Bid through savingsbarn for my fiance's family on their trip tp Toronto ...
I bid all the Niagara NY side and Canada side zones including the BUF airport, dwntown and kept getting rejected.
Finally, I tried again and got this on my first bid. Very happy with the result ... this is one of my fav hotels.
Niagara Falls
6455 Fallsview Blvd
Niagara Falls, Ontario L2G 3V9
905-357-5200
Your Offer Price: $50.00 (US dollars)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $50.00 (US dollars)
Taxes & Service Fees: $9.65 (US dollars)
Total Charges: $59.65 (US dollars)
As to PL reservations being untouchable, I'm not entirely sure about that. I was once staying with a friend who couldn't check in until the second night of a 2 night PL Hyatt stay. He naturally assumed that he would forfeit the first night, and had absolutely no problem with that. Amazingly, what they ended up doing for him was allowing him to check in the second night, plus extending his stay for an additional night, giving him the full two nights. So at least someone at Hyatt has figured out a way of juggling the dates of a PL reservation.
Willtravel is correct about additional nights being comped...
As can be read in other posts, PL pays with a one-time use MC number ... which I assume expires quickly. I had lost a stay at a Fairfield Inn in Deleware due to a storm and the manager there was nice enough to allow me to use it another time (never did) ... same thing also happened with the Murray Hill Suites ... where I stayed almost 2 months after the original PL reservation.
In these cases, it is better to move the dates (still charge PL) rather than no-showing the guest and not getting paid by PL. It has been debated whether PL pays even for no-shows or pays the $25 penalty for cancelations. From that stay at the Fairfield Inn, the manager told me they get $zero$. I have not experienced this myself with our guests so I can not confirm.
Willtravel, I had just added/edited that same warning to my original post ... you are completely right.
In my past PL stays using the UK bonus, I had to book 3+3+3+3 nights at the same hotel and they never combined my stays ... they always cashed me out every three days. My zero-balance receipts would only show 3 nights and not the 12.
So, essentially, PL reservations as well as Expedia etc... are untouchable.
From my own behind the counter experience, if a guest had two customer-paid one-nighters, I could just cancel the second and make the the first for two nights. The "PL problem" is that those pre-paid/direct bill reservations can not be deleted... and therefore, impossible to combine (If PL expects to be charged $38.67 for one night, you can not charge them double that). Once you check-in, you may think they have now combined the stays however, the system checks you out and someone has to manually re-assign you that same room when (if) they see your name again on the day's reservation list (rarely will any hotel ask you to switch rooms).
Some hotels will enter a note in the comments section of the reservation however, they are more than often overlooked so you should always call they day of ... to remind them.
Also, if you do have two PL one-nighters, go down to the front desk and check-out and back in ... as, the hotel may charge the additional night on you credit card (supplied by you for incidentals) and no-show the second PL stay.
Got this for my fiance and her parents for their trip to Toronto ...
Hotwire listed mid-size for $22.95 and full-size for $23.95 ... I tried $18/mid ... rejected and won the full at $22 ... taxes were also cheaper using PL than Hotwire.
Your Offer Price: $22.00
Total Rental Days: 7
Subtotal: $154.00
Taxes & Fees: $28.76
Total Charges: $182.76
Thanks bbbb, I am here with my fiance, she's been an Arizonan for 20-some years ...
The heat .... actually, not as bad as I thought .... I didn't even realize it was 108 today until I read the paper tonight. This is my fourth trip here however, it was my first time I got to really relax and see the sights. I love that restaurant "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" ... went to the new one here in Old Town.
I may be moving here in a couple of weeks, I have some interviews this coming week.
The great thing about the US (compared to my 30 years of living in Canada) is how cheap it is to fly anywhere >>>SouthWest<<< ... so, at least I'll never feel trapped in the desert!!!
Thanks thereuare ... the hotel is great indeed. I was just sitting out on my poolside balcony thinking "I can't believe this hotel only cost me $25 a night" and remembering that first day way way back I saw my first "congratulations, you got your ... and we've upgraded" (3* Hilton Gateway Newark ... $49 ... I would have been happy getting a Day's Inn for that price).
