How to Guess a Priceline Express Deal and Save Hundred on Hotels When Traveling

When planning a trip, I almost always use Priceline to book my accommodations. Priceline is an OTA (online travel agency), which means they act as a middleman between you and the airline, hotel, etc. I often find that the prices with OTAs are cheaper than booking directly with the company. Booking a Priceline Express Deal is one of my favorite ways to score a deal on a hotel. This has saved me thousands of dollars throughout my years of trips. One of the best deals I got was a 5-star hotel in Melbourne for $79/night (normally $240/night)! Check out this post for more money-saving travel tips.

What is a Priceline Express Deal?

A Priceline Express Deal is basically a mystery hotel. You will not know what the hotel is until you have booked it. Priceline will give you some information about the hotel such as the area it is located in, the star rating, the number of reviews, and amenities at the hotel. It will also give you the total price including all taxes and fees prior to finalizing the booking. You must pay for the entire hotel upfront. 

How to Book a Priceline Express Deal

These steps will help you guess what the hotel is before booking your hotel. You will not always 100% be able to guess accurately, but at the very least, you can narrow down between a couple of hotels. 

Search for Your Hotel

First, you will need to search for your destination to see if there are Express Deals available for your desired stay. Although Priceline Express Deals are almost always the best deal, sometimes just booking a hotel is a good deal as well, so make sure to check your options.

To search, head to Priceline. Put in your desired destination and dates. Then click find your hotel. This will bring you to a page will tons of hotel options. On the left-hand side, use the options to filter out any requirements such as star rating, location, etc. This will let you see some of the normal hotel choices. The Express Deals are sometimes mixed in.

If you want to see just the Express Deals, click on the Express Deal tab. Note that it will not let you filter out any other options.

Once you have searched and found an Express Deal you like, click on the listing to see more information about the property. It will also give you a shaded map to show you approximately what area the hotel is located in. Then follow these steps to try and guess which hotel the property is!

Step 1: Filter which area the Express Deal is for. 

In this case, we are going to try and guess this hotel in Downtown Austin. I like to open up a new tab and start a new search to be able to compare properties quickly. The original tab is left open with the information about the Express Deal. Select “Downtown Austin” from the list of areas on the left side of the screen.  

Step 2: See which other hotels have the same star rating.

This hotel is a 3-star hotel, so I have only chosen to look at 3-star hotels. You can choose the option for 3-star hotels from the bar on the left-hand side.

Step 3: Look for a hotel with a similar rating. 

This Express Deal has an average rating in the 6s. Scroll throughout the list and look at hotels with that rating. Any that are not in the 6s we can eliminate as options. 

Step 4: Look at guest review numbers. 

Next, look for hotels with a similar number of reviews. In this case, the number of reviews is in the 1000s. Thus, we can eliminate any option that does has less than 1000 reviews.

Step 5: Hotel Amenities

Finally, check what amenities the hotel has as well. Although most of the time you will have figured out the hotel by now, I always go through all of these steps to double-check the hotel. In the case of this Express Deal, the amenities match up with the Holiday Inn Austin -Town Lake.  

Step 6: Book Your Room

If you are okay with the option you have found for your Express Deal, it is time to book your room! With Express Deals, sometimes you are able to choose what type of room you want. The price may be different then the lowest price but is nice if you want a specific type of room. Once you have selected your room, filled in the details, and paid, your hotel will be revealed! 

A Few Things to Note About Express Deals

• Remember that this approach to guessing usually works, but sometimes you may be surprised with your result. If you are not okay with that, booking a Priceline Express Deal is not for you. 
• These are nonrefundable hotels. If you are not okay with that, do not book an Express Deal. 
• Make sure you understand the terms and conditions prior to booking the hotel. 
• Priceline also guarantees that it will be the cheapest price you will find or you will get refunded 200%. 

Other Options

If you do not like the idea of a complete mystery hotel, Priceline has something new called Pricebreakers. This is similar to the Express Deals, but it gives you the option of three hotels it could be. It will provide you with the same information as booking an Express Deal, but it is easier to guess since you only have three hotels to choose from. As long as you are okay with any of the three hotel options, this is another great option. 

As you can see Priceline Express Deals can save you hundreds of dollars on hotels! It only takes a little guesswork, but for me, that is half the fun! Interested in more travel deals? Subscribe here to gain access to the best travel websites to score deals. Want free travel? Check out this post on the best credit cards for travel.

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