JNR

Never mind. Thanks anyway. Decided to just get this done before I went to bed. Using the forum's PRICELINE link, I bid: Busch Gardens at $40 and was rejected Added Tampa North at $45 and won Hyatt Place Tampa / Busch Gardens 11408 North 30Th St, Tampa, FL 33612 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $45.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $45.00 Taxes & Fees: $12.99 Total Charged to Card: $57.99 Looks like a decent hotel and it's a perfect location for Moffitt and, bonus, it's smoke free. I'm happy with my win.

Bidding Help Please. Dec 5 to 6 for one night. Need room near Moffitt Cancer Center so Busch Gardens or Tampa North would be best. Want 3*. Hope to go no higher than $50 but I'm flexible if you think I don't stand a chance in the short time I have to bid. Thanks!

Using the Forum

Looking at the two four-star wins in Orlando recently posted for different dates, I'm sad to report that I was not able to book a four-star with a top budget of $100 for next week. I bid every 24 hours and even had a separate 3.5-star strategy. The $5 bonus dollars offered this weekend by Priceline didn't help either. Too bad. A regular reservation was made at the three-star La Quinta Inn Orlando - Universal Studios on Major Blvd for $85. Not a deal by any means but with President's Day weekend hotels were filling up and I didn't want to risk bidding on a three-star property because there are too many sub-standard ones in that area. Thanks for your help with my bid. I think it might be the very first time I've walked away with nothing. Just a busy week in Orlando for hotels I guess.

Target zones: Universal Orlando Resort Area – I Drive North Sea World – I Drive – Convention Ctr Prefer 4* but willing to drop to 3.5* if necessary. Top bid: $85 And I always use your links to bid PRICELINE or HOTWIRE. THANKS!

Okay, I added a response. I didn't to begin with because I did not use a bidding site so I didn't think the information was relevant to helping anyone on the board. I looked into booking a safety hotel with a cancellation policy last night and was surprised to find so many properties at full capacity. February has always been a slow month at theme parks but I guess schools must be taking non-traditional break times now. Disney has later hours that week so they must be busier too.

I ended up booking directly through Sonesta by calling the hotel and asking for a rate I had seen online that had since expired. They honored the rate I requested and then extended that discounted rate when my Mom's stay was longer than originally planned. The hotel was under renovation at that time and they put her on the concierge floor that had already been renovated. She was quite pleased with the hotel. Thanks for the heads-up on this property, I don't think I would have zeroed in on it had you not brought it up.

I based my bidding technique on past advice I received on this board and closed my browser before entering a second set of bids but I received the following message, "We were not able to process this request since our records indicate you have already made a request for this same trip. Your credit card has not been charged." What did I do wrong? Want a 4* for Feb. 22 to 25 in the Universal or Sea World Area. Used nine re-bid zones. Trying to keep it under $80. Universal Orlando Resort Area

I am looking for a nice hotel near Florida Hospital Orlando, 601 E Rollins St., Orlando, FL, where my mother can stay while her husband has surgery. May 27 to June 1 At least three stars Less than $79 per night Must be close to the hospital since my mother is intimidated by city driving. Hotwire has a 3.5-star hotel in Downtown Orlando for $44 with the following amentities: This hotel features the following amenities: Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-speed Internet Access I would like help identifying the property, please. Thanks, Joanne

Won this on my first bid. Turns out I could have probably won with a lower bid since I won the following Sunday night on a first bid of $40. I've stayed at this Hilton before and it's a good hotel in a great location with a fun bar in the lobby. Thanks Better Bidding contributors! As always, I started my bidding using the BB PRICELINE link.

I usually try for four star hotels but using info on this board I learned that without a car, 3.5* was the way to go. I've stayed at this Hilton before and it's a good hotel in a great location with a fun bar in the lobby. Without seeing other winning bids, I never would have guessed I could get it for $40 but I bid $45 for Thursday night and decided to try $40 for this Sunday night. Won both on the first bid. Thank you Better Bidding contributors! As always, I started my bidding using the BB PRICELINE link.

