Kozachka

Was hoping to get Double Tree in Del Mar, ended up with Courtyard by Marriott in Solana Beach. Offer accepted on the first bid of $50. Total price with tax $53.94. Great deal! AAA for this hotel for the same dates is $90 plus tax. Hope we like the hotel, never stayed there before. Did not want to bid for 3.5* and risk ending up with Hilton in Del Mar since they charge too much for parking. Used PRICELINE link from Better Bidding.

I first tried to book a 3.5* hotel in Del Mar. Tried three times going through the PRICELINE link above. Bids at $65, $70 and $75 got rejected. I came back to this forum and went through the PRICELINE link again. $60 for a 3* hotel was accepted on the first try. Total room cost $75.30 I am quite happy with the fact that I got Doubletree since unlike Marriott accross the street and Hilton Del Mar they offer free parking and even give you a warm cookie upon check in.

I was after a room in either a 4* or 3.5* hotel in San Mateo. Ideally, I wanted to score Crowne Plaze in San Mateo since I need to be as close as possible to Foster City. My reservation price for a 3.5* hotel was $67 plus tax since that's what I would have had to pay via Hotwire on August 27-30. Anyway, below please see the summary of my bidding initiated via link from this site (twice): Bid $50 for a 4* hotel in San Mateo area --> bid rejected Bid $50 for a 3.5* hotel in San Mateo area --> bid rejected Bid $55 for a 3.5* hotel in San Mateo AND Civic Center area --> bid rejected Re-login into Priceline via link from BetterBidding Bid $60 for a 3.5* hotel in San Mateo AND Marina --> bid accepted by Marriott San Mateo, which is a 4* property At the end I did not get to be as close to Foster City as I wanted but I got a (hopefully) nicer hotel :).

I bid $50 for Del Mar, CA and won Marriott Del Mar on the first try. Made me wonder if I could have gotten it for less :). Total with tax and fees is $63.89. Marriott also charges $16 for parking, which I think is too much. Doubletree Hotel (which I was hoping to win) did not use to charge for parking. And you get a yummy cookie upon check in. Still at this rate I can't complain.

I linked to PRICELINE from this forum and bid $12 for a standard size car for 5 days. Bid was rejected but I was given an option to raise my bid. Sensing a close deal I bid $13 and failed. SUV for $15 was a no-go either. Will try again in a little while. Am considering skipping car rental all together or renting just for the last two days. My research shows that I can rent a standard size car for $125 per week from Thrifty directly so am not willing to pay much more than $13/day through PL.

My first bid of $15 for a midsize car was accepted by Alamo. Guess I could have bid even lower but I am travelling right now so don't have the luxury of bidding a second time without paying for connection so I am happy with the win. My next alternative would have been $19/day for the total of $61 from Payless and that would have been off the airport, not the best option when you land after 9PM with a preschooler. So I would have had to pay $86 for an in airport vehicle. Not bad for this time of the night. As usual I linked to PRICELINE from this site to thank you for all the help and support :). Mid Size / Intermediate (Unlimited Mileage) Pick-Up Location: Alamo Rent a Car SAN FRANCISCO ARPT 780 Mcdonnell Road San Francisco,CA 94128-0638 1-877-252-6600 Pick-Up Date: May 10, 2008 - 9:30 PM Drop-Off Date: May 12, 2008 - 2:30 PM Drop-Off Location: Same as above Your Offer Price: $15.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 2 days(1 days and 17 hours) Subtotal: $30.00 Taxes and Fees: $25.40 Total Charges: $55.40 Lowest Published Price: $61.80 Total Savings:* $6.40 (You saved 10%)

I was looking hoping to get a room in one of the 4* San Diego Coastal properties, hoping for Hyatt Mission Bay but ended up with Paradise Point Resort and Spa. Started bidding low at $60, knowing I have tons of rebids. Got rejected at $60, $65, $70, $75, $78, $80 - closed browser and started again. This time I bid $85 for San Diego Coastal and Point Loma - got rejected. Added San Ysidro and bidded $90 - same story. Finally my offer of $95 for these and Sorrento Mesa was accepted by Paradise Point Resort and Spa. Of course I used link to PRICELINE for both of my bids. Below are details for my reservation: Paradise Point Resort And Spa San Diego Coastal 1404 Vacation Road San Diego, California 92109 858-274-4630 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $95.00 Subtotal: $190.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $33.74 Total Charges*: $223.74 This property offers rooms for $259 plus tax per night on its site and is getting nice reviews from Frommers and but no so great onces from Tripadvisor so I am slightly concerned with my win. On a positive not I know my family would love staying in a cottage on Mission Bay. We were thinking of booking Catamaran Resort directly for $159 for a studio room. This looks like a better deal. Hope I won't miss Pacific Terrace Hotel. Yeah and I am not so happy about $22 parking. Ouch :). But with these savings we can afford it, right?

