chryssc

Was indifferent to the following areas - Downtown Pittsburgh, University City, Pittsburgh North Shore - Stadiums, Pittsburgh Southside. Lowest 3* quoted rate was $119 for my dates of interest in the North Shore area. That was my reference. I usually start my bidding @ 40% of my point of reference, therefore, I started bidding @ $48 Downtown (4-1/2*); second bid was $53 (3*+) including Southside; third bid was $58 including University City. Done. May have been able to save a couple of $.

Booked on 30 March 2013

Priceline Hilton Garden room rate was $152 for the date in question. Next lowest available room rate in the zone was Westin and Hilton for $175. Marriott Indy was $229.

Bid 1: $55 - Downtown Indy (DI)

Bid 2: $60 - DI + Indy NW (INW)

Bid 3: $65 - DI + INW + Indy South (IS)

Bid 4: $70 - DI + INW + IS + Speedway (SW)

Bid 5: $75 - DI + INW + IS + SW + Indy NE Fishers

Bid 5 was winning bid @ $75 + $20.09 (taxes) = $95.09

Booked on 23 March 2013

Priceline Hyatt room rates were $84 for the date in question. Next lowest available room rate in the zone was Palmer House Hilton for $109. Wanted to stay on the northern end of Millenium Park and assumed that Hyatt would accept the bid given the pricing advertised on Priceline.

Bid 1: $48 - Millenium Park (MP)

Bid 2: $51 - MP + Franklin Park (FP)

Bid 3: $54 - MP + FP + Hyde Park (HP)

Bid 4: $57 - MP + FP + HP + Midway Airport North

Bid 4 was winning bid @ $57 + $16.51 (taxes) = $73.51

Started @ $55, 3.5*. Rejected. Added South Kingston and re-bid 3.5* @ $60. Rejected.

Exited browser and rebid Newport / Newport Beach @ $65, 3.5* Was told I could change my bid to $83 w/o changing anything.

Closed browser, split diifferencee andd rebiid $74, 3.5* for Newport -- Newport Beach. Successful.

Wanted a 4-Star hotel in downtown Columbus. Would have been okay w/ a 3-1/2 or 3-Star hotel. Since downtown is the only area in Columbus with a 4-Star hotel, I figured I had a lot of opportunity to rebid in small increments, even though I was bidding the day before I wanted the room. Nothing I saw on the bid board showed anything under $50 as a winning bid, so I started with $50. Won on the first bid. Have mixed emotions. I am happy to have a room for $65 (tax included) but feel like I left $ on the table.

Thank you for the advice. Reading thru the forum further these alternatives seemed to be the ones that were the most inexpensive (assuming one wants to park downtown). There's also the alternative of parking in a lot during the day and on the street in the evening, which may be a lot more inconvenience than it is worth.

We were indifferent between staying in North Michigan Avenue ("NMA") or Millenium Park ("MP"). Preferred a 4* hotel but would have been okay w/ a 3* hotel. I wasn't in a big hurry as I gave myself 3 weeks to find a room which allowed for a methodical bidding strategy. Can't remember the published rates for rooms that weekend but can say roughly speaking that 4* hotels in the NMA/GP area were going for $150 - $175 / evening on the most inexpensive night and 3* hotels were listed @ $112 (for a single hotel) - $154.

First set of bids ... 03 Aug 2008

4*, $60 - NMA - rejected

4*, $65 - NMA & Midway - rejected

4*, $70 - NMA, Midway & Skokie - rejected

4*, $65 - NMA, MP, Midway & Skokie - rejected

3*, $55 - NMA - rejected

3*, $60 - NMA, MP - rejected

Second set of bids ... 04 Aug 2008

4*, $65 - NMA - rejected

4*, $70 - NMA & Midway - rejected

4*, $75 - NMA, Midway & Skokie - rejected

4*, $65 - NMA, MP, Midway & Skokie - accepted

Hyatt Regency Chicago

Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area

151 East Wacker Drive

Chicago, Illinois 60601

312-565-1234

Priceline Tax details ...

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $70.00

Subtotal: $210.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $40.75

Total Charges*: $250.75

Would appreciate any assistance in finding a reasonable place to park the car close to the hotel.