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Currently the website LAN.com features an maybe interesting error. For whatever reason it does not charge the ever-raising fuel surcharge for tickets purchased through that site. Given the fact that this surcharge can be as high as $300 or more on international itineraries, the savings going through this website can be substantial. To take advantage of it: - go to LAN.com - Choose the US-version - click on "Multi City" - Choose your origin and destination You may need to "play around" with it by adding or removing segments to get what you actually want...and some notes on this you may want to consider: - LAN.com is based on Amadeus, so anything that can be booked there can (in general) be booked on LAN.com as well. - exception: it has proven impossible to book children or infants - book those passengers as Adults. - exception: SOME itineraries that can be selected and priced cannot be purchased successfully, e.g. a 30

After monitoring rates at the Venetian for some time now (and continuously receiving counteroffers at $207) today I noticed a $40 drop in the retail rates, so I decided to bid my missing night again. Started at $139, received a counter of $177 then went up in $2-3 increments to be successful at $159. Received the Venetian again which I already had for the remainder of my stay in Las Vegas (as mentioned in this Priceline Las Vegas thread): The Venetian Las Vegas Strip Vicinity North 3355 Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 702-414-1000 Check-In Date: Sat, May 10, 2008 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, May 11, 2008 / 11:00 AM Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $159.00 Subtotal: $318.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $43.48 Total Charges*: $361.48 So now everything is settled for our vacation in May... Greetings - Dirk

Started finalizing my trip to the westcoast in May and decided to splurge a little on the start of our vacation, so based on the recent winning bids I decided to shoot very low. For some weeks now I always got a counter-offer of $273 which changed to $226 about a week ago. Yesterday I started bidding again and was now countered with $155 which signalled me that there must have been a new round of price cuts. Decided to now "pull the trigger", so I bid $139 and was accepted at the Venetian: The Venetian Las Vegas Strip Vicinity North 3355 Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 702-414-1000 Check-In Date: Sun, May 11, 2008 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Wed, May 14, 2008 / 11:00 AM Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $139.00 Subtotal: $834.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $102.54 Total Charges*: $936.54 Bid for two rooms and was offered to extend my stay, yet the request for the preceeding night came back with a $266 counteroffer, so I assume the Saturday night would be ~$100 more than the weeknights I booked now. Greetings - Dirk

Just found that on ft.com: Continental has what most likely is an error-fare for BWI-HNL, currently pricing at Expedia.com or Travelocity.com at $246.70 all-in, routing e.g. BWI-EWR-HNL and back. Books into L-class with decent availability for both February and March (the month' I checked). Hope someone here can benefit from that... Greetings - Dirk P.S.: Happy New Year to everyone!

At least for the co.uk-site I can confirm that they operate on the same database as the .com-site, so in that case it is definetly only a case of converting US-Dollars to UK-Pounds... Greetings - Dirk

Because of a change in the mode of transportation (from rental car to train) to get to AMS airport we needed a hotel near or at AMS for the night before our flight. Got the Crowne Plaza through Priceline which is considered a four star. Hotel is a about five minutes ride with their Shuttle away from the airport, and the Shuttle runs on schedule twice an hour between 6am and 11:30pm leaving the airport at :15 and :45 and the hotel at :00 and :30 every hour. Be aware that they recently changed from offering the Shuttle complimentary to a model of free from the airport and 5 Euro from the hotel. On checkin however we received a set of complimentary tickets because the change was so recent (instated on 12/3). We were asked about room preferences at Check-In and received the requested two bedded room. Asked about an upgrade to their club floor but declined because of the 50

Just read this on flyertalk: The Wyndham EWR is becoming a Doubletree by November 7th: http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/hotels/...ctyhocn=EWRDTDT So for stays November 7th or later you have to check hilton.com... Greetings - Dirk

HNL-LIH is about $150, or can be even as low as $115 roundtrip if you travel through 9/15 on Aloha. EWR-HNL on AA runs at $359 on AA, WAS-HNL $319 on DL and NW. OGG-LIH is about $145, and fares from EWR or WAS are the same as mentioned above. From PHL, OGG is $386 on CO. Finally a through-fare on UA from EWR to LIH will run at about $469 with UA. All fares are plus tax. Availability is spotty and will most likely require a specialist (read: Travel agent or experienced flyertalker...;-)) to get that booked. Btw: If you go with NW (e.g. from IAD/DCA) you can register for their double miles promo yielding quite a chunk of miles. And if you have a certificate from Northwest (PD964 or PD929) you can apply that to that fares as well bringin down the cost considerably...check your junk mail for those. Greetings - Dirk

