Frommer’s points out that since Priceline has acquired Travelweb, the two sites will be integrating their hotel rating systems. It’s not completely there yet, but useful to determine possible hotels that would come up on a successful bid.

Travelweb’s hotel star ratings will soon be the same as Priceline’s, with one important exception. Travelweb doesn’t use half-stars, so Priceline’s 2.5-star hotels will show up on Travelweb as 3-star hotels.



Priceline and Travelweb are still working out some glitches in their system. For example, Travelweb rates the Four Points in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood as a 3-star hotel, while Priceline calls it a 2-star. Priceline’s Brian Ek assured us that the ratings will soon be brought in line.



“If there’s a discrepancy, I’d attribute it to updates not having completely worked their way through the two systems,” he said. “Priceline taking ownership should address that as our folks proceed to integrate the two organizations.”



So later this summer, if you want to know what Priceline considers, say, a 4-star hotel in Denver, you’ll be able to go to www.travelweb.com, click on “Advanced Search” and ask for four-star hotels.



While that still won’t help you divine exactly which hotel you’ll get on Priceline, it’ll be a useful bit of help for smart bidders.

(Hat tip to WillTravel)