dougieieie

Went to Price.line through the "Bidding.Helper" to get a room for our 9th anniversary this weekend to have a night away from the kids. Started at $60 which I assumed would need a re-bid or two or three after checking the Texas forums. GOT the Derek Hotel on the first try. Very excited!! Usually get Galleria Hilton (which we are always happy with), but have heard great things for years about this "hip" hotel. Think we'll have a very nice stay. Thanks betterbidding!!! dougieieie

Used to use this board a few times a year, until my wife and I had twin girls 3 years ago. Haven't been able to do much traveling since then. So glad the website's still alive and kicking, and even snazzier and more intuitive than back then!! My wife and I wanted a night in a 4-star in our hometown of Houston while the girls stay overnight at the grandparents. Started at $50 on Monday morning, failed bid. Added zone and tried $55, failed bid. Started over at $50 on Tuesday. Since Houston has SO many re-bid zones without 4-stars, I figure why not? Failed again plus re-bid at $55. Added another zone, bid $60 and got the Hilton Post Oak! We got a similiar deal at this hotel for our 1st anniversary back in 2006 and had a swell stay. It is walking distance to the Galleria where we plan to do some shopping on Saturday before heading home. Naturally, I used your PRICELINE links for all of my bids. later, doug

Just made it in under the wire for maximum price the wife and i agreed upon!! Knew because it was Memorial Day weekend, prices would be higher. First time using the new 3.5 star system in Austin. Seems like i had a couple more re-bid zones before, but had just enough to get to my max price of $100 today. Started at $60 - South- Airport only (3.5 & under) Re-bid at $80 - added North (3-star&under) Re-bid at $90 - added Southwest (2-star&under) Re-bid at $100 - added Lakeway (3-star&under) ACCEPTED at Airport Hilton. Hoped for Omni or Marriott (stayed at both previously) but friend has stayed there and says it very good. As always, used the PRICELINE link at the top of this page!! thanks as always dougieieie

Got the Hotel Galvez for one night (3/20) with a bid of $85 today. FYI, when i tried to "re-bid" using yesterday's request, it sent me to the same "only $22 more" page, and would not let me even try to bid at $85. I had to go back to the PL home page and start from scratch. I did worry that bid would fail, AND i would lose the chance to accept the "$22 more" offer but took the risk. Glad i did. thanks for the help as always, dougieieie

We are going to Galveston on Friday for the day (1-hour drive from home in Houston), and i thought WHY NOT try to get a PRICELINE or HOTWIRE room for Friday night? On Monday, Hotwire had what was pretty obviously the Hotel Galvez at $104. The wife couldn't confirm till today that she could get Friday off, and now that offer is gone. Was hoping to use it as a fallback after bidding today and tomorrow. ANYWAY, using the PRICELINE link at the top of this page I just put in a bid for a 3.5 at $75. (according to the BB list the Galvez should be only the only 3.5. if other i'm happy) Got turned down but got this response: ============== Try Again Right Now We can't accept your offer of $75 per room, per night. Your credit card has not been charged. If you are willing to raise your price by $22, you can try the same request again right now. Normally you are required to change additional items (add zones, star level, or dates) in order to try your request again. However we are able to extend this one-time opportunity to you because of the zone, quality level and dates you requested. ============== Have heard about these, but never saw one before. I'm willing to try again tomorrow at $85. If they offer again (raise by $12, total $97) i'll grab it. If not, we spend the day there, and drive back home late. Will keep you posted. thanks, doug

