Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - New to Priceline

Hi All,

I am new to both Flyertalk and Priceline.
This website is really imformative and really addictive to read those trip reports!

OK, I am planning to visit the US in a few weeks time and have a few questions on Priceline:

What is the highest "star" category can you bid.
Also I heard there is a website called - biddingfortravel.com. How does that work?
I heard there are some tricks in bidding (eg. selecting multiple areas first and then slowly focusing in). But I don't understand how does this work?

Thanks in advance for any help.
DM

Hey,

Welcome to FT. It depends on what city you are visiting as to the highest star level. Biddingfortravel can be informative about previous winning bids and hotels in each cities zones, however its never a guarantee that you will get your bid, just helpful information. I hope you enjoy your visit to the states.

I love using Priceline. It is confusing at first, but once you figure it out, you save a lot of money. You are not guaranteed a particular hotel when you are bidding, only the zone and star level. I think the stars go up to 5 and then Resort level.

I research the city I want to visit and then select a zone I would like to stay in. I never stay lower than a 4 star and read all of the reviews of the hotels that come up a lot in that zone and star level. The biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com websites are very helpful with that. If hotels with bad reviews keep coming up in my chosen zone, I choose another zone. No guarantees, but I can play the odds and guess which hotels will come up.

I think you are referring to the free rebids as the tricks. You will need free rebids to keep raising your bid because Priceline will lock you out from bidding for three days if you don't change something in your next bid after a rejection. You have to be very careful and not add a zone you don't want. This is explained in the FAQ sections of the above websites. A free rebid is a zone that doesn't have your star level, so technically you are raising your bid for your original zone because there are no eligible hotels in the added zone. An example would be NYC. I love the Midtown West(MTW) zone and wouldn't want to stay anywhere else. I always bid 4 stars, so I need to look for zones with no 4 star hotels. I usually guess by looking at the hotel sections of the above websites and find zones without 4 stars. In NYC that would be Upper Westside, and Upper Eastside. That means I have two free rebids. I can keep raising my bid for the MTW zone by adding one of those zones to my next bid.

Recently I was bidding on a London trip and there were no free rebids because London had 4 star hotels in every zone. It just took me longer because I would bid up to my limit and then have to wait three days. Not fun at all, but in two weeks I will stay in a 4 star for $89/night instead of the hotel's regular rate of $350/night. In March, I got lucky and paid $53/night for a London 4 star.

This explanation is probably clear as mud, but keep reading those FAQ sections and you will figure it out. You can ask for bidding strategies on both of those websites. You need to follow the rules and fill out the "Bidding Assistance Form" completely to get the requested help.
http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddinghotels
http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showforum=171&

Welcome traveling4fun and Dave!
There are two good resources for PL info. Bidding for Travel has the most posts, but many of us prefer Better Bidding because of it's management style.
I,too, only use PL to get a 4*+ at great discounts. Overall, I've found less amazing deals than a few years ago. But, PL is still an wonderful way to save money.

What is the highest "star" category can you bid.

This depends upon the area where and when you want to bid. If No 4 or 5 star hotels have placed inventory in the PL system then you can only bid on what is in the system. If the area where you want to stay has a big event the hotels in the area may not load any rooms. If it is off season with no events then you may be able to get a real deal.

Also I heard there is a website called - biddingfortravel.com. How does that work?
Go take a look, it is there to help!. You will not be talked down to. Go to the area where you want to stay. Post for bidding help. But do give as much info as you can. BTW my name there is the same as flyer talk drop me a pm if you need help.

I heard there are some tricks in bidding (eg. selecting multiple areas first and then slowly focusing in). But I don't understand how does this work?
DM

Post for bidding help at are catagory @ biddingfortravel.com and you will get all the help that you need.

I am not sure where you are from but welcome to the USA. I do hope that your visit is a good one.

Welcome traveling4fun and Dave!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm in Chattanooga, not far from you.