cmf

After unsuccessfully bidding for a room in NYC for 10/18/03 (CLICK HERE for my Bidding History), we decided on the Edison as a back-up. I'm still not sure what was going on in the city except 4 cruise ships leaving at the same time and the World Series opened. NY was jammed at any rate. The Edison was definitely a mediocre hotel with a bigger price than many have gotten for superior hotels on other dates. The pipes banged all night and the room was small and outdated, not atypical for some older properties in the city. We were just disappointed that we couldn't get into the Marriott or another beautiful hotel that bidders were winning on dates other than ours. Thanks to all who gave support and guidance to my attempts. I will try again next time and hope for better results. CMF

:) Well, I tried my last bid for Oct. 18th tonight. All bids rejected. Here were my bids: Selected all 4*'s: MTW $125, added MTE $130, added UMTCP $145. Got out and came back in with last bid: selected all above plus UWS which has no 4*s $147. Decided not to go any higher than that. Don't know why no acceptances for this particular night, but I guess something is going on. I am sure my bids were in the price range for a winner. Glad we have a back up for just this situation. Disappointed, but will try again next time. CMF

Thereuare - congratulations on your administrative excellence attending this forum. I found BetterBidding.com through an article in the Washington Post about two months ago. I love the opportunity to check out winning bids in the areas I will be traveling to. The information posted has definitely helped me save some money on two hotels I bid and won in the last two months. Sadly I have still not gotten an acceptance on my original search for a NYC hotel for Oct. 18th. Have one more attempt this week, which hopefully will bring success! Great site :) CMF

Tried to book a room in Columbia at Marriott, Ramada, and Hampton Inn directly through hotel reservations. Everything booked for my weekend. Figured there must be homecoming or something at Univ. of Missouri, so went to SavingsBarn.com and bid on Priceline. Bidding as follows: Checked 3* and bid $45 - rejected Checked 2* and bid $45 again - accepted at Baymont Inn Their website says its a 3* @ over $80/nt. I think Priceline has it as 2*. Anyway I am pleased to get a room at a good price for 2 nights. :)

Blindman Yes, I see you mentioned NOV. in your first sentence. The dates just popped out at me, since I've been trying so long to get a win for the 18th. During the summer, bids in MTW for 4* were being accepted at around $95 - $125. I didn't realize the fall would be more expensive in NYC. I checked out the Javit Center link you sent. There are textile shows that week. Possibly people are staying through the weekend - my dates. Appreciate your input. I will raise bids next go-round to the $140's. That's still a good deal for 4 and 5*'s. :)

Blindman Thanks for posting your research on BIG convention in town Oct. 18 - 20. I have been bidding in three zones since Aug. with no acceptances. I guess that is why. Bids tonight also rejected for Oct. 18th. MTW - 4* - $97 added MTE - $115 added UMTCP - $127 Anyone think inventory will open at the last minute for this date? Thanks for any input.

As none of my bids for NYC have been accepted so far, and I just lived through hurricane Isabel's wrath, I was wondering if there are any circumstances in which Priceline might refund a winning bid? Consider this scenario: If I'd had a reservation last weekend, I could not have gotten to NYC because of the storm. Wondered if I would have had to pay for the theoritical room I had previously reserved through Priceline? Noticed another storm just hit Nova Scotia, where I am going soon. These things happen, and I would hope Priceline would consider such unforseen weather problems and give credit or at least the opportunity to use the bid another time. Do you know anything about this? Thanks. cmf

Thanks to both repliers. These boards are SO helpful. My backup reservation was made by a friend, but I believe it is at the Edison for $144/night. So we are willing to go that high or a bit higher for a better hotel. I don't know much about the Edison, but think its OK - maybe small rooms and possibly 3*? Any info on that hotel? Perhaps I should be bidding higher now to get something in my preferred zones. I can see that things change rapidly here. Just weeks ago people were getting rooms in MTW and MTE for $95 - $120 something. Thanks for your input. CMF

:) Oct. 18 bids still rejected. Bids last night were: First tried the 5* route: MTE plus three rebids up to $147. No luck. Then got out and started over with 4*: MTW - $97, added MTE - $105, added Upper MT CP - $127 Still trying, as I have another hotel booked just in case. Any ideas as to why no bids for that night are being accepted? Maybe for one night's stay I need to be closer to the date?

Yes, Priceline is certainly giving me practice ..... I am actually enjoying the exercise and learning a lot. The only way to lose is to "get out of the race". I'll try again in72 hrs. Thanks for your input.

I'm still getting all bids rejected for Saturday night Oct. 18. Bids placed tonight: MTW 4* $120 Added CPS $123 Added MTE $125 I know bids have been accepted for these areas and prices recently. My only guess is that it is still too early for one night (Saturday) acceptances. Not ready to give up yet. Perhaps I get the prize for longest running tries/rejections? :) Any ideas from the "experts"?

Enjoyed reading the strategies on this topic. My question is: How do you "start over on a new screen"? I thought you had to wait 72 hrs. to start over on a new screen, if you are bidding on the same trip. Can you explain how to do that? My 72 hrs. will be up around 11:00 PM tonight. I would like to start over with a new bid now (at 8:45PM), but am afraid my 72 hrs. will start over from the couple of hrs. earlier point, as it has in the past when I tried to bid too early (losing track of exactly when my last bids were entered). PL counts that as another bid, even though they say you have bid before the 72 hr. time limit, and they do not do a search. It just throws you back another 72 hrs. for nothing! My last bids started with MTE 5*, added MTW, then added 4*, then added UMCPS. All were rejected for Oct. 18th, one night only. Tonight I plan to bid MTW 4* first with a bid I think I can get, IF the inventory is available for Sat. nights in Oct. Would this work as mentioned above - "start over on a new screen"? Or do you think it would count as a bid which wouldn't be searched, launching another 72 hr. wait? Sorry this is a bit cumbersome. If you can follow my question, I'd love to know how to start on a new screen, since you can't "erase" anything on your orig. bids. Thanks.

