Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Las Vegas / PL / ?

From what it seems, it looks like Priceline is not necessarily a good place to get a good price for Las Vegas, unless you are going for the Venetian. And it looks like the best place to get good rates are the casino's own website, about 2-3 weeks prior to your intended stay.

I am thinking that the best approach to booking a room in Las Vegas is the following (I intend to visit mid-week):

1. Check that there is not a big convention on during your intended stay. If there is, then make sure you get a guaranteed room in advance
2. If no convention, then wait til about 2-3 weeks before your intended stay then check what the prices are on the websites of the casinos

Would you agree? Any other tips for Las Vegas? The only other thing I thought of was scouring forums like this and BFT etc for codes that get shared around.

Not sure if this is the right forum for this question....

I have never tried PL for rooms in Vegas, but I have always found the cheapest rates directly on the hotel websites, like you said. I would also be curious about any luck you all have had with PL for rooms on the strip. Sounds like we are headed there in June for a family reunion and it would be nice to save $$ wherever possible.

There is one other Las Vegas option that Priceline is good for - IF you have a rental car AND if you don't mind an off-strip hotel, bargains at the 2.5* level can be had.

For example, 2.5* Airport area bids often get the Courtyard or Residence Inn in Green Valley (across the street from each other). Free HSIA, parking near your room, clean and well-run, and adjacent shopping (including a Trader Joes). And you're about 6 miles from the Strip via less-congested roads.

Thanks for the feedback. Do you think waiting 2-3 weeks before intended stay to book is too risky?

I also considered PL for a Las Vegas stay, but decided otherwise after reading reports from BFT and BB. After following a thread on Fatwallet I ended up staying at the MGM with one of their "Player's Club" promotions. Was $60 with a $35 dining credit. Hotel was ok, but the price was definitely right, since there was a massive convention there at the time. Am definitely not a high roller, but the promotion required enrolling in their club. Would make a fully cancellable back-up reservation elsewhere if you want to try PL 2-3 weeks out.

A while back I wrote a thread on BetterBidding:

Las Vegas Priceline Exception (http://www.betterbidding.com/show.php/showtopic/720) which you'll probably find interesting, and also has some other good resources for Vegas deals.

(disclaimer: i'm affiliated with the linked site above)

I also recommend buying the cheapest room possible and then "dropping" a $20-50 bill behind the counter when checking in and asking if there are any upgrades available. The amount varies depending on where you are staying.

I also recommend buying the cheapest room possible and then "dropping" a $20-50 bill behind the counter when checking in and asking if there are any upgrades available. The amount varies depending on where you are staying.
Coming from an overseas country where tipping is not customary, how does one normally do this? What's the sequence of events? Do you offer a tip as soon as you get there, or as you hand over your documentation/credit card? If they don't give you an upgrade, do they still keep the tip? Or do you dangle it and say "If you have a better room available I might be able to offer this to you"?

Personally, as a former front desk clerk, I'm not in favor of this. It puts a lot of pressure on the clerk to do something that very well may be against policy. However, if you ask for a nice room and they're able to do something for you, it doesn't hurt to drop by later and say, "I love the room--thank you so much," and press a bill into his/her hand.

That said, the culture in Vegas is a little different and tipping is everywhere!

Frankly, $50 could probably be invested in your room rate and confirm an upgrade ahead of time! On my trip to Vegas over Thanksgiving, I found cheaper rates NOT on the hotel's site, but on a site I got to using travelzoo.com.

I would only recommend priceline for vegas if someone had a strong desire to stay at the Venetian (5 star Strip Zone) and had no potential for being comped.

You can get some amazing bargains at the Venetian on priceline especially midweek. I have stayed there for 79-99 midweek, and have had friends who got it for mid 100's weekend.

I really would not consider priceline for anything less than five stars, because as you noted above usually one can get comparable offers directly from the hotel.

If you do end up trying to bid the Venetian, I would recommend that you check hotwire and see if a 5 star comes up over your date range. Take whatever number hotwire gives you and knock off 30-40% and then use your free rebids (all the other zones) to work up from there. I would expect you to save at least 20% over hotwire's price.

I would recommend checking Hotwire's rate against the cheapest hotel rate. I stayed at the Venetian this past weekend and with Hotwire's "double the difference" guarantee, it was basically free. The hotel website rate was around $200 and Hotwire wanted around $475. Double the difference for two nights was credited back. I've had this happen many times when the Hotwire rate was hundreds more than the hotel's own website rate (the best was when the downtown Raleigh, NC, Sheraton had a rate of $69.00 and Hotwire had a rate of around $400.00...I made major bucks on that one). Just make sure you read the rules and take a screenshot of the rate when you find it (after you book it at hotwire). The hotel rate jumped up to $399.00 12 hours after I booked on hotwire, but they honored the screenshot rate.

I thinks there is a limit of $1000.00 per six months you can claim.

Thanks for the tip....at the moment Hotwire looks to be cheaper than Venetian website for the period I want to travel...but I'll keep checking!

I would only recommend priceline for vegas if someone had a strong desire to stay at the Venetian (5 star Strip Zone) and had no potential for being comped.

You can get some amazing bargains at the Venetian on priceline especially midweek. I have stayed there for 79-99 midweek, and have had friends who got it for mid 100's weekend. Sign up for the casino e-newsletters.

The Venetian sends out deals all the time, I've often seen $100/night during the week with some throw-ins to boot.

I think the best way is to start by checking to see if there is anything going at the time you'd be in Vegas that could negatively impact the price of the room. I would book directly with the hotel and note the cancellation policy. You can always re-book with the lower room rates if they become available. Then within one week of arrival and not within the no-cancellation window I would hit priceline. If i get what I want, then I cancel with the hotel.