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Needed a place to lay my head for a night in Hamburg and didn't want to pay for a 5*, but would have preferred to avoid a cramped 2*. Decided to roll the dice on Priceline hoping for a nice hotel but limited myself to bidding up to a maximum of the going rate for an acceptable 2-3* (about 75 USD). There is only one zone for Hamburg, and it is HUGE. Still, I figured I had a decent chance of getting near the center if I stayed in the 4-5* categories. Started the bidding at $55 for a 5*, got refused, then added 4* and bumped to $60, also refused. Added 3*, bumped to $65 with the knowledge that that would be my last bid before I resigned myself to a 2*, and got a room at the Leonardo Stillhorn. Appears to be a former Le Meridien south of the city, with an S-Bahn station about 3 KMs away. It's near the outer reaches of the bidding zone. I am well aware that I could have bid more strategically, but since my plans were so flexible, I really didn't care too much and as I have achieved my goal of saving a few bucks vs a 2*, I'm happy. It's not the bargain of the century, but it will do and I hope the info is of some use to the board.

Bid on behalf of a friend who needed a room downtown. Was expecting the Hilton or Sheraton but was pleasantly surprised to get the King Edward on the first try. Works out very well for him since he will be attending a festival in the docklands.

I've stayed at the now-Grand Hyatt in Denver a number of times, both pre- and post-renovation. In my mind the hotel doesn't rate a 4* mantle, but then again PL and I don't often see hotels in the same light. The on-site restaurant is nothing special, the public spaces are small but cozy, and the rooms are nice but not really luxurious. I believe the addition of the "Grand" prefix was due more to prevent confusion between the existing downtown property and the new Convention Center property.

Have we seen the last of the sub-$40 *3 hotel in Downtown Toronto? I've been targeting the Courtyard for three separate stays I need to book in the Downtown zone over the next two months - none of them have nibbled at less than $50... I know the sample size is small, but I'm afraid the Marriott has come to their senses and valued their property less generously with regard to the Priceline channel. This was my third attempt to get this hotel... the previous two attempts saw me give up at $48 hoping the hotel would drop their acceptance levels closer to my date. I told myself at 7 days out I would go for broke and bid away until I got either the Marriott or the Hilton/Sheraton out of the *4 inventory. Bid $38, $40, $48 before hitting on $50. Desperately hoping I am wrong on this...

Mmmmmmm...... donairs with extra sauce.... - Jeff, (Toronto-born, Halifax-raised)

Just a small point - I am at this property now and parking is $10 (self) or $18 (valet). I have also heard you can park at the Wyndham for free with no hassle if you don't mind a 500 ft walk.

Snagged it on the first try. Not much else to say.

Opened low at $42, the historical low for this property, expecting to be goaded into the $49 range since I was only a week out. PL counteroffered with $54, I added the Henrietta zone and raised to $43. After a loooong wait, it was accepted. Rochester is a great area for Hyatt FFN credits due to the Hyatt being the only *4 in the Downtown zone.

Well, having come late to the Hyatt FFN game, I am dead set on collecting as many FFN credits as possible during this campaign, in order to acheive some big travel goals of mine (stay at the PH Tokyo, Place Vendome, etc. etc.) Seeing as I am on a budget (tough times in my industry) and pretty mobile (it's the airline industry), I think gaining credits on Priceline stays is the way to go. However, while the nightly rates on Priceline may be tempting, it doesn't really help when you end up at the Marriott for the night, as happened to me today on what I *thought* was a guaranteed Hyatt bid in Anaheim for later this month. So, is anybody chasing the same holy grail I am? Maximum FFN w/ minimum dough using PL? If so, what are your strategies and where have you found your "safest" Hyatts; i.e. which cities/zones most reliably cough up a Hyatt at a given star/price level? Anywhere in the US is fine... cities with multiple Priceline-able Hyatts would be really preferred. I think my next area of attack will be Chicagoland - looks like the Hyatt Woodfield and Hyatt Oak Brook are pretty reliable PLs in the $30 range and I could potentially do three stays in a weekend - fly in and check in and stay at Hyatt A on Fri, check in and stay at Hyatt B on Saturday, and check in, charge a quick incidental and fly home on Sunday. Thoughts? I am crazy? Am I throwing my money away here? Any help is appreciated.

Was really hoping for the Hyatt as I am working on the FFN promo, but I guess you win some, you lose some. Anyhow, I bid for this on Priceline Hong Kong, for $310 HKD... xe.com quotes this amount as $39.85 USD; oanda.com says it is equal to $39.19 USD. I thought I would have been safe as I have never seen anything but the Hyatt go for less than $40 in the Disneyland zone. I had been previously rejected at $275 HKD ($35 USD and change) and $300 HKD ($38.50 or so USD).

Pretty standard rate for this hotel. Girlfriend wanted to be near Fashion Island. Used three free re-bids. Started at $60, then $65, then $69 before getting it at $72.

Had heard some reports of this property going for as little as $27 a month out, so decided to try my luck, but got no love at that price level. Ended up bumping to the more easily-acheived $32. Not bad, considering Starwood.com wants $89 for this non-descript property with only two types of rooms. SPG Plat 2005 is an impossibility for me, no upgrade possibility to speak of at this property, so why pay more?

Oh, and thanks for the welcome. This site has been invaluable to me.

I should add that with Priceline HK's current promotion, I was able to use bonus money to shave $500 HKD of the total of $1250 HKD on this booking, bringing my 4-day tax and fee-inclusive total to about $99 USD. I'm very very happy with this booking.

Hi, Since I'm Canadian, Priceline USA doesn't want my money :) so I have gotten used to using Priceline Hong Kong, which usually offers the same price as PL USA and has been offering some cool promos of late. Anyway, I was looking for the LAX Hilton at around $34, so I initially bid $260 HKD ($33.50 USD) for a 3* in the airport zone, which was rejected, then I added the Beverly Hills zone and upped my bid to $266 HKD ($34.26 USD) which was accepted.