travelAlot

Kinda related -- and I apologize if I'm slightly offsubject -- is a 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. 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

Thanks for the quick response. That's what I figured, just wanted to make sure I was being thorough. I can get something downtown but at a higher price ($66 hotwire, so probably $55 PL). Only direct booking with budget hotel is the Gold Spike -- about $40-45 a night wiothout additional booking fees) -- and the reviews there seem to indicate that it is quite unsafe/unsavory (I'm pretty openminded about stuff, very street smart and not easily scared but the reviews everywhere seem to indicate the Spike isnt a good idea). For now, I'll hold off, unless the 2-star condo comes back up. Also possibly an On Request EasyClickTravel property but my understanding is On Request means "not available." Thanks again

I'd research this further by doing split Hotwire searches, one for the cheaper dates and the other for the more expensive dates. See if the amenity decriptions are the same. I.E. if absolutely sure, you could book the $179 rate via Expedia and the $243 rate for the other nights via Hotwire. Also don't forget if you book via HOTWIRE altogether and can prove that there is an overall savings for your entire stay on Expedia or wherever, Hotwire has a double your difference refund policy,...it will match the Expedia rate and double the $60 difference (youll get $120 or so back). Finally, dont foget that most big hotels, and the Wynn I am sure, will match any nonopaque travel site rates (ie Expedia) and put them as a cancellable (within 72 hours of arrival) reservation (vs prepaid like most of the travel sites). Hope this helps...some ideas to think about. PS On the split reservation thing, keep in mind that, while you probably feel that there's a 90%+ chance of both reservations being the Wynn, there is always a chance that you'll have to move to the Ventian or Bellagio for the other nites if booked separately. I.E. rooms may be blocked out for some of the 4 and 5 stars and released at last week or so when cancellations or less demand received

Howdy, I'm doing a budget kind of trip to Vegas Sept 22-25. Challenge is finding a hotel for Fri 22nd or Fri-Sat 22nd-23rd. Looking at Hotwire, a $40/night rate is coming up for a 2* near Strip. I have to stay within about $100 total for the two nights, $60 for 1 night. I've tried every travel site imaginable, including EasyClickTravel. My dilemma is, without a car, I'm OK being offStrip as long as close to a main street where the local CAT runs or better yet to Orleans/GoldCoast/Rio free shuttles. But I-15/Sahara or the Dean Martin Drive hotels cluster won't work. My dilemma is this: the 2-star that's coming up has these amenities -- Fitness Center, Pool, Landry Facilities. I clicked throught to the purchase page to see if any other features would show. The reason being that a similar 2-star rate was for the condo property that is the Extended StayAmerica on Valley View (perfect as 1/5th mile from Rio/GoldCoast). From looking at the Hotwire list for Near Strip West, all that I can see is the ESA property and I doubt that the current $40 hotel isn't that. Any ideas what it might or most likely would be? Of course if I book anything it will be via SB or the links here. Thank you...

Just a suggestion that you may want to always look at the casino hotels' own websites for pricing beyond just that of travel sites. Harrahs' hot Deals (www.harrahs.com/hot-deals) often beats the travel sites' rates or at least allows you some creativity through its Best Rate Guarantee program. The advantage is you end up with a standard, cancellable with full refund of deposit reservation (up until 72 hours before arrival). Forf the Best Rate Guarantee program, you do have a few slight hoops to jump through. I.E. any Harrahs property booked on its websites (properties now include Caesars, Ballys, Paris, Flamingo as well as Harrahs, Rio). Harrahs will not only match the rate but also give you an extra 25% discount. Catch #1 is that you must provide documentation within 4 hours of your initial reservation, and that it must be a screen shot of the travel website's rate's payment screen verifying the rate's availability. Catch #2 is that your first night deposit will remain on your credit card, and the a refund of the difference between the booked rate and lower rate will not be given until checkin (same with the rate). Catch #3 is that, if a multi-night booking, your entire stay's average rate will be adjusted, not just the higher priced nights. Having said that, twice I've gotten a really cheap night when I jumped through the aforementioned hoops (Ballys $36.50, Harrahs $44) As for your dates, so that you get the best possible rate (and book it, with flexibility of maybe later Hotwire or Priceline bids), the Flamingo hot Deals rates are 185-185-70-70. Because the 3rd and 4th nights are cheaper than i4Vegas, I'd book them as one reservation/conf #. Then I'd book the 1st 2 nights # $185/night, submit a Best Rate Guarantee claim within 4 hours, and when it's accepted your rate for those nights will be $96/night ($120 from i4VEgas minus 25%). Pretty shrwed huh? Only drawback is that you will pay two deposits, one for each reservation but again they're fully refundable. Hope this helps.

