Priceline.com has been around for a while now. They gained fame by offering the "you pick the price" method of booking hotel rooms. Well, if you haven't been to the site in a while, this is the time to revisit them. Many hotels are choosing to list rooms on Priceline rather than slash their own 'published' rates. The basic method of booking a room on Priceline is to pick the area of town you wish to stay in, along with the hotel rating (number of stars..more stars = better hotel). You then pick the dates and offer a price you would like to pay for the room. It used to take a while for you to hear if your 'bid' was accepted, but today...the answer comes much quicker (some seem almost instant). While you are bidding on a hotel, you don't know which hotel you are staying in until the bid is accepted and your credit card is charged. That is the element that leaves some people uneasy about using the service.

With more and more hotels selling rooms on Priceline, you can get some great deals on hotels in prime locations along with luxury brands. There are some tips when you book using Priceline and if you follow them, you could save a lot on your next trip:

-Use the 'bidding' feature rather than the straight booking method. You can find some deeper discounts this way.
-Do your research on the surrounding area you plan to visit. Since you choose a specific neighborhood in a city when you bid, knowing exactly where you want to stay is important. Also, think about staying around the city's financial center. Many business hotels are losing business guests and are looking to fill many beds.
-Try to bid on hotels with a three-star or higher rating. These are generally great properties in great locations. Even if the hotel puts you into a 'last sell' or one of the less desirable rooms, you're still in a great hotel. You just might not have a great view.
-Visit Priceline's Hotels page and look for the 'winning bids' section. Research this prior to bidding to see what the going rates have been for the type of hotel you are looking to book. This area does not show when you are placing your bid. 

One thing to remember is that there are no modifications or cancellations once your bid is accepted. Airfare can be kind of tricky on Priceline, but deals can be found and I believe they do allow changes on published deals.

It's kind of fun to name your own price for a hotel room. Try it out-