FrazierGA

I used your PRICELINE link and bid as follows: $35 - North - Rejected $40 - North plus Northwest - Rejected $43 - North plus Northwest plus West - ACCEPTED The regular rate on this property for these nights is $109/night, and the government rate is $70/night. According to Betterbidding.com, this property frequently goes for around $45. Thanks to this site, I knew how low to start my bidding. This is the property I was hoping for (since I have won and stayed there before). Thanks again for the great work you do.

When looking at Priceline's Low Price Guarantee, I got the impression that I would get a refund only if the hotel-quoted rate was lower than the Priceline price BEFORE Priceline's fees were added. Before the fees were added, the prices were about the same, so I figured I was out of luck. Nevertheless, I emailed Priceline, stating that I figured I was not entitled to any refund but still wanted to express my dissatisfaction with the transaction. I was a little surprised when I got email a couple of hours later, telling me to call a customer service number. When I did, the agent ended up giving me a refund of $26. I am still disappointed in the deal (especially since my son, who is attending Baylor, tells me that the hotel is not in a very nice area of Waco), but things like this happen on occasion with Priceline. I have been a reader of your board for several years but in the past have forgotten to use your PRICELINE link. I remembered this time! I also recently made car reservations in Ft. Lauderdale using PRICELINE and your link.

For several days I had increasing bids of $80, $90, and $95 for a 3 star hotel and would lower the star rating to 2 1/2 stars at the same prices. I was rejected each time. I had gotten the 2 star Clarion on previous occasions for about $50, but this is Baylor graduation weekend, so I knew that the rates were going to be higher. Today, after my $95 bid was rejected at both the 3 star and 2 1/2 star level, I decreased my bid to $70 and lowered my star rating to 2. My bid was accepted. What is troubling is when I checked Travelodge directly, they had a room rate for my three nights of $230.35, including taxes, which is lower than my Priceline "win" of $248.09. This is the first time that I have been greatly disappointed in a Priceline "win."

I am not sure if this is applicable to the Westin, but . . .. I won a Priceline bid for Planet Hollywood a few months ago. When I checked in, I had to sign a form, acknowledging $10/day in "resort fee." I was bothered by this but did not say anything at the time. I figured that I would complain to Priceline later. When I reviewed my bill, I noticed that I had been charged $10/day for the resort fee; however, on each day that the fee had been charged, the fee had also been removed. The result was that I did not pay a resort fee.

My initial bid of $45 was accepted, so there is a possibility that a lower bid might have been accepted. Booking directly through Marriott would have cost $99, so I am pleased (but still somewhat disappointed since I don't know if I got the BEST price). :) This property and location need to be added to your list of properties won in Georgia.

Oops! From reading here, I knew about the Resorts "upgrade." but I simply failed to notice that Summerlin had that option. I am pretty sure that I have used that rebid in the past, but I will be much more careful in the future. Thanks again for the great service you provide in running this board.

For several weeks I had been bidding on a 4* hotel on the South Strip for 11/9/08 - 11/12/08 I would start at $55 (be given a counter offer of $77) and then use my two rebid zones (Nellis and Summerlin) to rebid at $60 and $65; my offers were never accepted. Because of winning bids in the past (including my own) for Planet Hollywood, I knew that Planet Hollywood would occasionally accept low bids (and I was specifically hoping to get Planet Hollywood since I have stayed there frequently in the past). I checked the Planet Hollywood website and noticed that the rates for my November dates were $179; the rates for the preceding Sun-Mon were $229; but the rates for the last Sunday-Wednesday in October were $149. Sooooooo . . . . I went to PRICELINE through the BettterBidding Link and Bid $50 for 4* South Strip - Rejected - But counter-offer of $66 (I then knew that my chances of getting a room for around $60 were good) Added Nellis and bid $55 - rejected Added Summerlin and bid $59 - ACCEPTED

I was not overly pleased with the reviews of this Inn, so I used your PRICELINE link and started bidding on a 3* property, hoping to get the Renaissance Spa and Resort (which was the only 3* listed in Sonoma in your listing). I started out at $90 and over several days finally got up to $125, when PL offered me a chance to immediately increase my bid by $22. I deferred and decided to wait one more day and try to get the property for $135. By happenstance I went to the Renaissance website and put in "Government Rate" since I am a federal employee. The quoted rate was $114! (The standard rate was $299.) Naturally, I made the reservations and was happy that I had not won my earlier PL bids. Thanks for all your help this time and in the past. You do a great job on this board.

August 6-8, 2008

Do you have a guess as to this 3* hotel: Breakfast Fitness Center Pool Business Center Laundry Internet

I had seen where another person had gotten the Hyatt Regency on this date for $40 as his first bid, so I was trying to do better. I accessed PRICELINE.com via the link provided here. Bid $30 - rejected Bid $35 - added Duncan - rejected Bid $40 - added Greer - rejected Waited 24 hours Bid $30 - rejected Bid $35 - added Duncan - rejected Bid $40 - added Greer - rejected Bid $45 - (took a chance and added airport) - rejected Waited 24 hours Bid $35 - rejected Bid $40 - added Duncan - rejected Bid $45 - added Greer - ACCEPTED

I was trying to get a 3 star hotel in the Orlando Airport area. I had tried similar bidding strategy a few times recently with no success (with bids of $45, $50, and $55 -- later with bids of $50, $55, and $60) Bid $55 Orlando Airport -- rejected Bid $60 Orlando Airport, plus Sand Lake Corporate -- rejected Bid $65 Orlando Airport, plus Winter Park -- accepted Marriott Orlando Airport 3-star Orlando Airport (MCO) 7499 Augusta Natl Drive Orlando, Florida 32822 407-851-9000 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $65.00 Subtotal: $130.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $25.50 Total Charges*: $155.50

I had seen several people get Planet Hollywood for $45/night, so I thought I would try the same (since I have stayed there often and like it). 2/17/08 - 2/20/08 Bid $45 4* South Strip - Failed Bid $50 4* South Strip; added Airport - Failed I realized that this was a holiday weekend, so I changed my dates: 2/10/08 - 2/13/08 Bid $45 4* South Strip - Accepted - Planet Hollywood

Bid $65 for two and a half star - rejected Waited 24 hours Bid $75 for a two and half star - rejected Bid $50 for a two star - Accepted - Clarion Inn I had bid on a two and a half star about a year ago and got the Marriott Courtyard for around $60. This weekend is the University of Texas - Baylor football game, and the Courtyard website that no rooms were available. Nevertheless, I still tried. However, after two unsuccessful bids, I decided to go to a two star. I did not think my $50 bid would be accepted, since the website rates for most of the two star motels were in excess of $75. The Clarion has mixed reviews, so I hope I got a good deal.

No, this facility is in the Macon-North zone . . . and is already in your list of hotels. (I have long been a reader of Betterbidding, but this is my first post. I'll try to be more accurate in my descriptions in the future.)

Bid $35 Macon-North 2.5* -- nothing Bid $40 Macon-North, plus Macon 2.5* -- nothing Bid $45 Macon-North, Macon, plus Macon-West -- Accepted Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $45.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.36 Total Charges*: $58.36 Courtyard by Marriott 3990 Sheraton Dr Macon, GA 31210 (478) 477-8899