lovefletch

Just wanted to update this with a trip report... So, we won the Marriott in Lihue for $100 a night. We called and verified that their shuttle could pick us up from the airport and bring us back the next day. Yes. We weren't picking up our car until the second day of our trip so this was a nice savings on cab fare. Anyway, shuttle arrived fast after we called and took us to the hotel. It has absolutely beautiful grounds...so many trees and greenery. Everything was nice, some parts, like the pool, are a little dated...they are remodeling beginning this year. Anyway, at check in, the guy was like, "We have you down for a standard room, but I've upgraded you to pool view." Cool...since we were newlyweds, I was going to play that card too. As soon as we stepped away from the desk, he was like, wait! I have a coupon for-it for a split of champagne (my husband had called in advance and put a note on it that we were on our honeymoon). (They gave us Friexneit at the bar, not bad for free). We also found two free drink coupons in our welcome packet which we used the next day. So, we get to our room and it was awesome! Pool view? Yes...but also, beach, ocean, and mountain view! It was a nice high floor too so we weren't right in front of everyone. So do not be afraid, bid here, they treat priceline people just fine...I do realize that we got in on a Tuesday in April, so in July, the room upgrades might be sparse. EDIT: Just realized this wasn't my thread-but still it should apply the same. :)

Thanks for the help. We decided to stay home since we are leaving for our honeymoon in hawaii on Tuesday...I am still too tired for a night out. Anyway, I will keep this in mind for the future. Since location is more important to us, I will probably just watch for this again another weekend. I will use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links!

Hey guys looking for a 3-5 star hotel in scottsdale area for tomorrow night-4/17-4/18 I need it to be close to Scottsdale Fashion Center, as that is where my (new) husband wants to go...there's a bar there with a million beers on tap. So far, I looked at hotwire and I'm seeing a 3 star in scottsdale area with non smoking, breakfast, fitness, pool, internet (?), and business is this hyatt place? that is SUPER close to the center, we could probably walk...the goal would be to leave the car. can we do any better? he went up there with his bros last week who stayed at the hilton up there for like $45-50 a night with a winning priceline bid-they didn't tell us, so I couldn't tell them to use your links. the hilton isn't available, so I figured for the location, this might be the next best thing. I'll use your links if I decide to book.

GOT IT! Okay so I just bid $99 for 3 and a 1/2 star and up after going up by a buck through the $90s. Got the Marriot Resort and Beach Club for $99, $119.04 with taxes. I used the link too!

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of any help between now and your (predicted) success! Hey tried again tonight. Don't worry I always use your PRICELINE links, not the re-bid email ones. Bid $94 for 3 and 1/2 and up...no luck! Will try again tomorrow. I'm not too worried since I have plenty of time.

Hi, thanks for the info on that Aston. I won't bid for 3 stars anymore, just 3 and 1/2 and up. The Aston at Makaiwa is only 115 for the night we are there rack rate, so I'll try to do better. I bid $90 on Sat night and it gave me the option of increasing my bid by $22 to get accepted. Yeah right! But, I must be getting close. Since my goal is the hilton anyway, I will bid up to $100 on the 3 and 1/2 star level, then I will bid exclusively for the resort level. Hopefully, it won't come to that. :)

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. My friend just confirmed with me that her boyfriend will probably make it after all. His computers are a mess, but I guess there isn't much he can do at this point, so he's planning on coming. I am glad so she won't lose that $$. Thanks again!

Hey guys I need a room in Kauai for one night, April 21-22. We have a four night award stay at the Hilton for the next 4 days, then a condo. I've been bidding, starting with 3 and 1/2 star at $74, then do a re-bid adding 3* and bidding $2 more. I'm now at $88. It boggles me that there are hotels for $109 a night (like the aston that's a 3 and 1/2 star on the priceline list) but they won't accept that. Also, I was aiming for the Hilton, even though some of the resorts are better, simply because I wanted to have the same place that we are already staying part of the trip. The hilton's rack is $169 a night. I saw the last bid won in Kauai was $101 for a resort...Any advice on winning the hilton? The convenience factor is what draws me. I wouldn't bid more than $102 a night because I can get regular hotels for $109. I've been using all of the links also.

