Michael Shapiro has a piece in the Washington Post called “How to Snag a Good Deal on Priceline.”

Since it’s directed to a general audience, most of the advice is pretty basic yet sound. It’s a nice introduction for those not already versed in the finer points of finding four-star hotel deals for under $50.

Shapiro drew on a few long conversations that the two of us had, and cites one of my own bidding examples in the piece:

Take the experience of Gary Leff, an Arlington finance director who logged onto Priceline 10 days before a July 17 trip to Houston. The result: a room at the four-star Omni Hotel in Houston’s Galleria zone for $45 a night; the hotel itself was selling the same room for $189.



Unlike most Priceline users, however, Leff had a good idea which hotel he might get and what to bid. By doing his homework and checking online forums such as BiddingForTravel.com and BetterBidding.com, he learned what others were paying for four-star rooms in Houston’s pricey Galleria neighborhood and gauged his bid accordingly.