Same co-worker, same trip as mentioned in my SFO-post, different location :). He needed two rooms in Fresno. Checked Hotwire and they had pretty reasonable rates so we decided to try 3* first. Started at $50 for the Fresno-zone only but were rejected, added Pinedale for $52 and got rejected again, so raised to $55 by adding Fresno West and were accepted at: Radisson Hotel And Conference Center Fresno Zone: Fresno 2233 Ventura Avenue Fresno, California 93721 559-268-1000 Check-In Date: Tue, Sep 27, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, Sep 30, 2005 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $55.00 Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $330.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $52.56 Total Charges: $382.56 I was hoping for the Radisson and not for the Sheraton Four Points (I personally detest the Four Points chain) and this time my prayers were honored...,-). Worked out as planned, and at a very decent rate. Greetings - Dirk

One of my co-workers is doing a west-coast trip, and for his final nights in San Francisco he was looking for some place near the airport (to get used to the fact he has to go home soon;-)). We started at $35 for a three star but were rejected, so we added a downtown-zone (not sure which and more) and were accepted at: Holiday Inn Sfo Intl Arpt San Francisco Airport (SFO) 275 South Airport Blvd South San Francisco, California 94080 650-873-3550 Check-In Date: Mon, Oct 3, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2005 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $37.00 Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $222.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $40.80 Total Charges: $262.80 He's happy with that - I am not so happy as I had preferred one of the other hotels around. But as he is staying there his opinion most certainly prevails. And this hotel has free parking, saving a few bucks as well... Greetings - Dirk

Yes, everything is now set up for our January-trip - pretty early, I know...;-)! Sister is pretty happy about the hotels we got (she has never stayed at a Sheraton or such) and is really going nuts about this upcoming trip... I am now preparing my trip to Shanghai in February and need some hotels to go along with my 30

After seeing the wins for the Residence Inn in the Alexandria-Mt. Vernon zone posted here I decided to try my luck there. As time is still on my side I decided to start lower than the winning bid posted with my initial bid of $42 for a 2.5*, which was counteroffered with a $12 raise to win. Added White House area and raised to $45 and was accepted and upgraded to 3*: Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria Zone: Alexandria - Mt. Vernon 801 N Saint Asaph Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Tel.: 703-836-4700 Check-In Date: Sat, Jan 7, 2006 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Jan 9, 2006 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $90.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $20.15 Total Charges: $110.15 Nice deal, and they are offering a free shuttle to both the DCA-airport and the metro. If I can get my flights changed to DCA from IAD this will even save me a day of rental car... Place looks very nice on the pictures and also features the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed I am really looking forward to try (the Westin heavenly bed is still my favourite...) Greetings - Dirk

Just as a reference point - seems it is too early to get something reasonable for my dates in early January next year. Tried all 4*-areas within D.C. area but was rejected, and pretty quickly at that. Regular rates are not too bad, but Hotwire also only shows sparse availability - the only four star they have (most likely the Intercontinental) runs at over $300 a night. I'm thinking about lowering qulality to three stars, but as time is on my side and I still have many month of bidding before my trip, I think I will keep bidding once in a while for a four star for the foreseeable future... Greetings - Dirk

Finished bidding for Atlanta today securing our room for the last two nights we are there. Was looking for a place somewhere in the Perimeter-area as this is very convenient to the places I want to go. Started out with three stars there and bid up to $45 (not wanting to pay more because I assumed that I could get a hotel at the airport for $40) with no luck, so after reviewing the successful bids around here and decided that 2.5* will be acceptable as well. Started at $40, was counteroffered to raise $13, declined that offer and raised to $43 by adding Union City and received: Residence Inn Atlanta Dunwoody Zone: Perimeter 1901 Savoy Drive Chamblee, Georgia 30341 770-455-4446 Check-In Date: Tue, Jan 10, 2006 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Thu, Jan 12, 2006 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $43.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $86.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $20.11 Total Charges: $106.11 Just what I wanted...;-)! Breakfast included, free parking, close to I-285 and free Internet. Luckily the hotel has a sleeper-sofa in every room so I can refrain from getting a second room - but even if I had to that would have been OK as the saving would have still been substantial vs. my other options. FWIW, regular rates for the Studio on my dates run at $149. Greetings - Dirk

Going forward with the plans for our holiday in Januray I bid for a four star at ATL airport (hoping for the Renaissance that offers breathtaking views of departing/arriving aircraft) but gpt rejected up to $65. So decided to lower quality to 3*, bid $35, was rejected, added West-zone and raised to $38 to be rejected again, then tried $40 and was accepted at: Holiday Inn Select Atlanta Airport South zone: Hartsfield Airport (ATL) 4669 Airport Boulevard College Park, Georgia 30337 Phone: 404-763-8800 Check-In Date: Mon, Jan 9, 2006 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Tue, Jan 10, 2006 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $40.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $40.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.92 Total Charges: $52.92 Pretty happy with that one - we arrive in ATL after 9pm, so we basically need a place to sleep with an airport-shuttle. As to the price it may be not the lowest available but I wanted to get that settled now... Greetings - Dirk

