bembowen

(From a friend I helped:) Omni Corpus Christi Hotels Bayfront & Marina Towers Corpus Christi Beach Area 900/707 North Shoreline Blvd. Corpus Christi, Texas 78401 361 887 1600 Your Offer Price: $55.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $165.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $34.20 Total Charges: $199.20 (It was her first bid.) And I had her use Savingsbarn.com. :)

From a friend: Started with $65, rejected, added Baltimore - Washington Airport (BWI) for $70, won Marriott Baltimore Waterfront! Final price: $86.64 Used Savingsbarn.com to get there.

P.S. When they confirmed our reservation, the people at Millennium Mayfair offered to upgrade us to a deluxe double for an additional 20 pounds/night.

Success! Millennium Hotel Mayfair 4* Your Offer Price: $99.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Travel Insurance: $10.00 Subtotal: $208.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $44.14 Total Charges: $252.14 I followed the same method you suggested for the first round, but I sort of messed up in the middle, which is why the bids are a little awkward. B $91 B + MF $93 W $95 W + MF $96 B + W $97 B + W + MF $99 Oh, and yes, I used Savings Barn to get to Priceline every time, for this, and for my prior London win. Thanks so much!

60% off until 10/31, code: 68790 I've had nothing but good experiences as far as usability of these coupons. Once, the restaurant was just okay (but I can't blame the site for that), and once, I received an e-mail saying I had to use a coupon that month because the restaurant was no longer going to accept them after that. If I couldn't use it, they were going to offer...um...something in return. I forget what, but it was reasonable. True, though, I wouldn't bother unless I had a coupon code.

Well then, happy very belated birthday! :) I just saw last night that your day had past.

Finished out the strategy. Had one more $117 counteroffer before adding Mayfair. And definitely willing to keep hanging for a while.

Added Mayfair, bid $80, counteroffered $108. Proceed?

I completed the first set of instructions, moved to the second: Westminster, $75--counteroffer of $117 Does this change anything? (Thanks for thinking of me, WillTravel :) )

After I mentioned that it might be a good idea, I started adding it. So not the first few times, but in the middle I started to. I think between $75 and $90, yes.

We're looking for two nights in London over New Year's, check-in on Dec. 31 and check-out on Jan. 2. A challenge! $100 before taxes is okay as my top bid, and the same three areas are good: Bloomsbury-Marble Arch, Mayfair-Soho, and Westminster. Thank you for your help!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLL!!! Success! For 12/27-1/1: B/MA $65, counteroffer of $98 added MF $70, nothing added Westminster $75, nothing For 12/27-12/31: B/MA $70, counteroffer of "add $22" added MF $75, accepted! Novotel London Euston 12/27 check-in 12/31 check-out Your Offer Price: $75.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Travel Insurance: $20.00 (because I tend to get sick at inopportune times) Subtotal: $320.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $63.43 Total Charges: $383.43 Yay! So...now what?

For the first option, meaning check-out on the 1st, and for the second option, meaning check-out on the 31st?

Not really, which is why I'm sort of thinking I should just continue going up by $2 and be satisfied with what I get if I'm going to insist on 4*. The closest thing I saw was a special I just saw at The Leonard Hotel (but only good for Friday and Sunday of our stay) for $128? per night, which is pretty awesome, considering. Unfortunately, any other night there would cost us a minimum of about $250. Most other hotels running holiday specials seem to be around $150-$170/night, though I can get the Russell Hotel for $103/night for the first three nights. If we had to make a backup reservation, I would have to either wait it out and pray for a special that's good for most of the nights we need (as opposed to only two), or downgrade to a 2* or maybe a 3*, and the best 2*s I could find, as in the best location with the best reviews, would still run us about $100/night without any specials. At this point, I don't mind spending about $100 +/- after taxes, which is why I stopped at $90 before taxes to reassess. My husband, however, did mention that if we do stay in two places, he would prefer to stay at the nicer of the two last, if that makes a difference. I suppose it doesn't, though.

Okay, we've had The Talk, and he's willing to split the bid. Do you think there's a chance this will help? How would this work? I'm not really sure how to proceed now. Thanks!

Hey, what a concept! I'll get the hang of this site eventually.... :) Thanks!