We stayed at the Emily Morgan this past weekend (7/10-7/13/08) with a winning bid of $85 a night and agree with Tazzy that it is a wonderful hotel, but have a few things to add. First off, we were put in a similar small room, a "Business Queen" (225 sq. ft. according to their website.) It was a beautiful room, but a little TOO cozy for us. (Obviously, for the price we couldn't complain) However, there are those times you just need a room with a bed to sleep in after hitting the town all day and night, and then there are times you just want to chill in the room, order room service, etc. Our weekend was supposed to be the latter. SOOOOO, Friday morning i figured "it never hurts to ask" :) A friendly front desk employee, Grace, upgraded us for $25 extra a night, to what must have been a "King Executive Suite" (505 sq. ft.) as it was more than TWICE the size of our first room, plus we were now on the 12th floor, with a nice view of the city with four 7-8 ft. windows. Price difference on their website appears to be $50. we DID have dinner at the ORO restaurant and it was great, though there were only 3 other couples eating (at 8pm on a Saturday night). Don't know if it was a slow weekend (possibly a reason we were upgraded so easily), but i can't imagine the restaurant can survive with that little business. Also, the valet parking has been raised to $24, but i knew that ahead of time, and know that is the going rate generally. The staff was GREAT from top to bottom, even the valet guys asking every time we walked out if we needed directions anywhere. And lastly, if you don't want the provided coffee in your room (i generally find it lacking), you can get a "cup to go" for just $2 at the restaurant. It was truly the best coffee i've had in a LONG time. I went down and got us some every morning. later, dougieieie

HOTWIRE appears to have the Omni (3.5*) for only $78 for that night. That is a pretty good deal, as that hotel seems more like a 4-star to me (as most Omni's are) I'd been keeping an eye on that property on HOTWIRE as a backup this weekend if i couldn't get a deal in San Antonio. In fact, it's down to $71 for this Friday & Saturday. Either grab it or keep an eye on it!! dougieieie

SUCCESS!! Tried this strategy on Wednesday and Friday with no luck. The wife and i discussed our plans over the weekend, and we decided to try up to $120 on the resort, and $100 on 4-stars. Re-bid this morning (Monday, 7/7) Had no luck with the Resorts (really thought that was a reach) Started 4-stars Downtown at $70, increasing by $5. Got the Emily Morgan for $85 a night!!! Looks like an awesome historic hotel, right across from the Alamo (i may have drank in their bar before) Check-In Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008 Check-Out Date: Sunday, July 13, 2008 Hotel Name: Emily Morgan Hotel Your Offer Price: $85.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $255.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $53.32 Total Charges*: $308.32 Used the PRICELINE links on this page for all bids. San Antonio has LOTS of re-bid zones which made this all that much easier. Thanks as always, dougieieie

Thanks to everyone for their replies. It gives me a better idea of what to expect. Obivously, you can't completely predict any property on any given date (like the time the High School gymnastic finals had taken over the Courtyard near the Austin Airport), but it sounds like the resort is still worth trying for. thanks again, dougieieie

Oh, it's not THAT big of a concern. I'm just wondering what to expect. Obviously, a 2-star like La Quinta or Days Inn is VERY likely to have plenty of families and kids taking over the pool, whereas a 4-star is less likely. I'm just curious where a resort falls between the two. We're going SOMEWHERE next week one way or another :) thanks, dougieieie

Hi all, My wife and i have never stayed in a "Resort" and are bidding on one in San Antonio this month. If that doesn't work we may try again in the fall. I was wondering if anyone could give me a short description of thier experiences. My worry is that there might be a lot of families and kids (nothing wrong with kids, i've got 8 nieces and nephews). However, this trip we are looking for a bit of peace and quiet and if we might encounter running, screaming rugrats, we may reconsider and just focus on a 4* hotel instead. Any info and help would be appreciated. thanks, doug

UPDATE: Did some re-bidding today. Took the Resort up to $100 with no luck. Decided to try my luck with 4* downtown, started at $60 and went up to $80 with no luck either. For now, I'll try again Wednesday with similar strategy. The wife and i will discuss if we want to go higher on the 4*. We are also thinking if this doesn't pan out by next Monday or Tuesday, we may try Austin instead. Plenty of time, and we're very flexible, so we'll see. hmmmm.... wonder how Beaumont is this time of year???

