Priceline Express or Hotwire?

Tigger1

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 18, 1999
Part of the family will need to leave Florida before my DD and I. We thought we would add a few days to WDW at the least expense possible. Our annual passes gives us discounts at WDW resorts but thought we might try Priceline or Hotwire to get a nicer resort for a value price.

What is the difference in booking from Priceline or Hotwire? Just Daughter and myself.
 
Priceline - There are three ways to book hotels room:
Priceline as a normal travel agent (like Expedia and Orbitz). Go to the main website, enter destination and dates, and you're shown Hotel Names, Rates, and hotel quality (stars).
Priceline Express is similar to Hotwire in that you see room availability listed as hotel quality (stars) and rates. You pick the hotel quality your comfortable with (I usually stick with 3*+) and a reasonable rate. You don't find out the hotel name until after the transaction. There are a couple of websites that have a good database of past Hotwire/Priceline deals, so with research, this is usually a good way to go.
Name Your Own Price is Priceline's original business model, where you select destination, dates, and hotel quality THEN make an offer for the rate. You won't know what the hotel name is until your bid is accepted. Again, with research, one could narrow down what might be in the inventory and what bids had been accepted in the past. For example, Priceline Express might offer a 3.5 star for $80/night but you might be able to "win" the same room for $65/night with a bid. BUT this takes a lot of research and you may have to bid several times to find the lowest accepted rate.

Hotwire is generally the same as Priceline Express. You enter destination and dates, and a list with hotel quality and rates are displayed. Rates between Hotwire and Priceline Express are close but I think Priceline is a little cheaper ($5) on average.

I recommend visiting either BetterBidding or BiddingForTravel websites for more in depth information.

HTH, Steve
 
I have often booked through hotwire - but I did use better bidding as a guide. There are lots of different types of properties in Orlando (some you may not want). Some of the properties I got were Hawthorne Suites LBV, Sheraton Vistana LBV, Extended Stay Westwood Blvd., Ramada at the airport, also Country Inn and Suites at the airport. I usually only took properties that were 75% recommended or above. I also used hotwire to book rental cars - sometimes for less than $10/day. I was mostly satisfied- no horror stories but you may be able to find the property you really want discounted without going through hotwire at all.
 
Ive had good luck with Hotwire.

For me it usually isn't too hard to figure out what the hotel is. I just google the area, some of the listed amenities and the resort fee ( if there is one) and that usually narrows it down a lot so I can make an educated guess.
 



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