Hacking Priceline and Hotwire for Cheaper Travel

Yesterday I tried "hacking" Priceline, something that has always helped me get great hotel rates in the past when I use a few simple tricks, which I will share in a moment.

If you haven't used Priceline or another travel bidding Web site before, the idea is that hotels sell unused inventory at steep discounts without diluting their brand. The way they do this is that they sell you a certain quality (star level) hotel room in a certain location, but they don't reveal the name of the property until you have already bought a nonrefundable room.

There are two factors that you, the buyer, can gain a little more control of in this sometimes-scary process: the price and the specific hotel.

Both these things are supposed to remain a mystery, but the secret to "hacking" them is a little simple research. The first research I did on my recent Priceline purchase was simply to search the town I was looking for -- Oconomowoc, Wis. -- on Priceline's regular search, the one on the front page of the Web site, which gives you an upfront discount price instead of the deeper discount you might get by bidding.

This search turned up the names of the two main hotels in town, their star ratings, and how much they were going for. As far as price went, I now knew the price to beat in my bidding -- the hotel I wanted, the 2-1/2-star Hilton Garden Inn, was selling for $129 on Priceline.

The second bit of research I did was to search for the same city on Travelocity and a few other travel sites, to make sure that a) none of them were selling the same hotel for cheaper than Priceline and b) none of them listed any other 2-1/2-star properties in Oconomowoc. If I had seen a better price elsewhere, this would become my new price to beat.

The third bit of research was to check a forum, BetterBidding.com, where other travelers share their winning and losing bids on Priceline and similar sites. This is generally the BEST information source for these sites, because people can tell you that they just won a room at a certain hotel by bidding $70 a night on Priceline, while another bidder didn't get it by bidding $75, so then you know exactly what to bid and which property you're likely to get.

Unfortunately for me, no one has bid on rooms in Oconomowoc lately and posted on BetterBidding.

Still, I felt reasonably secure after my research that my desired property was the ONLY 2-1/2-star hotel in Oconomowoc, and that if I won a bid with those two variables, I would end up in the right place. I had also heard from my father-in-law that another guest at the wedding we are to attend in the area had secured a room at this hotel for $70, so that's what I bid.

For the first time, all my hacking techniques sort of failed me. In the past, after these investigatory steps, I successfully nabbed hotel rooms in the exact properties I was looking for. But this time, Priceline told me they had "upgraded" me to a 3-star hotel. That 3-star property was the Staybridge Suites, just across the freeway from the Hilton Garden where the rest of the wedding party will be staying.

Since the bids are binding, we are now staying across the freeway from the rest of our group whether we like it or not. Oh well. I still got a way better deal than others in our group did, and actually the suites sound like they will be a little more convenient since we are staying with the kids. I still stand by my Priceline hacking techniques and will use them again, with just one caveat: Beware the "complimentary" upgrade!

I did have one warning that this might happen: When filling in my bid preferences, the screen told me that the 3-star option was the "best deal." I'd say if you are looking for a certain hotel and a hotel with a higher star rating is listed as "best deal," you should beware that you are probably going to be shifted to that other rating.

OK, and one more thing is making it harder for me to feel pleased about what happened despite the mishap: I just noticed this offer on the front of Priceline for what is certainly the SAME hotel I bought for $70. The price? $55.

 Photo by Svadilfari, used via Creative Commons license.