Edward Bodette Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 Hi, so I just found this site and wondering if I’m getting this correctly. I’m looking to get a hotel for 1 night on Saturday September 20 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. On Priceline, the highest star rating in Niagara Falls is 4*, which I prefer to get, but I suppose I can settle for 3.5* if I can’t get 4*. All the 4* hotels are in the “Clifton Hills” or “Fallsview Blvd” areas. There are also two 3.5* hotels in those areas. The only other 3.5* is in “North Niagara Falls” area which I do NOT want to go. My questions are: 1) For NYOP, is it easier to get a good deal the closer I am to the date (ie 1-4 days before)? Or would it not really matter given I’m looking to book on a Saturday night in a high tourist area? To add to that, I just noticed the “Express Deals” section...there’s one 4* option on Sept 20 and it’s $188, but if I choose the prior Saturday it’s $172, then the one before that is $157, before that is $248 and before that is $278. So it appears when the date is really soon then the price is really high, but I had heard (in general) you get the best deals when it’s really soon. Which is right? 2) What would you expect I would need to pay to get 4*? For reference, Priceline (through regular search) currently has the cheapest 4* hotel on that date listed as $209 and the average is around $240. Think paying $150 or less is realistic? 3) For bidding, would something like this be the correct procedure (not sure if I have the whole re-bid zoning thing correct)?4* Clifton Hill Area: $100, if denied then...add Fallsview Area: $110add North Niagara Falls: $120add St Catherines: $130add Welland: $140add West Niagara Falls: $150If none of the above get accepted, then move on to 3.5*3.5* Clifton Hill Area: $100add Fallsview Area: $110add St Catherines: $120add Welland: $130add West Niagara Falls: $140 Thank you for any advice, I'll be sure to use the PRICELINE link on here when I do decide to go for it. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 Welcome to BetterBidding! To answer some of your questions above: 1) Rates are date specific and based upon supply/demand so there is no way to know if rates will drop, or move higher, between now and your stay. It all depends how expected new reservations (and cancellations) come in relative to expectations... should the hotel get fewer new reservations (or more cancellations) then expected, then you can see rates come down; should the hotel get more new reservations (or fewer cancellations) then you could see rates rise. However, since you're looking for a solo Saturday nite during peak season for the area, i wouldn't necessarily expect any HUGE deals as many hotels will be able to fill most of their rooms on their own. 2) $150 should put you in the right ballpark (see bidding strategy below) 3) you can do better than your outlined strategy as follows: When bidding 4* in the Niagara Falls region you have FOUR re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding. Select 4* Niagara Falls - Clifton Hills... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 4* Niagara Falls - Fallsview Blvd... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 4* Niagara Falls - Clifton Hills and Niagara Falls - Fallsview Blvd... Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $150 Any questions feel free to ask. Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Edward Bodette Posted August 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 Thanks for replying thereuare! 1) Based on your knowledge, if you had to estimate the best time to get a deal, would you bid now or, say, wait until there’s a week or less to go? I do realize it can go either way, but I want to give myself the best shot at the best deal possible. As I understand it, if they accept a bid, then that room is officially yours and your credit card is charged no matter what. That’s why I don’t want to try and get a room now if there’s a good chance I can get a better rate by waiting a bit. 2) For future reference, is there a general rule of thumb you follow when deciding how much a hotel is expected to cost when using NYOP? For example, let’s say your rule is 70% meaning if you did a search on Priceline for a 4* in City X and the lower range ends up being around $300, this means you would expect to pay in the ballpark of $210 (70% x $300) using NYOP. 3) Thank you, it took me awhile to figure out why you listed the strategy the way you did, but I think I understand now. Additional question: When using NYOP, would they have hotels that aren't listed when you make a normal Priceline search? In my case there are seven 4* hotels in Niagara Falls, but is there any chance that I’d somehow get a different 4* hotel then those seven? Link to comment
AaronJB Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 There is no way to really estimate the best time to make a bid. Rates are wholly and completely date-specific - bidding really has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Right after 2008, you did see more in the way of "last minute" price declines as hotels attempted to fill rooms. As demand has returned and traffic has risen, there has been less in the way of price declines closer to the stay and there have been more examples of prices moving higher. Waiting is really making a bet on price declines. While rates may come down, users have to keep in mind that it is very possible that they could ramp higher (and often do so suddenly.) Percentage discounts on PRICELINE are also going to vary depending on traffic. If it's a busy period/situation (as this is, with Niagara on a Saturday during a peak period), hotels are not likely going to aggressively discount (or may not provide discounted inventory at all) with the idea that they can expect walk-ins who will pay full rate. Once a hotel does accept, you are locked in at that rate at that hotel for those dates.In general, Price.line retail and Price.line bidding are two separate/distinct services and there is the chance that a hotel may participate on the retail side but not the bidding side and vice versa. Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches. Link to comment
Edward Bodette Posted August 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Thanks AaronJB, I had originally thought that Priceline retail and Priceline bidding offered the exact same hotels, that would’ve made things a lot easier! I’m guessing Priceline makes their own hotel star ratings though? I ask as it’s simple enough to find what ALL the hotels in an area are (via google), but if Priceline uses their own star rating system then there’s no way of knowing what some of the ratings are if they don’t appear on Priceline retail.…which leads me to another question. Do you know if ratings of Priceline retail hotels are even the same as the rating for Priceline bidding? If not, I can see them taking advantage (eg. I bid and win a 4* hotel but when I search for it on Priceline retail the same hotel does show up but it’s only a 3.5*). Regardless, I don’t think I’ll bid on anything less then a 3.5* (I’ll try for 4* first) as this will be for a night away with my gf (thought about possibly lowering to 3* if need be, but too great a chance I get something bad) ….but I really don’t want to pay more than $150 a night as it’s honestly just a bed to my eyes (if I needed to get a room just by myself for the night, I wouldn’t care if it’s even 1* lol). Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 24, 2014 Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Every 'online travel agency' (PRICELINE, HOTWIRE, Expedia, etc) all use their own criteria to rate hotels. Have you yet tried the strategy up to $150? Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountAlready have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now