kstrom

3* MN - Minneapolis (Bloomington East - Mall of America Area - Airport MSP) 8/25-8/26/14 $81 Hyatt Place Minneapolis Airport-South. FULL AMENITIES: Free Breakfast, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Suite, Indoor pool(s), Airport Shuttle, Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Internet access, Golf Nearby Used the Betterbidding Hot.wire & PRICELINE links to do searches and book the room. I love the Bidding.Helper tool!

Yes, when I used your cool tool, I got the same list of amenities as you list. I called the hotel, and the shuttles start too late and cab is $30 for 6 miles .... Not sure what to do. Kstrom

I'm looking for help IDing a 3* Lake Buena Vista Orlando hotel Dates: 10/25-10/27/2013 Price:$48 (listed as regularly $109) 85% recommend Here are the amenities Free parking Free breakfast Free internet Fitness Center Pool(s) Business Center Internet Access Also, a question: I will be car-less, and will need to get to a meeting at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel (at 1500 Epcot Resort Boulevard). I gather that many hotels in the Lake Buena Vista area have shuttle busses to the Disney parks. If it doesn't or if the shuttle doesn't go anywhere nearby, how hard is it to get a cab in this area? Thanks, Kstrom Like always, I use BB links for searches and purchases.

Thanks so much: After playing around about with PL, I decided to go for the 3.5* HOTWIRE hotel. You were correct on what it was, and I posted the win separately. KStrom PS: Should I post a summary of my (failed) PL bids?

I tried for a while to get a cheaper rate on PRICELINE or PRICELINE EXPRESS, but after a bit it was clear that PL wasn't going to beat HOTWIRE Here's the info: The Sonesta Hotel Philadelphia- 3.5-star hotel 1800 Market St., Philadelphia, PA, 19103 7/17/13-7/18/13 $98 Used betterbidding links for all HOTWIRE and PRICELINE searches & purchase. Kstrom

I would love help ID-ing the following 2 Philadelphia hotels (for a stay from 7/17-7/18/2013) 1) 3.5-star Hotel in Center City West / University City ($99) Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible path of travel Handicapped parking Roll-in shower 80% approval 2) 3-star Hotel in Center City East - Old City. ($91) Fitness Center Smoke Free Rooms Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower 90% approval Thanks! kstrom

Started at $65 for 4* in Inner Harbor-Downtown area increasing in $1 and $2 increments using rebids until got to $76. Began again at $65 for 3.5* in Inner Harbor-Downtown area increasing in $1 and $2 increments using rebids until got to $75, at which point the bid was accepted. Used betterbidding PRICELINE links throughout the process.

Radisson Hotel (formerly a Sheraton) on Tara Boulevard in Nashua, NH. 12/25/11 - 12/26/11 First Bid: $43 accepted Used betterbidding PRICELINE link.

I began bidding today for 4* in Bloomington West-MoFA region of MSP (2 rooms) for 8/6/11-8/7/11 I started at $45 and using free rebids went up in $1 increments to $52 without success. I then did 3.5* in Bloomington West-MoFA region of MSP (2 rooms) I started at $40 and using free rebids went up in $1 increments to $50 at which point my bid was accepted. Doubletree By Hilton Hotel Minneapolis-Bloomington South Check-In: Sat, Aug 6, 2011 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out: Sun, Aug 7, 2011 / 12:00 PM Rooms: 2 rooms / 1 night Room Subtotal: $100.00 Taxes & Fees: $21.48 Total: $121.48 Through doubletree's website, the advanced purchase (i.e., non-refundable) price for two rooms is $275.85 (includes tax & fees), so I am a happy camper. I used BB link to PRICELINE for all bids. - KStrom

