Travel Deal of the Day (June 5, 2008)

Before you book a high-end hotel or resort on Priceline or Hotwire, be sure to investigate whether resort fees or high parking charges are commonplace in the location where you will be vacationing.

The Deal:
The bidding process on Priceline and Hotwire allows customers to obtain highly discounted room rates in exchange for accepting the terms of a non-refundable reservation at a hotel which is unknown to you until after you submit your payment information. When researching the possible hotels that you might obtain for a Priceline or Hotwire bid (at websites such as BiddingForTravel or BetterBidding), be sure to also investigate the parking and resort fee charges at many hotels. In locations such as big cities, parking can add up to $40/day to your hotel stay. Resort fees can be $10-$20/day. These extra fees vary tremendously by hotel – so be sure that your research reflects which areas of town are most likely to have these fees. Also, be sure to budget for these fees as guests that use Priceline and Hotwire are likely responsible for these fees (just like any other guest that used a non-opaque website to book the hotel).