In a nutshell, hotels use Priceline.com to sell excess room inventory at prices that are usually at least 30% off the already-discounted rates you'll find at sites like Travelocity and Hotels.com. After Priceline, the next best prices are usually found at Hotwire.com. With both Hotwire and Priceline (the Priceline bidding option), you won't be told the name of the hotel you've bid on until after you've paid for it. However, there's often a way to know the hotel property you're bidding on anyway (see section below).

Since Priceline's prices are often significantly lower than Hotwire's, the skillful way to use Priceline is look up Hotwire's prices and then bid 10% to 20% below the Hotwire price. In general, a bid that's 15% below Hotwire's price is a good choice. You've got nothing to lose.

It's rare but possible for Hotwire's prices to be high. To avoid overbidding in such instances, check to make sure that your Priceline bid is at least 30% below the prices quoted at Hotels.com.

Note that sometimes Hotwire.com will have listings for hotels that Priceline does not. In that case, the Hotwire price will usually be the best available price online.

The low-risk way to use Hotwire and Priceline

The low-risk way to use Hotwire and Priceline is to purchase three-star and four-star hotels. It's tough to end up in an undesirable hotel that way. Often, it'll be a Hilton, Hyatt, Holiday Inn Crown Plaza, Sheraton, Marriott, or other high-quality hotel chain.

The really low-risk way to use Hotwire and Priceline: Determine the hotel property you're bidding on

Finally, even though Hotwire and Priceline don't reveal the names of the hotels, often you can figure out the actual hotel property before you pay. Simply take the list of amenities and rough price and cross-reference those against the information available on sites that show the hotel name, such as Hotels.com. Often you can narrow it down to the point that you know exactly where you'll be staying even before you bid.

Good luck bidding and purchasing at Priceline.com and Hotwire.com. Oh, and don't forget to purchase your hotel stay with a credit card that gives you a decent reward. For example: You do not have access to view this node.