SinatraFan

Offer Price: avg. per room, per night US$100.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: US$300.00 Taxes & Fees: US$30.03 Total Charged to Card: US$330.03 Bid in March. Started with 80, next with 90, then hit at 100. Great room, crap location.

Offer Price: avg. per room, per night US$127.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 4 Room Subtotal: US$508.00 Taxes & Fees: US$55.20 Total Charged to Card: US$563.20 I think this is a new hotel for the list. Bid in late March. Probably could have gotten it lower but it surprised me & took my first offer. Absolutely deserves all 5 stars. Normal rate for the cheapest room is $285 U.S./night.

I needed four nights in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and Priceline was being recalcitrant. I bid for a 3 star which gave me two rebid areas and over three days I worked up to $49 without success. I split the bid into July 16 & 17 and July 18 & 19. I got a hit for the last two nights at the Hyatt Place (which was what I wanted all along). I thought I would be able to get this cheaper, but now that I've been there it was well worth it. Used the BB PRICELINE link, of course. Congratulations, your price of $47 was accepted by Hyatt Place Fort Worth/Hurst. 3 Star Hurst - Euless - Bedford 1601 Hurst Town Center Dr Hurst, Texas 76054

I needed four nights in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and Priceline was being recalcitrant. I bid for a 3 star which gave me two rebid areas and over three days I worked up to $49 without success. I split the bid into July 16 & 17 and July 18 & 19. I got a hit for the first two nights at the Marriott Courtyard: Used the BB PRICELINE link, of course. Congratulations, your price of $43 was accepted by Courtyard By Marriott Dallas Dfw Airport W/Bedford. 3 Star Hurst - Euless - Bedford 2201 Airport Freeway Bedford, Texas 76021-5842 P.S. This is a new hotel for the list at Dallas Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

I liked Marriott Courtyard the first time. Now, many years later, they all look exactly alike and what is there to say? If you like them, you will like this one. The difference between this and others I have been to is that this has free wireless internet access and, in a sort of afterthought fashion, a mini fridge. I say afterthought because it was just plopped on the floor awkwardly, by the side of the sofa. Anyway, the staff was nice and the hotel is right by the highway. There are a few restaurants and fast food places more or less within walking distance. And, as usual, no free breakfast. Guess it's good for sleeping because I find them so boring these days, but there's better 3 stars out there.

I wanted this hotel for a 4 night stay but had to split my bid and only managed to get two nights here. When I checked in I got a little tour of the facilities - all what you would expect, breakfast room, exercise room and so on. But no other hotel ever did that when I checked in, and even though I was there on a Priceline bid, they gave me my choice of rooms/floor and very agreeably changed it when the first one had a faint smell of cigarettes (it is a non-smoking hotel). Staying here after two nights at Marriott Courtyard really made me appreciate this place. The building used to be an Amerisuites - I was told during my check-in tour - and had been entirely redone in Hyatt style. The room was huge, essentially a suite with a bedroom area and a work/living room area. Everything was done in an elegant, tasteful style. The television was a glorious 42' high hefinition flat screen with a lot of cable channels in HD. Rooms have a fridge (integrated into the decor, not dropped on the floor like the Courtyard) but no microwave (there is one in the breakfast room). There is no restaurant but food is available 24 hours a day from the breakfast area. Continental breakfast is free, even for Priceline guests, but you can order something off the 24 hour menu for a small price. The only disappointment was that the rack rate on weekends is only about $80. A great deal even without Priceline. If Courtyards are 3*, this should be 3.5. Highly recommended.