Started bidding about a week ago for a car for MSP airport for 8/6/11-8/15/11. Began bidding midsize @ $16; standard at $17, and fullsize at $18. Increased by a dollar or two each day. At $20 for the midsize, I started getting a counter offer of $25. On 7/24, I bid the following Midsize: $22. rejected Standard: $24. rejected Full-size: $26 accepted. MSP Minneapolis/StPaul Avis Full size $26/day 8/6-8/15/11 Used BB PRICELINE link. - Kstrom

Target was 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf (2 rooms) for 1/1/11-1/4/11 Today, I began bidding at $63 for 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf area Went up in increments of $2 adding free rebid regions Accepted at $70. Your Offer Price: $70.00 Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $420.00 Taxes and Fees: $77.22 Total Charges*: $497.22 Used BB PRICELINE link

12/25-1/1/11: San Francisco Airport (SF0) Hertz Midsize for $19/day On 11/29, bid on PRICELINE $15-18 dollars for compact, midsize, standard, full-size. All bids rejected. On 12/1, bed $19 for midsize through Hertz. Accepted. Used betterbidding PRICELINE link

Bid $14 on 5/7/10 for midsize -- rejected Bid $16 on 5/8/10 for midsize - accepted Your Offer Price: $16.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 2 days Subtotal: $32.00 Taxes and Fees: $17.39 Total Charges: $49.39

In the past, we have won the 2.5 Basking Ridge Courtyard for < $50. The betterbidding priceline hotel list now has it as a 3*, but I can't see any posts that confirm the level increase. Is the info solid? Second, the priceline region also shows a 2* and a 2.5*. If the Courtyard is now a 3*, does anyone have any idea what the 2* and 2.5* might be? A quick google revealed several other hotels in the area. They seem to be too "fancy" for a 2.5*, though some got terrible reviews. Thanks, Kstrom

Our 12/24-12/26/08 stay was fantastic (I posted a review). I've read on the board that sometimes resorts charge a resort fee to PRICELINE customers. We were NOT charged the resort fee.

We stayed at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Casino on 12/24-12/26/08. Our stay was perfect. We got in after 1 am on 12/25. The woman who checked us out was an angel -- no 'regular' 2 doubles were left, so she upgraded us to an ocean front room. The room had an amazing, unobstructed view of the ocean. Just when we thought it couldn't get better, we discovered that there was a balcony. The room was spotless and spacious, especially the bathroom. The bathroom had all of the upscale touches ... large granite counter top, fancy vanity with drawers, even a no-slam toilet seat. The furniture was attractive, and the bedding and towels were top-notch. The hotel has its own private beach that is directly accessible from the lobby. The bar/restaurant/casino is very loud at night, but we never heard anything in our room other than crashing waves. What a fantastic experience! - Kstrom

We decided to rent an apartment for 12/26-12/31/08, so no priceline bids to report. - KStrom

Using BetterBidding's link to CarRentals.com, I got the following for a full-size car from Avis 12/25 10:30 AM pickup at the Intercontinental Hotel at Carolina 12/31 4:30 drop-off at San Juan Airport Total price (for 7 days): $287 I had to fiddle with the pickup location. When I did round-trip San Juan Airport, the price jumped to $475 total. Perhaps because the Intercontinental Hotel is listed as being in Carolina, when I went directly to the Avis site, they did not list the Intercontinental as a pick-up spot, so the best price I could get was $475. Given our budget, saving $200 is a big deal. Let's hope that this isn't one of those cases where a price is too good to be true. KStrom PS I called Avis to make sure that I actually have the $287 reservation and they say I do and gave me the same confirmation number that I got when I went through CarRentals.com

Thanks for the Enterprise suggestion. Though we are only keeping the car for 6 calendar days, we will be 6 days + 4 hours, so we have to pay for 7 days. Once I add in the 7th day, Enterprise is pretty much the same price as Avis, and Avis has longer hours. -kstrom

