Have You Ever Done "Name Your Own Price" on Priceline?

I really depends. I work in two hotels, both a franchise for Marriott. At one property, which is a category 3, nothing special/over the top, when we get Priceline guests, I usually find that the guest ends up paying only a couple of dollars less than rack rate, which really frustrates me b/c I personally could have given them a much sweeter deal without the headache of the "third party" reservations. However, at the other property, I am sometimes blown away at the deals people get!!! At a category 4 with a restaurant, Rack rate could be 119$ per night, but the guest tells me they paid $25 on Priceline!!!!! Of course what Priceline pays us is only about $17 for the room, but that's how they make their $$$ right? It really depends on what property you are looking at, b/c hotels set their own price on Priceline. The GM at my category 3 sets it at only $10 below rack, while the GM at my category 4 work will pretty much give away the hotel as long as we sell those rooms! Most of our guests end up happy with what theyve gotten, the only exception I've run into was people not getting the bed type they reqested, but that can usually be fixed if you call the hotel and ask us directly. If it's available, the hotel will probably make sure you get the right room type.

We do it all the time. Here's what you need to do. Look and find the hotels you really want to stay in. Figure out what area/neighborhood they are in, and how many stars. Then, when you go to name your own price and pick your criteria, you will most likely get the hotel you want anyways, depending on how many there are. Good luck and have fun:)

Me and my hubby always use the name your own price on Priceline for hotels. It works so great and saves you tons of money. We always end up getting like 3 1/2 to 4 star hotels for super cheap. See what happens is hotels want to book all their rooms so if you go on priceline you can name your price and it will tell you what hotels in that area are willing to give you a room for that price. One time we got a 4 star hotel for really cheap cause the only room left was a handicap room. Which was fine, the only thing different about it was it was huge so you could fit a wheel chair in it and the bathroom had the rails on the wall. My kids loved it cause there was tons of room to run around in. But most of the time you still just get the normal rooms. For us we don't book a hotel any other way.

when we go to NYC and want to stay in a hotel (even though we're like 1 hr away) we always use priceline. choose 4 star or more, and choose the area you want to stay in, that way you have no surprises. although monterey has greta hotels, even holiday inn is awesome. call them up and see what they can offer you. the staff at that holiday inn is very nice.
have you been to carmel? i prefer carmel to santa cruz, but either way, that whole area is just to die for.

My husband and I have used that feature several times when we've "gone away" to downtown for an overnight without kids. We've had really great success, at least in the Chicago area. Enjoy your trip!

We use priceline's name your price and also hotwire a lot for hotels. You can pick the number the stars and price and there are some websites if you search that will tell you which hotels are in what areas and how many stars for using priceline. We have always had really nice hotels this way and have gotten some at a real steal. We usually start with four stars and will drop to three and half and sometimes three if we have seen a list of hotels. We also use tripadvisor.com a lot to check out different places and read the reviews.
Have a great trip!

We don't do it and won't because you don''t know exactly what you will get. They book you "withing your specifications" and you are stuck with it and you pay when you book.

We are not willing to take those chances.

We travel a lot and I book directly through our favorite airline, hotel and rental car websites. You can get good deals working with direct websites.

Have fun!

I've done it several times and have had pretty good luck with it. You get to pick the general area and the hotel level (4-star, 5-star), etc but not the hotel. I would recommend sticking with at least a 4-star hotel if not higher to ensure quality. Also, you only get 1 shot at naming your price for each date, hotel level and area combination...if they don't accept your offer, they make you wait 48 hours (I think) before you can offer again on that same combination or you can change something, like the date, and make another offer immediately. Good luck and have fun!

I guess I will look at the other answers, but what is- the Name your own price?

I have only done it with cars. But I do have another suggestion. If you are looking for an affordable place, I find that renting a condo is much more affordable with the advantages we need with a toddler--kitchen, washer/dryer, separate bedroom, etc.--for cheaper than a hotel room. Now we never stay in a hotel. I have had success on VRBO.com and through Tripadvisor.com. The listings seem to be pretty accurate, as long as you check out the reviews. Just another option. Good luck!

we do it most of the time for hotels and all of the time for rental cars...we are not hotel brand particular, so we pick the minimum star level that is acceptable and the area that we want to be in...we have never been disappointed

We've done it and had a good experience. You specify what you want in a hotel and how much you're willing to pay. Then the system finds you a hotel within your specification that is willing to rent a room to you at that price. They automatically book it though, so you're stuck with whatever they come up with (the guaranteed reservation is the reason hotels participate). That's why it's important to make sure that you put the right amount of stars in.

Best of luck!