OK _ Things are looking up again! I have a bed. Thanks to the suggestion above - this is what I did this morning (I upped the suggested price a bit) For 6-9 May Selected 4* MTW... Bid $140, rejected added re-bid zone1...UES Bid $150, rejected added re-bid zone2...UWS Bid $160, rejected Selected 4* MTE... Bid $140 - ......................................and then they gave me the chance to up the price by 22 dollars - which I did and got the Grand Hyatt - 3 nights 162 dollars per night - not so bad And then------as luck would have it - they asked if I would like to extend my stay to the 12th at the same price - I said yes------but then they came back and said no room at the Inn for that price and they kindly offered it to me for 322 dollars, which I swiftly turned down. Went back into the site then and started bidding Selected 4* MTE... Bid $140, rejected added re-bid zone1...UES Bid $150, rejected added re-bid zone2...UWS Bid $160, rejected So, I would be very obliged if I could have some strategy to get the Hyatt again for 9-13 for circa 200 bucks. I will book the Beekman for these dates as back up. Thanks to all here for helping me find a bed!