Anyone ever done Priceline's "Name Your Own Price?"

[hbelkins]

Just curious if anyone here has ever done Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" for a hotel/motel room, and if so, how it worked out for you.

I am considering doing it for the Iowa meet next week. There are only three 2-star hotels in Marshalltown, and any of the three would be acceptable for me since all have wi-fi and are located in the same vicinity.

What percentage of the original room offering price did you bid if you did use this program successfully? Priceline tacks on a hefty fee ($15 or so) so even if you bid half the listed price of a room at the hotel (and all three I'm looking at have similar prices), by the time the fee and taxes are added, you don't get that great of a discount. I'm thinking of offering 40 percent of the listed price and seeing if it's accepted.

Since you have to pay up front before you even find out if your offer is accepted, and there's no refunds or cancellations, I'm not going to do this until I am actually on the road and know for sure I'll be able to make it. I probably won't even do it until the night before my scheduled arrival.

Curious as to everyone's thoughts and experiences.

[US71]

So did you use Priceline? How did it work out?

[agentsteel53]

Since you have to pay up front before you even find out if your offer is accepted,

do they at least refund your money if your offer is not accepted, or does Priceline do a Nelson Muntz point-and-laugh?

[US71]

do they at least refund your money if your offer is not accepted, or does Priceline do a Nelson Muntz point-and-laugh?

They want a credit card number up front, but don't charge it until your offer is accepted. Then they charge you for the room, their $10 "processing fee" , and the dry cleaning bill for William Shatner's toupee. 

[hbelkins]

So did you use Priceline? How did it work out?

No. I had enough points for two free nights at the Comfort Inn, and the AAA rate for the third night was acceptable.

The problem with the "name your own price" is that you don't get to select smoking vs. non-smoking rooms up front and you have to make a special request to the hotel after booking. As it was, booking through ChoiceHotels.com allowed me to ask for exactly the room i wanted, and I got an excellent room out of the deal. Right at the end of the hall, parking lot right outside for easy access to the vehicle, etc.