Here is how I find my hotel rooms:
1. Go to:
www.tripadvisor.com <http://www.tripadvisor.com> to familiarize yourself with the areas where you will be interviewing, and the hotel options.
2. Go to:
www.biddingfortravel.com <http://www.biddingfortravel.com> (I have no affiliation with Cheryl, but the information is golden)
3. Go to the sub-forum on BFT for your state/city of interest. Read the various pricing threads/combos.
4. Identify the region and hotel(s) that work for your needs, and write down the successful bid amounts, regions included, and date placed.
5. Go to:
www.priceline.com <http://www.priceline.com> to bid. Use the information gathered from #1-#4.
Priceline requires the person to set a location, star rating, and price. If your initial "bid" is not accepted (4*, Downtown ATL, $75/night), then they will ask for you to change a parameter, or wait 24 hours to bid again without restriction. Typically I try to change the region, as being able to bid on 4* places allows you to dictate relatively where you go, since there are not that many 4* places in each city/region.
During my internship interviews I stayed mostly at 4* hotels at an average cost of $94/night ($200+ night avg,). For places that didn't have 4* hotels, I average $67/ night ($120+/night avg) for 3* and <$50/night for 2.5*.
I know it is a bit confusing, so if you have any questions, feel free to back channel me.
