Jun 15, 2007
Wonders never cease! Were you aware you could use Priceline to obtain cut-rate hotel rooms in Europe?
A tip from a reader, commenting on one of our blog posts, is so important that I'm repeating it here. She claims that high-class hotel rooms in cities like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, and more, can be obtained by bidding as little as $100 a room on www.priceline.com, the famous opaque search engine. And she suggests that you make the attempt before settling for a cheaper "private homestay" (and after using www.biddingfortravel.com and www.betterbidding.com to obtain guidelines for your Priceline bid).
Obviously, Priceline won't work for those popular high season dates when hotels are heavily booked in major European cities -- the hotels offer discounted rates to Priceline only when they're in trouble. And on those much-in-demand dates, you'll still need to search out a "private homestay" (room in a resident's apartment or home in London, etc.) if you're to enjoy affordable rates.
But who would have dreamed that Priceline could be used for European hotel rooms? Since the vast percentage of travelers is probably unaware of that possibility, you might want to try our reader's advice.
Write and read comments about this post.
Obviously, Priceline won't work for those popular high season dates when hotels are heavily booked in major European cities -- the hotels offer discounted rates to Priceline only when they're in trouble. And on those much-in-demand dates, you'll still need to search out a "private homestay" (room in a resident's apartment or home in London, etc.) if you're to enjoy affordable rates.
But who would have dreamed that Priceline could be used for European hotel rooms? Since the vast percentage of travelers is probably unaware of that possibility, you might want to try our reader's advice.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