Priceline, just keeps getting better and cheaper with age, wisdom, betterbidding.com and of course, unused hotel inventory!!! :)
Bid through S/B for a friend... got this on my third try $25, $26, $27 ... I had received a counter offer at $25 to add $6!
http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage....arshaCode=PHXRT
Tempe - Asu
5075 South Priest Drive
Tempe, Arizona 85282-6653
480-756-2122
Your Offer Price: $27.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 4
Subtotal: $108.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $20.68
Total Charges: $128.68
Bid through savingsbarn for a friend's trip to PHX.
This was an easy bid .... after winning the hotel, it said at the top add a compact for $13 ... so, I bid $12 and got it. Now, on the acceptance it says upgrade to a midsize for an extra $2 or a full size for $4 .... which is a great future option.
Sky Harbor Airport
Pick-Up Date and Time:
Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 4:00 PM
Drop-Off Date and Time:
Monday, July 26, 2004 - 8:00 AM
Your Offer Price: $12.00
Total Rental Days: 4
Subtotal: $48.00
Taxes & Fees: $46.08
Total Charges: $94.08
A nice hotel for
Bid through savingsbarn for ME .... although, I was hoping for the Marriott Suites which someone recently won for $25 on TOBB.
I bid all the way up from $20 ... and got a counter-offer to add $6 at $22.
Hotel is 7 years old - 180 rooms and there is free internet.
http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage....arshaCode=PHXSC
Great reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews...le_Arizona.html
zone: Scottsdale
3311 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
480-429-7785
Your Offer Price: $25.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 3
Subtotal: $75.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $16.11
Total Charges: $91.11
You can also consider the 2* Confort Inn in the same zone .... it's nothing special ... just cheap, should be available in the $20's ... I think I saw it once posted for the low $20's and I won it once myself for $25. Choice hotels in Canada seems to only give smoking rooms to PL guests ... since you are on your own, you may not mind.
Also, you can use the Niagara Falls zone as a free rebid because their weekend rates are much higher than St Catharines ... and if for the small chance you win, even better for you ... the distance to N-on-the-Lake is still relatively close.
From my last attempt at this zone ... it appears they have raised their PL rate to $45. Also, from staying there a lot last year, July is a busier month for them ... weddings etc. and being owned by one of the neighboring pharma-giants, they have lots of summer conferences.
Same thing happened to me way back when I set up a PL account for him .... the lady on the phone said those same words ... about it being impossible to enroll without authorizing ... yeah right?
They without fuss reversed the charges.
I stayed here in the summer of 2003 ... checked it at the far left of the counter reserved for passport members .... it was the friendliest check-in I have ever encountered ..... got my request for "better view, King, high floor".
I hope your stay there goes as well as mine...!!!
In the past, I have been able to win the 2.5* Four Points by Sheraton St Catharines for around $38 even when Niagara rates were high ... it is about 15 mins to the Falls ... and their suites are huge 550 square feet. It's worth the try anyways ... Expedia is listing it for $118.
Bid through savingsbarn for my bestfriend's sister's b-day.
Her requirements were downtown with a swimming pool and of course .... this winning hotel has NO pool .... after searching their website, I called and the lady confirmed this and said that if we wanted, we could take a cab over to the Courtyard on Young St... :) Well, can't win all the time with Priceline eh?
Hotel has a superb location and is rated 4 star by AAA however, some reviews say the hotel is dated or the rooms are "standard Marriott blah"
I tried bidding up to our limit of $55 for a 4* than for a 3*, $30, $35, $40, $45 until hitting at $50.
Downtown Toronto
90 Bloor Street East
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A7
416-961-8000
Your Offer Price: $50.00 (US dollars)
Number of Rooms: 2
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $100.00 (US dollars)
Taxes & Service Fees: $16.10 (US dollars)
Total Charges: $116.10 (US dollars)
Thnx... haven't been posting much however, I do lurk the boards every day.
An update...
