hopeland

Pretty excited about this win, courtesy of BiddingHelper.com as always. Retail rates at the W are $239 non-ref; $289 flexible so a good deal of money saved here. Amenity List: Pet friendlySuiteBoutique hotelFitness centerPool(s)Restaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessSpa services

Bidding.Helper helps me score another good win in St. Louis. Based on the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal of $98, began bidding for a 4* downtown at $75. At $81, received a counter-offer of $105, which I rejected as always. Bid $88 then finally $89 to get the exact dollar lowest possible price. Price comparisons: Priceline Express: $98 (Hyatt?) Retail Flexible: $159 (Hyatt) Original Backup bid: $189 (Drury at the Arch)

Bidding.Helper.com as always helps me score another win in NYC. Based on a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal, decided to play the NYOP game. Bid $130 (4* Chelsea only) and received a counter-offer of $155, which I naturally rejected. Bid accepted with my follow-up of $131, the exact dollar lowest price possible. Price comparisons: $144 Priceline Express (Doubletree Chelsea?) $154 current retail non-refundable (Doubletree Chelsea) $189 current retail flexible (Doubletree Chelsea) $199 flexible back-up res (Hilton Fashion District) $239 flexible back-up res made a month ago and since cancelled (Doubletree Chelsea)

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to book this great deal in Manhattan. This was a situation where it definitely paid to wait. Room prices had been on the high side for several months, but I noticed they started coming down over the last couple of weeks. Based on a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal, I decided to try my luck at NYOP. Bid $155 for Midtown West only and received a counter-offer for $181, which I naturally rejected. Followed up with $156 and then $157, winning the Sheraton at the exact lowest possible price. Price comparisons: $169 Priceline Express (Sheraton?) $256 flexible back-up reservation (Andaz Wall St.) $259 retail non-refundable (Sheraton) $279 retail flexible (Sheraton) So I saved a good amount of money here for a stay that is less than a week away.

Used BiddingHelper.com.com as always to score this nice mid-week deal in Vegas. Retail pricing is $207 refundable, so good savings there. This was listed as a "Hot Rate All-Suites Hotel." and the resort fee was listed as $29. There was another listing with the exact same amenities, but it was a "Hot Rate Casino Hotel" and charged a resort fee of $25. (Venetian, perhaps?) I do slightly prefer the Palazzo, so I chose wisely. Amenity List: Free parkingFree InternetSuiteResortCasinoFitness centerPool(s)Restaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessGolf nearbyTennis nearbySpa servicesAccessible for visually impairedAccessible for hearing impairedAccessible path of travelIn-room accessibilityAccessible bathroomAccessible parkingRoll-in shower

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to score this very nice deal in MIami. Actually won this a month ago but forgot to report it. I won this on the first bid sadly. I know I shouldn't complain about getting such a low low price here, but still. Somehow I overlooked the $90 PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal, otherwise I would have started lower. That Express deal has now evaporated and been replaced by a 4.5* $212 deal. It's probably the Epic and I much prefer the Intercontinental over the Epic, especially factoring in saving over $130 in the process! All in all, a good very good win.

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to score this deal in Miami. Room rates are through the roof as it's the peak of high season and the weekend of the Miami Marathon. Back-up reservation was at the Viceroy for $369. Retail rates at the Intercontinental are $376 non-refundable, $424 flexible. Ouch! Decided to jump on this and use my 10% off coupon. This is just about the best case scenario for using it, as it amounted to about $60 in savings. All told, I'm saving over $200 over my backup choice and $330 over the retail rates, so quite a lot of money back in my pocket. I was 99.9% certain that it was the Intercontinental, due to the 9.0 out of 10 rating and the Room Choices: 2 Double Beds - City ViewStandard RoomKing Bed - City View1 King Bed - Bay View2 Double Beds - Bay ViewAmenity list was fairly standard:Business CenterRestaurantFree InternetIndoor or Outdoor PoolFitness CenterNo pet policy listed.

BiddingHelper.com helps me score another deal, this time in Albany, NY. Retail rates were $95 non-refundable, $106 flexible, giving me a decent amount saved. Updated amenity list: Free parking Free Internet Pet friendly Boutique hotel Airport shuttle Fitness center Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Accessible for visually impaired Accessible for hearing impaired Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in showerThis was listed as a "Hot Rate Boutique Hotel."

Used BiddingHelper.com as always to pick up this very nice deal at an excellent hotel in Tulsa. Retail rates are $129 non-refundable, $159 flexible, resulting in a good bit of savings. Updated amenity list: Free InternetPet friendlyIndoor pool(s)Airport shuttleFitness centerPool(s)Restaurant(s)Business centerSelf-service laundryInternet accessSpa servicesAccessible for visually impairedAccessible for hearing impairedAccessible path of travelIn-room accessibilityAccessible bathroomAccessible parkingRoll-in shower

Another good win in Montreal courtesy of Bidding.Helper.com. It's low, low, low season, so hotels can be picked up on the cheap. Began bidding at $70. Bid accepted at $78 with no counter-offers. Bid $77 just prior, so this was the lowest possible winning bid. Retail rates are $103 non-refundable, $127 flexible.

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to score this great win off-season in Montreal. Bid 4* Old Montreal - Convention Center zone only. Began bidding at $75. Bid accepted at $83, which is the lowest possible winning bid as I bid $82 just before. Retail rates are $104 non-refundable, $121 flexible.

