Priceline iPhone app helps you with last-minute hotel reservations

If you're looking for one of the best ways to book a hotel room dirt cheap, use a tool such as Priceline.com or call the hotel in the evening to get a room that would otherwise be empty. The Priceline.com app for the iPhone and iPad (which covers cars and hotels) makes this even easier, since you can name your own price in a few taps. But do note that it doesn't always offer the best deal.

While traveling across the country on what we're calling the Great American Road Trip 2.0, we made a hotel reservation for our first night using the Priceline iPhone app and landed a 3-star hotel for just $45. This was great news as it meant our travel budget would gain a bit more flexibility, but we didn't know how much it would help until we tried to get a hotel room at our final destination near Mount Rushmore.