thereuare

You can't edit titles. You have 45 minutes to edit your post, then the EDIT button goes away. This was just raised today from the prior 30 minute clock, and if 45 minutes is too short of time, let me know and i'll see what i can do to raise it to 60 minutes. If there's ever something you need edited but can't, feel free to send me a PM or an email and i'll make whatever changes you want. Thanks for the follow-up.

Thanks for following up, it sounds like you were able to get a good rate thru another means. Have an enjoyable and safe trip.

Glad you have a roof over your head for the weekend (and a nice one at that!) It can sometimes be a pain when you don't have time on your side because you begin to panic about getting "something." In the end, if you're happy, we're happy. Enjoy the shows and thanks for the follow-up!

Sure, your lists will definately help. Whatever is easiest for you. If they're typed out, you can just copy/past them into an email OR post them in a new thread (and i'll then copy it to the "Hotel List by City"). I may not be able to get to it for a couple of days, so if you post it that will get the info up sooner, but if email is best for you i'll be sure to get around to it as soon as i can. Thank you for offering your assistance.

Thank you <taking a bow> :) I really do appreciate the kind words and everyone's support.

We love to hear stories like this!! Looks like you did better for 3 nites than you could have done for 1 nite! I always say that you'll find it hard not to 'brag' about wins such as these... before you know it you'll see posts on this board from your friends and family that you just happened to mention it to <who doesn't like to save money?>

lo2e, I'm working on it :) , but thanks for pointing it out... as i only learned about it from another post on the board (thanks zebnye) I have written on paper the hotels that have come up in NYC and Las Vegas so i can refer to them easily and help others that need assistance, but the problem is that the sub-zones aren't listed (ie- New York City is listed, but not Midtown East, Central Park, etc) so it's not that easy to classify them properly at this point. I was holding off moving forward on this until i decided if i should: 1) Have an "unclassified" section with all the hotels, amenities, and star ratings listed 2) Delay in getting the information on the board so that each hotel's zone can be classified properly? I encourage users of the board to reply to this thread as to what their preferences are regarding the above two scenarios and i'll start to implement whatever the board wants. PS- thanks for the compliment on the board, i enjoy doing it, but it's always nice to hear that others enjoy it as well

Is this in the CBD or the FQ? Thanks for posting and thanks in advance for updating.

I think it's worth it.... the more rooms you need, the more you'll likely save! You can bid for 4 rooms at a time, and if you select all 4 rooms at once in the same bid (on the first screen), they'll all be at the same hotel. The only problem i can see you encountering is that Priceline only guarantees accomodations for 2 people, although i have not heard small families having a problem in this area (like it is in NYC or other large cities where the rooms are known to be quite small). How were you planning on splitting up the rooms? (ie- how many adults/children would be in each room) It is possible that all the rooms could only have a king bed, it's also possible they'll all have 2 queens (i know most people don't think this is the case when you book direct, but bed preferences are just a request and based upon availability... no matter how you book). If the above doesn't "work" for you, you might still be better off using Priceline but getting 5 or 6 rooms (in 2 separate bids.. yes, there is a chance that the 2 separate bids land you at different hotels). You can likely get rooms for <$40/nite, so perhaps an extra room or two would still be cost effective. Let me know your thoughts after reading the above and then i'll advise you further if you wish to proceed. (of course, ask any questions you have after reading the above)

CHKNPOTPIE ended up using Priceline and the winning info can be seen HERE

So it sounds as if they're giving your the upgraded room? I guess all is well that ends well :) Have a great trip, and thank you for posting your results (both of them)

It's currently set to go away after 30 minutes. I don't think it can be dependent upon a reply getting posted, but if people are having a problem, i can try extending the time to 45 minutes or an hour. Would that help? Of course, if there is an edit you would like to make you can always send me whatever changes you'd like after the time has passed. I'll go ahead and change it to 45 minutes now to see if that helps, and if there is still a problem, post to this thread and i'll try to extend it further. Thanks for letting me know this is an issue.

If there are two hotels in an area, one that typically sells for $40 and one that sells for $50, DO NOT bid $50 in hopes of getting the higher priced hotel. You are just as likely to get the lower priced hotel and have paid $10 too much.

Glad to see the Hotwire info was of use :) Priceline's counter-offers can almost always be undercut, but the problem here is that time is winding down. If you'd consider Upper Midtown/CPS, i don't think you'll be successful as the 4* hotels in this zone are typically more expensive. HOWEVER, if you'd still be happy in this area, you can use it as another re-bid zone (it's not really a re-bid zone, but Priceline wins in this area are usually higher than you're bidding, so you can use it as such... with the caveat that IF you were to get something in this area you'd still be happy). If that's the case, i would go ahead and add this zone and raise my bid to $93. If the above doesn't fit your plans (or tried and failed), i would try for MTE (only) 4* as follows: bid $75, if rejected use re-bid zone and raise to $88 if rejected, add MTW and raise to $93 (this should be allowed since you only bid the MTE and MTW independent of each other, never together.... HOWEVER, if you tried adding UM/CPS above and were rejected at $93, let me know and do not bid this last step until i follow up with you) As i commented in the hotel zone descriptions, i think that MTE and MTW are both fine for theater visitors. However, you're the one staying at the hotel and you need to be happy with it. The above is what i would do (probably trying the UM/CPS idea first), but if you'd rather go for a 3* let me know and i can follow up with something for that as well. Of course, the other option is to just wait 72 hours and bid again as previously, but raising the bid amounts. Hopefully you followed it all, but if not, feel free to ask any questions. Let us know how you do and/or how you want to proceed. PS- you used UWS as your re-bid zone, right?

