slyde56

Makes total sense. To give you more information, I would like to spend the least money to get a hotel that's close to the capitol, one of these: 4* Edgewater 3.5* Hilton Madison Monona Terrace 3.5* Madison Concourse Hotel 3* Best Western Plus Inn on the Park There are only two other hotels that are 3.5* that look to be in the downtown zone that would be less desirable: 3.5* Doubletree Hotel Madison (would not be awful) 3.5* Sheraton Hotel Madison (definitely not something I would be okay with) There are actually no other 3.5* or 4* hotels in list view in Madison. I figure that bidding on 4* only would be the best way to maximize my chances of being on the capitol. Does this make sense?

Here are the 3.5* hotels in the Downtown zone on the list view in Priceline with their amenities: 3.5* Hilton Madison Monona Terrace Amenities: Icon: Swimming PoolPets AllowedFitness CenterTop: Indoor poolExercise gymOn-site business centerPets allowedNon-smoking rooms (generic)ParkingCable televisionHairdryer3.5* Madison Concourse Hotel Amenities: Icon: Free Internet (in room)Swimming PoolAirport ShuttleTop: Free high speed internet connectionIndoor poolExercise gymFull business centerRestaurantNon-smoking rooms (generic)ParkingFree airport shuttle3.5* Sheraton Hotel Madison Amenities: Icon: Free Internet (in room)Free ParkingSwimming PoolTop: High speed wirelessPoolExercise gymBusiness centerRestaurantNon-smokingParking3.5* Doubletree Hotel Madison Amenities: Icon: Free Internet (in Room)Free ParkingSwimming PoolTop: Free high speed internet connectionIndoor poolExercise gymOn-site business centerNon-smoking rooms (generic)Free parkingFree airport shuttle

Oh yes, you are completely right. I can also tell that right now only Downtown has 4* enabled in the Price.line bidding by clicking through on the zones. I can also understand how the 3.5*s could have recently increased to 4*. How likely is that? For the 4* PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for $131 on Priceline (4/25-4/26), checked today, listed amenities are Pets allowedRestaurantFitness CenterBusiness CenterThe page says "Save 26% or More" with Guest Ratings 8+ Very Good. The Edgewater has all of these amenities listed in Top Amenities: High speed internet access for laptop in public areasSpaBusiness centerPets allowedRestaurantNon-smoking rooms (generic)Valet parkingCable televisionPlus has "Fitness Center" shown as an icon on the top. Guest ratings have 19 ratings at an average of 8.8. The listed price for this is $179 today. I thought it was also interesting and maybe of note that 1 – $131/$179 = 1 – 0.732 = 0.268, or 26%.

Hey all, I'd really like to book a night at the Edgewater in Madison, WI. When I search my dates (4/25-4/26) on Priceline, there is only one 4* hotel in all of Madison in their "List View," the Edgewater. Am I correct in assuming that the only 4* that I can possibly bid on in Name Your Price is the Edgewater (making every other zone a possible rebid zone just for the Edgewater)? Also, there is only one 4* "secret" hotel in the PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals portion of Price.line. Is this also necessarily the Edgewater? The ratings and amenities line up as well. Thanks so much!

Thanks, and thanks for all the help! I did manage to book a full-valet spot at the 1250 N Dearborn Garage for $72 for 3:30 1/17 to 3:30 1/20.

