Remembering to check the "other options"

[Phaelon56]

A friend who regularly asks me for bidding advice and has become a strong adherent of Priceline bidding for hotels recently planned a weekend visit to NYC (staying one night for a show on Dec 4th - this past weekend). The insanely high prices and ow availability for the holiday season prompted him to sconsider driving to Philly after the show and staying there, where they'd be visiting friends on Sunday.

After striking out at prices up to $100 in Philly he began a bidding pricess for NJ, targeting areas along the NJ Turnpike heading south from NYC. His bidding for 4* got up close to $100 with no luck and in the high 8$80's for 3*. Just for the heck of it he checked a few other on-line price sources and discovered a Marriott Courtyard in Edison for $71 per night!

I know it's probably second nature for some of you but sometimes I have tendency to forget that it's always advisable to check the other sources FIRST!!! Gotta love that betterbidding three way hotel checker - it's the bomb!

[WillTravel]

That's especially true for Europe and Asia, but it can also be true for North America as well. Lucky for your friend!

[skelman]

I totally agree with Phaelon56 that checking Orbitz or Travelocity should be the starting point. In some areas, especially sparsely populated ones, HW and PL only offer a limited number of hotels, mostly from more expensive chains. On two recent occasions, I wasn't able to find anything in Ithaca, NY or Brattleboro, VT that would be cheaper than local Super8 motels, which are just fine by me whenever I travel alone.

My friend was also recently looking to stay in the New York area in late January, but didn't want to risk bidding for a hotel in NJ that would be away from public transportation and the rates in Manhattan seemed to start around $100. But he found a 2* Midtown hotel on Orbitz for just $90 and knew exactly what he would be getting.

Still, in about 80% of the cases I've encountered, either PL or HW works best. Even if I don't save all that much over "regular" reservations, I now do get to stay at Hyatt's, Marriott's, and Wyndham's, which would be way out of my price range otherwise...