Issue Date: January 11, 2009
TravelSmart |
EVERETT POTTER |
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Finding hotel deals
Thanks to rampant discounting in the hotel industry, there probably has never been a better time to get a deal on a hotel room using either Priceline.com or Hotwire.com. On these so-called "opaque" websites, you pay to reserve a hotel room without knowing the name of the hotel. The payoff often is a sharply discounted room.
Priceline.com's "Name Your Own Price" lets you decide how much you want to bid. You choose a star rating and neighborhood, but the hotel's name isn't revealed until after you have made your room reservation.
Hotwire.com does it a bit differently. That site names a price, the star class and the neighborhood upfront but doesn't disclose the name of the hotel; you learn that only after your purchase.
Smart bidders can do some research on BiddingForTravel.com. There, Priceline.com users reveal their winning and losing bids. Or go to BetterBidding.com, which also tracks Hotwire.com hotels.
To make sure you don't overbid on Priceline or Hotwire, first visit expedia.com or travelocity.com to compare posted hotel prices.
Want to know more about hotel reservations online?
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