Esco! said:
Sorry but I havent had the time to read all that.
I'm not leaving for Montreal until August, but this priceline scheme looks very interesting
It's not really a scheme in that we're scamming the hotel or anything. The hotel can have an empty room and make $0. Or they can sell you the room at the Priceline rate, which is 40% less than the regular rate. But there are only so many empty rooms in each hotel, so that's why you don't know which hotel you're going to get until someone accepts your offer. The hotel would rather make something than nothing.
I too was a Priceline doubter. Here's what helped me to see the light:
Not knowing which hotel: PL tells you the class. BFT narrows it down. I want high speed internet and SP friendliness. At least in Montreal, all hotels on PL's list have high speed internet, and I don't think the non-SP-friendly hotels like the Vogue are even on PL. Even for a non-hobbying trip to L.A., I can use PL and even more so. Since I'm not hobbying, my requirements are even less.
Payment at time of bid: I was leary of this at first, but afterwards, it makes it easier in that I don't have to worry about the hotel bill when I'm there. Everything is taken care of when I'm still at home. I am confident that 99.9% of the time, I will not have to cancel my trip and suffer a loss. If you're someone with really "flaky" travel arrangements, PL is definitely not for you.
Not getting rewards points: Hotel rewards points are meaningless unless you are rich or you do a lot of business travel. Took me awhile to realize that.
Not getting room preferences: This isn't too big a deal for me, though I do prefer an upper level floor with 2 queen beds. But if you're someone who just has to have 1 king bed on the 11th floor, PL is not for you.