It is totally electronic. Hotels load rooms and rates into a reservation system that Priceline accesses, and when you bid it checks to see if they can get you a room or not for the price you want. I have had some come back much faster than five minutes, but I think it depends on how many choices priceline's system has to look at to get the best deal for them. If you are bidding in a zone where there are only two hotels that meet your star level, sometimes answers come back in seconds.