That's right! Thanks for your help. I am enjoying the "adventure" and know that I'll be posting my win before long. This Forum has been fun and very informative for guiding us through the bidding process. I have shared it with family and friends who are now also fans. By the way, I did get a winner in Scottsdale, AZ for a Marriott Resort at $90 - Sept. 13th one night. Their advertised prices range from $299 to $400 something. I am very pleased.

Yesterday afternoon I introduced BetterBidding and Priceline to some friends, and they won a bid for the hotel they wanted for one night next week. Not sure which night. they have the Marriott Marquis on second bid of $120. First bid was $95. They are very happy. :)

If its any comfort, I have been trying in 3 areas of NYC for several weeks. All bids have been rejected. My date is also a Saturday night, one night only. I tried another bidding session last night and all bids were once again rejected. I thought Sept. would open up Oct. bids, but so far no luck for me. Here was my bidding attempt: Checking In Oct. 18th - Out Oct. 19th MTE 5* $138 MTW 5* $145 (there is no 5* here, so it was a free bid for MTE) Both of these adding 4* $122 CPS $123 Since all bids were rejected I decided to stop and try again later this week. I saw that someone got the Marriott Marquis in MTW for $122 in Oct. so I expected that my $122 bid would bring results. It didn't. I am beginning to think that one nighters are difficult to come by in NY on Priceline. :)

Kotak, Thanks for the excellent review on the resort bid I won. I am going to be there Sept. 13, sadly for one night only. I will be in Tucson the rest of my stay out west. Marriott's advertised price range for this property is $299 - about $465. :)

Your Offer Price: $90.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $90.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $18.01 Total Charges: $108.01 First bidding session earlier this week I bid only once at $85 - rejected. Waited 72 hrs. and bid $90.00 today and won the bid. Never been to Scottsdale. Any comments on this resort?

Hello - I have stayed at the Empress in Victoria, as well as lived in the Seattle, WA area for 3 years - in both cases, no air conditioning. 99.9% of the time out there the summers are "perfect". You would not want to miss the opportunity to open the windows and let that cool, fresh air come into the room or into your home. Very occasionally I have experienced about a 2 week heat wave. People just use fans and know that it will be over soon. Sorry you hit one of those rare times when AC would be very nice.

Thereuare - glad you're back. Thanks for response. The last bid INCLUDED all previous zones, so there was a petty high bid ($135) for the 4*'s in other zones. Since all were rejected, I don't think Oct. bidding was open yet. I will try again this weekend. Maybe Sept. 1 opens up the mid- Oct. inventory.

October bids still rejected. Bids placed August 21st: 4* MTW - $89 4* MTE - $115 4*5* UMCPS - $135 :) Still patient, but have back up hotel reservations at the Edison at $155 I think. A friend in DC is making this for us just in case.

Thanks for the input. I bid in the $130's based on bids I read on the boards that were accepted recently. These were for the higher end hotels I believe. My goal is to get the best hotel for the lowest price (DUH :) ), but at this point no price is being accepted for my Oct. dates. I will certainly start with a lower bid next time I bid. I'm not giving up yet! Still plenty of time for me to experiment and learn. I haven't done anything on Hotwire, but your suggestion sounds good. Is the Roosevelt nice?

Tried another bid tonight with no success. Selected 4* in MTW @ $136 - rejected Rebid adding MTE @ $138 - rejected Rebid adding CPS @ $140 - rejected Has anyone seen any bids accepted for October? I think it is still too early. Inventory may not be released for bidding in Oct. yet.

Thereuare Thanks for teaching me how to do this. It is my first attempt and believe, at your suggestion, that it is an access to inventory problem for Oct. 18th reservations. Perhaps waiting a week or two would be advisable?? Yes, I am able to expand my zones, thus the rebidding twice on original bid on the 5* in MTE. I believe I read that another bidder in same area bid the 5* at $105, so that's where I got my que to open at $110. It does seem low, but the Waldorf Towers was accepted at $105 - encouragement that miracles can happen. By adding other zones and 4* I continued to bid, but reduced my bid to $88 as you suggested for MTW. I'm not familiar with amounts to bid in any given zones. It is definitely a shot in the dark for me at this point. The zones I would be OK with are: Midtown East, Midtown West, Upper Midtown-Central Park S., or Midtown South. I could go between $90 and $150, but for a 4* I'd expect less than $150. Would that be correct? Strategies/tips for this scenario greatly appreciated. I've only got one night in the big city, so a fabulous hotel would be icing on the cake. :)

Decided to try another bidding session tonight. Here's what transpired: 5* in MTE, $110 bid rejected On rebid added MTW, $115 rejected 2nd rebid added UMT-CPS, 4*, $88 rejected Stopped at this point because I think it is still too early - inventory probably not released for Oct. 18th yet. :) Any feedback? Thanks.

Your advice is well-taken. Thanks. I will post when offer is accepted. :)