hopeland

Hi thereuare. I have existing reservations for this stay for ~$300 in downtown San Jose. This is a low availability period. Right now I'd like to get: a good price foracceptably comfortable accommodationsin downtown.It's looking like I can only get 2 of the 3 things, so I just have to figure out which I want to compromise on. BTW, the initial search was done via Bidding.Helper.com as always.

5/19 - 5/21 FULL AMENITIES: Free breakfast, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Business center, Internet access 2 adults: $176 1 adult: $146 I guess the Free Breakfast costs $30 pp.

Ah, you're probably right. Won't be taking up this offer as it's not an acceptable property in my book and the price isn't a significant enough of a discount off of retail. Retail rates are really high right now with a lot of sellouts. The 4* San Jose south (Dolce Hayes?) is a possibility but is not as ideally located.

2/2-2/5 San Jose Downtown 3* $106 FULL AMENITIES: Free parking, Free breakfast, Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access

Bidding.Helper.com comes through again, helping me score this deal in St. Louis. Prices dropped precipitously this morning following the Cardinals elimination from the NL championship last night. They could drop further but I like the Hyatt and took a gamble that the listing was for this hotel. The amenities are the same as the list on the board but it has dropped to a 4* now. Prior to the game last night, prices for all downtown hotels had gotten very high - 4* were $300 and above - in anticipation of a repeat performance in the World Series. I cancelled my original back-up booking made weeks ago at the Renaissance for $189. FULL AMENITIES: Pet friendly, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to find and book this deal, a hotel new to the board. Has same amenity set as Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, so naturally that's was the hotel that I expected. Retail rates are running $180+taxes so I'm saving about $90 there. Backup reservations at Thistle Hyde Park for $150 but The Russell is a better location for my early morning train from St. Pancras. FULL AMENITIES: Smoke-free rooms, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access

Used Bidding.Helper.com as always to find and book this deal in Cologne. After taxes are added, it isn't a huge savings off of retail but $66 is a good base price nonetheless. FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Pet friendly, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access

Thanks to Bidding.Helper.com for helping me score this deal in San Francisco. The Prescott isn't my first choice but for the price I can't complain. FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, In-room accessibility ETA: We're now seeing an example of 2 hotels with the same classification, zone and star level. There are 2 "4* Union Square West area boutique hotel"s being offered for this date. (Other one matches the Monaco I believe.)

Another good win courtesy of BiddingHelper.com. Retail rates for the Intercontinental are $179, so a reasonable savings though not huge. Amenity list: Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Spa Services Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in showerAnd keep in mind this property has been uprated by Hotwire to 4.5*. Also, FYI, the Epic has now been also uprated on Hotwire retail to 5*. On the opaque side for this date, there was a listing for a 5* with an amenity set that exactly matched the last reported set for the Epic. But I decided to go with the 4.5* deal instead.

Used Bidding.Helper.com to pick up another win at the Trump. Priceline.Express deal was $150. Hotwire was $139 but has higher fees, so Priceline NYOP turns out to be cheaper. Actually bid 4.5* Strip North + Strip South. I figured I was likely to win the Trump, but if I got the Delano or some other 4.5 or 5*, I would be happier, so it was worth a shot at NYOP. Bid $125 > $130 > $135 > $139. Received a counter-offer at $139 for $162, which I naturally rejected. Rebid $140 and got the Trump, for the exact lowest possible price. Retail rates at the Trump are $195. So decent savings there. All other Strip 4.5* or above are over $200 on Hotwire/Priceline Express. Retail rates are at least $250 for 4.5* and $300+ for other 5* properties.

I can't see the files that you posted, but if you are talking about the long amenity list on the retail side, I'm not convinced that there's any connection to what is displayed in that list vs. the handful of amenities that are displayed on Priceline Express. There doesn't appear to be any standardization to those lists, ex. Roosevelt has an "Exercise Gym" and a "Fitness Room Onsite" where Windsor Court has a "Health Club." I believe that these are just a text list provided by the hotel, instead of some check-boxes that the hotel has selected. Maybe The Roosevelt didn't list "Restaurant" because it's stated in the very first line of the description that there are "two restaurants." The amenities on Priceline Express do appear to be standardized choices, and the hotel was probably asked to check the ones they wanted included. The listing could very well be Windsor Court, but I don't think the lack of a restaurant listing on Roosevelt's long list of amenities on the retail side makes it a slam dunk IMO.

