tufty2000

I just wanted to report a successful bid on HOTWIRE. I got the Courtyard-Lloyd Center for $51 a night from Aug 30 to Sep. 2. I used the Betterbiding HOTWIRE link.

I'm curious -- did you take it? If so what was it?

I see some other requests for May bidding advice in New Orleans, but have a couple of questions I don't think were asked. I've been trying to Priceline a hotel in the French Quarter for May 18-20. All my bids have been through the Betterbidding.com link. I started with 4* in the French Qtr, going from $100 to $120 and getting shot down. I tried 3.5 stars at $100 in the French Qtr without success. I'd like to stay at 3.5 stars or above, and to not pay more than $120 if possible. I'd prefer to stay in or as close as possible to the French Quarter but realize that I may have to go to another zone to keep the price reasonable. Does anyone have recommendations about: 1. What a 3.5 star in the FQ is likely to run. 2. If I expand to other zones, if I'm better off adding the downtown area or the convention center first (in terms of accessibility to FQ and quality of hotels), and where I should start my bidding those zones. Thanks.

My mother is going on a trip and isn't familiar with Priceline. I was going to bid for her. Is it a problem to bid on a hotel for someone else through Priceline (my concern is that they'll have the room in my name and she won't be able to use it)?

Yes, we'll be there June 9-12. Go Blue.

My wife and I will be in Paris in a couple of months for 3 days. We'd like to get a hotel on Priceline. I've been to Paris once before, but that 12 years ago and I've forgotten the lay of the land. There are a number of Priceline zones, and unlike cities I'm more familiar with (Chicago, New York) I don't have a great sense how far things are from each other. My basic goal is to get a nice hotel -- hopefully 4* for $150-200. I don't need to be right in the middle of things (though I'm not sure exactly where right in the middle would be in Paris), and sort of enjoy seeing parts of a city where people actually work or live as opposed to just where the museums and other attractions are. That said, I would also like to be no more than 1/2 hour or so by metro from the major attractions, and wondered if there are any zones to be avoided based on accessibility to the city center or for other reasons. Here are the zones: 1) Opera quarter east - Les Halles 2) Champs Elysses - Opera Qtr West 3) Eiffel Tower Qtr- Genelle 4) St. Germain - Latin Qtr 5) Batignolles - montmarte 6) Bastille - Bercy 7) La Defense - Neuilly When I bid I will used the betterbidding link. Thanks.

I got the Sheraton Hotel and Suites for $80.00 from March 18-22. I think that I might gotten a better price starting lower, but the hotel website price is $130 so I think this is a pretty good deal and it was the hotel I wanted. I used the Betterbidding link.

Would you not recommend the SOMA/Moscone Center area as an add on? Thanks. I have been turned down in USE, USW, and Embacadero at for 4 star at up to $135. I'll try adding SOMA

We're going from 10/3 to 10/10. I'm willing to split my stay. I'd like to spend no more than $130 a night.

I have only been to San Francisco once before about 13 years ago. My wife and I going on vacation, and plan do some things in the city and some in the surrounding area. Given that, I think I'm pretty flexible as to zones, and they seem pretty close to one another based on the priceline map. Given that, does anyone have advice as to which zones to prioritize based on the area. I was thinking of including Union Sq. East and West, Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf, and I wasn't sure which zones to include first.

Well, after days of bidding and failing, I finally got a hotel in Charleston -- the Renaissance Charleston for $165 a night in the downtown/historic district. That's a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it's about $120 less than they quoted on their website. I wanted to be downtown, and the Renaissance is a 4 star according to PRICELINE so I think it's a decent deal.

I've been bidding higher and higher amounts over several days (and adding zones) for a 3* and above room for Charleston for the weekend of 5/17-5/19. I've bid from $90 to $145, and now include downtown, Ashley River and Isle of Palms as acceptable zones. I keep getting shot down. It must be a popular weekend (I believe they are having the maritime festival). Any idea what it would take to get a room? I'm thinking of going down to 2.5 stars although I really like having a workout facility. Thanks.

I've always assumed that PRICELINE would undercut HOTWIRE somewhat since Hotwire presents a price and says take it or leave it (I've basically taken the Hotwire price and bid $30-40 less on Priceline). I'm wondering if that's changed. I'm looking for a hotel in the Savannah historic district (I'm editing this now that I realize I'm in the wrong forum, South Carolina not Georgia). There's a 3 star on Hotwire for $159.00. I got shot down on Priceline at 130, 140, and now 150.00. I'll pay the $159, but I'm wondering if the prices offered on Priceline and Hotwire have gotten closer in amounts, or if they just have different hotels in their systems.

We ended up staying at Port Orleans Riverside on Disney Property for $140.00 a night after a AAA discount. I think it was basically a good decision, although I missed having a workout facility. The hotel was fine, and the Disney transportation was a big convenience.

I see most of the posts on this board are about already winning bids, but mine is a pre-bidding question. I'm going to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, and hoping that my Wolverines prove they belonged in Glendale. I'm hoping for a 4 star, if possible, since I would like a good fitness center, a bar/restaurant and hopefully WIFI (I know that's not guaranteed in 4 stay), and I would also like to be within reasonable driving distance of Pasadena (30-45 minutes is fine). Beyond that, I'm just looking for a good deal. Any recommendations about whether to bid in Beverly Hills, downtown, Santa Monica/Marina Del Rey or even the airport (it's never occurred to me to want to stay by an airport but I see a number of people on this board have done that) in terms of location and price would be appreciated. The greatest concentrations of hotels appear to be in downtown, Beverly Hills and the airport, and so I would assume that there would a greater chance of a successful bid there. Any advice about what zones and how much to bid (given it's around New Year's) would be greatly appreciated.

For a trip to Orlando, my wife has heard that a lot of the events at Disney are more accessible if you stay "in the Kingdom" (in other words, on Disney grounds). There's a "Disney World - Kissimmee" zone on Priceline but I can't tell if it's only hotels on Disney grounds or not. I wondered if anyone had gotten a hotel at Disney using priceline?

I got the Hyatt (4*) for $110 -- thanks for all the help.

Thanks. I'll try that.

I tried again at $100.00 and $105. I added Coquitlam-Burnaby as a zone. Still no luck. The other zones appear to be far from downtown, though I'm not familiar with Vancouver.

I tried a couple of times (adding a zone the second), and got turned down. I don't want to be too far from downtown. Am I okay in adding zones that don't include the airport (since I assume there aren't 4 star hotels in the outskirts) or is that a risk? Thanks.

My wife and I are going to stay in Vancouver for two days following a cruise, on August 26 to August 28. I checked hotwire, and there's a 4-star in Vancouver West for $151, a 3-star in the entertainment district for $125 and a 4-star in the entertainment district for $172. I would like to stay near downtown (I've never been to Vancouver so I don't know how easy getting around is). Priceline has an area called "Vancouver", and then some other neighborhoods where it looks like you could end up quite away from downtown. Any advice on what to bid on priceline? I'd like to pay $125 or less, and wondered if getting a 4-star is realistic. By the way, this is my first time on this forum and I love the moderator's block M. Go blue.