Attending a conference at the Dallas Crowne Plaza Downtown. Priceline has it as a 3-star hotel. It's the only 3-star hotel that anyone on this board (to the best of my knowledge) has won, and I think I remember that several people have gotten it in the $50 range. I thought if I bid for 3-stars in Downtown Dallas it would be the only hotel I would get, and that's good because it's where the conference is. Well, maybe they usually have rooms set aside for Priceline, but evidently they don't for the dates I wanted. Probably because of the conference I'm attending.
As per above I previously tried for this hotel and stopped at $77/night with no win. I was reminded that I was more than 2 months out so I might think about trying again closer to the dates of my travel. So today I tried.
1. $59 for 3* in Downtown --> Priceline counter-offer of $79. I rejected it.
2. $65 for 3* in Dallas West Pinnacle (no hotels above 2.5*) --> FAIL
3. $69 for 3* in Carrollton (no hotels above 2.5* --> FAIL
4. $72 for 3* in Garland (no hotels above 2.5*) --> WIN
BUT...It's not the Crowne Plaza. It's the Sheraton, which is a 3.5* property. It's a 15 minute walk to the Conference. Oh well. I saved a few bucks, and my body-fat isn't going anywhere unless I walk more, so maybe it's a good thing.
Offer Price: $72.00
Rooms: 1
Nights: 3
Room Subtotal: $216.00
Taxes & Fees: $39.87
Total Charged to Card: $255.87
Used the PRICELINE link.
Sorry for being slow to reply. The conference rate was about $90/night + tax. I can't be sure how big the conference is since I've never been to this conference before, but this is the hotel where the conference meetings are being held.
Attending a conference at the Dallas Crowne Plaza Downtown. I can get a room at the conference rate of $89 a night, but thought I could do better on Priceline. Nope.
Day 1, I bid $49 for 3* in Downtown, and then rebid 4 times, adding Dallas West Pinnacle (no hotels above 2.5*), Garland (no hotels above 2.5*), Carrollton (no hotels above 2.5*), and Grand Prairie South (no hotels above 2.5*). Each time I increased my bid by $2. Stopped at $57.
Day 2, I bid $59, and then rebid 4 more times, each time increasing my bid by $2. Stopped at $67.
Day 3, I bid $69, and then rebid 4 more times, each time increasing my bid by $2. Stopped at $77.
I give up. Tomorrow I'll call the hotel and ask for the conference rate.
With their new ad campaign that features the "Priceline Negotiator" dying a fiery death in an exploding bus, I have heard that Priceline is trying to move customers to their "fixed discount" pricing model. Does that mean the end of bidding? Is this a good thing for us? Does anyone have any idea what this will mean for us who are really, really, REALLY, tightwads with our travel dollars?
REVIEW
Very clean, comfortable stay. The appointments in the rooms are contemporary and in very good shape. Excellent, firm mattress on the bed. New flatscreen TVs in all the rooms. Very good wifi throughout the hotel. Excellent free breakfast, complete with eggs, sausage, french toast, biscuits, gravy, cereal and fruit. Very clean, well-appointed lobby and breakfast area as well.
Tammy, the breakfast girl was a hoot, and the rest of the staff was super friendly.
One recent review on TripAdvisor complained about dirty carpets and a bad breakfast experience. That was in October 2011. I'm here now in December 2011, and if there were problems, they've been addressed.
Highly recommend this high-value, low-cost hotel for families or business travelers.
Selected Collinsville - Fairview Heights for 2.5* @ $27. Rejected.
Looking at Hotwire, I saw that the 2.5* hotels in Granite City were about $8 more per night than the Collinsville - Fairview Heights hotels, so I added Granite City and rebid @ $33. WIN.
This is a NEW property for our list. It's further east than I intended, but that's ok, I guess.
Room Subtotal: $33.00
Taxes & Fees: $11.46
Total Charged to Card: $44.46
Gets underwhelming reviews at TripAdvisor.
I'll be sure to give my own report later. Used the forum's PRICELINE link.
I know there's no way to guarantee things, but I was hoping for the Legacy Hotel in Rockville. Free parking, free internet, and less than 3 minutes from the 4* Marriott in North Bethesda, where there is a conference I'm attending. I had no desire to stay in a 3.5* or 4* hotel because it's more expensive and they ding you for every little extra. So I was shooting for 3* in Rockville, 3 minutes away. Danged if I didn't get the 3.5* hotel across the street from the Legacy. No free parking. No free internet. But still saved about $80 total off of what I would have paid for 2 rooms for 2 nights at the Marriott at their very lowest internet rate. So I count it as a win.
Bid $50 for 3* in Rockville. Fail.
Bid $56 for 3* in Rockville and Camp Springs (they have no 3 star hotels on Priceline). Fail.
Bid $62 for 3* in Rockville, Camp Springs, and Upper Marlboro (they also have no 3 star hotels on Priceline). Fail.