OK. So based on all of the feedback, I decided to try my hand at Priceline NYOP. As always, all bidding and searching was done through the ever helpful BiddingHelper.com. Limited my bidding to 4* Downtown + Convention Center.Bid $75 then $76 then $77.Bid accepted by the Hyatt Regency with no counter-offers for the exact lowest possible price of $77. This works well for me as the Hyatt Regency was my fallback position via Hotwire or Priceline Express @ $88-$90. But I figured I could try NYOP and maybe get a pleasant surprise of the Omni, Renaissance, Intercontinental or Loews. I excluded the French Quarter zone to eliminate the unpleasant surprise of the Crowne Plaza. As far as the Marriott Convention Center goes, it is apparently sold-out on this date. Only 1 site seems to have it listed. I assume that it is a bulk purchaser. Given that, could the Hotwire listing still be the Marriott? I guess it could be backed up by the same bulk purchaser even if sold out through standard retail channels. Anyway, this is a pretty good deal and all things considered, I think it works the best of any option.

Any ideas on this HOTWIRE listing found on BiddingHelper.com.com? 4* Warehouse District $97 12/2-12/3 Fitness CenterPool(s)Restaurant(s)Business CenterSelf service laundryInternet accessDoesn't seem to be Loews, which is the only reported 4* in this zone. There is a 4* in the French Quarter - Bourbon St. zone with the same exact amenities and same exact price. I assume that is the Crowne Plaza, which is a "No" in my book.

Thanks for the insight everyone. As far as the Roosevelt goes, the Roosevelt definitely has a restaurant. It's called Dominica, and it's my one and only experience with that hotel. Now for Windsor Court: I hadn't even considered that one. I originally searched on the retail side for Downtown, and the Roosevelt is the only one that comes up in that particular zone. The Windsor Court is listed as being in the "French Quarter - Riverwalk" zone, which I now see doesn't nicely tie to any of the opaque zones. I initially thought that was an opaque zone in and of itself, but I was thinking of the French Quarter - River zone, which is actually a Hotwire zone instead. So, I was massively confused for a moment. I agree that the Windsor Court is definitely in the Downtown zone according to the map. While the Windsor Court is nice enough, I don't think it would justify the extra expense over what I could pay at a 4* star hotel that would serve my needs just as well. I'll probably end up going with a Hot.wire deal instead.

Oops. 12/2 - 12/3. Used Bidding.Helper.com as always. Thanks!

Considering this PRICELINE EXPRESS deal found on BiddingHelper.com.com: Downtown New Orleans 4.5* Rated 9.0 out of 10 (or higher) Outdoor Pool Pets Allowed Restaurant Fitness Center $ 166/per night My thinking is either The Roosevelt or Le Pavillon. Case for it being Le Pavillon: Hotwire has a deal same dates + same zone + same star rating + similar price of $164. That one is most definitely Le Pavillon. Last report for a 4.5 in this area doesn't even show up in recent searches, which I find odd. When was The Roosevelt last reported? Roosevelt has never been reported as a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal. Case for it being the Roosevelt: Roosevelt is only 4.5* reported to the board via NYOP. User rating is 9.2. Le Pavillon is only rated 4* at Priceline retail. Also rating is under 9.0. Wouldn't be happy paying that price for Le Pavillon since it's $179 refundable retail. I would rather take a 4* Hotwire bid which is less than $90.

And it is! Very excited about this win. A great deal for a very comfortable, well-located hotel. Last time they upgraded us to a one-bedroom suite. Same thing happened at Intercontinental Park Lane, proving that not all Priceline bids result in an elevator/ice machine room.

Looking at a listing on Bidding.Helper.com. London (Westminster - Houses of Parliament - Victoria) 5* 02-Jan-15 - 05-Jan-15 $181 Pets AllowedRestaurantFitness CenterFree InternetBusiness CenterEvidence for this being the Plaza on the River: This is the same amenity list as the last time I booked in this zone, but with the addition of Free Internet this time. Free Internet is listed as an amenity on the Priceline retail site. Retail non-refundable rate is $245. So a reasonable discount for going opaque. Marriott County Hall is the other 5* reported in this zone, but it's $345 retail non-refundable. #NotWorthIt Evidence against: I don't actually remember free internet when I stayed there last time. Matching Hotwire listing (which is almost certainly the Plaza on the River) is $233/night. Free Internet also an amenity for 4 other properties on retail site, including Marriott County Hall. $181 just seems too good to be true. What do the judges say?