You got a great rate for that weekend and especially Denver downtown. One tip, though is you can rebid by adding a Denver xzone that does not have a 4-star (such as Airport or NE Denver)-- very very important to verify this before adding any zone -- and up the bid by maybe $4-5 at a time until PL says "yes." That way you might've saved about $10/nigfht. On this website there are tips and instructions for how to add the other zones. Personally I have found that the easiest and surest way is to to go the PL bidding page for hotels. Check the 1st zone, hit enter and see what star classes are there and write that down..repeat for other zones. Then if say 4 zones have 3 star as their highest class of hotel, then you know you can add one of those zones for each rebid (instead of having to accept a counter offer that PL will make more profit from). FYI, still agreat price for that hotel/location/dates. FYI in case the other stuff is hellpful for the future.

Well it's kinda like one poster earlier stated, comparing Sheryl's actions to that of the "Seinfeld" Soup ****. In my parting post on TOBB, I even threw that in. With her, you just can't win no matter how hard ya reasonably try...just the way it is.

See hotel rates, happened to notice that the Aladdin is coming up at $199/night if you arrive Fri 5/26 and stay 3 nights. Being that a lot of folks are looking for Strip 4-stars, just thought I'd share. (Rate is $299/night for a Sat arrival for 2 nights......same total price as 3 nights). Knowing how PL prices are lined up to hotel's inventory and rates, am thinking that Strip 4-star (esp with all the free rebid zones) would be getable in the coveted $150 range -- or even lower.

While doing my perpetual daily search for May 27, Hotwire showed: 2-star for $102 with amenities of: Pool(s), Fitness Center, Kitchenette, Internet Access, Business Center, Laundry Facilities. 3-star for $126 with amenities of: Airport Shuttle, Restaurant(s), Complimentary Breakfast, Pool I tried a VP search (with air-hotel and with air-car) to see if anything'd match up, no success. More providing this info in case it's helpful to the board and Hotwire hotel listings, as I already have reservations for that day at a better price. Seeing the Clarion Suites Emerald (on Flamingo) nightly rate go down leads me to think it may be the 2-star. FYI

For what it's worth, be aware that the Renaissance's Sun 5/28 rate is already $149.95 if booked as a one-night (best available) reservation, and with Saturday being $249.95, two nights are $399.90 if you book each night separately. As long as this property is still the only 4-star in this zone and available as a one-night stay (on Marriott.com it is but sometimes PL may be restricted to 2 night minimum in Vegas), this potentially offers you rebid options (i.e. can change the bid to just the Sat night and do a direct Marriott res for the Sun night, if need be). But, if bidding on one night, you'd want to be 100% sure to not add zones that you don't want (i.e. Freemont/downtown where Golden Niugget has been showing availability even for Sat. arrivals) that could be accepted. -- and end up with a split reservation (unless that's OK).

Don't feel bad, she is just mostly blinded by her fixation on her rules et al that helpful info isn't relevant unless you dot the Is and cross the Ts. I totally threw her for a loop a few years ago with a PL strategy that literally flagged a specific hotel's availability (long and short is that a 5-day stay via PL package dropped the one hotel's price by 50-60% while the other hotel packages increased proportionate with the extra day). I ended up getting a $125/night downtown hotel in a very large city for $31/night, knowing I could rebid in $1 crements until accepted (as it would be the only hotel). She coudln't believe this, said it wasn't possible et al. Then tried to employ same strategy for her trip to same city. I had other experiences regarding same-day stays in the same city, and was chided because unknown to me, a friend and I simulltaneously bid on the same hotels. So sometimes ya can't win, no matter what. This board is much friendlier and much more helpful. Plus all the links are so much more user-friendly for booking travel.

