Book a Five Star Hotel on a Budget

How to book a five star hotel on a budget

by Matt Vance

Planning a vacation for 2006 on a budget? Boldly go where no traveler with a modest wallet has gone before: a five star hotel. By doing some online research beforehand, you can score an out-of-this-world hotel on a hitchhiker's budget with your next Priceline.com hotel bid.

The website  Bidding For Travel, a bulletin board where bidders communicate with each other about recent bids, is a blessing to the Priceline bidder. Bidding For Travel is especially useful for bidding on hotels, which maintain relatively stable pricing. Combining the data from winning bids with an understanding of the hotel bidding process can yield excellent rates, especially on higher end hotels.

Know Before You Bid

• Most major cities listed in Priceline are divided into multiple zones, each containing one or more hotels. Hotels are assigned ratings based on their amenities (1 to 5 stars; plus the more rare Resort Hotels, Boutiques, and Vacation Condos).
• Decide on your first choice of zone and quality level. The biggest savings are generally on 4 star hotels and up.
• When a bid is unsuccessful, Priceline allows users to rebid by adding zones and increasing the price.
• Since different zones contain hotels with different ratings, bidders interested in higher rated hotels can take advantage of "free rebids" by adding a zone containing only lower ratings than what they had been bidding for.
• Caveat emptor: A successful Priceline bid entitles you to a standard double occupancy room. Priceline does not allow you to specify a non-smoking room or a particular number of beds. You can try calling the hotel after your bid is accepted, but the hotel is not obligated to accommodate you. This article is intended as an overview of the bidding process; be sure to familiarize yourself with the Bidding For Travel Hotel FAQ before placing a bid. And keep in mind that Priceline policies are subject to change.

Bidding

As an example, from the Bidding For Travel main page, select the "Illinois - Chicago" board under the Hotels section. At the top of the board is a permanent thread that contains a list of all the hotels in the Chicago area. The list is divided by zone and quality level, with links to the official website of each hotel. Some hotel entries also include a link to customer reviews.

Next, browse or search the board for recent successful bids in the area you are interested in. For instance, if you were looking for a hotel near O'Hare Airport, you might find that successful bids for a four star hotel in the area range between $49 and $70.

You would then start by bidding for hotels in just that zone, at a price near the lower end of the range. If your bid is successful congratulations! If your bid is unsuccessful, you are given an opportunity to rebid by increasing your bid and adding zones. To find additional zones, refer back to the hotel list and look for a zone containing only lower level hotels.

For the O'Hare example, you might add the "Midway Airport Area" zone which only includes 3 star hotels and below. You also need to increase your bid amount by at least $1. If necessary, continue rebidding as long as you can safely add zones. If you exhaust all available rebids, you will need to wait 72 hours before bidding again on the same dates, zones, and quality level.

This method may seem complex at first, but other Bidding For Travel users will gladly provide assistance along the way. If you book hotels often it will quickly become second nature. On some multiple night stays, I've saved hundreds of dollars compared to the rates found anywhere else.

Do you have a killer Priceline bidding strategy? Do share in the comments or to tips at lifehacker.com.