My first bid was $15. I was than given a chance to increase price without changing other parameters so I proceeded cautiously by increasing my price by only $2. Boom - I got convertible for the total of $147. Not bad :) I think. I was offered to upgrade to an SUV for extra $5 per day or $34.27 but I'll be sticking with a convertible. And as always I used PRICELINE link from this site. Pick-Up Location: Alamo Rent a Car KAHULUI ARPT In-Terminal 905 Mokuea Place Kahului/maui,HI 96732 1-877-252-6600 Drop-Off Location: Same as above Pick-Up Date: April 30, 2008 - 11:30 AM Drop-Off Date: May 5, 2008 - 2:00 PM Your Offer Price: $17.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 6 days(5 days and 2 1/2 hours) Subtotal: $102.00 Taxes and Fees: $44.97 Total Charges: $146.97 Lowest Published Price: $198.33 Total Savings:* $51.36 (You saved 26%)

Guess will be using Fox after all. PRICELINE rejected both my $17 offer for a midsize car and $20 for standard one. Considering that with taxes, a standard car would have been $66.39, I don't see much point going through PRICELINE, especially since Fox's prices have dropped and I am not paying $78 for a cancellable LAX-SAN 2 day rental.

That's why I overinvest into researching prices upfront. And if possible try to book a cancellable rate before bidding. It gives me time to shop for the best deal, too. Learned this trick here, on this board.

I linked to PRICELINE from this site and bid $12 for standard size, bid rejected; $14 for mid-size, bid rejected; $18 for full-size, bid rejected Have $83 reservation for intermediate/standard size car with Fox Car rental as a backup and am not willing to go with a compact car so will give it a go in 72 hours.

I've bid all the way up to $299 and still no go :) . I am laying it off for some time. Guess it's just one of those times when there is no point for hotels to dump their inventory at PL.

Interesting, it appears that I have more re-bid options than I though :) . So I did as I was told, including linking through the PRICELINE link - selected 4* USE bid $65, got rejected, added Cathedral Hill, bid $70, got rejected, added South San Francisco, bid $75, got rejected. Closed browser and started again. Selected USE and Civic Center, bid $80, got rejected, added Cathedral Hill, bid $85, got rejected, added South San Francisco, bid $90, got rejected. Selected USE and Lombard Street area bid $95, got rejected. Was offered to raise my offer by $22. Ignored it and proceeded with the suggested strategy. added Cathedral Hill are bid $100, got rejected, added Civic Center bid $105 - offer accepted by Westin Saint Francis. Total cost $249.34. I am very pleased with hotel and price. The lowest I could have booked it for would have been $149. Just hope they won't put us up in a standard room as those are for maximum 2 people and we are travelling with our son. Will have to check it with hotel directly in couple days. Thank you very much for your bidding strategy, it worked like a charm :).

Tried Priceline using the link above. Started at $175 for Airport zone and with re-bids went up to $245 with no luck again. I've added both areas that have 5* hotels. Looks like 169 EUR Sheraton rate is gone, it is now 189 EUR. It was not refundable so I did not book it. Still am holding on to refundable 197 EUR rate at Marriot in Leidsplein.

USW is acceptable albeit not a first choice. Thank you for pointing out that BetterBidding is an affiliate of Hilton. I will be sure to link to its site from the support page. And I like your suggestion of booking a refundable rate while searching for the best deal. Palace Hotel sounds interesting. I just wonder why it was not listed when I checked out HOTWIRE last night.

