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By golly I forgot to finalize on this one, I ended up renting a condo from one of the vacation rental sites. Cheers!

Priceline Express Deals This is the first time I have noticed this offered on Priceline -- I've done the bidding previously. It lists possible hotels, plus, here's what it looks like: "Examples may appear in other star levels." What on earth does that mean? Is this a legit way to get a good deal? The prices are acceptable and in the area I need. I guess the fact that I am unfamiliar with it gives me pause. Can anyone comment? Thank you! :)

Parking by valet was $32. Where the parking was, was next door under the shopping center, so I didn't want to deal with that, hence the valet.

hehe Yes it does occur to me now, just the previous night may have been available, but they weren't saying. They're sneaky like that. vonbid maybe because you are spilling into the weekend. It's weird how some locations and hotels, the week is the higher rate and other places it is the weekend. I suppose if it caters mostly to business travelers or tourists. And thanks again!

After checking the recent wins here: I actually preferred Beverly Hills/West Hollywood, bid 4* at $100 - rejected added USC at $120 - rejected (no 4* in USC area) added Hollywood at $120 - ACCEPTED Loew's Hollywood Hotel -- apparently they've just taken over the Rennaisance. Later on I got another email saying I could add another night for the same price. I didn't see the email till an hour after it was sent, and when I tried to add a night it said it was no longer available. I wasn't really planning on staying an extra night but it sounded appealing to be able to do things at a more leisurely pace. So what's the deal with that? Did I not sign up quick enough? Might they offer it again? Should I go through the bidding process again to try to get it? Because that's a bit of work, plus what if I end up with an entirely other hotel, what a hassle that would be! ! ! I presume I'll get stung for $25+ for parking and possibly pay for wi-fi as well? Gosh I'm cheap, what can I say? ? ? Just checked the Loew's loyalty program, no benefits (free wifi) until after first stay. I used the PRICELINE link. OK next comes the part where thereuare says thank you for posting your winning bid and for using the BB link. Am I right? ? ? Thanks again! ! ! Any other tips or tricks ? ? ?

Thank you sir for pointing that out, I'm just a little rusty at this. Yes I could add the other areas of Orange County that are further away, such as Santa Ana, which have no 3.5* hotels. Excellent idea, I will report back later! (and use the PRICELINE link)

Dear members, I will be attending a conference at the Ritz Carlton in April 2012, but the room rates there are $275 per night. I have seen here that there is a nice hotel, 3.5*, the Marriott Laguna Cliffs, which has awarded wining bids from ~$95-150 recently. Here's my idea: Start bidding around $95, and then add the Laguna Beach area, which has only up to 3* properties. Which should allow me an extra free bid, right? Another idea would be to book the Laguna Cliffs Inn, which has good reviews on tripadvisor and is a 2* hotel. The rates I see online are around $135/night. Any other suggestions? Thanks! :)

Just to follow up, I booked 6/12 and 6/12 through the Fairmont reservations department, no problem getting a room at the group $169 rate. Although I will add that they had other level rooms in our block up to $299 per night. Thanks everyone for your help. The young woman who helped me over the phone for the Fairmont reservations was really nice, BTW. The first thing she asked was my name, I wonder if she could see my Priceline reservations on there?

I wasn't clear enough, actually the 12th is the night before the conference starts. I checked the Fairmont website, they say only the night of the 13th is available, the rate is $179. Hopefully rooms in our block are still available. Looks like it would be impossible to pick up the night of the 12th, which leaves only the 13th by itself in the middle of my stay. Guess I'll call to do my resevation for the 12th and 13th through the rate for our block of rooms, and I hope they still have a room! I called just yesterday and there was still availability. Thanks again everyone for the tips!

Hey thanks for encouraging me on that extra night thing, I logged back in today and when I clicked it, it worked this time. So now I got one additional night (that's all they would allow me), which was 5/14, and it was at the same $95 rate. So now I'll book 5/12 and 5/13 at the $169 conference rate, then I'll have 5/14 and 5/15 at the $95 Priceline rate, that does indeed save me some $$. It says they might require you to change rooms, I'll just hope that doesn't happen. But if they do it won't be a huge big deal anway. :) (Edit) PS I'd like to try for the other nights, but as someone pointed out, it would be gambling. I can't at the moment think of another way to approach this. . .

Thanks for the input. About the Add a Night feature, I did get a screen that suggested that, I didn't notice it for a while, and when I clicked on it I just got a generic Priceline page. I never saw anything specific I could actually click on to add the night though. :)

Yes I overlooked that. My $95 Priceline night is 5/15/11. :) Golly doesn't Priceline even send a confirmation email?