Lol, just thought I'd add my two cents being that I've been dealing with the Sat 5/27 dilemma myself (I got Thurs-Fri cheap and Sun on a pricematch dirtcheap). One suggestion is, if you can stay downtown, the Golden Nugget, which is coming up around $120-130/night on many travel sites if you stay two nights. It's $120 on EasyClickTravel with an "on request" notation (meaning ECT has to verify with the hotel and it's not guaranteed until you hear back from ECT). But given how Priceline's 4-star zones are set up, you should be able to do bids for Strip, West of Strip, UNLV -- all desirable zones and closer to Strip than Freemont -- Freemont, Nellis and Airport zones. Obviously, you'd want to stay well under $260 total ($120/night rate plus tax) to save money over what's available. My experience says to stay toward $80 starting bids and rebid in increments of $4, stopping at $100. For the other zones that have 4-stars other than Freemont, you'd be looking at Renaiassance ($162 on Hotwire), Westin ($140 on ECT "on request"), Rio as other possibilities besides the GN -- Rio very unlikely given its published rates/demand and the others possible. Plan B -- especially if you desire to be really close to the Strip) would be the Westin, if the $140 "on request" rate does come through. Or even bid on PL for UNLV zone right off the bat. My guess is that about $100-110 night may land the Westin. Just as the Golden Nugget is showing available for $119-129 on many sites, I wouldn't include Freemont St/Downtown zone on any bids at that amount -- or you may end up with GN for more than you could pay direct or to ECT. Plan C -- if you desire to be close to Strip and will only stay Sat night the 27th......almost all hotels are adding a 2-night or Fri night stay requirement to any Sat night stay. I have noticed that the Alexis Park Resort (a glorfied resort motel that probably had its heyday in the 80s) is showing for around $115-120/night on Hotwire (which may mean that around $100/night 3-star bid on PL would work). If bidding for this 3-star property in the UNLV/Conv Ctr, be aware that you have only one free rebid (Nellis) or if you get too creative you could be staying at the Strat or South Coast or Artisan by accident. Hope this helps....I've been playing with hotels back and forth myself, have 2 reservations as backups in case I can't land my desired 5/27 kind of hotel (debating trying for GN but prefer not to stay dt as have stayed there the last 2 trips). Good luck!

For anyone else visiting TO that weekend, I'd jump on this rate/hotel if still offered -- before it's too late. That weekend is Gay Pride in TO, and getting a 3-4-star, centrally located and reasonably-priced hotel is an absolute maddening challenge (especially as it gets close to the arrival date). The Pride festival attracts nearly 1 million folks and many (esp on the Sat night) grab a good bunch of the hotel rooms, and the hotels reflect that typically in their rates. FYI...

Just thought I'd share (as I've been finagling where to stay on Sat May 27 and have backup reservations already). Looks like some decent hotels are available, including ones like te Golden ugget -- most decent ones tend to require the two-night minimum stay (over a Sat night) and/or won't permit a Saturday arrival. As I've been costantly monitoring availability, this is the 1st I've seen the GN available on 5/27 a s asolo night reservation on pretty much every site ($134-141 range, $139 on GN, $153 on Hotwire). Hence, I know it will be available on PL, question is for how much. Being that I'm happy staying on the Strip, UNLV and Near West Strip (knowing the hotel options if I don't get the GN), I'll be trying a sequence of bids and rebids to see if something comes up under $100 (with all taxes/fees). A long shot, I know, but OK because of the backup reservations if I don't get the GN or another 4-star. And I'll use the appropriate links from here. In case this info isuseful to anyone else intheir travel challenges for that weekend, PL or HW, or otherwise, thought I'd share.