Priceline has released their "Hotel Negotiator" application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app has gotten a low rating on the Apple store, but judging from the written comments a lot of people reviewing it are not familiar with regular Priceline and the strategies we use to get the best deal. There is a lot to like about the new app: it is very easy to navigate and enter information. It is clear and simple and allows both negotiating a price and using a list of available non-opaque hotels. It is free. Although technically you can use the app for things other than hotels (cars, flights and so on), those choices merely transfer you to the standard Priceline webpage (not the mobile site). Some people complained about this, but Priceline specifically calls this app the "Hotel Negotiator" and that is where they have put the effort. The interface is different from what veteran Priceliners are used to, more streamlined. But this streamlining also deprives us of the important tools necessary for smart bidding. The app starts with a cheesy opening screen of Shatner breaking through a wall and the words "Priceline Negotiator" sung just as in the TV commercial. Then you enter the name of the city and it takes you to a screen listing the areas in that city. In each area it shows winning bids for some star levels. Find the area you want (there is a map symbol next to each area's name so you can see where it is) and touch the winning bid for the star level you want. The next screen allows you to enter the dates you want and set a bid. Unfortunately, there are several big limitations for Priceline-savvy bidders: - It does not show all the star levels in each area. Some areas show only a single winning bid, for, say, a 3 star hotel. There is no way in the app to change the star level - you can only bid at the star levels they give you for your area. - There is no way in the app to see what the highest star level is for a given area, or if there are areas that are not being listed. - There is no way to bid on multiple areas at the same time and no way to tell how old are the "winning bids" that they show you. - you must use a slider to choose your price - you cannot type it in. The slider limits how high and how low you can bid (although in fairness it seems to give enough leeway for any bidder). Not very promising for those in-the-know. But it probably works well for Priceline newbies - making the process much simpler and clearer. And the winning bids are not unrealistically high trap type bids, they are about right. So the average user can choose his area and star level and bid according to the previous win he is shown. So what happens if your bid is rejected? Can you change something and rebid? Yes, because at that point the app exits and starts the standard (not mobile) Priceline website with the page we are all familiar with, listing all the areas and star levels and obviously here you can change whatever you want. So all in all you may as well go straight to the main Priceline site and start there. Or, I should say, use the BetterBidding link to go straight to the Priceline website.

Renovations are complete and this is a tasty treat for travellers. The lobby is well appointed and has free wifi and internet access (you'll need to pay extra to use wifi in the room), fresh cookies at the front desk, a bar, a restaurant and several conference rooms. There's an indoor pool, an outdoor pool and a workout room. Although the hotel itself is inside an office park and a little hard to find, it is very close to shopping (Woodfield Mall), restaurants, and the expressway into downtown Chicago. The staff was friendly - at the end of the day they insisted that I take all the remaining cookies :) - and the rooms are very comfy. By 'suite' they really mean a large single room divided in two by glass doors, but that's okay. There is a flat screen TV in both rooms and plenty of premium channels, including one all-Japanese channel. The front desk said all rooms have a fridge and a microwave even though the website says 'microwave available upon request'. These are housed in a dark wood cabinet with an elegant granite top. Everything was clean and slick. At a rack rate of at least $120, the Priceline winning bid of $35 is a great bargain.

I certainly wasted a lot of time working out a strategy for this area. I expected to end up paying about $33 for a 2 star for one night, but started bidding for a 3* at $35 and hit right away. Used the BB PRICELINE link. Sheraton Suites Elk Grove 3 Star Arlington Heights 121 Northwest Point Boulevard Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007 Check-In Date: Fri, Aug 14, 2009 Check-Out Date: Sat, Aug 15, 2009

I think this may be a new hotel for the Louisville Airport area list. I tried $44 first, then added a rebid and hit. Was using a computer in the library and realized I could go to betterbidding and get the PRICELINE link for bidding, so I used that for my bid and win. Very nice hotel, in a sort of Churchill Downs style (though nowhere near CD itself, in fact a little out of the way but near the expressway so you can get around). Congratulations, your price of $46 was accepted by Holiday Inn Louisville-I-264-Apt Area E. Holiday Inn Louisville-I-264-Apt Area E 3 Star Louisville Airport Area (SDF) 4004 Gardener Point Drive Louisville, Kentucky 40213

