How to save 63% on your DMA*09 hotel rooms

Thank you, William Shatner. Priceline saved me 63% on my hotel expense at the upcoming DMA*09 conference in San Diego. I got a room at the Omni San Diego for $96/night (versus the special conference rate of $259/night). That's $815 savings for my 5-night stay.

More accurately, thank you to Marty Shaw of Global-Z International for giving me this tip that has saved us thousands of dollars. Marty, I owe you!

DMA*09 is the premier conference of the year for anyone who wants to connect with their customers directly. With this tough economy, it might be hard to justify the cost and I know from experience that hotel rooms are one of the biggest items on the expense report. Here's one way to cut that cost significantly:

1. Go to priceline.com
2. click on "name your own price" for hotels
3. Enter "San Diego, CA USA" as location and your travel dates then click the "Bid Now" button
4. Choose "Downtown Dan Diego & Harbor Island"
5. Choose your star level (I chose "4-star deluxe")
6. Name your price (I bid $96)
7. Enter your name and hit next
8. Follow instructions to provide payment information
9. Cross your fingers and hit the submit button

Please note... You are not guaranteed to get any specific hotel and you can't change or cancel your reservation after you submit your bid. Priceline is not a good option if you need to stay at a certain hotel or need flexibility in your travel arrangements. Priceline won't make any guarantees and I won't either!

That said, I am very happy with my result with the Omni Hotel, which is right across the street from the convention center. I know of two others who have ended up at the Onmi by following this process and another two that ended up at the nearby Westgate Hotel.

I hope this helps you get to the show. If you are there, please stop by NextMark's booth #1930. You can learn how to "reach your market" through new "life changing" technology that finally bridges the gap between data cards and data.

Comments

[Chris DeMartine]

I'm at the Westgate -- but I'm very happy to be staying at a 4-star deluxe hotel for less than half the price. Thanks for the tip!