Rapid Travel Chai: Hotwire and Priceline at FTU DCA 2014

1. Hotwire and Priceline FTU DCA 2014 Stefan Krasowski Rapid Travel Chai

4. My Hotwire and Priceline Experience My travel is 75% international Rented cars weekly for 2 years of NY-Atlanta commute Many hotel bookings Many rental car bookings No air bookings No vacation package bookings ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

7. The Hotwire and Priceline Tradeoff Why to Not Use: No changes, no refunds* Unpleasant surprises* No elite status recognition* No miles and points* Why to Use: Save Money *There are always exceptions and luck ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

8. Rental Car Tradeoff Hypothetical When to not save $10: Orlando, FL car rental Spring break Huge lines at counter Eye-rolling spouse Screaming children When to save $10: Moline, IL car rental Always off-peak No lines No spouse No children ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

11. Hotel Star Ratings Star ratings are subjective and generous by ½ to 1 star You have limited recourse Stick to 3-star and above ‘3-star’ Monte Carlo Inns Toronto Markham My wife has not forgiven me ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

12. Getting the Room You Want Room type – call hotel after booking if you want a king bed Better room – call hotel with self-deprecating sweet talk Non-smoking room – yep, call ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved Photo by Ben Tesch, flickr

13. The ‘gomike’ slide gomike on FlyerTalk – Priceline, timeshare hacks & more Contact hotel programs to add your number to reservation Charge small incidental spend during stay to your room Hyatt: Status often recognized, including Diamond 1k check-in May get elite stay credit Marriott: Status often recognized, including check-in amenity Others: you may get lucky ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved Photo by Isabelle Plante, flickr

14. Fees Hotwire Hot Rate and Priceline Name Your Own Price™ rates often loaded with fees Do not compare per day rates Do compare total price Portland 1 day car: Expedia vs Priceline $18/day = $23 vs $29.34 ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

21. Hotwire Hot Rates – Flights New York – Los Angeles example: 6 am – 10 pm departure window Up to 1 connection Up to 3 hour layover No one-ways or multi-city No airline benefits No credit card free checked bag …all to save $40 ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

23. Hotwire Hot Rates – Cars Rates often not as good as flexible reservation portals (BJ’s, Costco, Capital One, Chase, etc.) Guaranteed major agency – but includes Dollar/Thrifty No off-airport, no one-way Must be age 25+ Los Angeles weekend Hotwire $57.57 vs Costco $48.12 ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

24. Hotwire Hot Rates – Cars Pick-up up to 24 hours late – book Sun night, pick-up Mon (call agency to hold a car on peak times) Atlanta Sun 10 pm pick-up $63.65 vs Mon 8 am $81.26 ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

25. Hotwire Hot Rates – Cars Always unlimited miles (important for international) 30-minute grace period on returns Extensions at agency rates – can be very expensive All add-ons billed at agency rates (e.g. Dollar/Thrifty huge toll charges) Welcome to Newark from Dollar/Thrifty – tolls $17.49/day ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

30. Check TripAdvisor TripAdvisor lists 7 4-star traveler rating hotels available Only 2 are 3.5-star chain hotels – Doubletree and Marriott Amenities are same so TripAdvisor is inconclusive ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

33. Hotwire – Hotwire Express Invitation only program ≈ $1k annual spend Claims to have better service, case-by-case support Occasional ‘Star Upgrades’ – e.g. pay 3-star hotel, get 4-star ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

35. Hotwire – Cancellation/Refund Air & Hotel: No official exceptions – consider trip insurance Car: Flight delay exception for 24+ hours delay You can always plead your case ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

40. Priceline Name Your Own Price® – Flights Similar terms to Hotwire: 6 am – 10 pm departure window (US), international anytime Up to 1 connection Up to 3 hour layover (US), international 75% < 3 hours One-ways but no multi-city No airline benefits No credit card free checked bag ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

42. Priceline Cars - General Rates often 10-30% lower than Hotwire Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National only My experience is most often Avis Rates not always available – change search parameters No off-airport, no one-way Always unlimited miles (important for international) Extensions and add-ons at agency rates Drivers under 25 allowed for additional fees ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

43. Priceline Cars – Bidding Strategy Example: Wilmington, NC Aug 23-25, midsize car Step 1: Get a baseline at Hotwire or others: Hotwire $17.95/day, $57.84 total ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

49. Priceline Cars – Bidding Strategy Step 4: Bid around Priceline Sweetspot For short, economy rentals, $1-$2 under often works Longer rentals and bigger cars can widen the gap Can be more aggressive depending on lead time Needed car next day so bid $16, final price $54.36 with Hertz ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

50. Priceline Cars – Re-Bidding the Official Way Same trip wait 24 hours to re-bid Can immediately re-bid for different car type (up or down) Compact may be same price as economy Change return date may allow re-bid (e.g. Tue 6 am, then try Mon 11 pm – you get the car for 24-hour days) I generally find 1-2 weeks out is good time to bid ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

55. Priceline Hotels – Where to Use Use where the zone is targeted and fits your needs Use when you do not need a specific amenity like a pool Use when transport situation works for you Use when companions are easy-going ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

57. Priceline Hotels – Bidding Strategy 1. Compare market rates 2. Research Priceline zones 3. Research winning bids on forums 4. Prepare bid strategy – write it down! 5. Go for it ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

61. Priceline Hotels – Bidding Strategy Step 4: Prepare bid strategy – identify available stars by zone Zone 1: 1-3 star Zone 2: 1-3.5 star Zone 3: 1-3 star Zone 4: 2-2.5 star Zone 5: 2-4 star ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

62. Priceline Hotels – Bidding Strategy Step 4: Prepare bid strategy – target 4-star in Zone 5 Bid 1: Zone 5, 4-star Bid 2: Add Zone 1, 4-star Wait, what? Zone 1 has no 4-star Priceline let’s you re-bid Only Zone 5 has 4-star hotels 5 zones = 5 bids for 4-star ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

63. Priceline Hotels – Bidding Strategy Step 4: Prepare bid strategy – what about 3.5 star? Zone 2 has 3.5 star I don’t want Zone 2 So can bid 5, then 1, 3, 4 Increase each bid in increments ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

64. Priceline Hotels – Bidding Strategy Step 5: Go for it For each star add zone one by one For each new star start new search to reset zones Or Ditch Strategy and Do The Re-Bid Hack ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

71. Priceline – Low Price Guarantee 24-hour guarantee for identical booking, refunds difference ‘Big Deal Guarantee’ for Name Your Own Price™ and Vacation Packages: difference + $25 + $50 off next 2-night or longer Vacation Package ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

72. Priceline – Cancellation/Refund No official exceptions – consider trip insurance Possible flight exception for schedule changes You can always plead your case ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

75. Priceline Rewards Visa Credit Card 5x on Priceline bookings (except 1x on cruise bookings, non-Name Your Own Price® car reservations, and hotel reservations designated as Pay When You StaySM) 1x everywhere else Old accounts have 2x everywhere else – no current offers 10k sign-up bonus (requires $1k spend) = $100 cash rebate No annual fee Issued by Barclays ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

77. Priceline – Best General Airfare Option? Priceline getting good at replicating ITA Matrix fares Complex itineraries often need Hipmunk to price in Priceline Receive all airline benefits Priceline Rewards Visa 5x ©Stefan Krasowski, All Rights Reserved

Rapid Travel Chai: Hotwire and Priceline at FTU DCA 2014

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Rapid Travel Chai: Hotwire and Priceline at FTU DCA 2014