that in our example, Priceline paid $50 for the room.

Although Priceline is under no obligation to do so, they will usually accept a bid at the same price that they paid for the room, and be happy with their $5.95 fee.

If you have any questions/comments about any of the above, feel free to ask them in this thread.

[WillTravel]

I find it interesting to look at the taxes paid and calculate backwards to determine what Priceline paid for the room.

Now in my limited experience (2 successful bids), Priceline has subsidized the purchase slightly. The actual cost to Priceline (based on the taxes) seems to be about $1 more than what I paid per night (pretax and pre-$5.95-charge). But then Priceline also gets the $5.95 fee, so that helps them out and theoretically they come out ahead anyway.

Any ideas about when Priceline will "subsidize" a room bid, and when it won't? I'm very price-sensitive, and so bid low, so the odds of this happening are higher for me, I suspect.

[bturner13]

I have noticing the opposite of PL subsiding the purchase prices. In fact, I have noticed that PL is getting $2-4 more on some of the bids (according to the taxes paid) I have made recently. Perhaps it is just the cities I have booked or the competition in that area. I pride myself of hitting the nail on the head or getting w/in $1-2 of what PL paid for the room. I see PL upping their Processing Fee in the near future! :)

[thereuare]

As it is no longer possible to use the Taxes to figure out Priceline's cost (since now PRICELINE COMBINES TAXES AND FEES), it becomes increasingly important to post your bid history regarding whether your bid was accepted on the first try, and if not, what bid prices were previously rejected.

See this thread for complete details: Why it's IMPORTANT to post complete Priceline Bid history

[jfl]

I don't care what Priceline or Hotwire pays for hotel rooms, rental cars, etc as long as I get a good deal. They are entitled to make a profit since they have overhead like any other company.

I do find the forums where Priceline and Hotwire wins are shared very useful.