Thanks essxjay, for mentioning the Yahoo Club. And jetsetter, I saw your post today. Thanks for posting it on the Club.

When using Priceline for hotel bids, I can't stress enough the importance of going to as many hotel websites as possible, prior to bidding, to determine the lowest available rates for your paricular travel dates. Over and over, I've found where the hotel websites will offer lower rates than calling the hotel's reservations number or the hotel directly.

I've compiled a list of nearly 100 winning hotel bids through Priceline, so if anyone here is considering using them, please ask questions at the Yahoo Club prior to bidding. I won't post the entire list, but I'll give examples from it in answer to any question.

And while it surely doesn't happen all the time, I have several examples where travelers have saved more than 50% of the lowest available rate at very popular destinations at 4 star hotels.
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/pricelinedeals