dougieieie

Placed my SUV bid and was rejected (will post in proper forum) and noticed on the rejection that it specifically does NOT mention how long i have to wait (1 day or 3 days), just that to rebid I have to change certain things. I've got over a month, so i'm not in much of a hurry, but am still curious, as i assume you all are. Will attempt to bid again tomorrow, and see if i'm allowed. Naturally :) thanks, dougieieie

This is confusing. I am on PriceLine about to make a car bid the following came up with the "you're bidding too low" trick.Note the line in Bold I thought all of these posts might be old but see they are from last week.so is it 24 hours or 72?? Inquiring minds want to know ;^) dougieieie

UPDATE: Nevermind, ignore my post below. I did a search for MIA to ORL as a test and do SEE the obvious links to NYOP. Obviously this is not available from HOU to STL. Curious. ================================ i think i'm doing this right and do not SEE a "Name your own" link on the top of the grid. i've entered HOU and STL airports as my pick-up and drop-off. I would think airport to airport would be possible. The grid comes up with the rental co. names across the top. There is a blank blue square next to the left of Budget, and just above "Economy Cars" Is this where it would be?? I've looked over the entire page and do not see one. Does this mean it's not offered? Your description makes it seem like there i would at least click this and would get a "no" response. Thanks again for the help, dougieieie

Thanks for the replies. Both answers are about what i expected. i'm sure we will be fine with the SUV, but wondered how Priceline affected your ability to upgrade just in case. I also wanted to make sure you could add extra drivers at pickup since there is not a spot on Priceline's site about that. We will be willing to pay for at least one extra driver. The other person "in charge" of the trip was going to book straight thru National and i thought we could save about $100 off the basic costs thru Priceline. These both seem "low risk" issues and worth using PL. those were my two most important questions. If i think of any others, i'll post again. thanks, dougie

Hi there, Is there a post with Priceline Car FAQs? I have some questions, but don't want to waste time if there's already a place to read up first. I'll ask my main overall question before getting into specifics if needed later. We want to rent a SUV for 4 people to travel for a week. How does the rental company handle the smaller details, like # of drivers, or changing models if the SUV isn't right for us (too small for all our baggage?) thanks in advance, dougieieie

SUCCESS!!! Bid $95 and denied. Added re-bid zone $100, and ACCEPTED at Marriott Austin South!! Never stayed there, but gets 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor. More than i'd like to have paid, but it IS the holiday weekend, and i moved up from 2* (LaQuinta) to 3* for the same price. Can't complain!!! thanks for the advice. gotta go cancel my LaQuinta rezzie. dougieieie

thanks for the strategy! i bid $80 & 85 today and still no luck. will try again tomorrow and keep you posted. thanks again, doug

Those all sound like good reasons. Looking for 3* in South Airport Austin, and am willing to go up to $100 a night. Can begin bidding again this afternoon around 2pm. thanks, doug

Didn't realize about the LaQuinta link. sorry. will remember for future trips!!! latest update: Monday afternoon, i bid $65 & $70 and was rejected. Monday night, my friend got the Hilton Airport for $65!! Today i tried $65 & $70 AGAIN and was REJECTED!! Could it be because he is staying Fri, Sat AND Sun night and i just want Fri & Sat nights??? thanks as always for any advice, dougieieie

Hi again, My wife and i are trying to get a room for Friday/Saturday during the busy holiday weekend. Hoping for a 3* in South Airport for under $100. The Omni Southpark (where had success before) has rooms available on their website for $139, so i have high hopes. Have a reservation at the La Quinta for $99 as a back-up. Here's my progress so far: Started at $60 and raised in $5 increments, and am up to $75 with no luck. Hoping on Monday some hotels release some rooms and will start at $70 again. Can add the Southwest area for re-bids (only 1&2*), and will go up to $100. Rather stay at a 3* for that price than the LaQuinta, but it's nice enough and a good fallback. will keep you posted. dougieieieie

