rihallix

Fitness center, pool, business center, high speed internet.

Just booked this 3 1/2 * RDU airport hotel on HOTWIRE for $62, $77 with all the taxes for 6/19 for 1 night. I can confirm it is the Hotel Indigo, Durham Research Triangle. Looks like it's very close to the airport on the map. (BTW PRICELINE denied my $37 bid on a 3*, but said I could rebid for $47, seemed pointless to get a 3* for $47 when you can get a 3 1/2 for $62 gauranteed). Rihallix

Won at first bid of $69 on Union Sq West Nob Hill. Based this bid on the laddering strategy of spinner3 staying the exact same dates. Priceline San Francisco Thanks.

We're looking to buy 2 tickets from either OAK or SFO to BIL (Billings Montana) leaving around Sun 17th Dec and returning around 27th Dec 2006. We're flexible on dates. We have a 10 month old lap child and are nervous of Delta's typical 38 min connection time for their Salt Lake City connection, or the frequently cancelled Alaskan turboprop flights from Seattle to Billings. Any idea what effect there is when you say you're travelling with an infant - does this exclude such tight connections? Actual ticket prices where airlines are combined start at around $430 + tax, single airline iteneraries are over $500. I've done laddered bidding (different dates/Bay area airports OAK and SFO) around the dates up to $315 and got nothing. What discounts are people seeing for Xmas iteneraries this year? Advice appreciated. Are the airlines just not conceding much on price at Christmas. The airfares seem horrific this year - we're used to paying under $350. Advice appreciated - what price will we hit paydirt? If we have to bid over $350 we'd just book regular flights to avoid risky iteneraries. Rihallix

Perfect - thanks to this checker I think I see a home run here.

Thrilled to win the Holiday Inn for $38. Checked out other airport hotels in the vicinity - be careful as some don't have a free shuttle so that wonderful bargain will cost you an additional $45+ in taxi fares. Didn't expect the Holiday Inn as it wasn;t yet on the Minneapolis priceline map. A welcome surprise - was expecting the Courtyard by Marriott. 2.5* Holiday Inn - free shuttle 2.5* Courtyard by Marriott - free shuttle 3* Sheraton - hourly shuttle, expect to pay $22 taxi each way 4* Sofitel - no shuttle, expect to pay $22 taxi each way BIDDING STRATEGY: Initial bid $33 - system responded to this bid with 'due to your location/quality combination we will let you do a free immediate rebind for $9 more ($42)' so suspected I was getting close Second bid $38 accepted - Holiday Inn Bloomington Airport Perhaps when you get the immediate rebid offer you must be close - I reckon this is $5 over the drop dead price they'd accept and we could have got this for $37. This is pure speculation though. (Total including taxes and service fees $49.78)

The lazy river pool doesn't open until May :) Thanks for the tip though. Found a new trick - try searching for conferences at your chosen destination, conferences often negotiate lower room rates for attendees. Google like this: "<hotel name> <month> <year> conference" E.g. "Ceasars Palace July 2006 conference" Also came across a discussion about Aladdin on where it was suggested the construction disturbance at the hotel (mentioned in a tripadvisor.com post) could have been the work of a disgruntled employee since the Planet Hollywood takeover might have caused redundancies as well as the overhaul.

