JimandSusan

Thanks so much, Thereuare! We've gotten so much out of this forum that the least we can do is relate our experiences. I've learned and saved a lot...and will continue to in the future! Susan

Hi All! We needed a room for 1 night for a post-cruise stay. I had repeatedly tried for the last 2-3 weeks to get the Hyatt Pier 66 for $90 or less but have not had any luck. It appears that this market is getting a bit harder to crack. I thought in late Oct. it wouldn't be difficult but I was surprised at how many hotels were already booked and had no rooms available. (This was checking Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity out before bidding.) In fact, I found the Hyatt for $369 on one of these sites! Anyway, we got the Westin, Ft. Lauderdale North and we love their Heavenly Beds, so I'm happy! We stayed there a couple of years ago prior to another cruise and liked it very much. Check-in: Sun., Oct. 31 Check-out: Mon., Nov. 1 Offer Price: $86.00 Taxes/Service Fees: $17.00 Total Charges: $103.00 By the way, here's what the other sites posted as their rates for this property: Starwood - 189 Orbitz - 219 Expedia - 231 + 33 taxes/service fees = 264.50 Travelocity - 219

Hi Everyone, My husband and I are taking my parents on a cruise and we needed 2 rooms for a one night pre-cruise stay. I read Thereuare's advice to someone yesterday regarding 3* bidding in the downtown zone and decided to follow it myself. My first bid of $75 was accepted and on the winning screen, PL upgraded us to the 4* Renaissance! The same room on the hotel website and Travelocity was $189 per night. The breakdown per room is: Bid of 75.00 Taxes and Service Fees: 12.71 Total: $87.71 Thanks for the great advice!

:) Whoops! Meant to type "Taxes and Fees" - not Feeds! Wyndham doesn't provide for farm animals that we know of.

Hi Everyone! First bid of $45 unsuccessful...we added Fairgrounds area and the bid of $50 was accepted. Summary: Sun., 4/17 - 1 night: $50.00 Taxes & Fees: 12.83 Total: $62.83

We needed a room in midtown Atlanta for 1 night, Sunday, March 7. Bid of $45 was accepted and we got the Marriott Atlanta Midtown Suites (on your list of hotels and their ratings, the Marriott's star rating is listed with a question mark - it's a 3 star.) This hotel offers all 2 room suites. The going rate on Expedia and Marriott.com was approximately $170-190 per night. Breakdown is: Room: $45 Taxes and fees: 12.44 Total: $57.44 Bye for now!

We needed a room at the Atlanta airport for one night - Jan. 14 We got the 4* Atlanta Airport Hilton (it's a terrific property) First bid of $55 was accepted. Taxes - $13.96 Total $68.96 I want to believe I didn't bid too high, but felt a lot better when I checked the Hilton website, Expedia and Orbitz before bidding. Each of them offered the room for $170 a night before taxes; so considering we saved 68% over those sites, we're satisfied.

We needed a car in Boston for Mon. - Weds. 1/12 - 1/14. The best I found on Expedia and Orbitz was $31 a day; with taxes, etc. the total was $78 Priceline stated that a "good" offer was $37 a day and a "great" offer was $38 a day. I entered $26 and was rejected. I entered $29 and was rejected. So we went with Orbitz and got a Dodge Intrepid through Thrifty for $31 a day. I think for the Boston area that's pretty decent.

In mid-Nov. we wanted to rent a full-sized car in Maui for 12/6 - 12/13 First bid of $15 per day was rejected. (I know, I was dreaming!) Re-bid of $18 per day was accepted. National Car Rental Full-size - 4 door - Chevrolet Malibu Maui (OGG) Airport Pick-up: Dec. 6 - 7:00 PM Drop-off: Dec. 13 - 7:00 PM Our offer price: $18 per day 7 days Subtotal: $126.00 Taxes: 72.30 Total Charges: $198.30 The total for the same car on Oribitz and Expedia was between $345-$355 so we felt we got a good deal! Unfortunately, gas was $2.36 a gallon on the island!