Question about how Priceline selects your hotel...

[CanadianSteel]

Lets say the city I want to stay in has 8 hotels that priceline draws from, all at the same star level, and 2 of the 8 would be considered cheaper and maybe less desireable than the other 6... Does a low bid mean your likely going to get one of the 'lower' hotels? If I bid $40 am I likely getting the $86 hotel? And if I bid $50 do I have a better chance of getting $100? Or is that not how it works? Does this make any sense?? :)

Thanks!!

[Colfax]

Welcome to the board, CanadianSteel.

Rack rates and perceived desireability are irrelevant to which hotel you'll win. What matters are the rates the hotels give to PRICELINE, which don't necessarily correlate with rack rates.

Let's say there are two 3* hotels in a zone, with Hotel A being much nicer and having a higher rack rate than Hotel B.

Hotel A has a rack rate of $150 and gives Priceline a rate of $50.

Hotel B has a rack rate of $100 but gives Priceline a rate of $60.

If you bid $50-59 you'll win the nicer Hotel A.

If you bid $60 or higher you'll win less nice Hotel B.

Rack rates and desireability don't factor into the outcome. You can win ANY hotel in the zone at the quality level you bid or higher. (PRICELINE can upgrade a bid, but not downgrade it.)

If you have an upcoming stay that you want help with feel free to post more info (dates, location, etc.)

Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your purchases.

[thereuare]

Here is a link to a thread which is goes into more detail about what i think you're really after:

Don't Bid Higher For a Specific Hotel

Do you have a specific city, hotel or travel dates in mind?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

PS- please read your messages