Trying to get a room at 4* hotel in San Francisco around Union Square for May 10-12. So far I've bid: $70 for USE zone - rejected; $75 for USE + Cathedral Hill - rejected; $80 for USE+ Cathedral Hill + Lombard Street - rejected; $85 for USE+ Cathedral Hill + Lombard Street + South San Francisco - rejected; $90 for USE+ Cathedral Hill + Lombard Street + South San Francisco + USW- rejected. I will re-bid in 24 hours. What strategy should I follow? PL lists Hilton San Francisco for $159 for these dates. I can book it at for $135.15 plus taxes (Net Direct rate) at www.hilton.com for the total of $308.36. Hilton San Francisco Financial District is even cheaper at $129 Net Direct rate. I might be able to get a further discount as AAA memeber so can't see why I should pay much more than $100 through PL. Maybe $110.

I bid through the posted link $150 again, this time for 5* in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport zone. My offer was rejected and I got the following message During our search we found a hotel room available for US$302 per room, per night. U-h-m, thank but no thanks. Added City Center South zone and bid $175. Got the same message again. Did not accept it again. I can get Sheraton for about this much directly, why give business to PL? So I added North zone and bid $200 - no go again. This time I was offered a matrix with PL regular prices. Finally I bid $225 for a 5* hotel in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Center and got rejected. For some reason I was given another chance - I bid $235 for Amsterdam Center, Schiphol Airport, City Center South and North - and got rejected. Guess PL won't do the trick for this trip. HTH some one else :)!

So far I have only bid on 5* Amsterdam Center hotels but would be equally, if not more, happy to end up in a 5* Amsterdam Airport.

Crowne Plaza Schiphol would not work for us. Sheraton is the only airport hotel that would work for us since it's connected to the terminal by a walkway and is the only 5* hotel in that area. Hilton (which is a 4* property I believe) is also VERY close to the airport, you can walk to it through the same walkway, but it does not allow two people in its deluxe rooms, only in executive ones. So I'd rather not bid for a 4* property. I have checked Hotwire via you link before posting here and while there were hotels listed in the center when I originally posted (my guess Hilton Amsterdam) for $345 there are none now. Also want to correct myself, Queen's Day is April 30th but it is still driving hotel availability and prices for the week-end that I am interested in. Look forward to you PRICELINE bidding strategy tips.

Since I can get Sheraton Amsterdam Airport hotel for 169 Euro or about $267 online, the most I'd be willing to pay on PL is $200-$220. So in case I get hotel a bit out of the center, I can spend the difference for a cab.

Marriott rate allows two adults and one small child to share a room so I have only reserved one room. I did not bid for 4* hotels for the fair of getting Moevenpick property, which in my opinion is not convenient to the Central Station and city center. It would not be worth the hassle with a small child and my husband would b!tch the whole time. He is not too big into saving money by sacrificing on convenience. We'd rather stay in a less fancy property that is centrally located.

I am sorry, my brain must have been fried :). I was bidding well past midnight after a more than full day at work. I meant to write April 26-27. And you are right, there is no such Priceline zone as Amsterdam East. I was referring to Amsterdam City Center South. It would be a free rebid since there are no 5* hotels. Just answered one of my questions. Amsterdam North does not have 5* properties either so I have 2 free re-bids. I would not be too disappointed if I end up winning Sheraton in Schiphol airport so can try Airport area. Not too concerned about using the room for 3 people. I've been to most of Amsterdam 4-5* hotels in the last 12 years that I've regularly been travelling through Amsterdam and it's never been a problem. Nor was it an issue the few times I've booked through PRICELINE.

I clicked n PRICELINE link from this site and bid $150 (or $170.36 with fees) for 1 night on April 26th. No luck. Hotel prices are very high that week-end as April 25th is Queen's Day. I reserved Marriott for about 200 EUR as AAA member but it pains me to pay that much for one night in a hotel. I am aiming for a nice property as this trip is for my spouse's birthday and we are travelling with our son so would like to stay as central as possible. Should I use a free (?) re-bid for Amsterdam East and if so how much should I raise the price by? $50? More? Less? I would appreciate any insights re: Amsterdam bidding.

I first bid $60 for a 4* in LAX. Got rejected and offered a rebid of plus $17. Knowing that I could get a 4* hotel in LAX for that same night for $77 and that I have 5 free re-bids I decided to try +$5. My offer got accepted by Westin. I am :) with my win and thank you for your advice.