Logged off, cleared my cookies and cache, logged in again through a different account.
Bid $65 for 3* in Rockville. Fail.
Bid $68 for 3* in Rockville and Camp Springs. WIN! @ 3.5 stars
They actually "congratulated" me because they were upgrading me to 3.5 stars. Whoop-dee-doo. Thanks.
$15/day to park
$10/day for Internet. Not wireless.
Offer Price: $68.00
Rooms: 2
Nights: 2
Room Subtotal: $272.00
Taxes & Fees: $47.80
Total Charged to Card: $319.80
Mixed reviews on TripAdvisor:
Used the forum PRICELINE link.
Was shooting for a 2* property. Began my bidding at $39. They made a counter offer of $47.
Added Fenton/Kirkwood and rebid $43. Win.
Room: 43.00
Fees: 14.19
Total: 57.19
Stayed at this property before. Was trying to see if it was possible to get a 2* for a lower price. Nope.
Began my bidding using the PRICELINE link.
Just wanted to report a fail at $35. I'm at a gate in LAX waiting on my flight, and didn't have the patience to try again. As recently as April I won the South County Best Western at $35.
Just wanted to report the loss in case it helps anyone else with their bids.
Tried 3* at $39 and failed. It used to work at $38 and you'd get the Doubletree or the Four Points. But evidently prices change.
Bid $40 and won. Others have won this property at this price as well.
Messed up and forgot to use the forum's PRICELINE link. Sorry, guys.
$40 bid
$12.24 in fees
$52.24 total
I wish the admin had left this report in the Pennsylvania section of the board, where I originally posted it, so that people looking for advice about rooms in Philly would be able to have this information. That's why I posted there.
Just so you know, many of the areas you've indicated (University, Downtown and City Line) are not free re-bid zones for 3*. You could have very easily ended up in a 3* room in any of those places (unless that is what you were going for).
Maybe. But I was very careful in scouring this board for information. I considered these areas freebid areas because no one on this board has ever reported winning a 3* hotel in these areas for less than $60, if I remember correctly. Since I had no intention of going that high, I figured I was safe.
For several days I've been trying to get a room near the Philly Airport.
I started at 3* for $38 and increased my bid $1 per try, adding various freebid areas and even lowering my star level to 2.5, until I had bid myself all the way up to $52, without even a counter-offer. The freebid areas I used were (University), (Gloucester - Runnemede - Deptford, NJ), (Downtown), and (City Line).
I finally have given up on the Philly area and bid on a room in Wilmington (Claymont) Delaware, just across the state line.
I don't know what's going on in Philly that weekend, but my room in Claymont is only 20 min from the airport, so I'm happy. Just thought the Pennsylvania board would want to know how high I bid up to without a win near PHL.
Used the link for PRICELINE.
Been trying for 3 days to score a 3* room near the Philadelphia Airport for 6/18, with bids from $38 to $52. Finally decided to try Wilmingont (Claymont) area since it's closer to the Philly airport than some of the freebid areas I was adding. With this win, I'm only 20 minutes from the airport.
I opened with a bid for 3* in Claymont for $45. Priceline countered with $60 (I never did receive any counter-offers when I was bidding in Philly). I saw that no one on this board had reported any 2.5* hotels for Claymont, so I lowered my star-level to 2.5 and rebid at $50. (See my report here.)
WIN.
Used the link for PRICELINE.
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $50.00
Taxes & Fees: $12.49
Total Charges*: $62.49
Holiday Inn Select Wilmington Brandywine 3 Star
Claymont
630 Naamans Road
Claymont, Delaware 19703
302-792-2700
Check-In Date: Sat, Jun 18, 2011 / After 03:00 PM
Check-Out Date: Sun, Jun 19, 2011 / 12:00 PM
Amenities: Remote control TV w/ premium channels Radio Alarm Clock Business services Telephone w/ voicemail Iron and ironing board Hairdryer 24 hour front desk On-site Dining
I've won this property before at this same price, but being a cheapskate, I wanted to see if I could do better. To save $10, I was willing to go with a 2* property, but I wanted this same neighborhood. I've discovered that $35 is about as good as I'm going to be able to do for that neighborhood, and the Best Western there really is a great property. I hate that Priceline thinks that a $35 room will have $12.86 in taxes. It's completely bogus. I'm certain they're skimming that as net profit. I have no problem with a business making a profit, but let's be honest about it.
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $35.00
Taxes & Fees: $12.86
Total Charges*: $47.86
Used the link for PRICELINE.
==BIDDING DETAILS==
Bid St. Louis (South) 2* at $25 - REJECTED
Added (Forest Park - Clayton) at $28 - REJECTED
Added (Downtown) at $31 - REJECTED
Logged out, wiped my cookies and browser cache, logged back in with a different account and credit card, and increased my star rating because I'm not willing to pay above $31 for a 2* property.
