dahammer

Welcome!

What are your dates of travel?

Please use the support links on the board if you proceed with this trip.

Started my bids at the 2* level @ $36 in an attempt to get the Park Inn, but was rejected. Increased my bids to $38, then $41, success was had at $43 and I was upgraded to a 2.5*.

Your Offer Price $43.00

Taxes & Fees: $13.12

Total Charges: $56.12

Current rates are US $102 plus 13% tax, so I'm pleased with the results.

Hi, just found out that the elizabeth zone was combined to the Newark airport zone.

:)

this is quite unfortunate because the hotels in the Elizabeth zone offered free parking while several of those in the EWR zone typically charge for parking. A major disappointment. When bidding in Elizabeth the 2.5* level, I could be relatively assured of getting the Country Inn and Suites, but now with the new zones, I could get an upgrade to a 3* and have to pay for parking, breakfast, and High Speed Internet.

if you are traveling from Ottowa via Rt. 81 and 17, you can bid in the Middletown zone, there are several properties near the intersection of Rts. 17 & 84. These are about 15-20 miles before the Woodbury Outlets. If you request "Central Valley" you will get a single zone called Highland Falls that is at least 10 miles east of the outlets. While it will be much more picturesque, it will detract from exercising your credit cards. :)

On occasion, the description will list the number of rooms which can help ID the hotel. For example, I did a search for Secaucus, NJ and there was a 3* with 305 guest rooms. A quick Google search with the term "305 guest rooms Secaucus" and the Crowne Plaza is a match. Check the hotel photos on the hotel website to be sure.

Hotels use HOTWIRE and PRICELINE to sell room inventory that may otherwise go empty, so places like the Marriott and Westin are likely filling up by conventional means. I've never stayed at the Holiday Inn, but its location can't be beat. You could literally park the car for an entire week and walk to restaurants, shopping or bike all over the island.

The best advice is to bid up to your maximum budget, if you've reached it, you will need to decide whether to lower your minimum star ratings.

Of course I am not sure whether I overpaid for a room in Westin where most people seem to be getting it for $80-90 using Priceline.

If you increased your bid by $5, then its doubtful that you overpaid for your dates of travel. It sounds like management was trying to make up for walking you to another hotel last year. BTW, its advisable that you call the hotel to let them know you will be late, even if your room is prepaid.

Resort and parking fees are not shown on the BB hotel lists since these can change frequently.

firstly: identify the HOTWIRE property using the amenities and the invaluable hotel lists on BB

secondly: call the property and ask if they charge for parking and/or Resort fees

That said, this is not a 100% lock! There could always be a new hotel that has yet to be reported, or two hotels could have the same amenity combination.

Where are you bidding? It sounds like you can stay at an acceptable hotel for $85 that doesn't charge resort or parking fees.

I've done both HW and PL

We look forward to seeing your wins posted on BB, it makes the lists more relevant and helps others craft winning bids.

this is one of my biggest pet peeves with PRICELINE and one of the reasons I avoid certain zones such as Newark EWR Airport zone where many hotels charge for parking unlike the nearby Elizabeth, NJ zone where (up until now) the hotels don't charge for parking. You might want to consider HOTWIRE since you have a greater chance of identifying the property using the Better Bidding hotel lists prior to purchase.

Or, it may be important to know if the hotel has a pool or not. Hotwire tells you that in advance.

This could be an outdoor pool in the winter, BTW. Regarding the Airport Shuttle, the hotel could charge for this service.

I would be willing to pay more for a decent hotel with a private bath. Anyone got any ideas how to proceed?

I am willing to stay in any reasonable neighborhood in Manhattan with access to bus or subway.

The hotel is rated 3.5 in tripadvisor and I looked at 3.5 rated hotels on that site: Only one hotel has 2*, hardly any amenities (breakfast only), and is rated 3.5:

Days Inn Long Island City

Its possible that this could be the Days Inn, this hotel is wedged into a tiny peninsula of land between elevated train tracks, Queens Blvd. and Thompson Ave. Check out the address on google maps and you will see for yourself. You might want to see if this listing appears for just the first night of your stay, and simultaneously, check if it is available for the remainder on a seperate screen. You could buy the first night and if its acceptable, buy the remaining nights.

