“Congratulations, your price of $51 was accepted by…”

Such a message for devotees of the Name Your Own Price® feature at priceline.com is like a fresh welcome mat and I have used the system for more than 25 trips spanning more than 60 room nights during the past 18 months. I have stayed at the same hotel as some fellow media members — covering a particular big event such as the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. SEC Championship Game and the BCS National Championship Game — who doled out more than three times the amount I paid for my stay.

As a member of the working media, “special” hotel rates are extended those of us covering a game, but it’s not as if those special rates provide much of a discount. I stayed at a four-star hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans for a few nights in Jan. 2008 when LSU beat Ohio State for a rate of $66. I stayed at a 3.5-star hotel a couple blocks away near the Convention Center in New Orleans for the NCAA basketball tournament and a Saints’ playoff game for $59 per night. And by the way, the Arizona Wildcats and Philadelphia Eagles stayed at the same hotel. I got rooms in Atlanta six weeks in advance of the Florida-Alabama clash last Dec. for $64 a night and $72 for the ACC tournament this past March.

During a Cubs-Cardinals weekend at Wrigley in July, I stayed at two different four-star hotels, one in the northern suburbs of Chicago and one overlooking Lake Michigan, both for just $63 per night.

Even this past weekend, I stayed in a three-star hotel near Durham, N.C., for two nights at a rate of $45 with both Duke and UNC hosting the two ACC teams from Virginia. In fact, the only two places that I spent more than $72 on a hotel room during the past 18 months while traveling for a sporting event were in San Francisco and San Diego, with the top rate of $102 for a four-star hotel overlooking the San Diego Marina.

The system isn’t exactly foolproof but if you know the exact dates you are traveling and the general area in which you wish to stay, I highly recommend this priceline.com feature. I also have used other web sites to book rooms, but always know what to expect with Priceline's system.

That being said, the Name Your Own Price® feature may not work as well, or at all, in small towns as it does in bigger cities, particularly in such places like Clemson, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, Starkville or Boone for football weekends, but I certainly would try it for major bowl games, college basketball tournaments and other major sporting events.

In the process of writing this article, I booked a hotel room for one of our writers who will be attending the ACC Football Championship Game in Tampa, Dec. 4-6. The room at the 3.5-star downtown hotel was secured for $51, rather than the lowest published rate of $126 on the hotel’s site. By the way, the hotel also will host the ACC Atlantic Division champions that weekend.

Just two weeks later, I secured rooms for the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta for Thurs. Dec 3 and Fri. Dec. 4 for $71, and Sat. Dec. 5 for $84. Each represented a substantial savings off the list rate.

Saving $75 a night, or whatever your savings ends up being, on a hotel room is meaningful anytime, whether you are traveling for business or simply following your favorite team.