I'm heading to Austin Saturday for my friends' traditional Kentucky Derby party and was looking to stay in the South Airport area as usual, but i've been denied so far. With help from this great board, I got rooms twice last year at the Omni for $50, and a friend has gotten them at the Airport Hilton for that price. I also see that people have recently gotten rooms at the Omni, Hilton and Wyndham in the last few months for $48-$55. I started at $48 last week, and went up to $50 on Friday. Thinking more rooms might be released on Monday, i tried $50 again and went to $55 on Tuesday. After that, i thought i'd lower my expectations, added 2* and 2.5* and bid $35. Tried both again on Wednesday and am pretty much finished today with a $55 again for 3* and went up to $40 for 2* Apparently, there is some other event(s) going on in town, as i went to the LaQuinta.com site and 4 of their properties in South Austin, as well as the Homestead Studio Suites on South First street have NO VACANCIES at any price. Good news is i can stay at my friends' house who are having the party, though i had hoped to grab a cheap room so i could have a chance to "get away" from too much fun that night. Oh well. Better luck to me next time. Thanks again for this wonderful board and all it's helpful info. dougieieie

My first bid of $60 for Saturday night was accepted by the Hilton Post Oak. (course i wondered for a minute if i shoulda started lower, but now i'm over it ...) The Hilton is now apparently a 4-star after a major re-model last year. I confirmed it's listed as a 4* at Travelocity"]Travelocity, Expedia and TripAdvisor and there are lots of great customer reviews at those sites. Was so happy with the reviews that i went back and used the "add a night" feature for Friday and was accepted as well. One last thought though. After being accepted i see this in the fine print: Since the plan is to just relax all day Saturday, hit the pool, etc., the idea of having to pack up at Noon and move to another room would be annoying. I'm assuming the odds are minimal that this will happen, but i didn't notice this disclaimer BEFORE choosing the "add a night." It COULD have been there, but I can't go back and see now. Does anyone know if they did warn me ahead of time? Either way it's something to think about in the future. Not as big a deal if you're planning to be out and about during the day. AGAIN, very happy with the results and appreciate the help here on the board. Also, i linked thru SavingsBarn. thanks, dougieieie

thanks for the reply and pointing me to that thread. after reading it, i'm wondering if i should follow the advice early on in the thread and bid $60 (a recent rate for the ITC) and if it is rejected, bid the $80 and hope (take the risk) for the Omni. I'm willing to pay up to the $80 or so for a 4* in the Galleria area. (Omni or otherwise) I'm still confused on the "add a nite feature." Is there a thread about how this works? You wrote: "Even if not offered, you can use the 'add a nite feature' to try for the same hotel." Not sure what you mean by "try"? Could you end up at a different hotel?? sorry for so many questions, but appreciate all the help. dougieieie

Hi there, My wife and I are celebrating our 1-year wedding anniversary this weekend (6/9-11) and thought i'd surprize her with one or two nights at a 4-star in the Galleria area. I see that the Omni, Intercontinental and the Marriot are usual suspects with the Omni having recently gone for $80 a night, while the ITC was picked up for $60. I'd ACTUALLY be willing to pay $80 a night for the Omni and maybe even do TWO nights if i got that hotel, as i'm familiar with it (great bar/dance club, great pool, better location) SOOOO, does bidding higher increase my chances for getting the Omni, or should i start at $60 and see what happens? Also, i understand sometimes after having a bid accepted PL will ask if you want another night. Any idea how often this happens? My thought is to bid for one night (Saturday) and if i get the Omni, i'd take a second night. Otherwise, i'll stick with just Saturday night. sorry for the "nit-picky" questions and appreciate any help and advice. basically i'll be happy regardless. thanks, dougieieie