Thanks to this board I prepared a bidding strategy to start my bidding for a 4* Downtown Philadelphia hotel at $65 but since I won on my first bid of $65, no rebid zones were necessary. Very excited to get this hotel during a holiday week at this price. Thanks Better Bidding!! I started my bidding using the BB PRICELINE link. Happy Holidays to all of you.

Using the info I read on the post by Reisebiene I had high confidence we were booking the Renaissance. We used the forum's HOTWIRE link to book two reservations. One for 2 rooms for 3 nights at $129 and one for 1 room for 1 night at $139. Got the $129 rate last night and the $139 rate tonight. Amenities: Resort, Near Beach, Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-speed Internet Access I love this forum!!!!

Thanks for the explanation. My favorite meal is breakfast so we'll be sure to check out your recommended restaurant. I just booked another room for one night during the same period using this forum's link to PRICELINE and got the same resort at the same price. Do you want me to create another post?

Cancel that last request, I used Priceline instead. Resort, Intercontinental San Juan Resort Spa & Casino $90...11/29/09-12/01/09 Using Better Bidding's PRICELINE link, I bid $80 for a 4* and did not win. Used a re-bid zone and bid $85 Used a re-bid zone and bid $90 and was surprised to see I won a resort. I used Explorer's back arrow and saw that "Resort" was also selected although I did not select it. I don't know how that happened but I'm happy with my win anyway. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $90 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $180.00 Taxes & Fees: $29.24 Total Charges: $209.24 Check-In Date: Sun, Nov 29, 2009/After 04:00 PM Check-Out Date: Tue, Dec 1, 2009/12:00 PM

The full list of amenities is "Resort, Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-speed Internet Access". This doesn't match any on the forum's Hotwire hotel list. We're looking for a one night stay near the airport at a nice hotel, 4 or 3.5 star, for a maximum of $130 on November 29th. Your help is appreciated.

4* NYC (MTW) Sofitel $140 6/27/09, one night, two rooms Your Offer Price per Room, Per Night: $140.00 Subtotal: $280.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $60.18 Total charges: $340.18 Sofitel New York Midtown West 45 West 44th Street New York, New York 10036 Patience frequently pays! I employed your bidding strategy using your PRICELINE link about a dozen times and decided to try one more time and then change my request to a 3.5* property. But I got lucky. Today's bid using the PRICELINE link: $125 MTW & TS $130 re-bid zone Brooklyn $135 re-bid zone MSG $140 re-bid zone UES I am thrilled with the hotel, the location and the price. I'm really looking forward to staying at this property and then adding my hotel review to the forum. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your assistance. I couldn't have gotten such a great outcome without your help.

Like your strategy but it wasn't to be tonight. I'll try it again tomorrow night. THANKS!!

Yes, up to $180. I'm making the arrangments for me and three others and I have already cleared $100 per head and would have to go back to all three before I would exceed that by much. We like to walk around town and MTE can be quite a trek. We're seeing a show at the August Wilson Theatre, 245 W 52nd St. Your info about the W provides a good reason, thanks for the tip. No, we're going for the buzz. I used your PRICELINE link again earlier this evening on a another unsuccessful rebid of first bid above when I realized I missed three rebid zones. (I got antzy to get these rooms booked.)The first bid of $120 Midtown West 4* was rejected as a duplicate bid so I entered $140 for Midtown West, Central Park South, Times Square, & rebid zone Upper East Side $145 Long Island City $150 Chelsea $155 Brooklyn $160 Madison Square Garden Now I'll wait until my 24 hours are up and follow your strategy.

I took a stab at a Priceline strategy, using the forum's PRICELINE link, but was unsuccessful. I bid for a 4*: $115 Midtown West $120 Central Park South $125 Times Square rebid zones: $130 Brooklyn $135 Madison Sq Garden

After I posted I read the FAQ on this issue and decided we can handle it as you suggest by calling the hotel and making a request after a winning bid. We will be in the city early enough that there may be some flexibility in assigning rooms. And...it's only one night. So, it's not a dealbreaker, either PRICELINE or HOTWIRE is acceptable. Thanks!