Bid St. Louis (South) 2.5* at $32 - REJECTED. At this point, Priceline told me that if I were willing to increase my bid to $47, I could get a room. Whatever.
Added (Forest Park - Clayton) at $35 - ACCEPTED
Correction. There is nowhere to put the discount code on Cheaptickets. Looks like this only works with Travelocity
Not sure where to post this, but I've been looking for lodging in San Diego and discovered that there is a special discount count that you can use at either Travelocity or CheapTickets. Maybe other places as well.
SD75 will get you $75 off your hotel bill for a 3 to 5 night stay.
SD150 will get you $150 off your hotel bill for a 6 night or more stay.
The code expires on 4/30/11, and my understanding is that you pay for your entire stay up front.
I'll post this same announcement in the Hotwire forum as well.
Does the forum have a link to Travelocity or CheapTickets?
I know that with Priceline, if I go one night and like it, I can add an extra night or two when I get there, and the price does not change. Is that true with Hotwire? Or would I risk seeing the price jump?
I'm a little skeptical, but they have this being offered at $23 per night for a 6 night stay, May 7-13.
Amenities include:
Complimentary Breakfast, Pool(s), Laundry Facilities (self-service), High-Speed Internet Access
Also, "70% of Hotwire reviews recommend; 50+ total reviews," and they say it has a TripAdvisor rating of 3 out of 5.
When I change the dates up so that it's 2 or 3 nights instead of 6, I still get an offer in the $22 to $25 per night range.
Can this possibly be anything more than a bed-bug ridden dump? Yet they say 70% recommend. Any thoughts?
I think I may be the first person to win this this site at $35. This property can be had for less than what it has been going for.
The place doesn't have an official review on this forum, but lots of reviews elsewhere (like HERE). Most travelers say it's a decent place to say, though the most common complaint is the freeway noise.
I'm actually attending a meeting in Irondale, so I bid $33 for 2.5* there. REJECTED.
Increased my bid to $35 and added the BHM Airport. WIN.
Used the PRICELINE link to bid.
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $35.00
Taxes & Fees: $13.31
Total Charges*: $48.31
Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport 3 Star
Birmingham Airport (BHM)
5000 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N
Birmingham, Alabama 35212
205-591-6900
Check-In Date: Sun, Mar 20, 2011 / After 03:00 PM
Check-Out Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2011 / 12:00 PM
Amenities: Remote control TV w/ premium channels Radio Alarm Clock Business services Telephone w/ voicemail Iron and ironing board Hairdryer 24 hour front desk On-site Dining
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $35.00
Taxes & Fees: $12.90
Total Charges*: $47.90
Same price as last time. I tried $32 and it was rejected. Purchase was made same day as the reservation. Nice to know it works on short notice.
Used the link for PRICELINE.
I stayed there Sunday, April 4, 2010. Here is the original posting when I bid on Priceline.
This property does have some minor cleanliness problems. A couple of my towels were dirty. The bathtub just wasn't as clean as I would want it to be at home. The bed was awful. I woke up with an amazing pain in my lower back. This property IS renovated, but it's the oldest building in the area. It was here before the Interstate, just a block away, was completed.
On the plus side, great customer service. Friendly staff. Everything in the room worked as expected. Safe, convenient location. Room entrance is off an interior hallway. Radio alarm clock and TV work fine. Nice granite (or faux) counter tops in the bathroom. Free WiFi let's me go online and book a room elsewhere.
Stayed here Thursday, January 28, 2011. Click the following link for the report of my Priceline win.
Priceline's description of the property:
Best Western St Louis Inn 2
The previous review from 2008 said the hotel was under renovation and the reviewer had a bad stay. I had a better stay.
My stay was Wednesday, January 26, 2011. Here is the related priceline bidding topic.
The renovations were completed and all the hotel features were in pretty good shape. Beautiful swimming pool, beautiful lobby with a nice fireplace and two flatscreen TV's on different channels (one was sports and the other was news). Didn't go into the restaurant/bar, but it looked nice. The front desk staff was super nice and even played along politely with my harmless flirting.
The room was in great shape, all the appointments seemed new, and everything worked the way it was supposed to.
The previous reviewer mentioned the neighborhood. Yes, it's right behind the Convention Center, and at night it might seem a little daunting for a single woman. She also mentioned the adjacent parking. It wasn't too bad, but it did cost $15 per day to park, and you have to get a garage token at the front desk each time you leave. After getting a great deal ($32) using this board and Priceline, the $15 charge to park let the air out of my sense of triumph.
3.5* Dallas (Downtown) Sheraton Dallas Hotel
in Priceline Hotels - Texas
Posted
I figured you were probably right about waiting until closer to the conference to rebid. So I tried this morning. Didn't get the Crowne Plaza, which is the conference hotel. I got the Sheraton, which is only a 15 minute walk to the CP. Used the PRICELINE link.