Key questions on Priceline

[Dealer]

Can an expert answer a couple questions or me?

1. Do the hotel rates get lower lady-minute, I.e. if you bid the day of check-in or the day before, will that likely get a better rate than dates a week or month in advance?

2. Does anything change on rates or weekends? Are they cheaper in key cities, such as LA or NYC, than week days?

3. Why does Hotwire have a 5-star category and Priceline not? Are Hotwire's 5-star hotels basically the same as Pricelines' 4 stars?

4. If I bid a bit more on a hotel, will I get a better 4* or just the same one for a higher price? For example, if a successful bid was made at $124 for a 4* and I got the Intercontinental, would bidding instead $150 maybe got me better hotel, or just the same Intercontinental for $150 instead of $124?

5. How is Hotwire different than Priceline for bidding on unknown hotels?

Thank you.

[AaronJB]

1. See the FAQ for a discussion of timing.

2. Weekends are not necessarily more expensive than weekdays and vice versa. Bidding and rates are entirely on a case-by-case basis and dependent upon location, dates, star rating, etc..

3. PRICELINE does have 5* options in some zones. There is variation in some cases on both services in terms of star rating differences for the same hotel.

4. PRICELINE is about getting *a* hotel for less, not a specific hotel. If you bid higher in an attempt to try to get a particular hotel (or avoid a particular hotel), you could still end up getting a hotel you were trying to avoid and overbidding.

5. See this thread: I've Never Used Hotwire or Priceline for details on both services.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.