Granted, you can't beat Priceline. Still, I usually don't bother b/c for a regular trip I check the major booking engines and the hotel web sites, then book.

For Priceline I do the above, then I check the location maps (which are pretty good) against the hotels I've already targeted, then I check biddingfortravel.com, then I anxiously bid, wait for Priceline to tell me it's a ridiculously low bid, anxiously check to see whether it's accepted, and if it is, anxiously wonder whether I'll get status recognition and points.

Well, in reality there's very little anxiety, but there is time and uncertainty and sometimes it seems worth it (conventions where it's hard to get a decent rate) and sometimes it doesn't (overnighter at an airport hotel).