travelAlot

Two suggestions: * Look at the posted Hotwire Hotel List for Vegas to see if the amenities match up. Hunch re the 3.5 star is that it may possibly be Ballys but just a guess there. * Do your search again, sort by the star level (highest to lowest). Then open a separate browser and do the same search again as a Hotwire Package (i.e. with rental car) and see what hotels pop up (they'll be identified by name and may -- operative word being "may" -- match the two hotels from your opaque search). Also, be real thorough in searching the hotels' own wesbites and deals as you're looking for mid-week dates when the artes can be lower. There are some great links on this website to all the casinos, hotels, travel sites et al.

My thoughts exactly -- even scarier is the lack of Complimentary Breakfast icon, which eliminates the typical Choice, Cendant hotels, Laquinta and Holiday Inn upscale budget hotels/motels. Could be something by Convention Center or a bit east of Paradise. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't something obvious that I was missing. Thanks!

Howdy, doing some research for Labor Day weekend, 3-star property Near Strip East popped up that I havent seen before and cant seem to place. Airport Shuttle, Pool, Restaurant are the ammenities. I did a search for Aug 31 for two nights and it came up at $88. Am thinking that it's probably a standard 2.5-star that Hotwire bumped to 3-star. No casino icon, but airport shuttle icon rpresents a property I cant ID. Any ideas? Thank you

FYI for the Near Strip East zone, one tip-off regarding 4-star hotels is that the Westin will have the "casino" icon and the Renaissance won't. Also typically Near Strip East 3.5 star is the Atrium Suites (look for "suite" and "airport shuttle" icons and no "casino" icon). Not that absolutely this is 10000% the case, but pretty darn near close (I'm kind of perusing for a future trip to Vegas and go there alot). Hope this helps.

Nice deal. If anyone is looking at this property through the 1st full weekend in September, I believe there is a HOTWIRE Ticker deal available (might be Priceline Pricebreakers) for $109/night -- use Promotion Code DI1TTK when booking on www.loewshotels.com website. I think there's a booking deadline of the end of July (I think). I know the rate/promo works Labor Day weekend as well.

One other thought re the hotel identity of the hotel description -- that started this thread. Possibly Embassy Suites which offers the comp breakfast -- for a recent stay that I was researching, the same 3-star hotel description Near Strip East was $109, while the published Embassy Suites rate was $118. Also nearby are the Amerisuites (you know how HOTWIRE jacks up its ratings from 2.5 to 3.0 sometimes) and a couple Marriott Residence Inns (both do the free breakfast and would possibly be 3-stars in Hotwire terms). But my hunch is that it may be Embassy Suites (the one that's closer to the convention center where there tends to be less demand on a Friday night).

Based on what I know re Vegas, I'd be careful. This could possibly be some sort of property that IP bought up. A lot of the moderately priced casinos are making deals to grab land for future development (i.e. Barbary Coast going to Harrahs for other land). In fact on Hotwire Vacation Packages, the IP 1-star looks to be some sort of motel behind the IP (down the hill on the other side of Harrahs/Flamingo parking garages), used to have some sort of catchy (Villas???) name with tightly cropped photos (looked great) but kinda shaky when you see it up close. I may be wrong on this but I'm almost 90% sure that the 1-star IP isn't attached to the IP. Maybe call the IP to doublecheck or "google" for the acquisition. Besides you have plenty of time before October to nail something down in a comparable price range (even if the Gold Coast/Orleans with free shuttles).

