DukeC7

Hello forum - been a while since my last activity. Again, needed a hotel near Kings Dominion in Doswell, VA. Selected 4* and bid $60. Offered an immediate room for $83. Declined and continued bidding with free rebid zones. (there are plenty of 4* rebids in this zone) Bids of $65, $70, $72 rejected and bid of $74 accepted. Beautiful property which we have won on two other occasions. Used the PRICELINE link to start my purchase. : )

Started at 3 1/2 stars on name your own price at $55. Used free rebid zones up to $75 without any luck. Added the Downtown and Falls zones knowing that I may end up getting one of those zones but didn't really care. All the way to $84 with no luck. Last minute trip, so went to the Priceline Express options as well as Hotwire and found the prices to be very close. Ended up taking the 3* Holiday Inn Buffalo Amherst at $94. (there was another 3* in the Airport zone but allowed pets and I didn't want to risk getting a room that would cause allergy issues) Amenities were listed as: Free parking, business center, restaurant, wi-fi, pool, fitness Used the Priceline link to start my purchase.

First bid at 3 1/2 stars of $57. Rejected with offer to increase to $67 for room. Declined and went back and added a rebid zone (that didn't have 3 1/2 star rooms) and bid of $60. Accepted for Buffalo Niagara Marriott. Used the Priceline link to start my purchase.

Hotel needed for a night to be near King's Dominion in Doswell. Bid 4* as only 2 areas in the Richmond have 4 stars which allowed many free rebid zones. Started at $40 not expecting any luck - rejected added another zone $42 - rejected next zone $45 - rejected next zone $50 - rejected next zone $55 - accepted Have stayed here in 2011 and paid $60 for that stay. (winning priceline bid found here) 2 years later and $5 less! It is a very nice, "old fashioned" hotel (check it out if you don't understand what I mean by that) which is only a 15 minute drive from King's Dominion. Used the PRICELINE link to start my search and booking.

Need a quick place to crash close to Virginia Beach but wanted a pool for the kids. 1st bid - Fredericksburg Central 2.5* $45 - rejected 2nd bid - added Frederickburg North - $50 accepted also used the SUMMER code to save 5% and the total with taxes and fees came to $60.89 Happy with this deal and used the PRICELINE link to start my search and make the purchase.

They do have a shuttle that runs apparently runs all day which will help. In the past, we have enjoyed breakfast on the balcony of the hotel watching the dolphins play. Oh well, we will make the best of it.

Well, I tried bidding on 3.5* hotels starting at $110. 5 free rebid zones so I rebid moving up to $140 with no luck. I closed my browser and started over bidding on 3* hotels. First bid at $125 was accepted at the Doubletree. There was a 5% off coupon using the code SUMMER, so that softened the blow a little. I can't say I'm happy about the win. I really wanted to be oceanfront and the Doubletree hotel really seems to throw a wrench in the system when bidding on this area. I've travelled extensively and can usually get what I want using the forum and the rebid zones. I'm sure the hotel is nice, but not being on the beach is disappointing. I also think I could have got this hotel for less and wish I started bidding at the same $110 that I used for the 3.5* hotels. Used the PRICELINE link. Thanks for your help.

I think I'm going to use HOTWIRE since it appears as though that will be the only way I can be guaranteed an oceanfront hotel. I'll post the results in the appropriate forum once I have booked the room. Thanks again for your help. Duke

I've clicked each of the links. Sorry, I always click the links on this site when booking rooms. I didn't realize using the links for searches helped you out as well. I will do that moving forward. Duke

Hello Forum! Wanting to stay in Virginia Beach but on the oceanfront. I understand the way the site works and that I may not get an oceanfront hotel. My question is - When I go to the Name Your Own Price section, it shows a 3.5* option but the list for this area does not include a 3.5* hotel. Do we know what hotel this may be? I'm thinking the 3.5* option may only be oceanfront hotels which would allow me to bid on this area and guarantee an oceanfront hotel. (I realize the 3* may land me a hotel like the DoubleTree which is not oceanfront) Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided. Duke

This hotel looks like it used to be a 2* based on prior wins but is now coming up as a 2 1/2*, so I can only hope there have been improvements. Since there are no rebid zones and I needed the hotel tomorrow night, I came in a little higher than recent wins at $60 and was successful. As always, used the PRICELINE link to make my purchase.