I have been living in ABQ for the last 3 months .... 7 hours from the fiance and still far enough to avoid PHX's 112 degrees. No set wedding plans yet ... however, we are thinking of a quickie wedding this Aug in Vegas ... my student work-permit is running out and it will be easier than going through all the free-trade hassle. I am working for my cousin who owns several hotels here ... HGI's, Holiday Inn Express's and they are building two full service HI's and a Homewood ... it's amazing to to be on the other side of things .... no longer being the guest LOL!!!
Some interesting info ... we get faxes all the time from PL and Hotwire showing how much we could have sold each week (if we lowered our rate) and what our competiton was able to book. They, however do not tell you which hotel ... just what star level, zone and how much they charge. Hotwire also shows how many times our zone/hotel has come up in a search relative to other hotels zone in ABQ.
PL's fax specifically shows every single bid made for our zone ... how much, number of nights and than tells you each week, how much extra you could have made ... also, if another hotel accepted the bid.
Interesting to note is that at the Holiday Inn's most mistakes are made on their end and not ours ... for example, PL repeatedly forgets to fax us our bookings to direct bill them which means ... when the guest checks in, the clerk has no clue that it is a PL customer and charges their credit card also ... I just caught this last week since we lowered our price (those faxes got to us) :) The reason for not knowing it is a PL customer is that the system has so many codes for corp accounts etc that .... identifying PL is impossible except for the rate of course.
Also, at our hotels, PL customers do not get the worst rooms ... in fact, PL books customers into KNGN .... king standard .... unlike Holiday Inn's wesbsite customers who usually get run of the house discount rooms .... so when assigning rooms .... we give preference to PL pre-booked kings over a HI cust that made a request for a king if possible and the request is burried in the comments section.
The best time to check in is early .... because the hotel will assign you what is clean and available than .... most times, the suites are all that is left from the night before ... so you get automatically upgraded. Or check in really late because those remaining rooms will not sell anyways. Check-in in during peak (4:00-10:00) times is the worst because clerks will stick to what has been pre-assigned and are much less willing to make changes.
When walking customers, its actually our policy to never walk internet-booked reservations because in those cases, we would have to deal with Expedia or PL which has been prepaid. We always walk one-nighters who are not priority club members.
Recognizing status ... at the Hilton or HGI .... a platinum is a platinum regardless of price paid ... so we always upgrade if we can. In fact, smart Platinums who stay so many nights at Holiday Inns are the ones who book the rooms the cheapest anyway .... using internet great rates etc. Our systems block giving points to anyone under a certain price point regardless of how they book .... so, it is not just against PL customers...
Bill Turner's $20 rule definitely holds true from what I have learnt ..... if you are friendly, or offer a tip .... even $5 ... you can get an upgrade.
My final comment is how many people still book the old fashioned way paying rack rates ... and I agree with an article I read way back about PL representing less than 1 percent of booked hotel rooms ... if only people knew what we all do here on BB!!! ... well, my cousin wouldn't have bought his brand new Hummer!!!
Bid through savings barn for a cousin... first bid!
Phoenix Airport (PHX)
2621 South 47th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85034
480-966-4300
Your Offer Price: $27.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $27.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $9.44
Total Charges: $36.44
This is dowtown and it also makes Hotwire much more attractive than using PL for 4 stars....
wow, thanks....
I am about to order the hot sauce myself .... and go through the others.
thanks for checking it out ... I was hoping for better results ... at least they offer something for groups, banquets, weddings etc...
it is based on reverse-bidding where hotels bid on you .... they have 3,000 properties participating...
2.5* Tempe (Phoenix-ASU) Amerisuites PHX Airport
in Priceline Hotels - Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas
Posted
Bid through savingsbarn for myself and the fiance ... after spending a couple weeks in Toronto I need a day away before heading to her parent's place. I was hoping for the Rez Inn however, I'll make use of Amerisuites VCR and rent a couple relaxing movies.
A recent post here showed someone finding the bottom for an Amerisuites in Scottsdale for $23 so, I imagine this one would be the same. I did try a bunch of resort bids up to $45 (Hotwire listed very low rates 4.5* $64) however, no takers on PL.
Zone: Tempe - Asu
1413 West Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, Arizona 85281
480-804-9544
Your Offer Price: $25.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $25.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $9.19
Total Charges: $34.19