GM Mike

With a wink I ask... what, really, does the price of your plane ticket have to do with the price of your hotel room? :) You may have to pay more than you're used to. You also may be bidding too far out. Take a deep breath, then please make a backup reservation somewhere and update us on what you'd like to do for bidding (* level, max bid, zones)...

Best I can find is Red Sox in town + Rolling Stones in Foxborough. What max bids/quality levels have you tried?

Let's look at the bright side of this: (1) Going by the address, this was recently a Doubletree. (2) It's pretty highly ranked and well-reviewed by most people. (3) Apparently it had some level of renovation last year. (4) Free breakfast. (5) Free cookie at check-in. (6) Free Internet. (7) Free airport shuttle. (8) Park&fly available - maybe you could negotiate a fee? (9) Significant savings over rack rate of $89. (10) VERY convenient to airport. It's not so bad, right? :)

thereuare, is there any way we should report when we use the links, to make sure you get credit?

I will also suggest, if you truly get very desperate, southwest Connecticut (Stamford, Norwalk, etc.) can work. 45-60 minutes to Manhattan on Metro North.

People have generally told us in the past two things about situations like this: 1) They expected the hotel to be bad, and when they showed up, it was actually ok, and they didn't complain, or; 2) The hotel WAS bad, they called hotwire from the hotel, and an arrangement (usually a discount, occasionally being moved to another hotel if it was VERY bad) was worked out that made the guest satisfied. Hotwire is pretty good about customer satisfaction. Also, most of the reviews on this hotel I've read are quite good. Some people note that there are two buildings to the hotel, and the six-story (taller) building has nicer rooms. I'd encourage you to try to arrive as early after check-in time as possible (while the most rooms are still available), so that if something is not to your liking, you and the front desk can work something out (such as switching rooms). Bring the Hotwire phone number with you, just in case you have problems. But hopefully things will work out fine and you'll have a good time! :) Let us know how it goes!

So your plan is two rooms and five people? So 2 people sharing a bed in one room, then 2 people sharing a bed plus one more person on a rollaway in the second? (Or, I suppose, two real beds in the second room would work also.) I think your odds of getting the rollaway are about the same in either Loop or NMA. And those odds are probably "ok"... maybe 60/40? But that's just a guess, knowing the hotels. The larger ones that come up more often also often have smaller "priceline" rooms. A lot of it is a function of how early you can check in and how well you treat the desk clerk. Have you checked hotwire, telling it you want two rooms and a total of five people? That will guarantee you the rollaway. Have you seriously considered staying in Evanston, tho? It's a great town. If you're thinking of the Hilton Garden Inn, it's a very nice hotel from everything I've heard. Same with the Orrington, which was recently renovated. The HGI is in the middle of a three+ block entertainment zone -- very nice movie theatre, book store, many excellent restaurants, etc. The parking is much cheaper in Evanston, if you're driving. As I recall, outside of about an eight block radius of the center of downtown, overnight street parking becomes free. The HGI is a block from the L purple line and Metra stations. This gives you two affordable and relatively fast ways (45 minutes) to get downtown. And, obviously, if you're reserving direct you have more better control over what you're getting. Think about it. (Also note, rates downtown for your stay are very high, with the two big Loop hotels (Hilton Chicago and Palmer House) both showing sold out for at least part of your stay.)

on...? and also, could you please give you previous highest rejected bid for this stay, if any?

Good find, zbenye, except... And I wouldn't be surprised if that also means one offer per person, or one offer of each of the three types in the promotion... Here's a more direct link to the promotion: STARBUCKS BACK TO CAMPUS PROMOTION

In the category of "things that might make you feel better about your bid price"... Since your win, I have gotten three notices from hotwire about price drops for your night, and yet still, none of the offer prices comes close to the win you booked. Congrats!

One thing you want to avoid, tho, is overbidding. Clearly it appears there is no inventory loaded yet. But if you wait until the week before, be careful you don't pick up bidding where you left off. Allow yourself enough time to slowly ramp up your bids again. Also, watching hotwire rates is a good idea. Lower hotwire rates are a moderately strong indicator of lower priceline rates, much of the time. Good luck!

