sageblue

Daily rate: $22 Number of days: 3 Taxes & Fees: $66.64 Total charged: $132.64 Savings: You saved 75% Had an existing reservation through National and an offer code that usually gives me great rates for almost $200; Kayak indicates a midsize at Hertz would be $443. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied.

Started at $45 at 3* in BWI $50 with BWI East added $55 with Baltimore Stadiums added $60 with Baltimore West added $65 with Glen Burnie added Taxes were $17.78 for a total of $82.78

Having seen that I could get a compact for $15.95/day on HOTWIRE, I decided to try PRICELINE. Yesterday I tried $11, got a rebid and upped it to $13. I didn't get that either, but was told I could get a compact for $15. So, today I came back and started at $12 for a midsize and got the same $15 for a compact offer. Instead, I offered $14 for a compact and got it. With taxes, it comes to $153.54. Right now, the cheapest I could find for that week was $272 with a discount at dollar; at Alamo, it's well over $400, so this is truly a bargain.

Bid history: $70 (Downtown) $75 (+ Inner Harbor/Camden Yards) $80 (+ BWI East) $85 (+ Baltimore East) $90 (+ Baltimore Stadiums) Taxes paid for 2 rooms: $36.78. Total is $216.78. We wanted someplace nice for a weekend jaunt, so I was going to stick with 4*. I saw that there was a 4* being offered on Hotwire for $103 yesterday, so I thought there was a good chance I could get something good through Priceline. Kayak has the room rate at $199. I've stayed at this hotel and really enjoyed it, so I couldn't be more pleased with the result.

Bid History: 4* Lower East Side: $129 Add Long Island City: $134 Add Morningside Heights - Harlem: $139 Add Soho - Tribeca: $144 Add Downtown - Financial District: $149 Total with taxes: $187.16 We're doing something Saturday on the lower East side, so I wanted to stay on that end of the island. The price before taxes is $50 less than anything else out there for the hotel, so I'm pretty happy with it, though I might have got it cheaper had I started with the Financial District, but it was my last add before giving up.

Yesterday started at $60 and then went up to $85, getting nowhere. Today, here's the successful history: Original bid, 4* Downtown = $70 + Cherry Hill = $75 + City Line = $80 + Gloucester = $85 + Trevose = $90 Westin.com quotes currently $179, so that's just about 50% off. We got two rooms, so the subtotal was $180, taxes are $36.10 with a total of $216.10 I used the PRICELINE link. Thanks!

Bid 1: $65 (Downtown) Bid 2: $70 (Downtown + Cherry Hill) Bid 3: $75 (Downtown + City Line) Bid 4: $80 (Downtown + Gloucester) Bid 5: $85 (Downtown + Gloucester + Cherry Hill) Taxes paid=$20.61 After bids 3 and 4, I was offered to re-bid without changing anything for a bid increase of $18 and $19 respectively, so I knew I was getting close. The best rate on the hotel website was $199, so I'm pretty happy with my result! Thanks for the information and advice!

Started bidding using the BB PRICELINE link at $120 for Midtown East. Continued rebidding as follows: 125 + Central Park South 130 + Empire State Building 135 + Midtown West 140 + Times Square 145 + Brooklyn 150 + Chelsea 155 + Long Island City 160 + MSG 165 + Upper East Side 170 + Upper West Side 175 + Downtown Taxes: $30.03 Fees: $12.27 Total: $217.30 That's about $40 less than what the hotel is offering right now, so it's not a bad deal and about what I was willing to pay for a good hotel in this location. Thanks for the tips and information.

Yep, stayed there before, and it's a good hotel. So, I decided to go down to 3.5 and made a fitful, likely unwise, and ultimately unsuccessful attempt: $70 4* Downtown $75 +3.5* $80 +rebid1 (close/reopen; all bids below are 3.5*) $85 Downtown + rebid2 $90 +rebid1 (close/reopen) $95 DT +rebid3 $100 +rebid1 (close/reopen) $105 DT +rebid2 +rebid3 $110 +rebid1 ...and at that point I got tired. Try again Thursday morning if I get a chance...

Club Quarters for $156.50/night before tax, cancellable until 24 hours before checkin without fees. Went up to the $135 level and didn't get anything again. I'll keep trying though! Thanks again for your help.

I followed your advice all the way to $138 and got nothing; I've reserved something just in case that is only $30 more than what the $138 would be, so I think I will try again later and see if I can get anything lower than that. Thanks so much for the advice.

It wouldn't be ideal if we had to switch hotels, but I suppose it's a possible option. I understand that I can likely get something very good for Saturday night, but something not so great for Sunday night.

