This Clever Priceline Hack Could Get You The Cheapest Five-Star Hotel Deals Possible

Whether you're planning a destination wedding or taking a luxurious vacation with friends, you want to make sure you book the best hotel. However, five-star hotels come at a steep price, and the nicest stays may be out of your budget. Thankfully, a simple Priceline tool makes it easy to snag a deal when booking top-notch properties.

The tool is called Express Deals, and you won't find it right away when visiting the Priceline website. Express Deals can be found by performing a basic search on Priceline and then narrowing the results by clicking on the "Express Deals" filter. Alternatively, look for the link at the bottom of the Priceline homepage. Express Deals offer up to 60% off the standard room rate, but there's a major catch: The names of the hotels aren't revealed until after you book.

Still, Priceline shares several crucial details to help you choose a property. For instance, you'll see the star rating, the neighborhood, the amenities, and the rating given by previous guests. Priceline also reveals the discount amount you'll receive for booking through the Express Deals offering, so you'll be sure you're saving on your hotel room.

If spontaneous travel makes you nervous, some simple sleuthing can often reveal the hotels featured in Priceline's Express Deals. In other words, you can secure an impressive five-star hotel deal without having to wait to find out where you'll be staying. First, search Express Deals as usual, browsing the listings until you find one that suits your needs. Then, on the mystery hotel's Priceline page, tap the "Click to reveal room image" button. Once the image appears, save it to your device to perform a Google reverse image search. This can be done by taking a screenshot and cropping the photo to show only the hotel room. Then, go to Google and click the camera icon in the search bar.

A reverse image search will often uncover the unnamed hotel in the Priceline listing. To confirm, head back to the Priceline page and, if available, tap on the three hotel options provided in the map. Your Express Deal will be one of these three properties, and if your image search was accurate, you should find a match.

If that all sounds a little complicated, you can also download the TravelArrow Chrome extension to do the heavy lifting for you. Simply download the extension on your Chrome browser and activate it when browsing Priceline's Express Deals. The extension will guess the property for you so you can book with confidence.