Pretty methodical winning bid, perhaps a bit trigger-happy given that I have until December. But things can fluctuate in Chicago and hard to tell whether holiday season (less biz travelers=more inventory/lower rates or more holiday shoppers/tourists=higher rates/inventory). I've seen prime-location 4-stars go as low as $65 on the low end, and way way higher on the high end (in the 200s/night). So I decided on 4-star category, researched (Hyatt Regency is $109 and the lowest on Priceline and Hotwire Packages...with a few others in the $109-125 range), knew that if I stayed 4-star would avoid the Ambassador which is off of Mich Ave. Did the usual hybrid bidding (usuing the rebid zones in combination). Unsuccessful starting at 45 51 55 60. Then next set of bids (a couple days later) at 62 67 71, with counteroffer at 93 -- rejected it and went to 75. To hedge my bets, as I'm arriving late on the 20th and need a very central hotel, I originally bid just for 3 nights (12/21-24), and then did an "add a night" to the Intercontinental to get my 4 nights (I know PL tacks on its fees to that "add a night" but it was worth it knowing the hotel ahead of this). The Intercontinental cheapest rate right now is $144/night for the 3 nights and $174 for the 1st night....so it's a nice deal as well. Perfect location on Michigan Avenue for the holiday season (just got Bears-Packers tix so should be a fun weekend, even if 5 months away). I did my bids via the SavingsBarn link.

No surprise here given the posting history. 1st clue that this was likely was Hotwire showing a $52 rate yesterday (and amenities matching the Wyndham), with the Wyndham being somewhat cheaper and/or more available vs the Holiday Inn Select on various travel sites (only other 3-star in this zone) and also more frequently a winning property. Got a bit nervous this morning when the HI Select was the Hotwire 3-star showing at $136 or so, so went to work as had a plane ticket that's cancellable by midnight tonight. Preferred the University area because of its centralness (some of the downtown hotels are on the outskirts and Pittsburgh can be desolate on weekends) and the Wyndham's location on the rapid transit line (even from the airport). Pretty much a textbook bid: ** $39 1st bid (lowest accepted nightly bid amount for this property that I could find in last year or so) ** Rejected but with a $50 counter-offer. My experience has been that success will happen if about 1/3rd of a counter offer is added in a rebid or a bid that's around 85% of the Hotwire price -- so knew that $42-43 was in the ballpark. ** Used all three free rebids at $40, $41, and $43 (coulda gotten greedy at $42, lol, but wanted to nail it down today vs rebid tomorrow). ** Accepted at $43 Went through the SavingsBarn link. Not bad considering that Wyndham's cheapest prepaid rate is $153, cheapest best available/corporate rate is $169 for the dates of my stay -- my winning bid is even 1/3rd of the cheapest $126 AAA rate. Just thought I'd pass this along. PS Sorry about the headline. I forgot that there are limited # of characters... it cut off "$43, 5/5-5/8"

Thanks Henrik. Great information. Had heard of GTA Hotels but hadnt paid much attention (in part lol because it doesnt breakdown results real searchable). Seeing the 4-day cancel policy for full refund policy, I cant go wrong booking the Doubletree for now, and seeing what I get later. Plan B is Quality Inn, which while a motel, has excellent reviews and can be gotten for $45 through some manuvering. Great tiop also on the Hotwire 3-4 person thing showing more options/inventory et al. Thanks again Ron

Thanks for the ideas. Yeah, I've looked at Hotwire to match things up. I see the Clarion as a glorified 3-star and the HW rates holding at $50 or so. Also intriguing is a 2.5 star Seaworld/Conv Ctr zone that is coming up but I cant totally identify -- Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness, Pool, Kitchennette -- is kind of hard to match up. Could be Amerisuites (on VP the 2.5-star says Universal and has hi-speed internet so I dont think it's Amerisuites because the 2.5 star showing is Seaworld-Conv Ctr), possibly Hampton Inn...and knowing how Hotwire bumps up its ratings by 1/2 a star (ie Clarion is really 2.5 star anywhere else but 3 on Hotwire), this could be a remodeled extende-stay 2-star that's 2.5 If I knew that the suites 2.5 star was definitively something specific (the Seaworld/Convention Center one that's $54 right now), I'd jump on it and be done -- on HOTWIRE, it notes a $19.50/night savings and no corresponding 2.5-star Expedia hotels appear to be twd Seaworld/Conv Ctr. As far as the PL 2.5 stars, the Metropolitan and Holiday Inn look to be absolute dumps so I'd like to avoid that. In fact on HOTWIRE VP, Metropolitan and Amerisuites are exactly th same price so Im thinking a PL 2.5-star bid would be a crapshoot between them. As far as EasyClickTravel, best value was Residence Inn Sea World at $78, not ideal as I wont have a car and it's 3/4th mile at least from I-Drive (if got for $45 on PL I wouldnt complain). Doubltree is OK, but seems up in that $75-80 range. I'm trying to stay toward $50 or so. On PL, I've gone as high as $60 so far on 3-star, literally bidding in $1 increments with free rebids and combos. And the next day starting $5-10 cheaper to make sure that new inventory didnt just become available. Have taken a shot in the dark at 4-star, going as high as $73 (no expectations). Havent started with 2.5 star, as focusing on 3-star and wanting to avoid Holiday Inn and Matropolitan (as it gets closer, I may be more flexible).