Great googly moogly!! I got the Omni for 2 nights at $50 each!!! :) I just made the exact same bid of $50 for Fri and Sat that i had made on Sunday, and this time it was accepted. I've used the "re-bid" system in the past, but with the new 24-hour re-bid time didn't feel the need to, until today. I'm guessing the Omni released some rooms at that price between my bid at 1pm CST yesterday and my friend bidding this morning?? Thanks SO MUCH for your advice and for this website. We only need a hotel about 2-3 times a year for personal weekends, but this site has taught me a bunch and saved us money!!! Thanks again and keep up the good work! dougieieie

Looking for some advice. Yesterday, i upped my bid to $55 for 3-star Austin Airport/South area for two nights (5/5 & 6) and was rejected. I see from the board that $50 is a "normal" accepted bid at both the Hilton and Omni in this area. This morning, my friend bid $50 for 5/6 ONLY, and was accepted at the Omni. Is this because he only needs ONE night? Could the hotel have just released some rooms this morning? I was going to raise my bid to $60 this afternoon, but would rather get $50 a night like my friend. Any help is appreciated. thanks in advance, dougieieie

Hi again, Even though it seems 4*s in Austin are going at over $100 these days, i went ahead and bid up to $75 last Thursday (4/27) and got rejected. Worth a try. Today i put in a $50 bid for a 3* in the Airport South area and also got rejected. I'll go up $5 a day until our bid gets accepted. If it's not accepted by $65 or $70 i will probably just use Hotwire or Travelocity"]Travelocity. later, dougieieie

For some reason it HAS gotten harder to get a deal on 4-stars in Austin. My wife and i go there a couple times a year and used to get rooms regularly at the Hyatt Regency for $50 - $60 thru Priceline. Last year though we had to go up to $75 and got the Downtown Hilton, but we assumed it was because we just happened to be going on Mother's Day weekend. However, i see on this board that people are now paying $100 or more for 4*s in Austin. We like the 4-stars, but only when we were getting those cheap deals!! We are going next weekend and are going to try to get a 3-star in the "airport" area. My friend got the Airport Hilton last year for $50 and i see others have gotten it and the Omni for about the same price. i'll make a separate post about how that goes. later, dougieieie

As stated in another post, my sister was bidding on this hotel, so i do not have all the actual information from Priceline, but have enough to help others out. My sister's first bid of $69 was rejected on Wednesday, 2/8. (her friend had gotten a room there at that price thru Priceline two weeks earlier.) Because of some confusion with the 3-star, 4-star re-bid, *I* made a bid for her at $72 on Thursday. It was also rejected. My sister's re-bid (after waiting 72 hours) of $75 was accepted on Saturday, 2/11. The Marriott at Legacy Town Center Plano, Texas 3-star hotel Check-In Date: Sat, Feb 18, 2006 Check-Out Date: Sun, Feb 19, 2006 Offer Price: $75.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $19 (est. my sister told me her total was $94) Total Charges: $94

Thanks for the reply Thereuare. I think every time I"VE used Priceline it's been for a weekend getaway with my wife, and i always STARTED with a 4-star, so i never noticed it. Thanks again. I'll start a new post with the "proper" subject title about my sister's bidding when i get a chance. later, dougieieie

hi there. first post. I've used Priceline for hotels a half dozen times in the last 2-3 years, and just discoverd your FANTASTIC website a few months ago. I've been reading thru the posts and learned alot, but have yet to put your tips into action. ANYWAY, today i was helping my sister bid for a room in Frisco-West Plano, Texas area. She had bid $69 on a 3-star and was refused. She then thought about upping her bid and selecting a 4-star, BUT on the re-bid page, the 4-star had already BEEN selected, so she couldn't ADD it to re-bid. I didn't beleive her, so i went in and bid $72 for a 3-star, and got the same results. Wasn't accepted. AND the 4-star was checked on the re-bid so i couldn't ADD it!! Is this something new?? what's up? we're going to try a higher bid again in 3 days (she wants to stay in THAT area), and i'll post about that in the proper "Texas" thread when she succeeds or not. thanks again, dougieieie