Hey all, here's the deal. My friend is coming to Scottsdale next week for my wedding. She booked a rental car on PL for thurs Apr 9-Sun April 12. She booked a hotel for Fri-Sat night on PL as well. The problem is, everything is in her boyfriend's name. Also, she's 24, so even transferring the reservation to her name will incur major fees at the car rental place. Her boyfriend is having a business emergency-his entire database of computers got infected with the Consicker virus, resulting in weeks of work to fix. He might be able to make it, but things aren't looking good. Basically, I've read other threads, but is there anything she can say to work it out? Ideally, she'd be able to cancel the car, because that was more expensive-the hotel was only $45/night x two nights....I was posting to see if there's any way she should word it when she calls to get the best results. Also, she used an AMEX. Can she dispute anything? I'm pretty experienced with PL but I've never canceled. I know the chances are slim, but any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi guys, sorry it took me so long to post this. So, I used Priceline and started the bidding at $80 and chose both the Sedona and Flagstaff areas, but only selected Resort, because I knew I wanted nothing less and it had to be in Sedona, not Flag. So, I did this for a few days and on my max bid I got the Radisson Poco Diablo for $100, plus tax ($120 or so). Initially, I was really hoping for the Hilton, because my fiance and I are both Gold, so we might get an upgrade. The reviews are "sketchy" on tripadvisor, but boy did we luck out! Review: We arrived around 2pm. Fiance ran in and was greeted by a wonderful front desk clerk. The guy (young man) confirmed the reservation and said, hmmm, I'm sorry but your room is being cleaned. Would you mind an upgrade? No, wait, a double upgrade? :) So, we walked up to our room, about three stories up. It was a nice big room, with cathedral ceilings and a balcony overlooking the golf course. There was also a fireplace, jacuzzi, and wet bar. The bed was a sleep number, which we both found uncomfortable even after numerous adjustments. We also ate down at the lounge, which had a limited menu. The food was eh, but the bartender was quick and very friendly. Overall, we definitely got lucky, but this was an AMAZING deal. The room was spotless, service excellent, and it was also a great location. Honestly, the Hilton is nice, but it way far from town. I also used the better bidding PRICELINE link each and every time I did a bid or re-bid. note: We tried booking a room for Flagstaff on Priceline, aiming for the 3 star range, bidding all the way up to $70 for the Saturday (1/17) night. The Radisson woodlands was listed as $98 on a site, but we were rejected all the way through. Ended up at the Weatherford, in one of their $130 rooms. (A fun place to go out and good location, but the room leaves something to be desired!) Thanks better bidding!

Hey, I went ahead and booked the package deal with USAirways. We decided we really wanted that specific hotel, so the savings didn't outweight the potential for another hotel. I will definitely try PRICELINE for Vegas another time. I've used priceline and your links when bidding before and have always told people to check here first. Thanks for your help, sorry it didn't amount to a sale! :)

Hi, thanks for the quick response. The only 5* listed in the Strip South zone is the Hotel. That would lead me to believe that if I did win, that would be the one, right? I wouldn't even bid for other areas because we are positive that the only hotel we would stay in. Every room has a lot of space, 2 baths, and the pool area is great. So, the only way I would bid is if we were 95% sure that it would be that hotel. :)

Hi all, first off I have some questions before I even request help in bidding. I need to get travel insurance for the trip. I am going to Vegas with my two sisters and we need something that could potentially be changed. We are sure on our dates, but would like the extra security in case something happens. Does Priceline offer that? Or, would independent travel insurance do? We were going to get some sort of travel insurance, I'm just not sure how it works with priceline bidding. That said, we want to stay at the Hotel at Mandalay Bay, from 7/17-7/21 The cheapest i have found so far for that period is $774. This is in a pkg deal, so essentially, that's what the hotel works out to after airfare was deducted. I saw that Mandalay was the only 5* listed, so is that pretty much guaranteed? So far, our avg is 193.50 a night after tax. Is it reasonable that any better be done?

Thank you! I will let you know what comes of it. We are putting the trip on hold at the moment, but the other party we were going w/ may still need a room. I will be sure to use the appropriate links if that's the case. :)

I'm sorry I didn't update that. Minimum 2 star.

Hey All! We are looking for one night at the Grand Canyon (not the Williams one) for four adults and two rooms (2 per room). Our budget is under a $100/night, less if possible. I noticed there were none on the list as reported, any ideas or should we just start bidding? Thanks!

Well, I basically followed the other poster who had started at $85/nt downtown. My first bid was rejected, so I added Everett (zone w/ 2 star or lower only) and went up to $95. I wish I had tried $90, but since we are leaving in a week, I was getting nervous! :) Anyway, $95 a night at Sheraton downtown using Priceline. Would have been $167 night to stay booking through the site. That savings will go towards parking I guess! :)

Aye! This may change again! We were suppossed to go to a concert in WA next weekend (labor) and didn't think we had tix. Now, we might have tickets, so alas, Vegas is on hold for now. I will not post again until I have definite dates. :) Sorry!!

Okay, back again. I'm looking for any deals on the strip (or not far off) for a 4* hotel on the dates: 9/01/01-9/04 The lowest I've found is excaliber, but that's not 4 star. We've never been to Vegas, and I was thinking of doing three star on priceline but circus circus scares me (I hate clowns, and I've heard the place is dirty.) Anyway, I would love to get the weekend for around $400, is that possible?

thereuare, thanks so much for the help. The unknowns have proven to be too much (parking etc) for us this trip, so we are booking a room with some hilton honors points for the excursion. So, at this point, I guess I am not going to be bidding as expected. Plus, with priceline it is non-refundable, and since we are coming from far (as part of a road trip) it would terrible if we were a no show with no cancellation options. I love this site and will be back, you guys are all very nice and hopefully I can be useful in helping others too! Good luck all! :)

Okay, I read through everything. I hope I am doing this right. I will use savingsbarn.com (bookmarked it) if I go through Priceline, and if I do hotwire, I will use any links on here. So, that said, I will revise my desire for san fran. 2* (but don't want econo lodge, as long as it is true two star)- 3* for the dates 8/29-8/31. 1 room NS, USE, USW, and the budget is under a $100 per night, with taxes, with parking. Is this possible at this price? Not trying to be too cheap, I would just rather spend the money on going out than on the hotel and parking.

Hi, I am looking for a 3-4 star hotel in San Fran (use, usw, fisherman's wharf- something centrally located) for 8/29-8/31. I haven't tried priceline yet, since I am new to it, any suggestions on bidding and stuff? I really appreciate any help. :) Edited: Our budget is $80-90 a night, but we would like to do better, esp. since I read one post that said $45 for parking! Ahhh...is that typical?