Earlier this week I tried the following: $70 for 4* downtown Philadelphia $75 (add City Line) $79 (add Gloucester) $84 (add Trevose) $89 (add Univ. City) As you can tell, I was unsuccessful and likely highly unrealistic. It seems that I am running up against a big convention on the Saturday night, and rates keep going up as the date approaches -- everything is over $200/night now on the regular outlets, save for Club Quarters, which is what I assume I have the best shot for on HOTWIRE if need be. I'd like to remain at the 4* level, but am willing at this point to go much higher with the bids at this point, though I'd still like to keep it below $150/night. Thanks for any advice you can give!

1st Bid: $54 4* Downtown 2nd Bid: $59 4* (added City Line) 3rd Bid: $64 4* (added Gloucester) 4th Bid: $64 dropped to 3.5* since I only wanted to spend about $150 total Bid accepted: Marriott Philadelphia Downtown. Total Charges: $155.58 I might have been able to get cheaper if I had started at 3.5*, but I wanted to try for something a bit nicer at first and see if I got lucky:)

After hunting around online and not finding anything under $350 including tax in downtown Cincinnati, where we have to be for a weekend for a wedding, I decided to do Hotwire, since the 4* was the Hilton, which would be perfect. So, we were a bit surprised by getting the Westin instead, but still pleased -- love those Heavenly beds for around $250 including tax! The Westin Cincinnati 4* Cincinnati (Downtown) $106/night ($253.42 total with taxes) 10/24-26/08 Amenities: Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, High-speed Internet Access

First bid of $50 rejected; re-bids at $54, $59, $64, $69, $73 also rejected. Bid at $78 accepted using Savingsbarn link Congratulations, you got your price of $78 for a 4-star hotel room. Hyatt Regency Irvine Costa Mesa - Irvine 17900 Jamboree Road Irvine, California 92614 949-975-1234 Check-In Date: Sat, Apr 21, 2007 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Apr 22, 2007 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $78.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $78.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $17.23 Total Charges*: $95.23

My friend ended up going up a level: Rating: 2 1/2 stars Amenities: Shuttle, restaurant, fitness, laundry Property: Four Points by Sheraton Price: $65 ($79.68 incl. tax) He wanted to make sure he had a shuttle to the airport, and wasn't sure if the ESA had one. Not a bad deal though, considering the Four Points is going for about $50 more than what it was on Hotwire. Unfortunately, and I was unable to persuade him otherwise, he had a $10 off Entertainment Book Hotwire coupon and used the link for that rather than the link at Savingsbarn. Since that coupon is toast now though, future purchases will be done through that link. Thanks.

Followups have been added; unfortunately they won't be of much help since we decided not to use Hotwire on both occasions.

We ended up just going for the day. Thanks for the advice.

Ended up on the couch as nothing really got very low. Thanks for the advice.

2/1-2/2 $46 2* at PHL airport Amenities: Suite, Kitchenette, Laundry I'm thinking this is the Extended Stay America by the airport, but thought I'd check in here to see if you had any ideas. Thanks!

I'm watching this conversation intently, since I'm beginning the planning for 5/26-29 and am voraciously scouring every available website for the best deals. We are not as particular as porkfriedrice. We are looking for a Strip property under $150 with a pool; right now we have found rates at Tropicana and Flamingo under $120. However, we would love to get a 5* for around $150; there had been some doubt as to whether that would be possible. Since we are willing to split our time, would you suggest going for a specific night? Friday and Sunday seem just about even, with Sunday being a bit cheaper, and Saturday is just out of control. (By the way, Hotline seems to have Paris or Aladdin at $128 and MGM at $151, which are both tempting as well.) Anyway, keep up the responses and I'll be reading to see what people were able to grab! Thanks!

I have stayed at Paris, Luxor, and TI, and would probably put them in that order. Our room at Paris was larger than at the other two and more tastefully decorated. I also liked the gaming there better since the casino has much higher ceilings than the other two. Finally, nothing can beat the breakfast buffet at Paris! That being said, I would stay at either of the other two again, but if I had a preference, I'd go with Paris.

We'd like to have a place to crash after seeing friends next Saturday and would prefer to spend less than $100. We will be driving up from Philadelphia, but plan on taking public transit to get into the city, so we'd like to stay near a PATH or NJT station, but, since we have the car, we are flexible. Right now, the best deal on Hotwire is $70 for a 3.5* in Edison (Restaurant, pool, exercise, business) which I assume is the Sheraton; ideally, we'd like the Hyatt in Jersey City, but nothing above a 2* is showing on Hotwire so I don't know how much luck we'd have on Priceline. Anyway, any bidding strategy you could provide would be most appreciated!

I have a recently scheduled meeting to attend on 9/9 near the UN. I have a friend in Manhattan whose couch is serving as my backup, but I thought I would try to find a cheap hotel for the night before the meeting. As I am very comfortable with the subway, I have no restrictions when it comes to areas (though I would like to stay in the city to hang out with my friend). However, I would like to spend no more than $100: do you think there is any way I can get a 3* at the last minute? Thanks!