Just in case anyone else is trying to nail down a 4-star for Memorial Day weekend, thought I'd share my patient but unsuccessful efforts. Patient because I already have decent backup plans for Sat May 27 and Sun May 28 -- split between two decent hotels (Alexis Parkand Ballys), with total after-tax cost of $150. When it was determined (via ammenities description) that the Westin was starting to come up alot on Hotwire -- and now on Priceline, judging by recent successful bids -- I tried a few strategic bids for the one night, May 27. Went toward $110 or so (usually is more than successful when Hotwire is around $129-133 for the same property); only trick is PL consoders Westin Strip zone, Hotwire Near Strip East. What I determined, especially with no counteroffer and the Westin's general policy (esp on non-opague websites) that requires a two-night stay if a Saturday is involved, is that PL's system is adhering to the two-night stay requirement. In fact the PL non-opague booking system just recently showed a rate reduction from $195/night to $165/night. For me personally, especially because I already have cancellable reservations in place at a great price, I only tried moderate bids for May 27-29 (2 nights) that were most likely way below an acceptable bid. I.E. for one night (Sat), $110 PL bid is in my range; for two nights (because I have a $40/night rate in place), I can't go much above $75 a night. So I stopped when my incremental bids were successful at $75. My guess is that the $105-110 range would be accepted for two nights. Anyhow, just wanted to share my experiences (more than screach for an "SOS," lol)...in case anyone else was facing similar challenges without backup reservations already in place.

Just in case this is helpful to anyone who'll be staying -- or eating -- at the Rio, here is a promotional email page with a coupon link for $5-10 off at the Rio's two buffets. Also has a link to Rio's hot rates -- mostly offpeak dates, i.e., if coming Memorial Day weekend and want to arrive a day early (I've already got that night prepaid at Excalibur, ughhh), there's a $49 Thursday rate, for example. http://harrahsmarketing.com/viewmsg.cfm?n1...5t7727e42140637 is the link In case this is helpful...some folks try to profit with this info, so thought I'd share it.

Good catch...sorry I didnt clue in to your Hotwire zone list sooner, I'm so used to PL's zone that I never thought the Westin would be in a non-Strip zone. One thing, in case it helps any others looking at booking this hotel, PL is very tight on its 4-stars vs Hotwire unlike most other times. As I already have 2 back-up reservations and am willing to go to about $125 (ncluding taxes/fees) max, I tried bidding up to 85% of Hotwire's $133 4-star price (about $112) without success on PL. So the Westin may be a Hotwire-only offer especially for a one-night stay given how much 4-stars are still going for. Thanks for the info, I'll keep on watching Hw and Pl and see what happens.

Zone is Near Strip East. The ammenities are: Casino Restaurant(s) Pool(s) Fitness Center Spa Services High-speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Business Center If it helps, notice no designation for "suites" (eliminates Alexis, Atrium, etc) and this listing's "casino" designation (eliminates Renaissance). Also, when this 4-star started coming up yesterday at this more reasonable rate (4-stars have been pushing $200+), I tried several Priceline 4-star bids yesterday and today(with the available rebid zones), getting to about $110-115 with no success nor even the usual PL counteroffer. Only other hotel besides Hilton, based on the ammenities, could possibly be the Westin if it were re-zoned on Hotwire but makes no logical sense (Starwood Hotels wouldn;t allow it #1 and #2 this is a prime Sat night of holiday weekend with retail lowest rate of $195). I've seen the Hilton, on its website and on non-opague travel sites, occasionally showing in the $135-140 range with a 2-night+ stay. So hence my idea that the Hilton as being upgraded to 4-star once again. Hope this helps,,,

You can get the rooms for about $60 per night. Simply book on Ballys' website -- www.ballyslv.com -- and fax/email on a price-match request to Harrah's Entertainment (details on Ballys reservation website). Not only will Ballys match the $83 EasyClickTravel (or that of any non-opque travel site), it will give an additional 25% off the matched rate -- in your case $60.75 per niight is what you'd end up with. The only downside is that, when accepted, Ballys will email you a confirmation of the new rate and you must present that confirmation at check-in (i.e. it's not automatically adjusted/refunded in the booking system). Hope this helps. When the non-opaque travel sites mistakenly had a $49 (instead of $149, someone forgot the "1" when providing it to the travel sites' systems), rate for Sun 5/28 (day before Memorial Day...rate is gone already), I took advantage of this to get a $36.50 rate. Rule in Vegas, besides "what happens in Vegas..." is also to look at existing rates and hotel policies as you may have better luck doing it direct. Not always but sometimes.....FYI.