Did you try bidding this, success/failure, or did you go another route?

The Mirage's website shows 4/25-4/27 at an average cost of $259/nite, so if it were indeed The Mirage i think Hotwire would lose some money on their "Double the Difference Guarantee" (not that they haven't lost money before, see THIS THREAD from Byeloe) I've stayed at the Mirage a few years ago, and i don't recall any tennis courts on the property, but the "nearby" could always mean that the hotel has a shuttle bus (or taxi) that would take you to the tennis courts (which i think most of the "upper tier" hotels can arrange). Anything is possible, but i would still place my best guess on the Monte Carlo for the reasons in my prior post, although i'm far from certain that this is indeed the property.

Welcome to the board and thank you for posting your winning bid! Graduation season can be tough in any college town/area!! Glad you got a roof over your head for the nite! Thanks again for sharing your results.

I think the tip-off for this one is the tennis, but it is "tennis nearby" which could mean anything :) I looked on Expedia's property description for the Monte Carlo and they mention that they have "lighted tennis courts", so although it's just a guess, that would be my top choice if i had to choose. But again, their "nearby" could include just about any property in Vegas. I thought Bally's also based upon the tennis, but i would think Bally's would be more of a 4* hotel rather than a 4.5*. Paris is a good guess as well, but i would lean toward the Monte Carlo if i had to guess from the standpoint that they offer tennis on the premises.

My fault re: the Hotwire amenities, i read your post too fast :) and i apologize. Unfortunately, there's just too many hotels in Times Square that fit the amenties listed). Even still, the Hotwire info is important from the standpoint that you now know NOT to bid over $105 (although the star ratings between Hotwire and Priceline are somewhat difference, at least you have a reference point). There are 3 ways you can do this: 1)To get the lowest price and potentially have to bid again in 72 hours if rejected: 4* MTW try a lowball bid of $75, if rejected use your free re-bid zone and raise bid to $88 If rejected wait 72 hours, proceed again with bids of $88 and then $93 2) For a greater likelihood of getting this 'done' and have a potential overbid of $5/nite 4* MTW try a lowball bid of $75, if rejected use your free re-bid zone and raise bid to $93 3) A little of both... 4* MTW bid $88 (the risk in this is that a lowball $75 bid would be accepted, which would result in an overbid) use your free re-bid zone and bid $93 The prices of $88 and $93 are taken from prior wins that we have seen, for the Hiltonand Westin, respectively. If you are unsure of how re-bid zones work, please ask. You can read about them here: Re-bidding before 72 hours and feel free to post with what you think your re-bidding zone is if you want to confirm it. Any questions regarding the above, feel free to ask. Let us know how it worked, if rejected, post that too and i'll post a follow-up strategy.

For Hotwire assistance, please include the amenites as well (for an explanation of why, see this link: What might be the Hotwire hotel....) Do you have a zone preference? You can see a description of zones here: NYC Zone Descriptions I would assume that midtown east and midtown west would both be fine, but do you have a problem with either of these or want to include any others? I think you should be able to get an under $100 bid accepted, but when you update regarding the zones, i'll detail a bidding strategy for you. PS- don't forget to check out the restaurant link in the "NY Tips" section if you'd like discounts on some good restaurants (we have no affiliation with them, but i love some of their restaurants, and the discounts there make some higher-end meals more affordable)

byeloe, I know Vegas pretty well, and might be able to assist if you include the amenities listed along with the hotel. The amenities are often a greater tip-off to the hotel than the star rating, as discussed here: What my be the Hotwire hotel...

Some properties are willing to discount more than others, which probably takes into a variety of factors such as rent, operating costs, cash flow, etc. Hotels are in a sort of catch-22 in that they don't want to "give away the ranch", but they also collect NO REVENUE for an unused room. (similarly, we often see higher rated hotel on Hotwire sell for less than lower rated hotels in the same search) I've seen the Hyatt go for as low as $27 when they're website was showing $225! If you don't see the rates for the Hyatt increase dramatically i think you will ultimately be successful. If you really want to save the money, i would just continue bidding the Hyatt (by keeping your bids at $27 and re-bids at $30) until end of July/beginning of August, assuming your comfortable waiting that long and trying this bid every few days. In the meantime, it's always a good idea to book a fully cancellable back-up. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.

The great thing about this board, is now we all have a good idea of where to start bidding for 3* in the future... sometimes we take information, sometimes we give information :) You got a great deal and cut your costs by about 1/2 compared to a traditional booking. Thanks for updating your post with the results, and have a good trip.

The Venetian in Las Vegas is "known" to only offer their best rate to Priceline 7 days before check-in. This is NOT to say that Priceline doesn't have access to inventory more than 7 days before check-in, it's just to make you aware that it will likely take a higher bid than some of the other "winning bids" that are booked inside of 7 days.

Glad it worked out for you!! If you'd be so kind, could you post your "win" in the Hotwire thread? I will then add a link to this thread which directly connects to your Hotwire results. I guess this is an instance where Hotwire was able to beat Priceline, and an example of why it's important to check both services. I would guess that Priceline would have required a $75 or $83 bid to be successful (if at all), which are other "levels" of accepted bids. Bottom line is that you got what you wanted, and for that i'm thankful. It's also an incredible rate over the $300/nite they're asking! Have a great trip (although i know for you, it couldn't get here soon enough :) ) CLICK HERE to see the post that resulted on Hotwire