BOOYAH! ! ! I decided to try for the "night after" my conference ends, since I'd like to stay an extra night. Trying for The Fairmont San Jose but I figured it would be OK to stay elsewhere the extra night if need be. Here's how it went down, note that of the zones below, only Zone 7 (San Jose) has any 4* hotels: Bid $65: San Jose (Zone 7) -- rejected :o Bid $70: 7 + SJ South (Zone 8) -- rejected ---Closed Browser--- Bid $75: 7 + Mountain View (Zone 3) -- rejected ---Closed Browser--- Bid $80: 7 + Milpitas (Zone 2) -- rejected ---Closed Browser--- Bid $85: 7 + Newark/Fremont (Zone 4) -- rejected but offered 4* hotel for $110 (I declined) ---Closed Browser--- Bid $90: 7 + 8 + 3 -- rejected but offered 4* for $115 (I declined) ---Closed Browser--- Bid $95: 7 + 4 + 2 -- WON THE FAIRMONT (EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED) :) So I won't need to transfer over to the De Anza, Doubletree, or Marriott on the last night. My plan has been to just book the three nights of the conference at the conference rate, which is $169. This is a bit like gambling when it plays out through so many bids, the excitement and disappointments, etc. and is probably dangerous. :) :) OK would you prefer I post the winning combo in a different thread? I bet the answer to that is yes, OK just let me know. BTW here be the post where I picked up that "close browser" trick: Priceline Bidding Also would appreciate any input about trying for that night before. I don't know if I should push my luck and try to get the night before the conference as well. The thing is the conference starts at 0730 the day of, so I really wouldn't want to hoof it over from another hotel that early, and so forth.

Something funny I noticed, and in retrospect this happened to me also when I booked for Minneapolis last week. I went to Priceline via the link at the top of the page here. I went to the name your price part, picked my area/zone, entered the price I was willing to pay, and then. . . I got another page where I had to enter everything all over again. I want to make sure that BB gets credit for these sales, anyone have an idea about what is going on? One other thing, I just clicked the PRICELINE link here but without entering my dates, as I wanted to take a look at the zones first, and so forth, could that have been an issue? Thanks. Edit: OK I just put the dates in on this page and went there and it does work. It might be handy to have those little mini-calender popups where one can just click on the desired dates. Hmmm, that's probably what happened on my Minneapolis booking, sorry. :) Thanks!

I was just hoping for something like the use of a fitness center, free wifi, stuff like that. I've looked online and seen rooms there from around ~$115 to over $200, it really is amazing. There is no way I would even think about trying this without the help I have gotten from this forum. :) Yes and BTW I did indeed use the link from this website to go to PRICELINE.

Just as a post-script to this, I had called Sheraton to inquire about the preferred guest plan prior to bidding on Priceline. A nice but rather aggressive lady with an NY accent pushed for a reservation, the rate was $219. :)

I reviewed the recent winning bids here and just shot for $40 to see if I could get it done quickly and easily. Won on first try (Bloomington West Zone) for the Sheraton Bloomington, no rebidding was needed. 6/2 through 6/4 is a Thursday through Sunday. I think their preferred guest program is through Starwood, does anyone know if there is an advantage to joining? :)

Thanks Romelle. :)

I just got another idea but would like some input. I am thinking I will book the first three nights at the Fairmont the conference rate, so I'll be sure of staying there through the conference. Then I am staying an extra night in San Jose, and it would be OK with me if I stayed elsewhere. If I bid and win the Fairmont for that extra night, will they make me check out and then check back in later? Just wondering, thanks everyone! :)

Amazing, another Fairmont win, that's the place I want in May for a conference but don't want to risk getting Doubletree or De Anza. :)

Hmmm I cannot find The Fairmont San Jose on the Hotwire lists, unless I am missing something. That's OK I can bite the bullet if I have to. I might just stay three nights during the conference and then stay with friends the other nights. Thanks! :)

Thank you I did not know that as I have never used Hotwire, only Priceline a few times and only by following what I learned from this website. Of course I'll use the links and report back. I think I'll need to read up on how Hotwire works, :)

Dear Members I will be attending a conference at the Fairmont in San Jose for a few days in May. I've perused the winning bids for San Jose and also the Priceline Hotel list and areas map. I see that a number of people have recently won the Fairmont for a great price, however I also see that other common wins for that area (San Jose) include the Doubletree, which is a bit far away, and the De Anza, which one person "hated". I don't think I'll be able to pull this off, ie. being assured of landing at the Fairmont, and I think I will just have to bite the bullet and pay whatever price I can find online, which is about what the rate is for the reserved block of rooms. But I thought I'd just ask here to see if I might be missing something in terms of strategy, or if there might be other resources I could use. Thanks! :)

Great and thanks for the info! I will be taking a short trip up that way, but may wait for the incoming storm to clear.

Hi all, I love this forum and have used it for Priceline bidding. My older brother, (the veterinarian), is something of a "Luddite" and doesn't even have internet access at his home in Northern California. He is planning a trip to Disneyland with: himself, his wife, his 2 daughters (in their early 20's), his son (14 years old). He would like my mom to come up from San Diego and see them while they are there. My mom may bring a friend with her. So that would be a total of 6 or 7 people. My questions: 1. Could I make reservations, pay for them with my credit card, etc., for my brother, his family, and my mom, using Hotwire? (I noticed on Priceline that one of the first things they ask for is the names of all parties booking the rooms.) I think two or three rooms would be OK -- though I see on a recent thread that there are issues about number of room occupants(?) 2. Hotwire has immediately offered $56 for Disneyland South, for a 3.5* property. I am guessing it is the Crowne Plaza, with amenities listed as: Fitness Center, Swimming, Restaurant, Business Center, Laundry, High-speed internet. Is that a good guess? If so, I do realize there is a $12 resort fee, but that parking is free. (is that correct?) Thanks! ! ! :)