Got it! :D I just called them and requested a king size bed, and they seemed to be perfectly okay with that. ^_^ I plan to book a spot for those three days at the 1250 N Dearborn lot (rate is $72, seems like), which should be better than paying $39/night at the Indigo! Bid history (area info below bids): Bids: (1/2/13, 9pm) 4*, area 8, $50 -- Rejected 4*, area 7 and 8, $50 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 7, 8, $55 -- Rejected 4*, 3.5*, area 1, 7, 8, $55 -- Rejected 4*, 3.5*, area 1, 3, 7, 8, $60 -- Rejected Bids: (1/3/13, 10pm) 4*, area 8, $45 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 8, $50 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 3, 8, $55 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 3, 4, 8, $60 -- Rejected 4*, area 7, $45 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 7, $50 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 3, 7, $55 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 3, 4, 7, $60 -- Rejected 3.5*, area 8, $45 -- Rejected 3.5*, area 1, 8, $50 -- Rejected 3.5*, area 1, 3, 8, $55 -- Rejected 3.5*, area 1, 3, 6, 8, $60 -- Rejected 3*, area 8, $45 -- Try again right now 3*, area 1, 8, $50 -- Hotel Indigo Gold Coast! Offer Price, avg. per room, per night: $50.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $150.00 Taxes & Fees: $32.49 Total Charged to Card: $182.49 Current (as of 1/3/12) area info: 1. Franklin Park Area: 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 2. Greater Chicago: all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 3. Hyde Park: 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 4. Lincloln Park: all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 5. Midway Airport Area: all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 6. Midway Airport North: 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 7. Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area: all star levels 8. North Michigan Ave - River North Area: all star levels 9. O'Hare Airport (ORD) North: all star levels 10. O'Hare Airport (ORD) South: all star levels 11. Skokie - Niles - Evanston: 1* through 3* (rebid zone for 3.5* and up)

Is the PRICELINE EXPRESS likely to be the Hotel Indigo Gold Coast? -sean

Thank you for framing your question much better than I was able to above: yes, my goal is the least expensive 3* or better for this trip. Both downtown zones (NMA-River North and Millenium Park-Loop-Grant Park) are acceptable, as we will be heading to the weekly taping of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me at the Chase Bank Auditorium and an aquarium will be in there too. We are also planning on driving, and I'm hoping to minimize the cost of parking. Does that sound good? We will not need our car during our stay. Thanks for your help! -Sean

Zone info: 1. Franklin Park Area: 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 2. Greater Chicago: all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 3. Hyde Park: 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 4. Lincloln Park: all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 5. Midway Airport Area: all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 6. Midway Airport North: 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 7. Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area: all star levels 8. North Michigan Ave - River North Area: all star levels 9. O'Hare Airport (ORD) North: all star levels 10. O'Hare Airport (ORD) South: all star levels 11. Skokie - Niles - Evanston: 1* through 3* (rebid zone for 3.5* and up) Recording current area names for posterity. Thanks for the tips on rebid zones, Romelle. For me, I didn't want to go much higher than $60 for my first round of bidding, so I kind of jumped around the star levels before increasing too much more than that.

Posting an old win, and since it was a while ago I don't have all of the information from when I was bidding. Happy with the hotel, as it was a good price and actually turned out to line up very well with my plans--we didn't really mind where we were specifically. Booked on 2/1/2011. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $45.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $90.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $20.22 (USD) Total Room Cost: $110.22 (USD)

Hi all, Semi-long time lurker, but this is the first time I've bid for a place in a spot as big as Chicago. I wanted to check and make sure that I'm going about this in the right way and have identified the correct rebidding zones. Last night, I jotted down the following for rebid zones and made the indicated bids. Date of stay: 3 nights, 1/17/13 to 1/20/13 in Chicago, IL Zone info: 1. 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 2.. all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 3. 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 4. all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 5. all but 4* (rebid zone for 4*) 6. 1*, 2* (rebid zone for 3* and up) 7. all star levels 8. all star levels 9. all star levels 10. all star levels 11. 1* through 3* (rebid zone for 3.5* and up) Bid: 4*, area 8, $50 -- Rejected 4*, area 7 and 8, $50 -- Rejected 4*, area 1, 7, 8, $55 -- Rejected 4*, 3.5*, area 1, 7, 8, $55 -- Rejected 4*, 3.5*, area 1, 3, 7, 8, $60 -- Rejected As you can see, I'm trying to get a really good deal for the downtown Chicago area (zone 7 or 8) and since I'm a little ways off, I'm willing to be quite patient. I think I'd be comfortable going down to 3*--are there any 3* hotel "duds" in areas 7 or 8? What do you think my chances are for a sub-$60/night stay? Thanks for your help! -Sean EDIT: I have been using the BB PRICELINE link for my bidding so far and will continue to do so. Thanks again!