Priceline
Priceline.com
Priceline.com gives leisure travelers the inside track to the best travel deals and discounts around.
With their exclusive deal search technology and negotiating power, priceline consistently delivers more ways to save on reservations for airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises than anyone else.
This service has saved customers hundreds of dollars on business trips and personal travel.
Customers who used to spend more than $150 per night on mediocre accomodations can get much better rates. Now, booking a few nights ahead of time on Priceline.com and you can stay at 3-star hotel for as little as $50.
It’s a big money-saver at a time when everyone could use some savings.
When bidding
How it works is that you select which star rating of hotel you would like and then you also select which area you would like to stay. Then you enter how much you would like to pay. Listed below the price are pictures and links to the hotels that may be chosen for you.
If they find a room then you are locked for the price you’ve listed. If they cannot find a hotel in the area you are looking for, then you’re out of luck and you can either select a different zip code to stay in or not use priceline.
Priceline has also gives you the option to use the same price twice. After making a bid that is not accepted, the following day they will send you an e-mail saying that you can try once again to name your price. You can try the same price again, or go little bit higher and you might get your room.
Note: Some people complain about having trouble cancelling or changing reservations. Priceline’s terms are very clear: all reservations are paid at the time of booking and are non-refundable. “No refunds, no changes, no cancellations.” So if there’s a chance you will have to make changes or cancellations, you’re better of making reservations with a different company. But if your plans are definite then you can save a lot of money using Priceline.com.
For rental cars, we recommend checking one of the major car rental companies first and then bid 40% lower. The majority of the time, your bid will be accepted.
We invite your comments. If you have any experience with this vendor, good or bad, feel free to contribute your thoughts.