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to score this good deal for this midwinter stay in Prague. Retail rates start at $154, so a very nice savings. Amenity List: Indoor pool(s)Fitness centerPool(s)Restaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessTennis nearbySpa servicesAccessibilityAccessible path of travelIn-room accessibilityWheelchair accessibleAccessible bathroom

Excited to get a great deal at this property in Vancouver. Amenity List: Free Internet Pet friendly Boutique hotel Indoor pool(s) Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Accessibility Accessible for visually impaired Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Retail rates are $234 non-refundable, $254 flexible, so good savings there. Forgot to mention that naturally I found this deal at BiddingHelper.com.com.

Won this last week, but forgot to post.... Used BiddingHelper.com as always to bid and win this newly-reported hotel. There was a Priceline Express deal for $119 in this zone that was a match for the Pantages, so I expected to win that using NYOP. The Cosmopolitan and Pantages are nearly identical as far as I can tell in terms of amenities. They are even part of the same chain. So it's not clear whether the Express Deal was the Pantages or the Cosmopolitan. Based on the Express pricing, I started bidding NYOP at $105. Bid for all of the Downtown zones. Got a counter-offer immediately for $129. No thanks! Bid up slowly to $114, then $115, winning with the exact lowest possible bid. Don't remember the retail pricing now but it was somewhere around $189.

Thanks to Bidding.Helper.com and the BetterBidding board for helping me score this deal in Montreal. Retail prices at Place d'Armes are running about US$250, so this is a great deal for this nice well-located property in Old Montreal. Amenity List: Free InternetBoutique hotelFitness centerRestaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessSpa servicesWheelchair accessible

Hi yellowdog- Yes, that's all the listed amenities. I forgot to mention it like usual, but I did use Bidding.Helper.com to search and book. The amenity list was copied from the Hotwire Easy View as well, and that is all the ones mentioned in the confirmation e-mail and on My Trips.

This was a surprise! Very pleased to report this new listing to the board. I almost went for the 4* deal for $129 (downgraded Conrad I believe) because I'd be just as happy at the Conrad as the JW Marriott, but this is a step up. I think this is a different deal than the original one posted above. This evening the new price of $144 appeared with a new amenity set and reviews. The reviews I have seen before and assumed they were from the Viceroy but not necessarily an exact match. Retail rates at the Mandarin are $183 non-refundable, $260 flexible so good savings there. Amenities: Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Spa services

Amenities: Free Internet Smoke-free rooms Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Spa services Wheelchair accessibleNot an exact match for Viceroy reports but pretty close. Other guess would be the JW Marriott. Both are 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor. I know that the Viceroy has shown up with Hotwire reviews before, so it's odd that it's saying "Still gathering..."

Used BiddingHelper.com.com as always to score this fantastic deal in Basel. Retail rates are $139 non-refundable/$170 flexible, so a good value. Amenity List: Pet friendlySmoke-free roomsFitness centerRestaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessGolf nearbyTennis nearbySpa servicesWheelchair accessible

I've written about the absolutely awful, cramped dark room that I got at a hotel in Barcelona, which I'm sure was due to booking on Hotwire. They were happy to charge me for an upgrade to a decent room the next day, and I was happy to pay it. Though I've since put this hotel on my block list. But I've also been upgraded and given really nice rooms too. For example, through Priceline once I booked The Intercontinental Park Lane (5* in Central London). I was given a 1 bedroom suite with a kitchen, separate dining room, living room, tons of closet space and an oversized bathroom on the top floor with a view of Hyde Park. It's hard to top that. So, it can go either way. I find that being extremely polite and friendly to the front desk staff at check-in is just as important in getting a good room as the amount that you pay per night.

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to score this deal in Milan. Based on PRICELINE EXPRESS 5* deal for $153, I decided to try my luck at NYOP on PRICELINE. Started with all 3 Milan zones with 5* listings at $130. Since there are upwards of 20 rebid zones for Milan 5*, worked my way up slowly to $146. I bid $145 just prior, so I got the exact lowest winning bid. No counteroffers. Retail rates are $269 non-ref/$294 flexible, so a good deal of money saved there.

Set a RateDrop.com alert to let me know when this good deal became available. Got the notification a couple of days ago and purchased. This is an outstanding price for this fantastic hotel; I'm very pleased. Amenity List: Free InternetFitness centerRestaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessSpa services

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to pick up this deal in San Francisco. While this is by no means cheap, the prices for most 4*+ hotels for this Summer midweek stay were $300+. Even the Pickwick hotel is charging $249/night... Yikes! Retail rates for the Intercontinental were $315 non-refundable; $349 refundable. Had backup reservations at the less-than-stellar Parc 55 for $269. 4.5* SOMA-Moscone hotel was going for $248 via Priceline Express, so I knew where to begin my NYOP bid. $236 was the exact lowest possible price as I bid $235 immediately before.

Sorry, this is for a different hotel: Hotel Miguel Angel. I guess I need to be more careful when submitting, but I thought I had typed that in.

Used BiddingHelper.com.com as always to find this deal in Madrid at a hotel not yet reported to the board. This zone has been slightly reconfigured and is now known as the Moncloa - Argüelles - Chueca - Alonso Martinez - Chamberi area, which is a mouthful. Hotel is right across from a Metro station that's pretty convenient for connections to the airport and to central Madrid. Amenity List: Free InternetIndoor pool(s)Smoke-free roomsFitness centerPool(s)Restaurant(s)Business centerInternet accessSpa servicesAccessible path of travelIn-room accessibilityAccessible parking