Hi, The wife and i want a three-day weekend in San Antonio. 1st choice would be one of the Resorts in the West area. At some point, if that is not working out, we might go for a 4* downtown on the river. I hope i'm not being unrealistic, but we'd like to keep it under $100 a night. Seems like there are deals posted like this, but they weren't the summer season or a weekend. Today i did some bids thru the PRICELINE link on this page. Used thereuare's strategy from this Priceline San Antonio thread. Started at $55, and re-bid up to $80 with no luck. Before going on, i thought i'd ask for your thoughts and advice. We've got a little time, and could even bid as late as 07/09 or 7/10. We'll drive from Houston and could cancel the trip and do something else if this doesn't pan out. Please feel free to tell me i'm crazy to think i can get something this cheap. thanks, dougieieie

not to bore ya'll with "the story of my life so far, but... This post isn't about a great win, but how i wouldn't have attempted this last minute manuever without previous "re-bidding zone" advice & experiences from this board. ANYWAY, needed last minute hotel for "Peace of Mind" on Friday night. New roof being put on house, roofers were coming back EARLY Saturday morning. ALSO, power was out at house from storm on Friday night. (Eventually came back on about 9pm) The wife and i needed a good night's sleep (it's been crazy all week with the roofers). We drove to my office to use the computer, and linked to PRICELINE thru this board. My wife and i decided we'd go up to $70 on a 4-star thinking of other options. Bid $50 4-star downtown - rejected Bid $55 with re-bid zone Brookhollow - rejected Bid $60 with re-bid zone Hobby and ACCEPTED!!! From decision at home to do this, to checking into room within TWO HOURS!! AMAZING!! The Hyatt was AWESOME. They have been remodeling and we definitely got a "new" room. Front desk was very helpful and friendly, and even moved us to a room at end of hall (away from Atrium) in case THEIR workers were making noise in the morning (they didn't work Saturday after all) later, dougieieie

no dice. busy weekend in Austin. Used BB PRICELINE link every time, even checked HOTWIRE each day. Final Update: Bid $50 and $60 Monday (rejected) $70 & $80 Tuesday (rejected) $90 & $100 Wednesday (rejected) $110 & 120* Thursday (rejected) *went ahead with the $120 bid, as at that point what was an extra $14 over 2 nights. We'll be fine at the Courtyard for $113. Good thing i had reserved that. The AAA rate is up to $143 now!!! Thanks as always. see ya'll next time, dougieieieie

Update: Bid $50 and $60 today (already rejected) $70 & $80 Tuesday (rejected) $90 & $100 Wednesday $110 on Thursday. Also, after today's rejected bids went ahead and tried for 4* Downtown starting at $70, went up to $100 with so many re-bid zones. As i figured, all rejected, but had to try. Will continue with 3* strategy tomorrow. FYI, not specifically going for the Omni, though it is probably best in that area. From what i can tell, ALL the 3*s in the Airport area are good. We got the Marriott last year and were very happy. A friend has stayed at the Hilton, and says it's great too. Agree with your thoughts on 2 1/2*. A little too much hit & miss for what my wife likes. Whereas i just want a flat surface to sleep on, she prefers to actually USE the room to relax, read, have me mix her a martini ;^) Thanks Thereuare for your personal help and interest. I LOVE this board and refer friends and family to it all the time. see you tomorrow, dougieieie

Double congratulations here!! We have stayed there twice before and that is a GREAT hotel, It feels to me like a 4*, and would be listed as a 3 1/2* if such a thing existed. We are bidding on a 3* in the Airport area this weekend (see seperate post), and this encourages me that the Omni is still offering good deals thru PRICELINE. have fun, dougieieie

Update: Tried $70 and $75 last Wednesday and was still rejected. Decided to wait till today to start up again. I have booked the Courtyard near Airport (2 1/2*) thru the Marriott website (i looked in your support links and didn't see one). Got a AAA rate of $113 a nite and can cancel before Friday at 6pm. It's very nice and new, but we like that little extra "oomph" we get from the 3*s, especially the Omni. My current strategy: Bid $50 and $60 today (already rejected) $70 & $80 Tuesday $90 & $100 Wednesday $110 on Thursday. After that, we'll be fine with the Courtyard. (who knows? maybe i'll be willing to try $115 ;^) Would have started at $60 or $70 today, but saw someone got the Omni for $50 tonight and tomorrow. Granted, it's a weeknight, last minute and that may be why, but thought it was worth a try. Any comments or thoughts, i'm very appreciative. dougieieie