Hoping to extend a work trip to Orlando and staying the weekend of June 8 (Fri 6/8 and Sat 6/9) Based on my research, wanting to be semi-central and not having a rental car, I've settled on staying in the Universal/Sea World zone. Also, from the hotel reviews, i realize that 3-star is the safer bet, although some 2.5 stars are exceptional and some are bordering on dumps. So far I've tried all the rebids, even gone in increments of $1 from $35 to $60 (lol yup I'm a veteran PL bidder). My question is, other than booking a cancellable backup, are there any strategies that seem to consistently work in this zone for 3-star properties? Especially if any of you know have seen inventory get more available as it gets closer (I have almost 2 months so some flexibility). Usually, via free rebids and a disciplined strategy, I'm successful so this is kinda stuming me. Any ideas are most welcome -- Thanks!

If it helps, my experience with Vegas that time of year is that the hotel rates tend to go lower than usual because the average high temperature is 110-115 and that disocurages demand somewhat. Plus July 4th being on a Wednesday means that you're dealing with the holiday aftermath possibly (another good thing re rates). If you're set on booking and going that weekend, definitely do the airfare if it is the only nonstop and works for you price and time wise. I'd also sign up on the email list for each hotel that you are interested in. Often you'll get advance rates and deals that way. (At least enough to nail down a cancelable option if PL doesnt do the trick for you.)

A bit of a shocker here in a very good way. Arriving on a late-night flight and research showed that a bunch of airport hotels either charge for shuttles or dont run them that late. So Plan B was downtown, despite Hotwire rates (which usually correlate to PL somewhat as far as availability price etc). Challenge is that it's the last business night before the Canada Day Weekend. On this go-around, did the textbook $45, $48, $50, and then $52 with the 3 rebids -- 2 zones and DT combinations separately and together. The previous day a friend and I bid from $35 to $49 and, based on previous posts on here and TOBB, I knew $45 probably was a good starting point (a few years back I got the DT Courtard Marriott for $32.night so wanted to be sure that I didnt initially start too high). Cheapest rate for this Marriott is $339 Can (aka $287 US) for a discounted concierege room ($399 Can/#337 US for "standard room"), so I'd say it's a great deal (82% savings). Also from what I remember this hotel is very upper 3-star quality (not sure why it's not a 4-star to be honest). Plus it's right on the subway line that the airport bus connects to, as one option. Originally linked via S-B to make my bids. Other thing that this successful bid proves is that you shouldn't be so sure that existing Toronto hotel rates correlate to PL's specific inventory. I.E. for 3-stars, the Bond Place (bearable for a night as 1 double bed or 2 twins and is really a 2-star but ranked 3-star) and Delta Chelsea were by far the least expensive 3-stars showing at $109 and $149 Can for that night. My winning bid hotel came out of nowhere, just as say the Renaissance (way se downtown by Rogers Centre) could've come up in a similar scenario as T.O. has a huge downtown zone (and PL, unlike Hotwire, doesnt break it up). The other aspect is the Marriott factor -- with about 4-5 successful bids especially in Vegas and Toronto, Marriotts can come upeven though their retail rates are wayyyy higher than competing hotels in the same quality/star category. FYI.