Did some more research. Bidding on a 4* strip a place you might have a high likelihood of ending up with is the Aladdin as it's become a construction zone as part of a major refit after being bought by Planet Hollywood - customer reviews from this month (mid Jan '06) are not good: Aladdin reviews on Tripadvisor This makes bidding on a 4* strip hotel risky, unless it's possible to find out that the Aladdin refit will be complete by the end of March before our stay. As mentioned pools are a big consideration for us - our 5 year old loves swimming in our modest local pool. Other research turned up that the places with the best pools are the Mandalay Bay (hasn't appeared on Priceline & is expensive) the Green Valley Ranch, the Mirage and the Pink Flamingo. The Aladdin pool looks mediocre, the Venetian doesn't seem proud enough to show pictures of it's pool on its website. At this point considering one of the following approaches: - bidding $145 ish on a 5* with a slim chance of getting the Venetian (great rooms, lousy pool) - somehow stretching for the Mandalay Bay or Caesars Palace (or finding a deal under $200/night weekends) - booking direct (or via discounters) the Mirage, Pink Flamingo, Circus Circus or Excalibur Finally with bids on 4*'s for this weekend not succeeding at $115 (thanks GoHawks) suspect that hotels may be holding back on inventory as they're currently looking good on getting full occupancy that weekend. Predict a bid in the $140's will get a room at the Aladdin. Suspect that waiting a few weeks might work, but now really dubious that the Aladdin will use Priceline to dump unfilled rooms as customers propagate awareness of construction. Has anyone done any analysis to see if you get better prices nearer to the time you stay? Tips on best places to get deals on Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Pink Flamingo, Circus Circus or Excalibur appreciated.

The rebids as I see them are: 1) Henderson - max 2 1/2 star (but includes a resort) 2) Las Vegas Airport - max 3 star (no resorts) 3) Nellis Las Vegas Freeway - max 2 star (no resorts) So maybe Henderson with the resort can't safely be used as a rebid?

Does anyone know if the Priceline/Las Vegas hotel pricing tends to drop or rise as the date approaches. I'm bidding approximately 3 months out, is it better to get a safety net, then bid nearer the time. My suspicion is the pricing algorithm will expect rooms to fill up at a certain rate depending on how many days out it is from the actual date. If there is a deviation from this expected occupancy then pricing is adapted to get occupancy back onto the trajectory that ends up at 100% by the actual date. Pure speculation, but such a pricing model would maximize hotel revenues. (Anyone who wrote the pricing algorithm for priceline or the hotels jump right in).

I still make it 3 rebids, even excluding resorts: - Henderson - Las Vegas Airport - Nellis Las Vegas Freeway Please do correct me if I'm wrong.

Best I can find is using my Starwood Gold $525 for 3 nights at the Aladdin ~$175/night booking directly through the Starwood website. (The Gold may not make a difference). Otherwise the same 3 nights cost the following direct through the hotels: Mirage Total $687 $229 per night MGM Grand $719 Bellagio $1197 New York $569 Treasure Island

Excellent point (now I'm glad I posted). I'd assumed just selecting 4*, but you're right - I should be choosing 4 and 5*. Double checking I see 4 zones without 4 or 5* hotels: - Henderson - Las Vegas Airport - Nellis Las Vegas Freeway - Summerlin (this has "resorts" - will these count as 4* or 5* - what are they?)

OK just booked non-refundable flights to LV (from the UK) so we're fully committed to April 7-10th (Fri/Sat & Sunday - 3 nights). Need 2 rooms. Prefer not to split. Did more research on this board and recognize that 4* at the weekend is going to be around $145. Looks like people have ended up with the Luxor and Aladdin recently. What price should I start with? I've read and fully understand the rebid strategy and see there are 4 rebid zones (zones around LV without 4* hotels) that I can use before waiting 72 hours. Also are there any dud hotels to be aware of on the strip in the 4* range? We have a 5 year old and had we the choice would choose want a hotel with good pools. The Mandalay Bay would be perfect as we have a 5 year old who would love the river pool there, but notice it's not a Priceline regular. Any pointers to cheap Mandalay Bay rooms gratefully appreciated. I'm sure our 5 year old would also be blown away by Ceasars Palace.

We are considering staying Apr 7 - 9th in a 4* in the LV Strip. We actually may need 2 rooms. What bidding strategy would folks suggest we follow? It would be great to get something in the $80 - $100 range per night, below $80 for a known 4* strip hotel would be fantastic. Should we bid nearer the time - does it make a big difference if you bid further out? Should / can we bid for 2 rooms at once? Finally which LV Strip hotels have the best swimming pools for kids? Advice greatly appreciated.