Commish of TX

Expected to win the Aria, but got the Vdara which is a 57 story gaming-free, smoke-free, crowd-free, all-suite hotel and spa. It is physically connected to the Bellagio via pedestrian walkway.

Amenities listed: Business Center Fitness Center High-speed Internet Access Pool(s) Resort Restaurant(s) Smoke Free Rooms Spa Services Tennis Nearby

Fabulous hotel, fabulous price

Started bidding at $46, increasing by $2 each time using free bid zones. Rejected all counter offers. Got it at $58. Solid property.

Started at $56, increasing by a $1 each time using free bids. Ignored all counteroffers. Got it at $60. Compares favorably to $79 on HOTWIRE for the Monaco for these dates. Great boutique hotel!

Started at $50, increasing by a $1 each time using free bids. Ignored all counteroffers. Got it at $60. Compares favorably to $75 on HOTWIRE for the Monaco for these dates. Great boutique hotel!

Bally's Hotel & Casino 3645 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, NV 89109 Stay 3 Nts & Save 20%! i4vegas.com Room Type:Classic Number of Rooms:2 Check-In: Friday, July 2 '10 Check-Out:Monday, July 5 '10 Number of Nights:3 Number of Persons: 4 Room Rate 07/02 - 07/03:$79.00 Room Rate 07/03 - 07/04:$111.00 Room Rate 07/04 - 07/05:$95.00 Subtotal Per Room:$285.00x2 Rooms:$570.00 Total Taxes/Fees:$69.52 TOTAL COST:$639.52

Started at $70, upping my bid by $1 each time using free-bid-zone strategy. At $73, PRICELINE countered at $88. Rejected counter and kept bidding. Hit at $85. This is a 6 night stay: 4 lower cost weekdays averaged in with 2 higher cost weekend nights. $85 is not a significant savings over two promotions being offered by the Trump right now, one at $91 per night and another at $93. Preferred the Trump to the Vdara which was available to us via Hotwire for the same period at $94.

I agree dahammer. It makes comparing hotel rates more difficult through opaque sites like Priceline and Hotwire. But not impossible. Since websites enable savvy shoppers to know (with a very high confidence level) what properties they are going to get when they buy blind, it just takes one more step to factor in the resort fee to your final cost BEFORE you bid. If I am using Priceline, I know the 5* offering for Las Vegas Strip South is very likely the TheHotel at Mandalay Bay. Same for 5* Las Vegas Strip North Vacinity will be the Trump. Both of their resort fees are known so I can adjust my bidding to fit my budget.

Maybe I am different than most, but I would prefer to pay a $15-19 PER NIGHT resort fee than pay a la carte fees PER PERSON for certain amenities. Most high end Vegas resorts, for example, charge $20-$35 per person, per day, to use the fitness center. The resort fee is a bargain if two guests work out every day. At the Trump, it is well worth it: A nightly resort fee will be applied per room, per night and covers free high speed internet, $25 credit towards a qualifying spa service at The Spa at Trump, shuttle service to Las Vegas Boulevard and the Caesars Palace Forum Shops, 10% discount on retail purchases at The Trump Store and The Spa at Trump, two bottle of water per day in your room, use of fitness center, local and toll free phone calls, incoming faxes, printing an airline boarding pass, daily newspaper delivery, coffee in room and shoe shine service.

Started at $55, they countered at $68. Counter was rejected; I then won at $59 using South Raleigh for free bid. Great deal as retail is $95 for those nights and there are few hotels in the area.

3 rooms at $80 each

Started at $80, bumping my bid by $1 each time using free zones. Received many counter offers along the way, all of which I ignored. Got it at $95

4* Atlanta (Druid Hills-Emory-Decatur) FAILED, $60 ... 4/5/10-4/09/10 No luck at $60. Was trying to get the Atlanta Marriott Century Center. No counteroffers either.

$48 is a steal. Well-reviewed hotel. Check out tripadvisor. If you are trying to get the 4* Renaissance Concourse in this zone, forget it. No recent history of success. If you go for the South Airport zone recent history suggests you will get the 4* Marriott or 4* Westin at around $50 with equal probability. Hilton: $10/day for self-parking, unlimited in/out.

$47 is a steal. Well-reviewed hotel. Check out tripadvisor. If you are trying to get the 4* Renaissance Concourse in this zone, forget it. No recent history of success. If you go for the South Airport zone recent history suggests you will get the 4* Marriott or 4* Westin at around $50 with equal probability. Could not extend stay at same $47 rate. $10/day for self-parking, unlimited in/out.

Started bidding at $37 and received immediate counteroffer at $47. Ignored that trap and kept bidding in $1 increments using free bids. Got accepted at $40. Note that parking adds $8 per day, but well worth it. Rate for my dates was $172/night on Hyatt website.

Saw that 4* Downtown on Hotwire was available at $79 for my dates. Started bidding on Priceline at $49, adding $1 per bid using free bid zones. At $55, was offered the room at a price of $72. Rejected that and kept bidding, ignoring any offers that popped up. Got the Hilton for $64. Have stayed there many times and it is excellent.

Started bidding at $50, bumping up $2-3 at a time using free bids. Pretty soon into it, they countered at $76 which I ignored. Got it at $67. Note to others: I assumed I would be bidding for 4* hotels in the SD Coastal zone. But the 2 Priceline hotels that people kept winning were poorly rated on the bulletin boards. So I switched gears and decided to investigate 3.5* in Del Mar. Then I read that the two 3* Priceline hotels in Del Mar were as nice as the two 3.5* hotels --- but without the daily fee for Parking.

Happy to help!

Their counteroffer of $122 was rejected upon my $102 bid. Kept bidding in $1 increments until success at $109

Got it first bid.

Was happy to get 3.5 or 4 star in Napa, Sonoma or Santa Rosa areas (Fairfield is a free bid). Started at $46 and increased by $2-3 with each bid. Was offered the room at $70 after each log-in but I always refused. Success at $63

Started at $70, increasing by $1 each time. Got it at $79.

Started at $45, increasing by $1 each time; accepted at $50. Two rooms, two nights. Hyatt Place Birmingham/Hoover 2980 John Hawkins Parkway Birmingham, Alabama 35244 205-988-8444