As always, used Bidding.Helper.com to bid and win this deal in Las Vegas on a high-demand holiday weekend. This was the exact lowest price possible as I had previously bid $172 and failed. I got counter-offers at $170 and $171 for something like $210, which I naturally rejected since there are lots of rebid zones for a 5* Vegas. The winning bid was for both Strip North and Strip Vicinity South, so this was the best 5* deal across the board. There were two Express 5* deals in the Strip North zone. One was $185, which I assume was the Trump. The other was a teaser at $193, but kept getting the "Sorry this just sold out" message when actually trying to book. It was a shame because that was probably either the Venetian or Palazzo. There was also a teaser on the Hotwire side as well, as the 5* north with a Casino option (which means not the Trump) was listed at $190 or so, but the price jumped to $380 when you clicked through. Retail rates are $239 at the Trump, by far the lowest 5* or 4.5* on the Strip.

Oh. The JW Marriott would be a disappointment for that price, so I'm glad I checked. The JW Marriott Marquis, different story. I've never seen the JW Marriott as a 5* anywhere, so this must be a very new development. Perfectly fine with the upgrade of the Intercontinental as it will help me avoid the Hyatt Regency, though for now I may take a retail offer somewhere and see if something else opens up. Would really like a 5* except for the JW Marriott, so maybe the 5* Hotwire pricing will drop. It did drop to for about 24 hours a couple of months ago, but I wasn't quite ready to buy then. Thanks for the help.

Looking for some insight into the following two listings: Hotwire 1/24-1/26 Downtown 4.5* $240 Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Spa Services Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in showerWhile I would guess the Epic, there is also a 4.5* "boutique hotel" for sale on that day, and that is more likely to be the Epic. So what does that leave this one: JW Marriott Marquis, Conrad, something else? Also this one: Priceline Express 1/24-1/26 Downtown Miami 5* $292 Indoor or Outdoor Pool Restaurant Fitness Center Free Internet Business CenterOnly 5*s reported are the Viceroy, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental. I find it hard to believe that this is either of the latter, so my best guess now is the Viceroy. Any insight appreciated. EDIT: Just noticed that the Intercontinental has been uprated to 4.5* on Hotwire retail site. I believe the amenity list above is an exact match for the last set reported for the Intercontinental, so my guess is that they have uprated it on the opaque side as well.

Big thanks to BiddingHelper.com.com for helping me find and book this excellent deal in Orlando. Retail rates were $239, so a huge savings esp. considering I booked 4 rooms. Amenity List: Free Internet 
Pet friendly 
Fitness Center 
Pool(s) 
Restaurant(s) 
Business Center 
Self service laundry 
Internet access 
Golf Nearby 
Spa Services

BiddingHelper.com comes through again, helping me find another great deal in Macon at the Marriott City Center over a holiday weekend. Retail rates were $119, so nearly 50% savings. Began bidding Macon zone only 3* for $55 and rebid in increments of $1 to get the exact lowest bid of $60. No counter-offers.

Thanks go to BiddingHelper.com.com for getting me this good - though not great - deal in Montreal in the pleasant fall season. Room rates are somewhat high this weekend. Retail rates at the Intercontinental were $180 non-refundable/$199 flexible, so good savings in that regard. The InterContinental is a solid choice in Montreal having nice amenities and a convenient location close to Old Montreal and to the Metro. Amenity List: Pet friendlyIndoor pool(s)Fitness CenterRestaurant(s)Business CenterInternet accessAccessible for the blindAccessible for the deafAccessible path of travelIn-room accessibilityAccessible bathroomHandicapped parkingRoll-in shower

Used Bidding.Helper as always to score this excellent deal. Priceline.Express had a 3.5* for $70 (which would have been $66.50 with the discount code) and Hot.wire had one for $73. So decided to try my luck with Price.line NYOP. $59 is the exact lowest price as I was rejected at $58. Had backup res at the Sheraton for $152 so big savings there.