After a bunch of manuvering and multiple zone bids and rebids, I nailed the Marriott Suites in the UNLV/Conv Ctr zone for $65/night for Friday 3/30. Already had ridiculously reasonable options for Flamingo, Harrah's and Rio for Sat-Sun 3/31-4/2 and basically needed a moderate costing place to sleep (flight gets in around 8 p.m. Friday night and prob doing dinner after arriving). For some reason, all hotels (even the larger casinos) seem to be offering Saturday arrivals that weekend -- and crazy-high Froday night 3/30 rates. Could've waited this out but didn't want to chance the spike in rates. No surprise here re a Marriott proprty coming up (in September the Res Inn Hughes came up for me at $59 out of the blue). This series of bids started out at $50 for 2.5 star Conv Ctr/UNLV, and then $54 with Fremont added (Hotwire shows $61 for a Fremont 2-star but nothing for 2.5 star so figured I was safe from 4 Queens most likely). Then started a second search of 3-star West (in hopes of Gold Coast as it's way less than Orleans right now) at $60, then added Nellis at $64, and UNLV/Conv Ctr (not expecting anything but Alexis Park and assuming the added zone would just be a free rebid) at $65. And voila! Marriott Suites' best rate is $169, rack rate is $298. Definitely noteworthy because this hotel also solves another potential Vegas issue regarding room selection at checkin -- all rooms are one king bed woth sofa bed and all rooms are nonsmoking per Marriott policy -- so we don't have to stop at the hotel upon arrival (and can grab a leisurely dinner). If anyone else is looking for the same dates or so and trying for a similar success (targeting the Marriott) -- and you;d be OK with Gold Coast or Alexis Park just in case -- I would recommend starting at UNLV/Conv Ctr zone at $55, rebid with UNLV/Conv Ctr and Nellis at $58, rebid with UNLV/Conv Ctr and West of Strip at $61, then rebid with all 3 zones at $65. Don't add Strip as the Strat and Circus Circus are lurking around $100-110 and could possibly come up. Hope this info is helpful....thought I'd share. P.S. Tried going through the SB link, not sure if this properly linked on the new browser (as was on a friend's computer).

Thnaks for the insight. I've tried to be pretty thorough in doing my homework and am just a bit gun-shy, lol. Even checked Vacation Packages as well as Priceline Hotels, and both have had the Artisan as a 2-star for awhile now (plus haven't seen it be posted on this or TOB as a winning 3-star bid in awhile. Have an opportunity to bid Strip West 3-star when the Coast properties retail price is $105/night and Artisan is $150+ -- just worried that PL may have a pre-determined block of rooms even though I know I could immediately complain about the star class (vs PL's non-opaque products) afterward if I got the Artisan. Thanks again and, as always, I'll use the s-b links.

Just curious if any of you have any experience with Priceline's ratings for "name your own price" properties being the same as its regular Priceline travel hotels booking engine. On situaions like the Golden Nugget being upgraded back to a 4-star, it's pretty obvious in NYOP because the Fremont St. zone now has a 4-star option. But what about, for example, the Artisan Hotel (Strip West zone) which last year was upgraded to a 3-star (same zone as Gold Coast and Orleans) -- after numerous complaints (see Trip Advisor, etc), the Artisan (a former Travlodge kind of property) is now showing in Priceline Hotels as a 2-star. As such, it seems like a reasonable assumption that the same hotel would be no higher than a 2-star on Name Your Own Price hotels, right? Taking this further, Travelocity (2-star) and Trip Advisor (2.5 stars) are similar to Priceline Hotels, while Expedia and Hotels.com keep this property at 3 stars. Just using this as a prime example of what I've seen recently in general and also as a regular Vegas traveler. Any thoughts or suggestions? Anyone have any experiences where the NYOP hotel star rating was higher than what was showing on PL Hotels? Thanks for any direction on this.

