Destination choice is a big wild card this year as summer vacationers search out travel bargains. For example, in cities like New York, average hotel prices were up almost 25% compared to the same period a year ago. However, in Las Vegas, average retail hotel prices are down 5% year over year.

"Vacationers will find the best deals this summer in places where average hotel prices have decreased or remained relatively constant," said Tim Gordon, priceline.com's Senior Vice President, Hotel Services. "This includes destinations like Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco and New Orleans."

Priceline.com now gives hotel customers a choice when booking their hotel rooms. They can pick the exact hotel and room type they want from a broad assortment of thousands of hotels, all with prices published up-front. Or, for even deeper savings, they can Name Their Own Price(R) and let priceline.com find a hotel at the star level they want in the neighborhood they want. Either way, priceline.com has the hotel to make any vacation a special one.

* Priceline.com computed its average retail price changes based on rooms booked through priceline.com's Travelweb business unit, which sells hotel rooms on a published-price basis.

In addition to picking destinations where summer pricing changes are favorable to consumers, Mr. Gordon offered these money-saving summer travel tips:

• Don't wait. If you know where you want to go on vacation, book now when rooms are still available. Particularly in high-demand destinations, last-minute bookers may find their rooms gone.

• In the more expensive cities, try staying in the suburbs and rent a car or take public transportation. In many cases, the combined hotel/car cost will be less than the cost of a room in the city.

• Las Vegas travelers should consider booking mid-week, when prices are lower and they can often get a 5-star hotel for what they'd pay for a 3-star property on the weekend.

• Give the mid-range, 3-star hotels a good look. They're less expensive than 4-stars and they offer solid accommodations at a good price.

• Book a vacation package that includes airfare and a hotel. Since the combined price of a package doesn't reveal how much is for hotel and how much is for the airline ticket, travel suppliers are more inclined to sell their inventories at a discount. For example, priceline.com vacation packages typically sell for up to $200 less than if the air and hotel components were bought separately.

• Try bidding for a hotel through priceline.com. Check out priceline.com's retail prices for the star level you want, then make an offer at a lower price. This works really well for people who want that 4-star, but can't afford the current retail prices.

Priceline.com operates one of Europe's fastest growing hotel reservation services through Activehotels.com, Activereservations.com and priceline.co.uk. The company also operates the following travel web sites: Travelweb.com, Lowestfare.com, Rentalcars.com and Breezenet.com. Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent licensees, including priceline mortgage and certain international licensees.

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