We are back from our quick trip to Nova Scotia with the girls, and I said I'd let you know how the car rental from Priceline.com worked out. Well, as much as the sentimental me would like to say it was lousy, I can't. It was flawless, including us receiving an upgrade to a Ford Escape SUV.

The only issue was that when we got back to the airport for our very-early departure this morning, neither the gas station on the way in nor the Hertz counter were open, so I had to drop the keys and leave the truck with the tank half-empty. We will have to see what ultimately hits the credit card, but as I sit here today, I am a very satisfied customer.

Technorati tags: priceline, travel

Somebody check the weather, because it could be that Hell has frozen over. Why? Well, I just made my first purchase on Priceline.com - and I am feeling pretty good about it. Now, as the guy who wrote the business plan for Expedia.ca and then was Chief Marketing Officer for Expedia.com, that's pretty scary stuff.

Here's the deal. We are heading to Halifax for Easter with the Grandparents, and as such need flights and a car. Well, for flights we had pretty specific requirements, so we went the traditional route (which in this case meant booking directly at AirCanada.com because it was $600 cheaper than on Expedia or anywhere else, but in fairness that's not always the case. Frequently, the online agencies have better deals, depending in when and where you travel - just not this time). We don't need a hotel, but do need a car. I went to Expedia.ca, Travelocity.ca, Hotwire.com (an "opaque" or you-don't-know-what-you've-bought-until-you-buy-it part of the Expedia family) and finally, to Priceline.com.

With due respect to my friends in the business, when you are picking a rental car up at an airport for a leisure trip, a rental is a rental. Though I do value the service bells and whistles when I am on business, when I travel on my own dime I will gladly trade a little convenience for savings. And for an airport pickup, you know who the choices might be, so what's the big fear?

So, in a nutshell? Priceline beat the pants off of everybody else. By a mile. And they have a neat little tool that guides your bid into likely-to-be-accepted territory. And I ended up getting the car from Hertz.

So, what will happen when I get there? Will it all be awful? Will I regret having done this? Will I hate William Shatner more than I do now?

We shall see. I will provide a full report when I get back.

Technorati tags: priceline, expedia, travelocity, online travel, william shatner