My dates were flexible so I tried to bid for a 5* at first over a range of date combinations. I had no luck here.
The only 5* zone is the Elysees so you have free rebid zones for the rest of the areas so I used those first. Got up to $130 with no luck.
I then tried a 4 star. I was only willing to stay in three zones here (Opera Quarter East, St Germain and Elysees). So I had three zones to bid on. I tried to bid seperately on each area with no luck. I then added in the St. Germain zone to the Opera Quarter East Zone and was counter offered at $146 for a hotel there. Based on this board I knew that the Hotel was likely to be the Marriott Rive Guache.
I then took out the St Germain zone and added the Opera Quarter west and was counter offered a hotel at $136. This I figured was likely to be the le meriden.
So I knew that I there was availability around my dates.
As my dates were flexible I took a day off at the end of the trip and went to rebid (keeping in mind my previous counter offers) and got offered this hotel at $125 which I am fairly happy about. I think you could get the Marriott for about $130 though.
I am not sure that posting my complete strategy would be of assistance given my various date changes but as thereuare has suggested feel free to post a new thread and we can all chip in to assist you. Be sure to follow the PRICELINE links to support the site though.
2 rooms booked at this price.
$125 was accepted although originally offered $136 when following a bidding strategy.
PRICELINE links followed to support the site.
again trying for milan
4 star bid for 130 got another counter off for 22. didnt take it
used all the PRICELINE links
Oops. Sorry. It is meant to be 9/18/09-9/20/09. Sorry for the confusion. Could a mod update the thread title so as to not confuse others.
Will update the thread if I get a win following the PRICELINE links of course.
Hotels seem to be quite expensive for this weekend.
I have offered up to $165 for a 5*.
I have offered 100 and then 125 for 4*. A counter offer for $22 extra was offered on the $125 bid. Given that there seems to be inventory on Hotwire (it appears to be the Hilton) and I have a little time I will come back tomorrow and try to increase the bid slowly but surely to net the win.
Will keep the post updated.
Followed the PRICELINE links to support the site.
Are you prepared to go down a level? I have previously stayed in the 3.5 star Courtyard Marriott and it was a fantastic property with good transport links and it only cost $55 per night :) so maybe you could consider whether that property is something to aim for?
That is a fantastic win for that property. I am sure you will enjoy your stay. I am not sure if I have seen it that low.
Being Australian (although not living there at the moment) I am not surprised that Adelaide does not have a hotel in the program - not much to do there unless you go to the wineries but I do know some people who love it so have fun :)
Hi Tiki. I would not give up just yet. There is plenty of time to go yet. I generally agree with thereuare's advice to start early and low ball as much as you can. Given the timeframes involved I do not think you should overbid just yet in an effort to lock away something. Given the general economic climate, I really cannot see rates rising to fast in the near future and so in a month or so you may see more inventory released.
Coming from Oz to Europe is a big thing (I know first hand) and ideally you have your accomodation squirrelled away as a early as possible but give it some time and be patient. I have found Priceline quite good for Germany. I once got the Berlin Courtyard (rated at 3.5 stars) for $55 US a night which for the quality of the hotel and its location was a steal. I know the collapse of the OZ $ would not be helping your bidding at the moment in terms of your maximum price but hang in there a little longer!
got the marriot in copenhagen for $90 US.
used the PRICELINE links.
Just got the Sheraton in Brussels for $60 a night for my selected dates.
I used the PRICELINE links.
Hi CalifJ.
You are looking to come to London during the peak Summer period and so rates may tend to be a little higher. Regular users of the Board post wins in London on a number of occassions and there are plenty of Priceline options in London. There is a general crisis within the economy at the moment so this might supress hotel rates a little further.
I always like to get started on bidding as soon as possible and as it is summer I would suggest you do so.
Please share your wins/bids with the Board and follow the PRICELINE links to help keep the site going!
Good luck.
Counter offered for $17 extra on the 4* when I bid $58. I shall come back to it on Monday.
Followed the PRICELINE link.
Bid $80 and counter offered for $22 extra. Declined and will go back tomorrow. The $22 increase would have taken the bid to $102 which based on simath's helpful post is slightly over the odds :)
I continued to support the site and followed the PRICELINE link.
Just an update.
I tried again for the 5* at 65 and 68 with no luck.
I tried the 4* for 56 and no luck.
Will continue to follow the PRICELINE link when I retry tomorrow.
Hi Simath - I am not sure if there is a PRICELINE link for the British version of Priceline - thereuare - may be able to assist on that front. What I find myself doing now for US website purchases is using my prepaid US dollar card. Its handy for when I travel to the US (and avoids commissions) and is handy for when I want to use it on US sites and as such I can continue to support the site and use the PRICELINE links.
Thanks for the update though - it is really handy - i know what i am looking at now.
Following the PRICELINE links I started off with the following:
5* Brussels Centre $55
added Airport (which has no 5*) and went to $60
Both bids rejected (as expected).
Hotwire is showing the Sheraton for $64 a night so I decided to try a 4* for $50.
So I logged out and followed the link again.
I tried for a 4* at $52 which was declined.
Given the HOTWIRE pricing I am pretty relaxed about this so I will increment up and continue to follow the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to support the board.
I will be bidding for a few European Hotels over the coming weeks so I thought I would share my experience with the Board. First up is Copenhagen.
Following the PRICELINE links and confirming that there is now only one zone for Copenhagen (the Airport is greyed out), I decided to bid only for a 4*. My initial bid was a little low at $70. I was counter offered an amount of $106 a night. Whilst reasonable I think I can do better with a little patience (one bid per 24 hours) and so I declined to accept.
I shall update the thread as I go in the hope that it assists someone.
Congrats on your win. I had also tried for Stuttgart for weeks and had no luck. I ended up going with Expedia instead. Well done. I hope you enjoy Stuttgart.
Tried for $75 tonight. No luck. I spotted a good deal on Expedia.co.uk that I think I might pick up if I have no luck tomorrow.
I would have liked to have been the first to add a new hotel for the Stuttgart area to the Board but will keep trying.
Just to update the thread I tried for a rebid of 4* for $60 tonight. No luck. I will keep you informed as to how I go but I do like the look of the Le Meriden. If anyone sees a decent price on it let me know. Happy to book through a supporter of the site if it is a decent price.
I have stayed at the Cosmopolitan Hotel previously. The rooms are a little small (they tend to be generally in Hong Kong) and it is a 10-15 minute walk to the metro but as a whole it was a decent hotel. Very close to Happy Valley race track for a nice night at the races. It is not in Kowloon (rather Hong Kong Island) but it may be worth considering if you have no luck on priceline. In my last bidding experience using Priceline for Hong Kong (I got the Cosmopolitan) I found it difficult to get any decent prices there but this may have changed.
Good luck. Hong Kong is a great city. One my favourites.
Hi WillTravel. Yes I am going to the Xmas markets. I will give PRICELINE a go for a solid week and if that fails try another site to book a backup.
Cheers thereuare. The Le Meriden would do rather nicely. I think the Movenpick which you mention is the Airport Hotel which would be rather bad for us. I will try to avoid splitting as we are only there for a weekend. Thanks for the suggestion though. There seem to three zones for Stuttgart. Central, Airport and a third which I have no idea about where it is!
4* Copenhagen Marriott
in Priceline Hotels - Other Countries
Posted
Copenhagen is a lovely city. The Hotel is slightly out of the way but is a lovely property. Copenhagen is such a lovely city to walk around so I am sure you will enjoy it!