DrackedaryMaster

Hi All, Was able to finish my lodging last month before going to Alabama for a week a half to join my family. For March, I managed to secure the same hotel (Comfort Suites - Rainbow Springs) during the weekdays (2/26-3/2), (3/4-3/9) and (3/11-16) for the same $71 via PRICELINE EXPRESS and the Priceline Coupon codes from here and the ones they emailed me knocked it down to around $390 total for each 5 night stay, but I didn't report the rest of these after the first one from last month because this is kind of a small town and I'm not sure a lot of folks will be looking to book here if they visit FL for tourist reasons. The problem I was running into is the weekends. I started looking for (3/2-3/4) a couple weeks ago and things looked grim for Ocala and Gainesville where the prices are a lot higher than they normally are. The room I'm staying in right now in Dunnellon that I got for $71 is priced for $188 tomorrow and Saturday so I decided to leave and come back Sunday. It's kind of like that on this side of FL going all the way south along I-75. However, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Daytona seemed to have some decent pricing but I procrastinated until the end to see if I could snag something decent.I was hoping to use the link above with the 5% coupon to find a sweet express deal, but I also tried some bidding that didn't appear to go anywhere. Daytona seemed to have some good deals and I found this one on Hotwire tonight, I don't remember seeing it anywhere in the past two weeks. I was searching in the Daytona Speedway area and the Quality Inn kept popping up as the lowest deal, but I kept searching. Hotwire lists the hotel I won as being in the "Daytona Speedway - Zone", but there's actually another Hampton Inn that's closer to the speedway and the hotel I won is actually in Ormond Beach, but the way Hotwire draws its zone, this place is in the upper left tip of the corner. On Priceline, this hotel is in the Ormond Beach zone. Either way, I thought it was a great win given the rack rate was going around $117. But this won't work next week because the area is supposedly being invaded for bike week, so hopefully Gainesville and Ocala calm down for the 3/9-3/11 weekend. Hampton Inn Daytona / Ormond Beach (Interchange Blvd) $62 per night $124 total + $28.22 taxes/fees = $152.22 Amenities: Free parking, Free breakfast, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Golf nearby 90% Recommended; 4.5+ on TA with 476 Reviews In having a zillion windows open b/w Priceline/Hotwire, I had BB open and clicked the HOTWIRE link when I found this deal; I think it was still open when I made the deal but I had so many windows open trying to verify what this hotel was because the way the zone was drawn up had me a little confused.

So here is Part 2 of Part 3. I wasn't able to extend my Ocala Hilton Stay (1/31-2/9) past the 9th at the same great rate ($66) and they look to be booked this weekend. Not sure if it's due to Daytona events but a lot of Central FL went way up over the weekend. But oddly, Gainesville (where I work) actually went down. This Priceline Express deal was strange. It only shows up when you click the advertised 2.5* 7+ $69 deal (what I think is the Red Roof Plus) and if you look back at the tab a couple deals underneath that appear and say that Priceline can also offer these similar Express deals. Is there a reason why they don't show on the main list? Anyways, it looked like for most of the week that there were some Express Deals for Sleep Inn & Comfort Inn Gainesville, both respectable hotels in the area, but then the Country Inn deal appeared and when I did the math from the previous prices it was clear that it was that hotel. Very happy with this one since it's highly rated and just a few minutes from work. Waiting a day also worked because last night I saw this at $80 and today it fell to $74. The rack rate is $103. Amenities: Free Breakfast, Free Internet (in Room), Free Parking, Indoor Pool, Spa, Non-Smoking, Gym, Handicap Accessible, Business Center $74 per night for 2 nights. Total was $180.98 which considering what the hotels are running in Ocala and the surrounding area, I'll take it. Before I took the Express Deal, I did try bidding for a Gainesville 3 Star at $75 & $80 and thought it had a chance because the 3 star average fell from $145 to $129, but no dice. I was dreaming of getting the Drury Inn which is Gainesville's newest hotel and it's lowest price posted this week, but no luck. Oddly on this one the ratings from Priceline are bogus because Drury has only been open for a few months and was built on top of a former hotel (I think a Motel 6?) and I guess because the addresses are the same the ratings from the former Hotel are showing up for the Drury making it look like it has a 5.5 rating when it is actually 9+. They might want to fix that.

Ok here's an update. I tried a bunch of bidding and came up short, but waited and think I got a better overall deal. Not sure how to change the header since I ended up going with Hotwire for the first part and staying in Ocala instead of Dunnellon. Found this on HOTWIRE. Originally saw it for my entire dates of 1/31-2/16, then it disappeared but reappeared for 1/31-2/9 a couple days ago. 3-Star 95% Recommended 1925+ reviews $66 Free parking, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Tennis nearby I knew this was the Ocala Hilton based on doing some earlier research. That price is simply not beatable when I tried my best to find something in Gainesville and it's a better option than Dunnellon because I can hop right on 75 and be to work in about 35 minutes which is 15 less than where I live. Total for 9 nights + tax/fees = $716.51 I still need to fill out the 9th-16th of February. From what I'm seeing, I should be able to extend at the same rate up until the original checkout date on the 9th, is this correct? If so, I'll probably just extend but wasn't sure if the rate was automatic or not. If not, I was looking at booking Home2Suites in Gainesville for 2/9-2/16. But that would be awesome if I can actually wait until the 8th or 9th to extend after a couple more pay periods. Although there's no free breakfast, before I decided to take the Hotwire deal I actually went down to the Hilton and asked the receptionist at the desk if rooms had mini-fridges and she said all rooms do, but not a microwave. I asked her if it would be a problem if I brought my microwave from home since I'm in the process of moving and she said there wouldn't be a problem, so I can live with that. The hotel has a ton of great ratings and is near lots of food places so I'm very, very happy. After I go to meet my family in Alabama again the week of 2/16-2/27 I'll probably look for this deal again on the 28th and into March since they're telling me the home will probably be finished and able to close around the March 16th. Thanks for your help.