Still nothing for me! Bid $60 for 3* "Airport" today - rejected Re-bid $65 by adding Southwest zone - rejected Logged out, and went back in. Tried $70 for 4* Downtown - rejected Re-bid $75 by adding Airport zone - rejected i'll probably go back to 3* Airport tomorrow and try $70 and $75. if still nothing i'll wait and re-think things. thanks, dougieieie

Bidding on a room for the nights of May 4 & 5 (Fri/Sat). See that Omni was had for $50 in April (3* in "Airport" area) Used PRICELINE link at the top of the forum page. Bid $50 and was rejected. Added "Southwest" for re-bid of $55 and was rejected. Will try $60 after 24 hours. I see some Downtown 4* recently had for the $70 range. Might try that later in the week, if my "Airport" hotels don't pan out. Both areas are convenient to where i want to be. Will keep you updated. later, dougieieieie

Well, there will be no more bidding for me. Somehow my father-in-law (our travel partner) got us a ONE-WAY rental thru National for a standard SUV for only $529 total. Not sure how, except he's an Emerald Club member, which may have something to do with it. Plus, he got us one day free. ANYWAY, i couldn't get One-Way thru PRICELINE and HOTWIRE, and was willing to drive back from St. Louis, cuz the prices i was seeing for one-way thru the Price Checker were $900 to $2000!! Thanks for all the help anyways, it is much appreciated. I'll be seeing ya'll in Texas hotels forums in a few weeks as the wife and i are heading to Austin for a weekend!! doug PS -- I'll also say it's tougher to bid, when you've got others involved. (especially the in-laws ;^) I'm used to PRICELINE and all the minor risks/problems and feel it's worth it. Felt a little uncomfortable asking others to do the same.

Maybe it was a glitch (or my human error), as Alamo now says $377, though National is still $565 on PL. Sorry. FYI, i have not made another bid yet. We are discussing going with a Full-size from HOTWIRE for $13.95 a day, rather than the $22 a/day (PRICELINE bid or HOTWIRE) for the SUV. I'll post when we decide and continue. thanks again for the help, dougieieie

Actually, i meant Priceline's rates compared to Expedia and Travelocity. Although Alamo seems the cheapest at all three, the latter two are MUCH lower, not discounted at all. 5/17-5/26 9 days

Yeah, a dollar increase seems a little tedious. If i have to wait 3 days, i'll bump up to $2 or $3. If i can go every 24 hours, i'll do the $1. Did not know about HOTWIRE rentals. What are the pro/cons of HW vs. Priceline? HOTWIRE has Midsize SUV for $265 ($22/day) or Standard SUV for $321 $26/day) Not sure which size SUV you get on PL The Total prices i'm getting on Priceline thru NYOP when bidding: $20 a/day = $264 (not sure why the taxes fees are higher than HW) $25 a/day = $324 According to Rate Checker, here's the lowest rates i'm getting (Totals incl. fees & taxes): From PRICELINE: Alamo- $594, National - $646 From Travelocity: Alamo - $377 From Expedia: Alamo - $348 PRICELINE seems to be MUCH higher. Is that normal?? Sorry. So many questions. First time doing car rental like this. Done hotels many times with your help and feel i know what i'm doing there. thanks again, dougieieie

Bid thru PRICELINE link at top of Forum. As stated in "Other Deals: Car Rental" forum, there is confusion over whether i have to wait 24 hours or 72 hours. I will attempt to re-bid tomorrow afternoon and see what happens. I'm planning on just going up $1 on each re-bid, until i'm accepted or it gets too high. Is going up a dollar each re-bid the right thing to do (obviously, i have some time even if it IS a 72 hour wait) thanks, dougieieieie