Travel Deal of the Day (October 23, 2007)

I am a big fan of Priceline – but when using Priceline for hotels, you must be aware of a limitation of Priceline.

When bidding for hotels on Priceline, you must bid for a certain star-level of a hotel and a “zone” with in a city. That zone may be very small or may be a very large area. Cities like New York have quite a few zones – so, each zone is a relatively compact area. In contrast, smaller cities may have only one or two zones – meaning that you may obtain a hotel room in an area of the zone that is far away from your ideal location in the zone.

Even after this potential problem, I still think Priceline provides excellent hotel deals. However, be aware when using the zone system with Priceline.