I wrote out a superlong review, thought I posted it, and lo, it's gone. Oh well. But here's the real scoop: this hotel is actually a 2.5* hotel, which is what my confirmation said and I didn't notice until we were already heading out the door. So I called and they offered to refund my money in full! Awesome! As for the hotel review, I hope this is the right place. Here goes: This hotel is RIGHT next to the UTSA Downtown campus. The Radisson Market Square deserves its 2.5*, meaning it in no way ranks with the 3*s that have previously been won on Priceline. It's a lot like a Comfort Inn with a much nicer lobby and a restaurant attached. Same standard comforter, standard art on walls, standard standard standard. Although we're pretty sure one of the pictures was hung upside down. The two major nice things we experienced were 1) they upgraded us to a suite when I mentioned that this was for our anniversary, and 2) they offer shuttle service downtown to four (or five, don't remember) specific drop off/pick up points. The shuttle was always there when they said it would be, meaning if they told us it would be there any minute, it was there within a minute or two. If they told us it would be a 15-minute wait, it was about 15 minutes. So that was nice. It's also a pretty necessary amenity if you want to see the downtown sights and don't have your own car or care to spend money on parking. I'm not positive, but I think you would have to cross the highway to get to the nearest bus stop. The suite we ended up with was very large. It had a king-size bed, armoir with the TV (limited cable, though), a chair, and a mini-fridge and sink (total of three sinks in the room). The view was nothing to speak of, just a street intersection. The bath products were a name brand that I haven't heard of--started with an A, but not Aveda--but they smelled nicer and worked better than usual. Lots of towels, which the maid replaced, but she didn't replace the bath rug. She made the bed too, but I couldn't say if the sheets were replaced or not. One had a large stain, and I don't know if it was there before or not. While room service was punctual to a fault (I think they were 10 minutes early), nobody brought up the flowers my husband had ordered for me. He called to see if they were there, and nobody had seen them. So about an hour or two later, we were heading out for the day, and there they were at the front desk. My husband was a little frustrated, since he had wanted the presentation to go along along with the item. Instead, I carried them back to our room myself. When we checked out, one of the ladies at the front desk turned to her partner and said, "Oh, those are the flowers I was telling you about." Then she turned back to me and pulled a face like something was wrong. Possibly they realized their mistake? Anyway, overall, the stay was fine, but if I have a choice, I wouldn't choose to stay there. Oh, and P.S., when the room service order form offers a "muffin" for breakfast, they mean an English muffin.

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but I wanted to report on our stay at the Radisson Market Square. First of all, my confirmation says it's a 2.5*, which is confusing, since what I read on Priceline says that you will get either an equal or greater star rating on whatever you win. I've written to ask for clarification, but if anyone has insight on this, I'm all ears--or eyes. The day after I won, I called to confirm that they had my reservation, which they did. I asked if they offered anything special for special occasions, as this was for our anniversary. She said that if they had one available, they would upgrade us to a suite, which they did. The suite was really big, a typical hotel room with the typical comforter, artwork, and furniture, but bigger, with a kitchen sink and a mini fridge. Although we did note that one of their pieces of art was hung upside down, we think. No view to speak of--I imagine the prime rooms have a view of the pool, which is an outdoor one, but in the middle of the courtyard area. We ordered room service breakfast for the next day. They have little boxes you can tick so you can select a juice, a baked good, and coffee or tea. I said I wanted a muffin, but they meant an English muffin. It wasn't bad--just a surprise. For both of us, before gratuity and tax, the total was $10.50. After everything, it was something like $18. They did not, however, bring up some flowers my husband had ordered for me. In fact, they didn't even call to let him know they had arrived. He was a little frustrated since he only happened to see them at the front desk when we were on our way out for the day. They don't have as good of cable as I thought they would (no VH1, no Comedy Central, no HGTV), but they did have HBO and Starz. Since we don't have cable at home, we pay attention to that sort of thing. Housekeeping came by and made the bed. I couldn't say if they changed the sheets, but I did notice afterward that one of them had a pretty big stain on it. They do provide a shuttle service for four or five selected spots downtown. It runs until 11:45 p.m. To get anywhere, you pretty much have to drive or take the shuttle, because the hotel is right next to the highway. You could technically walk to a few places on the west side of downtown (maybe a mile walk? slightly less?), but I don't think I'd recommend it. The shuttle served its purpose, and their time estimates were always accurate. All in all, it wasn't a bad place to stay. If I didn't have to, I wouldn't choose it again, but the upgrade did make up for some of my initial disappointment, since I was hoping for something truly 3* or better.

Have been adding $2 to my bids, plus added Westminster as a zone. I'm up to $90 and still rejected. At $86, it said that if I was willing to add $22 to my bid, I could automatically resubmit my bid. I guess that's sort of a reverse counteroffer. My plan is to discuss with hubby if he minds splitting the bid, or if I should continue to creep up. I will report back later.

Oh! I thought you meant there was some Priceline rule I missed about how many 72-hour periods I could have. $75 was my strong preference, but as we have seemingly established that nothing is available for that price, those stars, those areas, I guess I'll have to raise the limit some. I'll just keep bumping it up little by little until it really is too painful and then reconsider. I'll post back here if/when I win something. Thanks for the coaching!

3rd attempt: Bid $73, counteroffered $106 (they're weakening! :) ) Rebid $75, rejected Added Westminster, rebid $77, counteroffered $106 So...wait some more? Up my spending limit? Inch up by $2 each rebid for the next few weeks? I didn't really understand what you meant about almost at my limit. Thanks for the help.

Adding Westminster doesn't seem like a bad idea--should I finish out this bidding strategy and start over with 3 rebid options? Or should I tack it on with my third attempt?

Second update: bid $65, rejected, counteroffer $107 rebid $70, rejected

First update: bid $55, rejected, counteroffer $107 rebid $60 (I figured this was the right thing to do, just stay with the strategy since we have time.), rejected Until 72 hours from now...!

Correct. I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed, considering the caliber of the other listed 3*s for Priceline, but them's the breaks with something like Priceline, I guess.