A Trick to Scoring Discounts on Hotels, My Biggest Travel Mistake Ever, and Retrofits the Pope Needed for His Plane

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About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Best bet is to find a good travel agent with unpublished deals. They are out there. Better than there so called “Best Price Guarantee” sites.

  2. @Gene: I prefer Hotwire Secret Deals to Priceline Express Deals because Hotwire’s fees and total cost are usually lower in my experience. Bidding can get you a lower price if you don’t care about amenities like an airport shuttle or breakfast. If you need a specific amenity, bidding becomes risky when more than one outcome is possible.

    I do recall fondly bidding on a 5-star in Venice several years ago, when only one hotel (the Hilton) fell into that category. I tried several bids over a period of days before completing the purchase of a multi-day stay at a rock-bottom price. That was one of the last times I bothered with bidding. Hotwire and PL Express Deals are so much faster and easier when it’s just a one-night stay.

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