It finally dawned on me that even though I was using a public computer to make my bids, I could go to betterbidding and get the PRICELINE link. So I made this through the BB link. "Suites" is a rather grand term for the rooms but it was on okay place. Congratulations, your price of $45 was accepted by Best Western Knoxville Suites. Best Western Knoxville Suites 5317 Pratt Road Knoxville, Tennessee 37912

This seems to be the hotel everyone gets at 3 stars in Winston-Salem North. Beautiful room, swimming pool, really nice staff, free plentiful parking and free in-room wifi. It is on the outskirts of the town but there's plenty of shopping and food a few minutes drive away. I look forward to going back.

This seems to be the hotel everybody gets at Winston Salem North, and it is very very nice. Didn't spend much time trying to get a better deal because I was on a public computer, $50 was my first bid. Congratulations, your price of $50 was accepted by Holiday Inn Select Winston-Salem-Univ North Winston Salem 5790 University Parkway Winston Salem, North Carolina 27105 Check-In Date: Tue, Jun 16, 2009 Check-Out Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009

I bid quickly, think I got this on the first try. Sorry to say I failed to use the BB PRICELINE link. Congratulations, your price of $41 was accepted by Holiday Inn Express Charleston Civic Center. Charleston Civic Center 2 Star 100 Civic Center Dr Charleston, West Virginia 25301 Check-In Date: Mon, Jun 15, 2009 Check-Out Date: Tue, Jun 16, 2009

This is a bare bones kind of hotel, obviously converted from some previous cheap hotel. The ceiling in the hall is so low I could reach up and touch it! It was all clean but clearly old. Staff was friendly and the check-in was the fastest I have ever encountered - no more than 20 seconds. Surprisingly, free wi-fi was available in the room. The hotel was easy to find, close to a big mall and near to several dining options. Free parking and free breakfast too. A good place if you overlook the aesthetics.

This is located in a very dodgy neighborhood. You have to use their underground parking lot, and the parking rates are so complicated that no one at the front desk can explain it - and then they try to sell you a $15 per day in-and-out pass. The room is your standard modern business class room, and the hotel's amenities are what you would expect for a conference center. But you won't be taking leisurely strolls outside - the closest "restaurant" is a McDonalds, everything else is a very depressed area. In summary, this hotel is fine if you do nothing but eat, sleep, and work within it.

Had to bid quickly on a public computer, forgot to use the BB PRICELINE link. Got this on the first or second try. I guess I should be happy to get a $200 room for $51 but see my hotel review. Generally, I recommend not bidding on this area for Cincinnati.

Can't say I noticed whether this area existed before, but everything is so spread out that it's hard to see how this could have been part of another area earlier. You'll only find wheat fields and some light industry around - hardly even a restaurant in sight.

First tried $43 for a 3 star in Libertyville. Then went to 2.5 stars for the same price. Finally dropped to 2 stars and lowered the bid by a buck and hit Candlewood Suites. The two star level for this area was rated "best deal" so I was almost positive it would be Candlewood. I bet I can get it even cheaper next time, but I've stayed before at this same hotel for rack rate ($89) and was more than happy, so $42 sounds good to me! Used the BB PRICELINE link as well. I believe this not just a new hotel for your list, but a new area: Libertyville - Mundelein in Illinois. Candlewood Suites Libertyville 1100 North Us Route 45 Libertyville, IL 60048 847 247-9900 Check-In: Thursday, February 12, 2009-03:00 PM Check-Out: Friday, February 13, 2009-12:00 PM Room Cost: $42.00 (USD) Room Subtotal: $42.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $12.39 (USD) Total Room Cost: $54.39 (USD)

First tried $44 for a 3 star in Waukegan. Rejected, but PL offered a rebid for $12 more. Instead I added the only area that went just to 2.5 stars and added $4 to my bid and hit. Rate on the Marriott site for that night was $139. Not too shabby. Used the BB PRICELINE link as well! (Note that this is not Courtyard by Marriott which is already on your list, it's new). Residence Inn Chicago Waukegan/Gurnee 3 Star Waukegan - Lake Bluff 1440 South White Oak Drive Waukegan, Illinois 60085 Check-In Date: Thu, Jan 22, 2009 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, Jan 23, 2009 / 12:00 PM