I decided to give it a go right now. Started bidding for a three star at $85 for MW, was counteroffered to raise $22, added Upper West Side for $89 and was accepted at: Sheraton Manhattan Hotel zone: Midtown West 790 7th Avenue At 51st Street New York, New York 10019 212-581-3300 Check-In Date: Thu, Jan 12, 2006 Check-In Time: After 04:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sat, Jan 14, 2006 Check-Out Time: 11:00 AM Your Offer Price: $89.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $178.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $37.92 Total Charges: $215.92 Got the hotel as I had expected after consulting Hotwire. Called Starwood to request two double-beds and was told that they are on request only but a King is guaranteed. Well, still looks like a very nice deal for NYC - I think $89 in Manhattan has been unheard of quite some time...;-)! Plan now is to take a rental ex-EWR to a Midtown Manhattan location (Avis or the likes) to drop of the car after droping my sister of at the hotel. Greetings - Dirk

thereuare, so I understand this you would wait a while if in my shoes because you think that Jersey City is the better place to stay given our parameters? I ask this because I think that sub-$100 rates for Manhattan sound like quite a deal, and the Sheraton Manhattan certainly is one of the better 3* hotels (and in a very central location)... I also did some additional research in other zones, and the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands can be had conventionally for $70 Thursday and even as low as $55 on Friday night - so it will probably be available on Priceline as well. Also Hotwire has a 3.5* in the Newark airport-zone (the Hilton, I suppose) for my dates for $51 meaning Priceline will have a three-star for $4x. As to our plans for the time around, we plan on having a full day of sightseeing in New York (plus the day of departure), but for the arrival-day we intend to do some outlet-shopping. So we will have a car at least for some of the time (obviously not for the time we would be in Manhattan). But splitting the stay is probably not an option because of the inconvenience of moving and the time involved. btw: Do you (or anybody else here) know if the Jersey Garden Mall Shuttle from EWR is still operating? I came across the bus some time ago when I waited for a hotel-shuttle to pick me up... Greetings - Dirk

After some persuasion I finally talked my sister into flying with me to the USA in January for the first time in her life. We booked a dead-cheap ticket on Delta to go to Washington, Atlanta and New York City (in that order) and will spend two and a half day in the New York area. Our flight from Atlanta arrives at EWR, and the flight home departs JFK. As she obviously has never been to New York I wonder if we should stay in Manhattan or (my usual favourite) in New Jersey and commute to the city. Did some pre-checks with Hotwire, and they have a 3* what I would identify as the Sheraton Manhattan for $102, so I would assume that could be had on Priceline for ~$90 (when it came up in 2004 it ran about $80, but prices have gone up considerably since). On the other hand I have tried Jersey City 3* already at $65 but was not successful. Hotwire shows what I guess it the Hyatt for $199, no availablility on the Coutyard and also has what I guess are the Candlewood Suites and Ramada - both which I would not consider currently. So: Would you take your sister downtown or wait for rates to come down in Jersey City? Greetings - Dirk

I would strongly advise against changing airports in London. Even I - as a very experienced traveller and frequent flyer - would not do that, as it is just a hassle that I do not want to subject myself to. Remember that you have to carry your luggage with you - it will NOT be transferred between Gatwick and Heathrow or vice versa. Even connecting at London Heathrow is a pain in the butt - just for that I would not do any connection there below 90 minutes. Between Heathrow and Gatwick at least four hours are necessary to connect without hassles. If you consider the price of a hotel on the return as you have an overnight, I'd go with the two-stop option on AA for $1131 (bookable on Orbitz) through FRA. This is basically a non-stop connecting to a direct High-Speed train to Stuttgart (that train stops in Mannheim which is the "second stop" mentioned by Orbitz - you just stay in your seat and wait the three minutes until the train continues to Stuttgart). Frankfurt airport has a train-station so you bascially clear customs and then walk to the "Fernbahnhof" - about a ten minute stroll - to catch the train. Greetings - Dirk

