jackkrat

I had not seen the Inter-Continental on a recent post, and was pleasantly surprised as this "downtown" hotel is one of the closest to the French Quarter, which is desirable to us.

I was that previous bidder and am glad to see this post! I was bidding two rooms for Friday and Saturday night that weekend, so I may have been doomed from the get go. I ended up staying both nights at the Courtyard Marriot by Midway for $90/room/night and am pleased considering the circumstances. Have fun!

Went up to $145 and still nothing. I am going to look into alternatives at this point. Can someone recommend a cheap, cheap backup for NMA / MP area? I don't care about star rating for a backup. Moderator, please change topic to reflect higher dollar amount rejected.

Thanks for the encouragement. I take if from your suggestion to wait that the prices normally do come down as the time gets closer and there are still empty rooms left?

I am looking to stay in the downtown area for these dates and was blown away as bid after bid was rejected. I started at $75/night and have worked my way up to $120 night for both of these zones and came up empty. What gives? Anyone know of a big convention or something? I hate to break down and stay out in the burbs, but now I'm wondering if that would be feasible. Could it be that I am too early?...i.e., is there any chance more rooms could be released or the prices of the rooms could dropped? Any help is appreciated...

today (3/24/06) tried $61 with no avail. I'm going to wait a few weeks and try again. Feel free to update my topic to reflect that $61 failed. If/when I actually win, we can change again.

Tried $52 and $55. No luck. I'm going to go up to $60 and quit for a month or two.

Tried $46 and $49 without success. I will try again tomorrow, raising $3 at a time unless anyone has a better suggestion. At this point should I just wait a few weeks?

Tried $36 and $39 today, still no luck. I wish there were more than one additional area to work with - I can't believe Milwaukee does not have more than a 3* downtown. Is priceline trying to thwart betterbidding? At any rate, I will continue to crawl up... Another question: is it possible that there aren't any rooms available yet on priceline? I've noticed that it is exceedingly rare for someone to post a win several months ahead of time. I'm wondering if hotels wait to release rooms for cheap prices only when it appears they will have vacancies. hmm...

I hope it is okay to post unsuccessful bids... I was thinking that, when it comes to getting the best price, it's just as useful to know what amounts will not work as to know what will work. So here goes.... I bid $30 for 3* downtown, added NW zone and rebid 3* with $33 and got zilch. Perhaps I was a little greedy, being the peak season and all. I figure I have plenty of time to wait and rebid. Is there still a 72 hour rule? Next time I think I'll start with $40, which is closer to previous posts, though it's been a long time since someone posted for 3* at this location during peak season. Any suggestions?

Bid $45 for 4* in NMA, added rebid zone and bid $50 for 4* in NMA, added rebid zone and bid $55 for 4* in NMA, didn't want to wait or go down a star level, so added Mil. Loop Grant Park and bid $42 (based on other postings) for 4* and got the Hyatt Regency. Based on recent posts, I knew $42 would likely get Hyatt Regency which I am happy with. I ran out of rebid zones and couldn't afford to wait 72 hours. Is there another strategy I could've used? I guess I just wanted to see if there were any 4*'s cheaper than $60 or $70 in the NMA area.

It was my first bid, but I'd already received the same price/hotel for a different wedding in May. I was afraid that the "conventions" may have taken up all the rooms, but for all I know that was just a lie. As for the location, it's actually a few blocks closer than the hotel that the bride and groom reserved rooms at!

Supposedly there's a lot of conventions this weekend ... that's what a hotel (I forget which one) told my friend who's getting married. Therefore the *special* wedding/group rate was $100+/night. Figuring that the conventions would make it impossible to get a decent rate, my wife and I were planning on staying with some other friends instead of paying the group rate. In the end, we decided to try Priceline and it paid off! This is an example of how sites like this increase revenue for hotels that have otherwise empty beds. After all, we got a hotel room instead of staying with friends. Everyone wins!

Thought I'd post this successful bid even though it's a bit after the fact. Figure that every little piece of the priceline puzzle helps. I forget what the total came to after taxes and fees. I do remember that the location was awesome! Parking was $12/day. The room was clean, updated with amenities, though a little small. . . and the wall between bathroom and bedroom was only 3/4 to the ceiling - which was okay since I was alone.

Looked into what 3* hotels people were getting in St. Louis and figured I could afford to lower my standards after getting rejected for 4*/$50. Who knew that this Sheraton was only a 3* hotel? Usually hotels are overrated on Priceline, but because I've stayed at this Sheraton before I can attest that it is UNDERRATED. So I canceled my $79 reservation back-up at the Millenium and am saving a bundle. WOOHOO! Update - oh yeah, here's some more info, including the total after taxes and fees. . . Check-In Date: Friday, May 20, 2005 Check-Out Date: Saturday, May 21, 2005 Sheraton Saint Louis Hotel And Suites 400 South 14th Street St Louis, Missouri 63103 314-231-5007 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $35.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $12.40 Total Charges: $47.40 Parking: ??? I'll try and remember to post this after my stay. . .I wish people would do this more often, because it can make a significant difference for automobile travelers.

I tried $36 first for downtown area only, but to no avail. Priceline made me change either star rating or area. Next, I tried $50 for both Downtown and Clayton/Forest Park areas. The reason for the voluntary price jump is I realized that the weekend I was seeking (5/20/05) was probably graduation for SLU or Wash U or both! At any rate, something is going on that weekend because $50 was rejected too. I did not want to compromise on the star rating, which may be another reason why my bid was rejected. . . there are a lot of "sketchy" 3*'s in the Lou so I didn't want to take a chance. In the end I took the standard group rate at the Millenium Hotel downtown for $79 - that is the negotiated rate for wedding guests for our friends wedding that weekend. My first bad experience after relying on betterbidding.com's guidance several times - it had to happen sooner or later.