Looking forward to this hotel - it is exactly what I wanted, especially since I will be arriving by train. Won on the first bid. Congratulations, your price of $55 was accepted by Hyatt Regency Saint Louis. Hyatt Regency Saint Louis 4-star Downtown St. Louis One St Louis Union Station Saint Louis, Missouri 63103 Check-In Date: Sun, Jun 22, 2008 Check-Out Date: Wed, Jun 25, 2008

Here's a new hotel for Springfield in your list. I wanted two rooms for three nights, preferably downtown. The current Springfield areas are strange - a huge area, Springfield main, and a tiny "Springfield Southeast". I bid $46 on a 3* in Springfield and was rejected. Used South as a rebid and hit on my next try, $51. This hotel is fairly far from downtown - it looks like it is in a hotel district with a bunch of others just off I55. But at $100 off the rack rate, I can live with that. :) Congratulations, your price of $51 was accepted by Crowne Plaza Springfield. Crowne Plaza Springfield 3-star Springfield 3000 South Dirksen Parkway Springfield, Illinois 62703 Check-In Date: Thu, Jun 19, 2008 Check-Out Date: Sun, Jun 22, 2008

Got a little sloppy trying to get a hotel in Pewaukee (yes, Pewaukee - it's near Milwaukee ) and my first bid of $40 for a three star was rejected. I then should have added Milwaukee Northwest, which only went to 2.5 stars, but instead I added Milwaukee North and accidentally won the Radisson there - 26 miles away from where I wanted. But two things cheered me up - first, as I was checking in, someone walked up with no reservation and asked if they had a room for the night. The desk clerk said the rack rate was $119 but he could give it to him for $99. The guy took it and was happy, and I went to my room chuckling that I paid half of what he did. Then the next morning they left me a USA Today and there's a huge article on Priceline, with Betterbidding mentioned a few times and TOBB only mentioned as "BetterBidding's older competitor". Nice! :)

I won this 10 days before the weekend of the NFL conference championship games. The Cowboys were strongly favored to be playing for the NFC championship in that game at home. This set off a warning bell - $50 for a 3 star on a championship game weekend in football-crazy Dallas? I checked the reviews on TripAdvisor and they were very mixed so I was a little worried. As I have found often with Sheraton, my Priceline room was by the elevators. You can hear them starting up and moving - that doesn't bother me, but your mileage may vary. Everything else was excellent. This hotel used to be a Wyndham and is still undergoing serious renovation, but my room - and the whole floor - was finished and in great shape. Herman Miller office chair, cordless telephone, all kinds of internet access, Starbucks coffee in the room, plentiful soft towels and a very comfortable bed. The staff at the front desk were pleasant and helpful, and there is a free shuttle to the airport. The soda machine was $1.00 for a 20 oz. coke - cheaper than 7-11, and $1.50 less than the (take-out only) Pizza Hut in the lobby. There is a restaurant in the lobby and a breakfast room (breakfast not included so I can't comment on it). If you're attending a Rangers game, the stadium is close enough to spit on. And the new Cowboys stadium is being built right next to it. And Six Flags and a water park are within walking distance, and the Convention Center is right next door, and several restaurants are in the area. Parking is free. So I really can only complain about one thing: the Cowboys blew it the previous week so there was no game in Dallas that weekend.

Lots of rebid possibilities for a 3* in the Dallas area. My ceiling was $50, so I started at $40 and went up $2 at a time and hit at exactly 50. I was expecting the Hilton so the Sheraton was a bit of a surprise, but it's still in a good location for me and quite a bit off the $119 rate on their website, so there you are. Bid through SavingsBarn, as usual.