Just a footnote on how good the bid really was -- I've determined that Priceline's actual cost was exactly $59 a night and all it made was the extra tacked-on fees. So unless anything changes, $59 is probably the lowest rate for thsi property via a bid...of course there are other 2.5 stars in this zone so there may be others available at a lower price depending on the day(s).

Havent really checked the ammenities to the hotel, but would the Grand Hyatt possibly be this 3.5 star? The new Hyatt Convention Center is 4-star and the previous Hyatt has been upgraded into a Grand Hyatt.

All in all, a pretty easy and painless procesxs. Friend's parents visiting, needed something east of Denver (Stapleton or preferably Cherry Creek). Knew 3-star was getable for around $42-45 based on Hotwire showing $50-51, and vacation packages matching its features to the Radisson Stapleton....and had that as a backup to fall on just in case. For Cherry Creek, Hotwire showed $61 for 3-star (probably Holiday Inn Select) and $67 for 2.5-star with 2 basic ammenities (likely Sheraton 4 Pts as no suites, kitchenette logo showing). Strategy was to focus on Cherry Creek 3-stars (1st and 3 rebids), then CC 2.5 stars (1st and 1 rebid) and then -- if still unsuccessful -- Stapleton 3-stars (1st and 3 rebids), a combo-ed CC-Stapleton four bids. Got rejected at $40, 43, $46 and $49 on CC 3 star. Tried $43 for 2.5-star opening bid, knowing only 1 free rebid zone and hoping for a hint (i.e. counter offer) if rejected. Priceline's rejection offered a free rebid if upped price to $65, no extra zones or changes needed (no guarantee I'd successfully be accepted either, unlike a standard counteroffer). Upped bid to $47 from $43, added Northeast (highest quality hotel=2 stars) zone........and voila, accepted. Staybridges Suites best rate is $94/night so 50% off, and property is way way better than Sheraton 4 Pts (bigger and more modern rooms). So much easier than Vegas! And yes, went through the SavingsBarn link.

Nicely done, I just had similar success with a similar counteroffer (bid $56, got $17 counterfoffer, won with $59 bid for 9/22-24 weekend). One thing to be careful of: Fremont addition to the 2.5 bid could mean an upgrade to a 3-star downtown if Pricleine finds a rate compatible for Fremont zone (even though you specificaly bid for a 2.5 star). The downtown 3-stars are nice, 4Queens, Golden Nugget now, etc. But FYI in case you must stay toward Conv Ctr/UNLV and downtown is not an option.

Anyone headed to Vegas next weekend -- this might be a great option. I assumed I'd get the Amerisuites ($129 lowest published rate, all the Marriotts and St Tropez were higher). I nailed the Residence Inn Highes Center for $59/night for next Friday and Saturday (9/22-24). Details::: **Originally bid $56 2.5* Con Ctr UNLV, counteroffered $73 **Tried Hotwire just to see if any hints as to the property (didnt try PL vacations but suppose I couldve), nothing even close. Also researched published rates, all 2.5-3-star Marriot properties were $179+, Amerisuites $129, Alexis et al as well. **New bid $57 for 3* ConvCtr/UNLV just to test if I'd get the same counteroffer amount (i.e. PL upgrades you to a higher star-ed hotel if the bid fits)..got a $106/night counteroffer so knew that the original c-offer was indeed for a 2.5 star (and likely to be twd Flamingo, Harmon areas along Paradise Road). Means that 2.5 star bid eliminates Alexis, farther away Hilton and Marriott Suites (important as no car and monorail is pricey...knew that Res Inn Conv Ctr is a slight hike at Sands Ave, one risk but saw the $179/night rate). **Rebid $59 for 2.5 star (next day after 24 hr window but I suppose I couldve had a friend do it too), contemplated $57=58 and 1-dollar increments but didnt because timeframe close, hotel inventory can rapidly change (esp in Vegas) and lack of 2.5-star rebid zones....Accepted at $59, voila Originally bid $56 as a shot in the dark (I had a motel near Trop/LV Blvd for $102 total as a backup and a dt budget hotel as a double backup). Been bidding alot iwthout counteroffers (concentrated mostly at Fremont targeting Vegas Club, 4Queens, with an occasional Conv Ctr bid, even 1-2 for Strip). Cheapest one was around $110 or so and based on my experience, counter bid of $75+ would be required. I'm goin on this trip solo so trying to keep costs down. For me, this unexpected hotel is perfect -- as right at Flamingo, walkable to Hard Rock, Flamingo public bus line (Rio, Palms, Strip) and even a FedexKinkos nextdoor with the unVegas cheap online access. Certainly beats the Americas Best Value Inn that was $30 less total. Ironically I'd tried to book this property outright before on the Entertainmt 50%-off rate -- and always gotten $130+ rates (didnt even try this time). Anyhow, in case this specific info is helpful to anyone else looking for next weekend...or just in terms of the strategy aspect. And yes, I went through the SB links to place my bids. Ooops sorry I forgot to put the $59 in header lines