I very rarely rent cars, and when I do rent them I always go through PRICELINE or HOTWIRE (using the BB links, of course). My question is very naive. These days, what does it mean if you make a reservation directly through one of the car rental agencies and are given a confirmation number, but aren't asked for a credit card number? Does having a confirmation number mean that there will actually be a car available when you go to pick it up? Or is having a car reservation like having a health insurance company "pre-approve" something and then not covering it? Here's the scoop: I need to rent a car in Puerto Rico (San Juan) for 12/25-12/31. I have had no luck with Priceline (bidding up to $45 for a full-size and $42 for a mid-size), and, right now, Hotwire's rates are the same as going directly through the companies (but not refundable). In the mean time,I have made a reservation directly through Avis's website (>$450). I would love suggestions on how to rent a car for less. The $450+ price tag is killing my budget. Thanks, KStrom

I'm still having the same problem, but it seems to be specific to my computer as I can log-in without problem from my husband's computer. My guess is that there is some Java code that isn't playing nicely with the old version of Safari I am running. (My computer is so old and feeble that I don't dare upgrade the browser.) -- Kstrom

Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place, but ... Since this morning, Hotwire has been acting flaky (getting hung). Now, when I try to access the website (either using bb HOTWIRE links or typing the URL directly in), I am getting the message: Server Error Bad Request Error This error indicates that an invalid request was received. At the same time as this has been going on, I receiving an email from HOTWIRE offering a better deal on a car rental, but the link they give is also not working. Thanks, Kstrom

Hi all, On 12/13, I began bidding on hotels in San Juan PR for 12/24-12/26. I began by bidding just San Juan, first for resort for $83, and then then adding 4* and 3.5* in San Juan all for $83. Admittedly a stupid strategy, I didn't really care which we got and my internet connection was painfully slow. Then I started over again in the evening of 12/13 doing a "smart" bidding scheme to get a resort. Started with SJ resort + one of the free rebids at $86 and went up incrementally adding free rebid zones for resorts. I finally got Resort Marriott San Juan Resort & Stellaris Casino for $101 for 12/24-12/26/08. I am very happy with the win, as the lowest rate I found was $179/night. Thank you betterbidding! Kstrom PS I have a few of questions 1) I received emails for all of my failed bids, but not for the bid that was successful. I checked my junk mailbox, and it wasn't there either. The bid definitely was accepted and when I typed in the request number, the reservation shows up. Has anyone experienced this? 2) We absolutely need a refrigerator (our kids are on medication that must be refrigerated). The hotel lists "refrigerator" under the description of rooms but gives the disclaimer that details can vary. Would you still recommend we call them ahead of time to reserve a refrigerator. [in the continental US, we have never had trouble getting a refrigerator even in hotels that don't list refrigerators as a feature, though we sometimes have to pay for it.]

Important information! I checked some of the priceline participating rental car agencies, and some are closed on Christmas day (12/25) and/or close early on New Years Eve (3 pm). It's great to know that I don't have to worry about closing times when making my rental car bids. Best, Kstrom

Sorry for the lack of clarity .. we will be arriving at 12/25 at 12:15 AM. My befuddled brain tells me that means we need a room for 12/24. I'm a bit nervous about cutting it that close with respect to the car rental closing times. Also, what with different PRICELINE-participating car rental places closing at different times (I saw one with an 11 PM closing), it seems unwise to use PRICELINE or HOTWIRE's opaque sites. I think I have come up with a plan that is, in theory, do-able. When we arrive in the wee hours of 12/25 (if we are lucky 12:15 AM), we will go straight to a San Juan hotel where we will stay for the night of 12/24 (i.e., the night we arrive) and the night of 12/25 Then on 12/26, we will pick up a car and leave the San Juan region. So -- now to 1) bid on a hotel for the nights of 12/24 & 12/25. Hotwire has a 3.5 star @ $96 for this period. It appears to match the Radisson Ambassador, so I am going to treat that as the priceline price to beat. 2) bid on a car rental for 12/26 - 12/31 I'll use the BB links and keep you posted! Kstrom