Consumer Webwatch, the Internet arm of Consumers Union, spent $38,000 buying air, car and hotel reservations to see if choose your own price sites Priceline and Hotwire actually beat what can be found on regular travel sites. The answer is yes; in Priceline’s case 47% of the time. However, Orbitz placed a close second, and you didn’t have to fly blind. The only caveat is that the trained bettor knew what the going price of that reservation was going to be by looking it up in Sabre, the travel agents reservation network. Most people bet on Priceline without a clue of what would be the lowest price that would be accepted. You can read the report online.
Betting with your head, not over it