I've tried a few nights to Bid $50, $55, and $60, but no dice. I probably wait a few more days but if I get the same results, I'll up it to $65 and if that doesn't work if the Express Deal is still $74, I'll probably go that route. I had another question but didn't want to complicate the search above. I actually work in Gainesville but commute from Ocala and originally had been searching up there since I wouldn't have the long commute for those couple weeks but the rates are a lot higher and it's too risky to bid in the Gainesville University zone because there are some real 2.5* & even 3* that are really not well reviewed. I did come across a Priceline Express deal searching 2/4/-2/16 for $92 in the Gainesville University zone listed as 9+ that appears to be the Residence Inn. However, when you click on "Choose" for that Express Deal and it goes to the next screen, in the upper right hand corner where there's sometimes a message that says "Nice timing so and so just paid $.... for this same hotel" if you click on the X to close that message, underneath, it shows the Guest Rating as 7+ which is different from what was on the Priceline Express Deals page when we clicked "Choose".. This had me worried that the property might be the Homewood Suites-Gainesville which has gotten a rough reputation lately. Maybe it's always been like that but is that usual for the Express Deal Amenities on the front page to change when you select/open that Express Deal? If it's the Residence Inn, I think I'll pick that deal for those dates because that's a good price. Oddly enough, the rack rate for the Homewood Suites for those dates a few days ago was actually less than this Express Deal and was listed as $83 and now for that same timeframe it's showing as $91. It's the only 3* in the University Zone rated b/w 7-8.

The Priceline Coupon you mentioned, is that code usable for this transaction or am I missing a code? The Express Deal for what I think is the Comfort Suites is only 2.5* and I thought it had to be a 3* to use the code. I did try to do a bid tonight for the full period (1/31-2/16). I started at $50 and was counter-offerred for $83, which is funny considering a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for $74 is listed for the dates. I've read the counter-offer amount is almost always never worth taking but does it mean my $50 was closer to an acceptance amount?

Thanks for the bidding corrections. I tried up to $60 with the above strategy, but no luck, couldn't even get a counter-offer. Because I was still cautious I decided to try just 2 nights first (1/31-2/2) and if things worked out do another one for the rest of the dates. When I look at Dunnellon for 1/31-2/2, the rates listed for the Comfort in and what appears to be a related Priceline Express deal are actually less (I guess since those aren't weekend days?) with $84 on the retail side and $68 in the Express deal. So I'm a little bummed I couldn't get $60, but maybe it's too far out and I'll try again closer to the end of the month? I ran a search for today (1/14-1/15) just to see what the last minute rates look like and they matched the $84/$68 so I guess that's the rock bottom listing for those, but it looks like NYOP might not be that much less. Will let you know when I try again.

Hi all, first post. I hope I am doing this right. I think I read my messages and clicked on the BB's PRICELINE link above for running my search. I have a unique situation where I'm closing on a house that won't be ready until Mid-February while my lease ends at the end of January. I've used PRICELINE EXPRESS before but not the NYOP and was thinking I could get a better deal. Here's the basic info. I live in Ocala and am looking to get something that is well-rated, free breakfast, etc. from 1/31-2/16. That makes 2.5* sufficient. In Particular I'm interested in the Comfort Inn-Rainbow Springs Dunnellon which is highly rated and doing a search for my dates the retail rate listed is $95, while what looks like a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal for it is $75. This is the only 2.5 star in Dunnellon and other then the Dinner Bell Motel (which Priceline rates as 3 star for some reason?) is the only hotel in the zone. The express deal looks like a decent deal but I thought I could do better since my family is staying with relatives in AL until we close and it is just me staying here for work. So I was going to attempt to use the NYOP tool to try to get a better rate. Going to the page it shows 3 star is grayed out, but the only guaranteed amenity showing for the 2.5* is a 9+ guest rating. Before I put in a bid, I just want to confirm that this means the hotel's overall guest rating is guaranteed to be a 9 or higher. The reason I'm worried is I really don't want to get *upgraded* with the Dinner Bell Motel. It's an ok Ma&Pop establishment with good ratings, but doesn't really have the amenities I'm looking for (breakfast, room access indoors, etc). From what I can tell their overall guest rating is only 8 on PL. Is this sufficient to conclude that when I bid in this Dunnellon zone for a 2.5 that the Comfort Inn is the only property being bid on? I see there's a button for a two star in the zone but it lists the same 9+ guest rating leading me to believe anyone clicking it will just end up getting upgraded to the 2.5 since there's really no 2 star in that zone. I've been in Dunnellon and the fact the Comfort Inn is there is kind of strange for a small city of its size. From reviews it doesn't fill up other than summer diving events making me think I can score on NYOP. The other weird thing about bidding are the additional zones lumped in with Dunnellon. They leave out Ocala and Gainesville but add in far away places like Waldo and Brooksville and oddly enough there's several of those zones that don't have anything higher than 2 stars in them which from what I previously read would allow me to rebid. So here's what I was going to do: Bid $40 on Dunnellon 2.5* 9+ If Rejected, Bid $45 and Add Waldo (doesn't have anything higher than 2* in Zone) If Rejected, Bid $50 and Add Bushnell (doesn't have anything higher than 2* in Zone) If Rejected, Bid $55 and Add Wildwood (doesn't have anything higher than 2* in Zone) If Rejected, close the Browser, Bid $60 and choose Dunnellon 2.5 9+ and Bushnell If I get rejected at $60, stop and wait it out until get closer to 1/31 to see if the Hotel is still pretty much empty and try again? Is this a decent strategy? Am I doing this right?