Just digged a little around on Wyndham's Website and found an upcoming 72-hour-sale. The Wyndham ByRequest 72-Hour Sale - Exclusively for Wyndham ByRequest members! It's a deal so good we can only offer it to our best guests - and only for 72 hours! Just in time for that summer getaway or family vacation - or plan ahead for fall or holiday travel! Book today and save 20 - 60% off retail rates at participating Wyndham hotels and resorts.* Sale begins Monday, June 20, 2005, 9am Central Daylight Time (CDT) and ends Thursday, June 23, 2005, 9am CDT. Wyndham By Request 72 Hour Sale Terms and Conditions: Offer valid for Wyndham ByRequest members only.* Reservations must be booked online through this page between Monday, June 20, 2005, 9am Central Daylight Time (CDT) and Thursday, June 23, 2005, 9am CDT.. Other hotel-imposed fees may apply. No cancellations, changes or refunds are allowed. Rates are based upon availability. Blackout dates may apply. Not applicable for group or prior reservations. Not valid with other offers. Booking Bonuses not applicable for 72-hour sale rates. Full advance purchase for room and applicable tax will be charged to credit card at time of booking. Failure to arrive on the reserved arrival date constitutes a forfeit of your pre-payment. In the event of a declined credit card when charging pre-payment, 72-hour sale reservations may be released for re-sale without notice. For verification purposes, at check-in you must present the credit card used to pre-pay for your reservation along with a valid photo I.D. No exceptions will be made to this requirement. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit and cancellation of the reservation. Travel agent note: For commissionable 72-hour sale rates please call 888-799-4747. Available 7 days a week. For a Friday or Saturday night stay, two-night minimum required and must include a Thursday or Sunday night. Available 7 days a week, a Friday or Saturday night stay requires minimum 2 nights stay with a Thursday or Sunday included. Valid through December 31, 2005, at all domestic Wyndham Hotels, Wyndham Resorts, Wyndham Luxury Resorts and Florida hotels and Summerfield Suites by Wyndham. Excludes Viva Wyndham Resorts, Las Casitas Village and Golden Door

Being one of the probably longest-still-active members of TOBB (my membership is dating back to the days when it still was a Yahoo!-Club) I today finally made it to the band of the banned as well. Seems like Sheryl has a real problem in taking some fire after giving out herself... Immediate reason for being banned was the dispute here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442789 Well...as I used TOBB for research only in the recent past it does not really matter to me much. I will just use an Anonymizer (there are countless free ones available) when accessing the site... Greetings - Dirk

Not really a new hotel - this was formerly the Sheraton Cleveland Centre. It just got rebranded a short while ago... Greetings - Dirk

Just received an eMail back from the hotel's manager, and indeed there is hotel-staff available 24/7 by using a phone outside the frontdesk. So if this systems works (I have never tried this before) it seems I am safe... Oh, and of course I will have a car - using coupons etc. it's cheaper to rent a car for two days anyhow than for the one I really need a car... Greetings - Dirk

For the second night in Cleveland the hotel has to be more central - so I went for downtown. Bid $38, rejected, added Westlake and raised to $42, acceped at: Crowne Plaza City Centre Zone: Downtown Cleveland 777 St. Clair Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44114 216-771-7600 Check-In Date: Sat, Aug 27, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Aug 28, 2005 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $42.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $42.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.86 Total Charges: $55.86 Not exactly what I had hoped for but still a very decent place (was a Sheraton until recently). Also it is located very centrally and is in walking-distance of many attractions. Maybe I can get the other attendees of the Flyertalk-Europe's-coming-to-CLE-DO to stay there as well (regular rate starts at $79 for that night)... Parking is $15 per night, btw, but I read elsewhere that there is ample free street-parking on the weekend. Hotel also offers High-Speed-Internet (important for me when on the road) - but no idea if there is a charge for that or not. Greetings - Dirk

After getting on the LON-CLE error-fare for August (tickets were sold for under $200 roundtrip including taxes) I need a hotel for the two nights I will be there. First night sees me coming in very late (around midnight), so I just need a place to crash for the night. Decided to stay close to the airport for the least money possible. Bid $20 for airport-vincinity, but was rejected, added Airport-South for $25 and was accepted at: Homestead Studio Suites Cleveland North Olmsted Zone: Cleveland Airport Vicinity 24851 Country Club Blvd North Olmsted, Ohio 44070 440-777-8585 Check-In Date: Sun, Jun 26, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Jun 27, 2005 Check-Out Time: 11:00 AM Your Offer Price: $25.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $25.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $10.95 Total Charges: $35.95 Suits my needs well, but this hotel bears a small problem. From their website: "Office Hours Monday - Friday 6:30 A.M. - 9 P.M. Saturday - Sunday 7 A.M. - 10 P.M. " Does this mean I have to checkin by 9pm? If so I am getting into trouble as my flight arrives at CLE at 11:52p. Well, just send an eMail to the hotel. Does anybody here have experience with Homestead Studio Suites in regard to check-in time??? Greetings - Dirk