ezboard/priceline & expedia bidding

[Guest ncm2169]

Hey, I'm trying to figure out how in the HELL to use the ezboard/priceline & expedia bidding site for a hotel reservation. I'm neither stupid nor computer/online illiterate, but it seems like an awful lot of info to wade through. Anyone have a shortcut or some helpful hints?:o

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

Reader's Digest Version

 

> Anyone have a shortcut or some helpful hints?:o

 

If your are seeking in the next few days then see what most recent bids have hit and bid accordingly.

 

If looking further down the road then go to two or three online hotel reservation sites and check the rates quoted for dates of interest.. Start your bidding at roughly 35% and go up unitl you hit or the slope gets too sleep. If you fail to hit then give it a rest for three days, or a week. New inventory comes on line all the time.

 

If u don't know about free rebids then read the faq. It is very helpful and full of information. Patience and perserverance are their own reward.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Reader's Digest Version Redux

 

You need to join EZBoard, which I assume you know/have discovered.

 

An additional site which will be of use is to join http://www.hotwire.com - the areas are slightly, but only slightly different than Priceline, but you do not need to make a bid to discover what is available and at what prices. Hot Wire tends to be slightly higher - IMHO, approximately $10 to $50 more, depending on class of service, type of hotel, and location. This would give you an idea of what to bid on Priceline.

 

If you are not looking for something in the immediate future, I would suggest trying a few extremely low bids in an area and city you want, for a class of service (four stars) that you are unlikely to get a low bid. I personally found it of use to trying some "practice" bids to get familiar with the system, however if you have used EBAY or other such sites (which I had not), this is not necessary.

 

Finally, I did not know Expedia allowed bidding. I thought they simply sold travel. You may check out LastMinuteTravel.com as well and some specific cities such as Las Vegas, have other sites specific to them with better deals than I have found you can find on Priceline. The last time I went to San Francisco, I got a room at the Hyatt web site directly which bettered the bid I was trying to get on Priceline for a comparable quality hotel in Union Square. Conversely, I have not used Priceline or Hotwire in Vegas, preferring to use http://www.lasvegas.com, which gives me the best possible prices on excellent hotels on the strip, and also tells me exactly the class of room and hotel I will purchase. I then call the hotel directly and have always gotten the same rate advertised on line.

 

Good luck!

[HooBoy]

Click on the Hooboy's Discount Travel link at the top of the website for some outstanding deals. Oh, yeah, I get about .001% of your booking but after awhile they add up.

 

I use the service myself.

 

Oh, and it is EASY TO USE...

[J-Man]

RE: ezboard/priceline & expedia bidding

 

You need to check out http://www.biddingfortravel.com

 

It's a VERY useful site where people post their bids, bidding questions, etc. about Priceline. You can even find out which hotels Priceline uses in which cities. And it will definitely help you decide how much to bid.