Beyond VoIP TMC

Travel on the Cheapest

September 15, 2006

Now that we've entered the high season for trade shows -- and travel -- I thought I'd share a surefire method for getting a great hotel room for the absolutely lowest price on the planet. Please note that I haven't made this public through my writings before -- although it is a technique that a number of people have discovered. Consider it a small reward for reading my blog.

The technique involves the coordinated use of two Web resources: Priceline.com and Biddingfortravel.com. We all know about the "Name Your Own Price" feature on Priceline, where you bid a price for a hotel with a particular star level in a particular geographic zone of a city where you want to stay.  Familarity with this feature is a plus.

Biddingfortravel.com is a great Priceline-centric message board that lists winning bids at hotels around the world, and has great FAQs and tips about getting the most out of Priceline, as well as lists and user-submitted reviews of hotels that have been selected in each Priceline zone. The Hotel FAQ on this site is invaluable -- especially the information that details how to use "Free Rebids" on Priceline.com.

Without the magic of "Free Rebids", Priceline limits you to one bid for a hotel at a particular star level, in a specific zone and dates of stay. If your bid is rejected, Priceline wants you to change the star-level (always to a lower star rating), add a zone or change the check-in or check-out dates, or wait 72-hours to bid again. However, the free rebid technique lets you circumvent these constraints, and allows you to continue to bid for a specific zone and star level without changing your selections.  You can start bidding at the lowest price, and in most cases have multiple opportunities to raise your bid incrementally.

I won't detail the whole process here, but I do encourage you to click the FAQ link above to learn how to make use of "Free Rebids". By using the combination of Priceline.com and Biddingfortravel.com. I've been able to get discounts of at least 60% and up to 80% on 3 and 4 star properties all across the country. Biddingfortravel.com is also a great resource for getting dirt cheap airfares, but I haven't used Priceline.com for my airtravel as it's more important for me to use an airline brand I trust and enjoy (for me it's Jet Blue) and because I want full control over my itinerary and the ability to rack up points.

 

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