solosf

Thanks for the posts, rtwo. I'm definitely feeling much better about this now.

New Priceline Hotel in Ft Lauderdale - Riverside Hotel (2.5 Star, or 3 Star "upgrade") I was a little surprised to get this hotel, and after reading some of the bad reviews I'm not exactly happy I got it. I was bidding for a 2.5 star in either the downtown zone or beach zone. From that, based on the hotel lists here and 'the other site' it would likely be either the Marriott Courtyard or Hyatt Place. My $60 bid for 2.5 was rejected. I was offered a bid again if I upped to $77. I declined, added the beach zone and bid $65. Priceline "upgraded" me to a 3* and gave me the Riverside Hotel, which may be new to priceline since it doesn't appear in the lists on this site or elsewhere. I'm fearful because from reading the few bad web reviews, there's apparently a renovated part of the hotel and an unrenovated section. The bad ones seem to be the result of the latter, and I think I know which ones priceline customers will get. These rooms feature "dial-up" internet (perhaps via the rotary dial phone) for a fee versus complimentary high speed internet in the other room types. One reviewer probably gave me a perfect picture of the room I may get when he said that there was a "bottle opener" affixed to the door. I can only hope the other bad reviews were exaggerated (fleas and ancient mattresses). I'm prepared to walk, take the loss and get another hotel if it proves horrible at check-in. Lesson learned here: only bid for one day and then extend it if the hotel is acceptable.

$100 bid rejected. Added Minato-ku/Shinagawa-ku zone and bid $105: accepted 4* Crown Plaza Metropolitan zone: Shinjuku - Ikebukuro

The only known 4* in the Shinjuku-Ikebukuro zone is the Metropolitan Crowne Plaze. I bid (via savingsbarn.com) $98 but was turned down. Was presented a counter-offer of $22 more. Not sure that's worth it, though, since the cheapest room on the hotels own website is ￥12,800 (approx USD$114) or ￥16000 (USD$143) for what you'd probably get with a priceline bid (something that can sleep 2 people). Going to consider other options, but may bid as high as $110 before giving up on priceline. Will post here if/when that happens.

So, I had to split my bid and I'll need to switch hotels after the first night, but I saved $70 by doing so. (See my previous Zurich Marriott post for May 12-14) Previous rejected bids were $95 and $100 for this date. Accepted at $110 for one night.

I ended up splitting my bid dates to save some money. I wanted Thursday (May 11) to Sunday (May 14). I had bid up $5 daily starting at $70 and getting to $95 -- all rejected. I was counteroffered for $22 more at $85 and $95, but turned it down. So, I bid $75 for May 12 to May 14, and got accepted on the first bid at the Marriott. Lowest rate on marriott.com is $169 ($215 CHF). I'll now start bidding separately for May 11, and post that once I get it. Linked into priceline through savingsbarn.com.

I'm guessing this is for a specifc zone (South Beach?). The only options I can suggest are staying in another zone nearby or try splitting your bid. Certain dates may be sold out; you might be able to figure out which ones those are by checking the specific hotel's website. I was surprised just how expensive Miami is this time of year on my recent bids. Hotwire has a 3.5 star in Miami Beach for $178. EasyClickTravel has a 4 star (Claridge) in South Beach for $206 that is available (as opposed to "on request").

Agreed on most of your points. I did live in South Florida in the late 80's and there's nothing about Miami in particular that makes me concerned. I've walked the streets of Sao Paulo and Mexico City without concern, so Miami is comparitively safe. I do have a comp SPG gold that I got as the result of my FF status. However, I no longer present that when checking in on a priceline reservation after a Hilton clerk in NYC tossed my Hilton Honors gold card (also comped) back in my face while laughing, 'you're a priceline customer! you can't use that!' It was a painful moment. :) Since we plan on going to the beach for the day, it was also about being able to take a shower, too, besides the luggage safety. I have come up with two potentials: (1) asking the Sheraton to hold the luggage till ready for the airport, then taking a shower at the airline lounge in MIA. (2) a backup resv at the Comfort Inn Airport. it's $109 and has a safe (a nice to have to keep the passport secure, losing that would halt the vacation). Thanks for the feedback.

This was my first priceline bidding screwup. I thought I'd picked the South Beach zone, but apparently I picked Miami Beach. Got it on my first bid (which gave me a sinking feeling right away): $140

I have a flight out of Miami to Buenos Aires that leaves at 11pm on March 3. I arrive in MIA the day before on March 2, and I previously made a 1 night priceline reservation in Miami Beach (actually mistakenly thinking I was bidding for South Beach; I got the 4* Sheraton Bal Harbour for $140). I'm now thinking that since we'll be spending all day in Miami, I'm going to need somewhere to freshen up before the flight and don't really want to leave the luggage in the rental car all day. So, I've tried bidding up to $70 for a 2.5 star, $85 for a 3 star, and $95 for a 4 star (zones: airport, South Beach, Key Biscayne) with no luck. I won't be spending the night at the hotel -- so I just need a safe place to leave my luggage, and it would be nice if the room had a safe (I realize this isn't common for 3 star and below). Does EasyClickTravel usually come through with their "off the record" reservations? They have a 4star for $97, but want 48 hours to confirm. I have a backup, cancellable res. at the Red Roof Inn for $99+tax, that seems steep for my simple needs, but may be the price I have to pay. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the other suggestions. As always, the help and attitude is very much appreciated here (versus the other place). Using the savings barn link, finally got a winning bid of $79 for a 4* MIA Airport for 12/23 to 12/26 at the Sofitel. I've stayed there before and found it to be everything I needed. Here are the bids leading up to $79 (see my previous post for earlier rejections): $73 - MIA Airport (rejected with counter offer for +$22) $75 - added Coral Gables zone (rejected) logged out $77 - MIA Airport plus North Miami (rejected with counter offer for +$22) logged out $79 - MIA Airport plus Miami Lakes (accepted)