It's a moot point now, I couldnt get any confirmation from Hotwire even though I was pretty sure of the program rules. Bottom line is it would've aved me $20 but if rejected, wouldve cost me $100. Then teh rates went back up. Apoligize for not responding sooner, I didnt want to post a specific rate and posted lower rate and specific hotel name...as I know a lot of hotel chains and hotels which participate on Priceline/Hotwire and Priceline/Hotwire do themsleves monitor boards like this (I wasnt about to give them a heads up and have the rate disappear if I went through with it). Thanks anyhow.

Aladdin's going to be nicer ammenity-wise as a 4-star. If the location and the buffets are worth it (the slot play is a gimmick promo that all hotels have),stay with it. But don't forget EasyClickTravel -- EasyClickTravel Off the Record as you can get a $56 rate for the Sahara which, although North Strip, is right on the Monorail line. ECT is also great as the tax/fees added are only the standard local hotel tax (and not extra booking fees). Plus you have up to 72 hours beforehand to cancel and get a full refund. One other related aspect regarding the Monorail: FYI that the prices have been jacked up hugely since when it began. Gouges tourists at $5/oneway, $9 RT, $35/10 oneway trips. Given how amazing Priceline can be for cars or a straight reservation on Alamo (via Entertainment Book $10 2-day cpn would be $55 w/taxes fees), you can almost always get a compact car for about $13-16 a day (i.e. see if you can bid on PL to beat the $55 total price). Factoring in two RT airport shuttles ($24) plus a few Monorail roundtrips, it will generally save you money. Just depends if you like the convenience and expense of the Monorail vs. the convenience and freedom of a rental car. Hope this helps.

Question I had about Hotwire's Double The Difference Guarantee for anothe trip. Does anyone have any idea if Hotwire considers Harrah's "hot Rates" -- publicly and readily available to everyone -- to be a valid published lower rate for the DTD program? I'm very tempted to book something, knowing the rate will drastically be reduced, if accepted. But I'm a bit nervous about if the hot Rates are inavlid for DTD purposes and/or if the hot Rates would change from the time I submit my claim to when it's actually reviewed. For example, Hotwire shows $80 rate for hotel that's readily identifiable (100% sure). Hotel standard rate is $85, and hot Rate (linkable and available to anyone who clicks on the hotel's homepage and even its reservation page) is $55. I.E. Will Hotwire consider the $55 rate as valid for DTD program? Or based on everyone's experience in general, is Hotwire somewhat nitpicky and difficult to deal with on stuff like this. If I go this way, it's a $100 mistake ($90 net based on my alternate hotel) so I want to have some confidence before I proceed. Any insight on this? Much appreciated as, if I goof, that's a $100 mistake. If I go ahead and book, I'll use the link from here. Thank You