Saving money using Priceline & Hotwire mystery hotels

[ozbeachbabe]

Just curious as to whether many people have used Hotwire or Priceline to booking either Express Hotel Deals where they tell you the price of the hotel and guarantee what area it's in but you don't find out the hotel name until you book and pay at which time all is revealed.

The other option is where you name your own price specifying the star rating of your hotel and area you wish to stay in then see if your bid is accepted.

Did you use any bidding sites such as biddingfortravel.com, betterbidding.com or biddingtraveler.com etc and if so, how did that site help you?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Location for me is normally the most important factor in my accommodation choice. After that I look at quality, features price etc. The main exception is where the accommodation is the destination as in say a resort which I do not often do.


I want a location that maximises what the theme of my trip is (and that veries from trip to trip...ie hiking, cycling, 4WD, car-touring, train travel in Europe etc). This will normally be highly waited to factors such as being walking distance to what I am going to see and do, restaurants etc and transport access such as trains etc.

I have sometimes looked at "mystery" deals....and sometimes you can work out which hotel it is, but in the main I prefer the certainty of choosing an accommodation that maximises my trip. This may sometimes may mean a few more accommodation $$$, but if it makes my trip better the $$$ are irrelevant. Indeed I will often stay in some quit cheap places as the location is fantastic.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just curious as to whether many people have used Hotwire or Priceline to booking either Express Hotel Deals where they tell you the price of the hotel and guarantee what area it's in but you don't find out the hotel name until you book and pay at which time all is revealed.

The other option is where you name your own price specifying the star rating of your hotel and area you wish to stay in then see if your bid is accepted.

Did you use any bidding sites such as biddingfortravel.com, betterbidding.com or biddingtraveler.com etc and if so, how did that site help you?

I have used 'name your own price' and searched for clues on all of the above sites... but information can be limited for hotels outside the USA. We scored the Hilton on the Avenue of the Americas for some crazy price like $100 a few years ago. Absolute bargain. The room wasn't the best condition but it was fine for the price.

Same in singapore - another Hilton on Orchard Road, for something like $80. The room was a standard room - perfect.

 

[moa999]

Have used priceline alongside betterbidding forums before - in the bigger cities lots of zones so pretty easy to narrow it down.

But I think the days if super deals are gone, and more recently I've been keeping loyal o Hilton properties with direct booking discounts

 

[RB]

We have used priceline & betterbidding previously when travelling to the US. Has been a while so not sure of the savings to be made these days.
Other than the US, Amsterdam was the other city where we did a lot of background on priceline-there is a huge tripadvisor thread on the 5 star hotels, probably a reflection on the savings to be made! We ended up using a secret hotel deal on easytobook instead when it was obvious we would get the Movenpick City Centre.
Our recent travel has been to Europe & using apartments so we have not had to use priceline for that

 

[fairbasa]

I booked the Sheraton just north of Times Square for $100USD/night including taxes back in February through Hotwire, and used BetterBidding to confirm which hotel I was looking at. I was pretty happy with the price.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I booked the Sheraton just north of Times Square for $100USD/night including taxes back in February through Hotwire, and used BetterBidding to confirm which hotel I was looking at. I was pretty happy with the price.

What dates was the stay for and how were you sure that you were going to get the Sheraton. Was it the hotel amenities that gave it away on Better Bidding? What this one of their express deals where they told you the price or did you name your own price of USD100.00?

 

[fairbasa]

What dates was the stay for and how were you sure that you were going to get the Sheraton. Was it the hotel amenities that gave it away on Better Bidding? What this one of their express deals where they told you the price or did you name your own price of USD100.00?

Just checked my receipt...apologies, it was Jan 23-27 this year. I had a flexible reservation at the Hilton which I cancelled and booked this only 5 days before check-in.

I can't remember exactly what the deal was called, the name was unpublished but from memory it had the "the last person that booked this got...". I also confirmed it using amenities and star rating on Betterbidding. I didn't name a price, it was listed for that amount.

 

[Snoopydoo]

I've read fairly mixed reviews about the site, most of them regarding the condition of the room that you get and the inflated star rating of the properties that were advertised.

 

[fairbasa]

I've read fairly mixed reviews about the site, most of them regarding the condition of the room that you get and the inflated star rating of the properties that were advertised.

I personally wouldn't take a punt on a totally unknown hotel for this reason. But where you can deduce the hotel, I have no issues booking it. I don't believe my room was any worse than a room booked directly through the hotel. We were on a relatively high floor with views towards Times Square.

