Best European Hotel Discounts

The dollar is getting killed by the euro but did you know you can book double rooms in three and four-star hotels in many of Europe’s major cities for as little as $60 per night.?

It’s being done every day and you can do it, too. You just have to be willing to pay in full in advance. You also have to commit to the deal without knowing the name of the hotel where you’ll be staying. But fear not, it’s worked for me a couple of dozen times without a single hitch.

Of course, I’m talking about Priceline, where you bid online for a certain class of hotel in a specifically defined area of your destination city. You don’t know the name of the hotel until your bid is accepted, but I’ve always wound up in Sheratons, Marriotts, and Hiltons. The deal is then nonrefundable and can’t be changed. This may sound a little adventurous, but it really isn’t. You have a geographic guarantee and if you restrict your bid to four or even three-star hotels it’s virtually impossible in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to get a dud.

Here’s how it works. Major multi-national hotel chains frequently have empty rooms, especially on weekends, and especially in cities that often have more hotel rooms than visitors. Guided by the principal that it’s better to get a few euros rather than none, the hotels are willing to drastically cut the price of those rooms. But they don’t like to advertise such huge discounts. That’s where Priceline comes in and where the opportunity is for travelers like you and me.

Today, for example, Marriott’s booking site is quoting from 129 EUR ($204) to 255 EUR ($403) for a double room in May at the Renaissance Munich Hotel in the Schwabing district. At the website BiddingForTravel.com (BFT) I see there has been a successful bid of $78 for an April stay at this hotel. Since hotels often don’t release rooms to Priceline until the last minute, it’s probably too early to bid for May. But by continuing to monitor BFT, I’ll get an idea not only of successful bid prices and which hotels are accepting bids, but when to start bidding. Since you might have to wait until only a few days before your planned visit to make a successful bid, BFT recommends reserving a cancelable backup (hey, when the dollar is like this it’s dog-eat-dog out there). Before bidding for a hotel, I strongly suggest you spend some time reading the useful bidding strategy advice on BFT. If you have a question you can post it and expect answers from experienced bidders.

Here, from BiddingForTravel, are a few recent successful bids:

Amsterdam, Mövenpick, July, $126
Berlin, Courtyard Marriott, April, $57
Berlin, Marriott Berlin, April, $102
Berlin, Marriott, May $100
Brussels, Marriott, March, $110
Brussels, Hilton, April, $!29
Budapest, Marriott, April, $80
Budapest, Ramada, April, $70
Cologne Marriott, February, $76
Dusseldorf, Renaissance, March, $62
Florence, Hotel Kraft, March, $131
Frankfurt, Mövenpick, March, $52
Hamburg, Renaissance Hotel, April, $62
Hamburg, Renaissance Hotel, July, $58
Hamburg, Renaissance Hotel, May, $76
Milan, Hotel Mediolanum, April, $109
Munich, Renaissance, April, $78
Paris, Hotel Concorde Lafayette, Aug, $126
Paris, Sofitel Bercy August $139
Prague, Hilton, April, $75
Rome, Sheraton, March, $100
Salzburg, Renaissance Congress Center, May, $75
Venice, Hilton, March, $135
Vienna, Renaissance, April, $70
Zürich, Marriott, February, $90