What areas are you adding??? If you're trying to use the free rebid techniques outlined on this site, note that the same zones are not necessarily safe at 2.5* as 3*. Do you want to post your exact strategy with zone names here, so we can verify it?

Just a simple misunderstanding. The list here is only a list of reported hotels. Since there are many more bids at 4* than 3*, the 4* list tends to be more complete. Again, any hotel rated by priceline 3* is a possibility at 3*. Similarly, any rated at 4* is a possibility at 4*. This can include the hotels they show in the first direct booking screen, but also often includes hotels not on that list, and can even occasionally include hotels that are sold out. There really is no way to know what hotel you'll get -- only the quality priceline has assessed. Now that we have maximum bid, let us know if you want both 3* and 4* or only 4* (sounds like only 4*). Then thereuare can show you a bidding strategy. :)

I'll also note that you seem to be (maybe subconsciously) assuming that the Hudson Hotel is the only possibility for 3* in UM/CPS and MTE. That's certainly not true. Have you looked at the PRICELINE HOTELS REPORTED LIST for New York? That will show other hotels reported -- tho obviously it's a potentially incomplete list so there could be many other possibilities too. You were already willing to bid 3* in those zones given that risk, so how does that change if you add MTW and MTS? If you are concerned about getting a 3* that is not the Hudson, you should consider only bidding 4* -- which then makes it much less likely you'll win your bid.

Excellent!!! Another betterbidding success story. :) Enjoy your stay!

The other thing that occurs to me is you're more than 30 days out. This might be a situation where inventory hadn't been released yet. You might just be able to get what you want for the price you want if you wait a week. That said, make sure you book a fully refundable/cancellable backup reservation somewhere, in case you don't win on priceline. Takes some of the pressure off. Also, if you haven't already, consider checking HOTWIRE for deals.

You might have better luck at 2.5*. Have you considered it? How many rebid zones do you have at 2.5*? Or can you raise your maximum bid a little for 3*?

You listed six rebid zones. Using your strategy, then, you get seven bids: Select 3* Airport, bid $37... if unsuccessful, add first rebid zone and Bid $39... if unsuccessful, add second rebid zone and Bid $41... if unsuccessful, add third rebid zone and Bid $43... if unsuccessful, add fourth rebid zone and Bid $45... if unsuccessful, add fifth rebid zone and Bid $47... if unsuccessful, add sixth rebid zone and Bid $50. How does that sound?

Assuming you are bidding 3* and above, then yes, as of this second, that is correct. (And, obviously, you're raising your bid amount for each rebid. Just be careful to remember your maximum bid so you don't end up spending more than you wanted in the heat of the moment.) Let us know how it goes.

Use the PRICELINE link from savingsbarn.com Thanks!

The better question is... what is your maximum bid? Then we can help you develop a strategy that gradually brings you up to your maximum bid, helping ensure you don't overbid.

Ok, so that did help a little. My advice now, in all seriousness: Enjoy your vacation! You're getting a really good hotel at a solid rate... can't change the past but you can certainly enjoy the future! :) Have fun!

The neighborhood is right on the border of where things get rough on the west side. You're 1/2 mile from the Medical District stop on the 24 hour section of the blue line. So take the hotel shuttle and make sure it will come back for you. You're also 1/3 mile from the Polk stop on the pink/non-24 hour blue line. The hotel can help you with public transportation info. I wouldn't plan to do much walking in that neighborhood. Think hotel shuttle -> train -> downtown.

Welcome - Dates?

At a 4* hotel the concierge is probably most helpful with such a thing -- and will probably charge you for anything you do. Least busy time for them tends to be around 1:30pm (after check out/lunch question and before check in) on a Tuesday (tho any Tuesday-Thursday tends to be pretty dead). I'd give a call and talk it up -- and try to hint that you're on a budget at some point in the conversation...