 

[RB]

I've read fairly mixed reviews about the site, most of them regarding the condition of the room that you get and the inflated star rating of the properties that were advertised.

I had read of similar doubts but our experiences certainly did not prove to be a problem

 

[AviationNZ]

Just curious as to whether many people have used Hotwire or Priceline to booking either Express Hotel Deals where they tell you the price of the hotel and guarantee what area it's in but you don't find out the hotel name until you book and pay at which time all is revealed.

The other option is where you name your own price specifying the star rating of your hotel and area you wish to stay in then see if your bid is accepted.

Did you use any bidding sites such as biddingfortravel.com, betterbidding.com or biddingtraveler.com etc and if so, how did that site help you?

I used Hotwire numerous times about 6-7 years back when travelling a lot to the US for business and working for a smaller company. Saved a heap and stayed in some great 5 star properties. Now working with a larger company, we have managed travel so naturally don't use it as much.

However, have still used it for personal trips and generally speaking, find the savings are still great. With some research using Better Bidding, you can work out the hotel with 90% certainty I've found.

 

[Snoopydoo]

How does Hotwire compare to, say, wotif's mystery deal? I've used wotif's mystery deal a couple of times when travelling domestically and I've been pretty happy with it in terms of the actual hotel booked to how it was described on the website. Being a female solo traveller and having never been to NYC, I worry about booking a hotel that sounds good online only to find out it's in some dodgy area.

 

[RB]

How does Hotwire compare to, say, wotif's mystery deal? I've used wotif's mystery deal a couple of times when travelling domestically and I've been pretty happy with it in terms of the actual hotel booked to how it was described on the website. Being a female solo traveller and having never been to NYC, I worry about booking a hotel that sounds good online only to find out it's in some dodgy area.

As with any booking you would be making, you will need to do research. There is a lot of discussion on FlyerTalk & general google searches of hotwire/priceline will uncover a lot of very helpful discussion. A bit of work should help you avoid dodgy areas

 

[AnnaB]

Thank you for the tip I have been looking for accommodation in the US myself for next year and this was just what I needed. I have used Wotifs mystery hotel before, but then I could work out the hotel before hand.
I am not really fuzzed in where I stay as long as I know the area so these tools will be great for me. As long as I get a smoke free room with a decent bed I am happy.

 

[get me outta here]

I spend time in NYC every year and have found the NYC TripAdvisor forum a particularly useful place to ask questions. They have 'sub specialists' who are hotel experts. If you are looking at some sort of mystery hotel location, I'd jump on there and ask advice.

Overall, thinking about hotel locations, very close to a subway station is the best location.

How does Hotwire compare to, say, wotif's mystery deal? I've used wotif's mystery deal a couple of times when travelling domestically and I've been pretty happy with it in terms of the actual hotel booked to how it was described on the website. Being a female solo traveller and having never been to NYC, I worry about booking a hotel that sounds good online only to find out it's in some dodgy area.

 

[24601]

I've used both Priceline express deals and Wotif mystery hotels, but only where I was pretty certain of what it would be. Once at LAX and got the Westin. Last week in Stuttgart where there are only three 5* hotels, and only two near the hauptbanhof where I wanted to stay and got the Althoff Hotel am Schlossgarten, a beautiful hotel. Several years ago Wotif mystery put me in a place called Breakfree on George in Sydney. It was ok.

I think that if you can be pretty sure about what you're likely to be getting the idea is a great way to save.

 

[get me outta here]

This TA thread gives s few hints including www.Biddingfortravel.com to see winning bids, list of hotels and bidding strategies:

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k8888324-Priceline-New_York_City_New_York.html

 

[ozbeachbabe]

This Hotwire 'Hot Rate' hotel we booked ended up being the Westin O'Hare Airport for AUD101.00. Actual price for room billed was AUS100.90 plus taxes AUD24.14 total AUD125.04.

You can also specify the currency you want to search in so it was USD75.00 per night. I checked the cheapest rate direct on the hotel website for the same date and it was USD189.00 so was pretty happy with that!

 

[get me outta here]

That is a very nice price. How far in advance, and did you have to actually bid for the booking on Hotwire?

This Hotwire 'Hot Rate' hotel we booked ended up being the Westin O'Hare Airport for AUD101.00. Actual price for room billed was AUS100.90 plus taxes AUD24.14 total AUD125.04.

You can also specify the currency you want to search in so it was USD75.00 per night. I checked the cheapest rate direct on the hotel website for the same date and it was USD189.00 so was pretty happy with that!