Using Priceline to save on a hotel

This summer, Caitlin and I traveled back to Troy, Michigan for our wedding. We wanted to stay in a hotel the entire week since 9 other family members were staying at my parent's house. I wanted a three-star property close to their house, but at an affordable price. We wanted a hotel that provided free breakfast that had good reviews. The only matches at the time on multiple websites were going for about $130/night. However, when I went to Priceline.com, I realized that they often discounts hotels greatly by not telling you what hotel you are booking, as long as they book something within your parameters. At the time, Priceline was offering a hotel that fit all of our criteria for only $51 dollars a night ($66 with taxes)! After doing some research about the what hotel it may be, I realized that they were going to book me in the Marriott in Pontiac Auburn Hills, a fantastic 3-star property, with a great lounge that provides free breakfast! (there are lots of tricks on how to figure out which hotel Priceline is going to offer you...) I went to hotels.com to check the price of the Marriott and it was $129/night! We ended up booking 5 nights through Priceline.com for only $338 and ended up saving over $300! On top of that, I was able to earn Marriott rewards from the reservation despite it being booked on a third party site like Priceline. Learning how to get a bargain on Priceline certainly saved us a ton of money, and we really enjoyed the hotel during a special week in our lives. ​