Desired location for 4 Star: MIA Airport (but Coral Gables also OK) Hotels in Miami seem a little pricier (at least on Priceline) this year over Christmas. Here's a history of my losing bids so far. Will update when I finally get something or give in. Orbitz has a 4* at the airport for $109, so bidding too much higher may not be worth it, though the counteroffer tells me I'm close. Have been using savingsbarn.com to get to PL. $51 - MIA (airport) = rejected $51 - MIA (airprot) + Coral Gables = rejected [i've gotten the Hyatt Coral Gables a couple times for $51 before] $56 - MIA (airport) + Coral Gables + North Miami = rejected logged out $60 - MIA (airport) + Miami Lakes= rejected $65 - MIA (airport) + Coral Gables = rejected logged out $68 - MIA (airport) + Dadeland = rejected with counter offer for +$17 logged out $70 - MIA (airport) + SW Miami = rejected

Originally started bidding for a 4*, but stopped when rejected at $100 after 3 rebids. Accepted on first bid for $60 for 3*: Delta Montreal Tried using savingsbarn.com link, but connection to priceline timed out.

Finally got the Le Meridien (5*) for $130/night as suspected. Not sure what's going on during those dates -- the Marriott is sold out, but others reading this and bidding should start somewhat lower for different dates. I'm happy with the price (although I was expecting Budapest to be cheaper than this) and the hotel seems to be ranked #1 on tripadvisor.com for Budapest hotels, so I'm happy.

I just might end up using EasyClickTravel travel, but for now I'm going to keep trying with priceline. I've made another (rejected) bid with priceline -- via the savingsbarn.com link. I have a feeling I may be coming closer to the price, since I got this message after bidding $120 for a 5* If you are willing to raise your price by $22, you can try the same request again right now. I've decided to decline the offer, with the suspicion that a winning bid may be had for $130.

Open to suggestions for bidding for 4 or 5 star. Here are my failed bids so far: $65 - 4 star (not sure what I was thinking here, plus I wasted a bid by starting with 4 star) -- waited 72 hours $90 - 5 star $80 - 4 star -- waited 72 hours $110 - 5 star $95 - 4 star -- need to wait 72 hours Current prices from hotel websites. date: Sept 19-22 5 star (Sofitel) EUR250 5 star (Le Meridien) EUR179 internet pre-pay rate/ EUR199 flexible 4 star (Marriott) EUR235 4 star (Art'otel) US$197/EUR160

Bid $95 Prague (East) 5* -- rejected (waited 72 hours) Bid $101 Prague (West) 5* -- rejected Bid $105 Prague (East and West) -- accepted (the Marriott is in the East Zone) Now trying for Budapest, will post when I get a winning bid.

Well, that was easy. Got on first bid, based on the information generously provided by the earlier poster who failed at $48 and won at $52. Perhaps $49 or $50 is doable.

I'd previously bid upto $180 in this zone with no luck (a couple of weeks ago), so I was surprised to get an accepted bid at $150 on my first try. Millenium Hilton $150 + 33.35 tax = $183.35 I suspect it could be had for less, but since the lowest available price on the hilton website is $339, I'm quite happy with what I paid.

Thanks for the alternatives and advice, much appreciated. Surprised at those bad reviews for the W. I might have jumped at that (on hotwire) if not for them. Looks like April 21 might be a problem date based on seeing others get MTW for $110 for 4/22 and on, so I may end up splitting my bid as 21 + 22-24. For now, I have a standby, just in case. Will post again when I do finally get a winning bid.

Getting discouraged on getting a 4* in NYC for 4/21 to 4/24 Here are my failed bids (my target zone is downtown/soho/FinDist): $145 DT/Soho/FD $155 added MTS $165 added MTE $175 added MTW I realize I have one more free bid (UWS) but saving it till I decide whether to bid $190 then calling it quits for a 4*, or hoping more inventory gets added tomorrow and someone else gets lucky (and posts). Thanks

Originally bid $70 for a 4* for same dates (downtown zone only) but got shot down. Decided to go cheaper and bid for a 3* instead, and got on my first bid for $50. Montreal Jazz Fesival will be happening during these dates, so I'm surprised the rates weren't higher. Cheapest rate on hyatt web site for these dates is US$131.80/night. Cheapest rate on Orbitz.com is US$175.62.

Sheraton Yankee Clipper, 2 nights at $95 per night + Taxes and Fees of $30.68 ($220.68 total) I'm not sure if there's something going on this particular weekend, but it's been tough to get a good price. Started out at $60, and climbed up mostly in $5 and $10 increments adding zones, and rebidding after 72 hours. Last rejected bid was for $90, (Ft Lauderdale Beach and Miramar zone).