Now that I'm here, the only real negative with the hotel is that there isn't on-site self-parking. Arrived late at night and didn't want to pay valet, so I had to walk back about around the block in the rain. Otherwise, happy with the hotel. For baseball fans, I can see PNC Park out of the window in my room. You could likely walk to the ballpark in 15-20 minutes.

Made a bit of a rookie mistake on this one, but still happy with what I got. Started bidding in Downtown at $75. First bid rejected. Second bid at $80 rejected. Don't want to pay over $100 all in, so I added the 3 1/2* zone and the next bid at $81 was accepted. Used the PRICELINE link to start my purchase.

First bid of $55 was rejected but with an offer to increase to $70. If there is a rebid zone, I usually go half way and successfully win the hotel. In this case, I had a few rebid zones, so I only went up to $60 and added a rebid zone. First rebid at $60 was accepted. Used the PRICELINE link to start my purchase.

First bid of $65 for Beverly-Salem-Peabody was rejected. Added Danvers-Peabody and bid $80 and was accepted. Used the PRICELINE links from this site to start my purchase.

Second try bidding for this star level in this area. (Previous bids were unsuccessful topping out at $100) Started at $120 and was rejected, but offered an immediate rebid at $150. I declined, added a rebid zone and rebid at $135 and was successful. Note: I've found that in most cases, after declining the immediate rebid, you can get a room for the rate between your last bid and the rebid offer. (e.g. - bid $120, rejected and offered $150 - declined and rebid at $135 and won the room) As always, I used the PRICELINE links on this site to start my purchase. :)

I booked the Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront for $189 first night and $199 second night. Decided to rebid today on 3* in the Oceanfront area. I started at $120 and was rejected, but offered an immediate rebid at $150. I declined that, added a rebid zone and bid at $135 (I find if you reject and rebid halfway between your original and the rebid offer, you usually get it) and won the same hotel. (Virginia Beach Oceanfront) After taxes and fees, the same stay was $68 less than the orginal booking. :) As always, I used the links on this site for my purchase and I'll post that win in a separate thread.

Hi Aaron, I bid up to $100 for a 3 star but was rejected. Seeing as we need the room next week and I am busy for the remainder of this week, I just used the PRICELINE link and booked a room using the retail Priceline rate. :) I can cancel up until Thursday, so if I find time to rebid at lower rates, I'll likely do that. Thanks, Duke

I've tried to bid on 3 1/2 star as well as 3 star for July 18 - July 20 and have failed even using all rebid zones and bids higher than winning bids posted on this forum. There appears to be availability at some of the hotels I am bidding on, so I can't figure out why I've been unsuccessful.

Update to this hotel. This is the second time I've won this hotel and while it is nice, they do not offer free internet. If you need internet access it will cost you $9.95 for 24 hours. Also, they charge you $9 parking/day. I can't believe there are still hotels out there charging for internet access.

First bid of $70 was rejected. (offered an instant rebid at $90 but declined) Went back and added a free rebid zone (only one 4* zone in this area) and bid $80 and was rejected. Added another free rebid zone and bid $85 which was accepted. Used the PRICELINE link to start my purchase.

First bid of $55 was rejected. (Offered to add $15 to the bid but declined) Added a rebid zone at $60 and was rejected. Added another rebid zone and was accepted at $65. I used the PRICELINE link to begin my purchase.

Yes, sorry, I was using a non-US date format. Will try to remember to use the US date format in the future.

First bid of $58 was rejected. Declined offer to bid again at $73. Added rebid zone of Stoughton - Rockland at $68 and it was accepted. Used the PRICELINE link to start my purchase.

First bid of $70 was rejected for Falmouth. I was offered to bump my bid to $90 and rebid instantly. Declined and returned to the selections and added Hyannis area. Rebid at $80 and was accepted. I used the PRICELINE link to start my purchase.