Priceline Hotel: Low priced hotels

[timetraveler]

In searching for hotels of the 2* type in the Orlando area, I've come to a couple of conclusions about using Priceline and Hotwire for low priced hotels:

It's difficult to use rebidding since most areas have 2* hotels.

By the time Priceline and Hotwire add on their fees, very little money is saved over booking with a discount rate such as AAA, AARP, "internet users", etc.

For saving so little money, the Priceline or Hotwire users take a chance on location, encountering unexpected fees, and losing all their money if they have to cancel.

Are my conclusions valid? Can they be generalized to other cities? Is it worth using Hotwire or Priceline for 2* or 1* hotels?

[powerplantop]

In general I agree that for 2* properties I would prefer to book direct.

But as always some rules get broken. In some locations you can get long term stay properties that usually fall into the 2* group. And you can save money on these properties.

[thereuare]

I think it has more to do with the price of the hotel rather than the star rating of the hotel.

In some areas (NYC as an example) 2 star hotels are still often well over $100 per nite, in which case the opaque providers would still be a good option. In other areas 3* and 4* hotels can be had for as little as $59/nite... in these areas it may make less sense to use the opaque providers.

As i've often stated elsewhere, there's just not as much profit margin to be able to discount a $40 hotel room vs. a $140 hotel room.

[timetraveler]

When I searched HOTWIRE for the Orlando area, several choices came up that were identified as "condo"s. Is there a way to bid on PRICELINE for a condo?

[thereuare]

No, you can not specifically bid on a Condo property thru PRICELINE.

If you want a Condo property, or require specific amenities (such as a kitchenette), HOTWIRE may be the better option.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[timetraveler]

Is it possible to bid for a condo on priceline?

[thereuare]

See our previous reply above.

[timetraveler]

In searching for hotels of the 2* type in the Orlando area,

We ended up doing Orlando as a day trip.

[timetraveler]

See our previous reply above.

Sorry for the double question. I lost the post and thought it had disappeared without an answer, so I asked again. Then I lost the post with my duplicate question. Now I see that they were all combined.