Howdy, just checking in case any of you are looking at Vegas Memorial Day weekend or have any tips on how to get a decent (3* or above UNLV/Conv Ctr PL -- East of Strip on Hw...or 4* or above Strip) hotel around $100/night. My dilemma is that I locked in 3 of 4 nights at unbelieveably cheap published ($39 @ Excalibur Thurs-Fri 25-26th) or price-matched ($36.50, Ballys), leaving the Sat night 27th to be gotten in zones where either a 2-night stay or a non-Sat arrival is required. Even though I have a rental car cheap if needed, I'm trying to avoid hotels that would require one and/or that have shuttles but are isolated (i.e. 3-star west of strip is a n-no given the Artisan's upgrade). Also trying to avoid Circus Circus and Strat at any cost so hence no 3-star Strip on PL. What I have done is lock up a Comfort Inn on Paradise (across from Hard Rock, external room entrance and next to strip club is the negative) for $90 and the Alexis Park Resort for $103/$112 w/taxes (some so=so reviews but on Harmon across from Hard Rock, more ammenities et al). On the latter Hotwire looks to have the Alexis for $120 with a total cost of $138, so the double-your-difference policy would only net $7-8 with the very outside chance that the $120 3-star isn't the Alexis...plus my res is flexible, fully cancellable should I do better (vs prepaid nonrefundable on Hw). The other "X" factor that I need some thoughts on -- and this may be a re-rating by Hotwire -- is a 4-star just started appearing at $133/night. In that zone, unless Westin was pulled off Strip (unlikely as $133 is a bit low for Sat of holiday weekend), it can only be the Hilton (my guess, given Hilton's say-so with Hotwire and Priceline) or Hard Rock Hotel (sold out, much higher weekend rate when available than Hilton). Reason I think this is the ammenities include "casino" feature, which eliminates Renaissance Hotel (available on some non-opaque travel sites but not via Marriott). It isn't Tuscany Suites (casino but has suites) and Atrium Suites (no casino, has suites). But I am thinking that the Hilton, with all its renovations and so forth, convinced Hotwire -- maybe insisted lol-- it should be 4-star from now on (in your ratings, you mention that Hilton used to be a 4-star so it's not that far-fetched an idea). For me, as of now, I'm just going to wait and see if any rates go way down if inventory increases (doubtful for holiday weekend's Saturday) and then use one of my existing reservations in worst-case scenario. If anyone has any ideas from experience or in general, I'd be most appreciative. Eother way, wanted to alert to Hilton being a 4-star possibility for East of Strip. PS Hotwire has started offering hotel-car packages that ID the specific hotel ala air-hotel packages -- looks like slightly less hotel inventory (tried a few dummy dates and car-hotel offerings were about 80% the quanity of air-hotel ones.

I kinda decided enough was enough and deleted my membership on TOBB...because of the snarly, condescending, pompous attitude that caused a couple helpful postings of mine to be deleted (1 without explanation). I say this as someone who's totally succeeded on PL and Hw, almost always formulating a likely winning hotel ahead of my bid and price for hotel/car within $2. Only glitch now is a result of my own stupidity -- booking Vegas for Mem Day weekend and needing a decent rea$onable hotel for just the Sat night (most 3-4-5 star nicer hotels don't allow Sat arrivals and/or 1-night stays) As for TOBB, I was more than happy to post winning bids, strateges and link through TOBB's links but why bother if they're going to cop the attitude back at you -- when you yourself, and you only, formulated the successful and other strategy and you're just sharing it to be helpful to others who are looking for info on/around the same dates. (One time, when I guided a friend who isn't very computerliterate to a successful bid on his 2nd rebid, I posted the unusally low accepted price for a very-tough-to-get-cheap city, and the main person from TOBB responded witha scathing email back to me to the effect of "how dare you not go through our links!") Shame is, now that I'm not a member of TOBB anymore, that means I didn't take the time to post an obvious likely rating upgrade to a Vegas West of Strip hotel (Artisan to 3-star) based on Hotwire and other research -- and someone already got stuck with it instead of Orleans or Gold Coast. Anyhow, glad to be here now. Some great stuff on this website and boards, and great ideas. Plus everyone seems quite a bit more cordial as well.