Do you need the Entertainment Card at check in (or the book or a coupon)? If yes, can you use any Entertainment Card/book/coupon, or does it have to be one from the local area?
Two separate reservations. No 3* at LAX was available for up to $38 on 6/14 three days ago, but it was available today, accepted the first bid.
Booked the 16th first (yesterday), and the total with taxes came to $45.99. Bidding the same amount, and getting the same hotel today for 6/14 resulted in a total rate of $46.02 :) Tax has gone up a bit?
Yup, the Waikiki Village is listed on Priceline and TOBB as a Waikiki N. hotel, but to be fair, it's right in the middle, and, personally, I'd consider Lewers St. a bit closer to the South end of Waikiki (actually, for locals it's Ewa and Diamond Head, rather than North and South).
Thanks Thereuare, that sounds like a good strategy. I was getting antsy as the date is looming closer. Oh, well, live and learn..
I started with 5/21 bidding $29 for a 3*. I knew I'd probably needed the next day as well, but, after the not-so-brilliant bidding for the Rickeys in Palo Alto, I figure I'd be careful and not force myself for two nights in a place I didn't want to be.
Also, bidding for each night separately gives you double Ebay Anything points and there's a nice promo going on with those.
First bid rejected.
Added $2 and cat. 2.5*. Rejected.
Added Cupertino/Campbell and $2. Accepted at the HGI Milpitas for $33.
Then I just bid again for the next day, starting at $30 for 2.5* in Milpitas, and adding Cupertino/Campbell and $3. Bingo, I got the HGI again. Hope it's nice..
First I tried for a 2.5* in Morgan Hill with a few free rebids through Freedom and Gilroy, but I couldn't find anything lower than $40. Then I tried a 3* or 2.5* in S. Jose South (the Residence Inn?). So I started bidding $31 and 3* . Rejected.
Added $2 Campbell/Cupertino. Rejected.
Added $2 and free rebid Redwood City (max 2* there).
Added $2 and Palo Alto/Mountain View, thinking that those are expensive areas, so the likelyhood I'd be accepted would be low. Dang! I should have chosen S.ta Clara/Sunnyvale, at least it would have been closer to where I needed to be.
The $37 bid was accepted at the Rickeys Hyatt in Palo Alto. Oh well...
This was a painful bidding experience. I started lowballing $52 Waikiki N. (needed a room for an overnight between flights). Was hoping for DT Alana or Ilikai Ren (not for the Waikiki Village!).
Rejected.
I took a free rebid w/Ihilani (there's only a pricy Marriott resort there) and added $2. Rejected.
Another $2 and added the airport (free rebid). Rejected.
Added $2 more and Waikiki South. Accepted. But I had forgotten that the Ohana Waikiki Village is considered a 3* in N. Waikiki. Anyway, let's hope for the best, but I'm not looking forward to be in a place which is in the middle of everything (Lewers St., right next to the Int'l Marketplace) for a midnight arrival and a quick snooze before my late am flight. The same place was on sale at Travelocity for $71 something, so I definitely didn't get a bargain... :)
BTW, Lewers St. is kind of Waikiki middle, not really North.
Hi Thereuare, it's a 3*. I couldn't find a way to edit the title, sorry. :)
Hawai'i is a very strange hotel market. Even in the *3 star range, there are rooms that are worth a lot less, and you might be unlucky enough to end up there after paying a rack rate. :)
I used to live there, and I had my share of dubious deals, even using local resident (kama'aina) rates, which allow you to book and cancel reservations at your property of choice. I just completed a PL bid for the Ohana Waikiki Village (will post details later), which, from the sounds of it, is a 2* hotel masquerading as a 3*. Oh, well, we'll see, I only need one night after a late flight, and I'm gone again the next day.
First offer $35 was rejected. Then I added the Convention area for a re-bid, and increased the offer to $40. It was accepted, and I got the CY. This hotel is about 3 miles from the airport, and it does have a shuttle.
Offer Price: $40.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $40.00
Taxes and Service Fees: $10.28
Total Charges: 50.28
I needed a hotel close to the airport. First bid was accepted.
Offer Price: $33.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $33.00
Taxes and Service Fees: $11.04
Total Charges: $44.04
Sheraton Gateway LAX on 5/18
First bid accepted immediately
Offer Price: $35.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $35.00
Taxes and Service Fees: $10.95
Total Charges: $45.95
Tried $33 for 6/14, refused. Added Beverly Hills, $36, no joy. Re-bid adding S.ta Monica, $38, no good. I didn't want to venture too far from the area, so I quit, and I will try again in a few days.
FWIW, I don't think this hotel will be available w/PL for 5/25: I tried booking a room with Starwood points (I need the flexibility), but there was no availability. I used the 4Points instead. (Of course, there are other properties in the 3* range at LAX.)
Victoria Hotel Ratings
in Priceline Hotels - Canada
Posted
According to that other bidding forum (TOBB), the Red Lion has been downgraded to a 2* as of June 04. Please don't flame if it comes up in a 3* bid, though...