I was in Las Vegas in March and 5 star hotels cost what a 3.5 star usually costs. Not so it seems in Manhattan. Please suggest a strategy for 2 rooms for 2 people each in NYC, prefer to keep it under $180 so that when you add taxes and fees it will still be about $100 per person per room. For Priceline I prefer Times Square-Theatre or secondarily, Midtown West or Central Park South. For Hotwire I prefer Times Square - Theatre or secondarily, Midtown Central. For both Priceline & Hotwire I do not want to go lower than 3 star and prefer a minimum of 3.5 stars but I know that is hard with my price limitation. Need two doubles or at minimum one king. Including 3* locations in my bids removes the rebid zones. I’ve thought about this so much that I’ve confused myself about a strategy. These zones have all star levels: Central Park South Downtown – SoHo- Financial Empire State Building Midtown East Midtown West Times Square – Theatre Upper West Side These zones have no 3.5 or 4: Chelsea Long Island City Upper East Side These zones have no 4: Brooklyn Madison Square Garden – Convention Thanks for your help.

We stayed here for a conference March 11 to 13, 2009. The staff was professional, efficient and helpful. There didn't seem to be many guests here that were not a part of our conference and the staff seemed very grateful to have us there. The conference food was incredibly abundant and delicious -- lobster tail and beef fillets and heaping mountains of large boiled shrimp. It was all delicious and not over cooked even though it was on a buffet line. Several staff members greeted our shuttle from the airport and we never touched a suitcase until they were on a luggage rack in our room. Check in was fast and efficient. The facility and architecture is clean and imaginative with various levels and dramatic views. We took a Humvee tour of the desert that included a ride over the Hoover Dam first. That was fun with beautiful scenery and at one point we could see the Strip rising up out of the desert. You could see no surrounding buildings, only the tall pyramid and other oddities of the Strip hotels. Quite a sight. I had a body scrub and a massage at the Spa. They were running a combo special that was about $70 less than the usual price. It was well worth it. Kwan gave me the best massage of my life, she is very skilled. It was a luxury experience. The room was nice, beds were comfortable and the sleeping conditions were very quiet. The bathroom is small with a huge door that takes up most of the space but the curved shower curtain rod and the amenities were great. I feel the level of service here was better than that received at the so-called five star Wynn on the Strip where we spent the next two nights of our trip. It is a beautiful and serene vacation site.

The Wynn room we stayed in for Friday, March 13 to Sunday, March 15, 2009 was clean and beautiful with an amazing bathroom. There is a wall of floor to ceiling windows with remote control drapes and an extremely high ceiling. The bed was comfortable, the linens soft but this was not a five star experience. The room smelled clean when we arrived but by morning you could smell cigarette smoke coming from the ventilation system in the bathroom. At night, even on the 23rd floor, you could hear the pounding boom of the bass from the nightclub below and it continued until 4 a.m. No staff member held any door even one time the entire weekend. The free shuttle to the monorail has been discontinued. There was a long line to check into the hotel and a long line to check out. The check in screen the hotel staff uses when registering guests was unbelievably complicated and barely above Dos in sophistication. There must have been 20 screens requiring data input. Then the room key printer kept malfunctioning and the staff had to run to the back room to retrieve keys that did not include a player number to be used as a player card. Since we paid only $143 a night through Hotwire to stay here, I feel we received value but I would have been mad had we paid full price. The few staff members I did have interaction with were friendly and helpful, there were just not enough hands on deck for the spring break crowds.

Using Better Bidding PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links, I bid a bunch of times on Priceline but did not win. My highest bid was $118 because I kept your advice in mind on the Trump resort fee. Today I booked the sure thing of $143 on HOTWIRE because we really wanted to stay at the Wynn rather than the Trump. Thanks for all of your help. Hotel rate per night - Hotwire hot Rate: $143.00 Nights: 2 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $286.00 Tax recovery charges and fees: $31.14 Total price: $317.14 Wynn Las Vegas 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas,NV,89109 (702) 770-7000 Check-in: Fri, Mar 13, 2009 Check-out: Sun, Mar 15, 2009 Amenities Casino, Fitness Center, Pool(s) Restaurant(s), Business Center, Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby, Spa Services