3* West Point - Ft. Montgomery area hotel for 53$ per night

06/09/11 - 06/10/11

Amenities:

Smoke Free

Complimentary breakfast

Restaurant

Any ideas?

that looks like a good deal as it has a 90% HOTWIRE recommendation. You might also want to consider the Newburg, NY zone as this is the exit before Harriman where the Woodbury Commons is located. Enjoy the favorable USD/CDN exchange rate!! I believe you will have to pay sales tax on clothing and apparel in NY, but its less than the taxes in Quebec. There is no sales tax on clothing in Pennsylvania, BTW.

I want to know how much to start with and what price range is there people winning

Check the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins and use the Search Box at the top of the BetterBidding page and you will see the price range wins in 'State College'.

I also check HOTWIRE before bidding as this also helps me determine discounted rates in the area I'm bidding, although there is not 100% correlation between the two opaque sites.

Good Luck!

Welcome!

What are the amenities for this property?

I have stayed in Long Island City several times without incident, I always have a car, and I can put up with just about any hotel for one night. That said, you are booking two rooms for six nights, so you might want to be more cautious.

Please use the HOTWIRE links on this board for your searches as well as your purchase.

thanks!

Welcome and thank you for your first post.

So that your information can be useful to others seeking accomodations in Niagara Falls, can you please post the details of your win? This includes the date of travel, the zone, the star level, and the bid price. This information will keep the lists updated and a free, valuable resource for great hotel deals.

thanks!

Can you please post a follow up to your Hotwire French Quarter topic and let the board know what you did for this stay?

I received the following email this morning from the Theater Development Fund:

TDF is proud to announce the release of the Official TKTS Android app. Like its iPhone counterpart, the app transports you into the heart of Times Square and gives you real-time look at the Duffy Square booth show boards. Go to the Android Market or click here to download either the iPhone or the Android app.

so if you are looking for same day theater tickets, this looks like a great way to check availability before heading over to the TKTS booth.

Greetings!

what are the conventional rates for hotels in this area for your dates of travel?

FWIW: I'm a Hotwire Express member (and have been for a long time.) I just booked my third Hotwire room in less than a month

care to share some of your HOTWIRE purchases with the rest of the community? When you post a win (PRICELINE) or a buy (HOTWIRE) it gets listed in the Calendar of Wins and could help others seeking similar accomodations.

It takes but a minute, thanks in advance!

There is a Library Convention from June 12th-15th, not sure if this will affect your bids, but since you have time and you can rebid every 24 hours without changing a star rating or zone, you can always open the bidding and increase it each day.

Greetings!

this topic is covered in the FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions. I typically bid (PRICELINE) or buy (HOTWIRE) on the day of my stay as this gives me the most flexibility with my schedule. That said, there have been several occasions where I attempted to duplicate bids from previous posts, but these were rejected. With regards to HOTWIRE, I have seen prices increase or listings disappear. I attribute this to hotels being able to fill the hotel using conventional means.

There have also been times where HOTWIRE's prices came down or previous rejected bids were accepted as the dates drew near.

The best advice is to buy or bid when your plans are firm since your stay is not cancellable.

Please list your dates of travel in a new post, your desired budget and star level, and we can suggest a bidding stratgegy.

Please use the HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links on the board for your searches and bidding/purchases.

thanks!

Greetings!

What is your maximum bid for this stay? We would not want to suggest a bidding strategy that is greater than your budget. Although the Marriott may be the only 3.5* currently listed, there could always be others, would you be willing to accept another 3.5* if it were to appear? You really can't bid for a specific hotel.

I booked a room through HOTWIRE and the hotel did not have a private bath, so HOTWIRE cancelled the reservation, refunded me my purchase price, but since it was after 6:00 PM (the old deadline) they could not book me in another accomodation, so I was left high and dry.

I would call Hotwire to confirm, I could not see this on the HW website.

Good Luck!

Greetings!

Thank you for posting your win. Its difficult to compare your win in May to one in March, so don't beat yourself up. In general, when you are lowering your star rating, its not advisable to increase your bid, especially when you have time on your side. This is a nice hotel, it was refurbished a few years ago, a good location for a short drive to the Casinos in the Marina district.

If you're looking for a reasonable "red sauce" Italian restaurant in AC, check out Angelo's. Its around the corner from the White House which is one of the best Sub/Hoagies you'll ever have.