BeachBum

First bid, used the PRICELINE link.

I've stayed at this hotel many times and it is great. Free wifi and parking, comfortable rooms. Elevators are a tad on the slow side but otherwise a decent property. Ask for a room that's not on the first floor -- the room corridors on that floor connect function rooms and parking and can be noisy on weekends.

Could also be the Hard Rock.

I began my bidding at $35, based on a winning 2.5 * bid in nearby Hanover, Md that I saw. In $1 increments I bid up to $48 (I include Inner Harbor as a rebid zone in these price ranges). I began my bidding at the PRICELINE link.

Camden Yards is in walking distance from most of the 3* hotels in the Inner Harbor zone - including the big four - Wyndham, Lord Baltimore, Holiday Inn, and Marriott. A couple other 3* and all of the 4* are more than 1/2 mile from the park, but still a short cab ride. The only hotel I can think of in the "Stadiums" zone - a converted Best Western - is further from Camden Yards than the above-named 3* in the Inner Harbor zone. Also consider bidding in the BWI Airport zone, where there is a ton of inventory, a convenient light rail to the stadium, and amenties like free parking and free internet (in the 2.5* properties) that you don't get in downtown. I usually prefer to stay at a BWI 2.5* than an Inner Harbor 3* whenever I will need to park a car. Enjoy the game!

I started my bidding at $41 and increased by $1 increments, so this is the lowest possible winning bid. After each rejected bid I received an invitaiton to raise my bid by either $12 or $13. I used the PRICELINE link to start my bidding.

This was my third bid at this level, after $46 and $48 rejected. At the $46 bid I received a $59 counteroffer. I also tried bidding $75 - 90 for 4* properties in this zone, getting a $136 counteroffer each time. Since I was bidding same day on a Saturday in an oceanfront zone, I expected to pay more than this. Hilton's website is showing a $144 rate for this property. I used the PRICELINE link to start my bidding. Thanks, BetterBidding!

First bid at this level after $41 and $43 rejected in 3*. Used the PRICELINE link.

First bid. Used the PRICELINE link. A better deal than I expected for a very nice property.

My first bid, $21, was met with a free rebid instead of a counteroffer. Never seen that before. $23 was accepted.

First bid, after the same bid was rejected in the Coral Gables zone.

First bid, based on the $14 price for this car/dates at HOTWIRE.

I was trying to get a room for the 21st - 23rd, but no luck. I bid $55 for the two nights and received a $70 counteroffer, which I turned down because I thought I could get a Friday night Priceline and a regular reservation Thursday night and still save money. My second bid for the two nights at $61 was rejected. My first bid for Friday night the 22nd only was $41, which was rejected. I was accepted at $46, was rejected at Extend Your Stay, and got a regular reservation at 107 for the first night. Hotwire seems to have this property for this night at $49, not much of a Priceline advantage. I started by clicking at savingsbarn.com.

My first bid in this zone. This is the rebranded Amerisuites, which hasn't appeared much on Priceline in recent years. Rack rate for this night is $209 -- looks like Priceline (via the savingsbarn.com link) and Betterbidding saved the night again.

First bid, about $15/day below Budget's own website. Started my bidding at savingsbarn.com.

My winning bid of $45 was my first bid in this zone (after I was rejected at $47 in the BWI Airport zone). In 7 years of naming my own price in Baltimore I have never seen this property come it. It's an older Holiday Inn -- hope it's been renovated in this century. Rack rate is $153/night. Once again BetterBidding (and bidding with the savingsbarn.com link to support the site) saves me a bundle!

First bid at 2.5*, "upgraded" to this 3* win. Since Hilton charges for internet access, it is actually a $10 price increase -- but still a good deal. Thanks BetterBidding!

Bids over consecutive days at $35 and 40 were rejected. There isn't technically a free rebid at 2* in Ft. Myers-Naples, but I took a chance on adding Resort-Only zone Marco Island and succeeded at $41. I used the savingsbarn.com link to begin my bidding, thanks BetterBidding!

Started bidding at $22 for midsize, that was rejected with a free rebid offered. $24 midsize rejected, 25 fullsize accepted. Total with tax and fees is $36.47, about $10 lower than hotwire's total for a fullsize on this date (and more than $30 below Avis' rack rate). Used the savingsbarn.com link to bid -- thanks BB!

Add a night only allows one night to be added.

I forget to add that all my bidding was for 2.5*, and I was "upgraded" to the Holiday Inn (which used to be 2.5* on PL).

Started bidding at $41, highest rejected bid was $46. I wasn't going to make another bid today, but I saw that Hotwire has this property for $59, so informed PL bidding and Better Bidding's hotel lists saved me $10/night. Used the savingsbarn.com link to start my bidding -- thanks BetterBidding!

In my experience, January to March is a low occupancy time for NYC and bargains abound, though maybe not as far in advance as five months. Take a look at the prices available on Quikbook and EasyClickTravel, which sometimes have deals better than Priceline.

It was the counteroffer that made me expect an upgrade. That and the fact that rack rates for this night weren't significantly lower at the Courtyard than at the Marriott. Though I generally prefer 2.5* to 3* because they are more likely to have free parking and internet, in this case I was hoping to get the Airport Marriott. Thanks BB!

My confirmation for a winning hotel bid included an invitation to rent a car at this low rate - total for 2 days with taxes $42.46. I'm now bidding Full Size when there's not much price difference because Hertz has a special stripped down fleet for opaque bidders in some locations. I haven't seen this at Avis or any other vendors but will report back if I run into the barebones switch.