D-Rock

Won the Hyatt Regency Chicago at $75/night. Previous Bids of 65 & 70....before winning bid of $75. Thanks

Looking to stay in a 4* in either MTE or MTW. We are a long way from those dates at this time. I was wondering if I should start bidding now or not. If there are deals to be had this early then I will go ahead and place some bids....otherwise I can wait. Please let me know what you think? Dates are confirmed for that weekend....as well as location. Thanks

Just won the Ramada Inn for $29 for a relative. That was my first bid. On the Ramada Website the cheapest rate was $59.

FYI - I just returned from a 3 night stay in Miami. The Royal Palm Crowne Plaza while very nice is now charging a Resort Fee of $20/day. When I questioned them about this they explained that the hotel used to charge for Wireless Internet and now that is included in the $20. edit by thereuare: a few years ago i successfully challanged this hotel's resort fee ($12/nite at the time) by talking directly to Crowne Plaza Headquarters after my stay. My stance was that i arrived late and left early, didn't get a chance to use any of the facilities, and that this was not a 'resort' at all as far as i could tell (they have a pool but no fitness room for which you had to leave the hotel to use a neighboring property's facility) and that the fee should be included in the room rate if it is going to be mandatory. I then explained my stance how any rate should include any mandatory fees as this tactic is deceiving and only in place in order to lure guests into the hotel at a low rate and then boost revenue by having additional mandatory fees). Not sure if the lady was tired of listening to me or understood my point of view, but eventually they seemed to see it my way :)

I bid several times for a 4-star in South Beach....with no luck up to $155. Decided to try for a resort in Miami Beach area instead.....I bid $90, $100, $102 and finally won the Fountainbleau. FYI - I bid 72 hours before all the way up to $125 for Miami Beach with no luck.

Dieselgetaways..... did you have any luck with those dates?

My friend is a little irresponsible and after I did all that work for him...he decides to book a stay with miles he accrued from traveling. Thank you for your help!

Are you familiar with Easyclick's cancellation policy? Is it true that as long as you cancel within 72 hours of your arrival date...you get a full refund? It looks like the $149 Easyclick rate applies to the 15th through the 18th. What I was thinking....... take a chance on the 14th with Priceline and see what I would get..If it happened to be the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza.....I could add a night....the 15th and it would have to be the same hotel.....and then I could buy the nights of the 16th and 17th on Easyclick......isn't that correct? If you add a night to a Priceline reservation doesn't it have to be the same hotel....as long as they have availablility? If it was not the Royal Palm then I would just stay the night of the 14th at the New Clinton or whatever came up and then book the 15th thru 18th on Easyclick. What do you think?

4* hotels in South Beach - Miami.....What do you think the chances are that the Hotel Clinton will come up before the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza? Will it always come up if there is availability? I would prefer to stay on the beach and have stayed at the Crowne Plaza before. I have debated trying for a 4* South Beach for just one night 4/14/05 to see what would come up....so that I am not locked into the Hotel Clinton for the whole trip......I would much prefer the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza since it is on the beach .....and then adding a night if it is the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza...... I checked Easyclicktravel.com.....they have the royal palm for $149 which is a very good price. Hotwire show's what appears to be the Royal Palm for the same amount. I am just considering all the options before I decide to do anything. My main question is what is your opinion on the New Clinton coming up more often than the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza. Any advice would be appreciated....Thanks! (April 14th to April 18th)

FYI - bid $53, $54, $55 until I won the Sheraton Suites Country Club Plaza.

You are correct Thereuare! sorry. In summary - We were to stay at the US Grant this past weekend. When we arrived at the hotel around 5pm to check in. The employee working the front desk let us know that they had no rooms available because of a "plumbing problem" and that we would be sent to the Quality Inn. (I found out later from an employee that there was no plumbing problem but that they had already closed half the 5th floor for renovations) Which is not the same star quality as the US Grant. I let him know that through the contract I had with Priceline that a move should be to a similiar or greater quality hotel room. He said that he has a list that was put together by the hotel sending some people to the Sheraton Suites some to the Wyndham Emerald Plaza and Some.....to the Quality Inn. However they were still checking some into the hotel. This made me extremely upset. This list was based on what you were paying I'm assuming. We demanded to know from the manager why they could not send us to either the Wyndham or the Sheraton and he simply said that is how it is and there is no changing it. Priceline spoke with the manager to try and have them send us to a comparable quality hotel to no avail. They said that we should accept the Quality Inn and they would refund the money for our stay. However, that is not the way you want to start a short vacation. And when you pay only $40 night the money is secondary. I feel that we were discriminated against because we were a Priceline customer. What a nightmare.

Whatever you do......DO NOT BID FOR A 3* Hotel in the Downtown Zone. If the US GRANT is still available.

If you think they should try those areas together......then that they will. Can you give me an updated bidding strategy with those areas as well. This is there first time visiting New York so I wanted them to stay in a nice area. Thanks for the suggestion....Please advise.

Yes! Sorry. 4*

This is for a friend......1/14/05 to 1/16/05. Please suggest a bidding strategy for MTW. He said the maximum he wanted to spend was $120.

I bid $50 no luck.....added sonoma area and bid $55. Thanks

I won the Embassy Suites - Napa Valley for $55. I will post a review when I get back from my trip. Thanks for the great site!

Thanks, I saw that you had a previous winning bid for $40. I hope it isn't too bad. I will say that when I called to request a King size bed / non-smoking room that it was done through Starwood.

I won the 3* US Grant for $40/night (1/14/05 to 1/16/05) $207 on US Grant website - I was declined at $38 used free rebid raised to $39 used coronado declined and then bid $40 and won the US Grant. - I hope this place is not as bad as some of the reviews. Thanks for all your help....Thereuare

I am going to lower my search to a 3* level. Can you suggest a bidding strategy for a 3* in the Downtown/Harbor Island area? Thanks

I bid all the way up to $80 with the strategy you suggested. With no luck. My 72 hours will expire on Monday. What do you think I should do next? Drop to a 3* or wait and rebid after 72 hours for a 4*? Thanks.

I hope this helps! Napa 4* hotels Napa River Inn Silverado Country Club Resort

I'm not real familiar with the San Diego area. However, after noting your comments about it may be hard to get a 4 star hotel in downtown....I looked up each of the hotels on the Downtown 4*list and all of the 4 stars are showing now availability on their individual sites. i was hoping to get a room for around $80. What do you think of the Coronado zone? The Loews is $180/night and the Marriott Coronado is $185/night.

We are going to San Diego on 1/14, and will stay for two nights. Want to stay at a 4* hotel in either Downtown/Harbor Island or Coronado Area. Any idea on what I should I bid on Priceline?

I went ahead and tried for 2 nights....12/10/04 to 12/12/04 and was successful at $45. Thanks for your help! Hyatt Regency Chicago 151 East Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 312-565-1234 12/10-12/12 Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $90.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $21.16 Total Charges: $111.16