birdnutty

Thanks for the strategy. I tried it two nights ago, with no luck. I still don't know whether or not I have the EasyClickTravel hotel deal or not for that night, so I have to keep trying Priceline. I guess I can up the bids by $5 or $10, but i'm getting near my limit. Do I use the same strategy, just with the different numbers? I will add the airport area, too, if I must, altho I really am trying to avoid the northwest corner. Thanks again

LOVE the Betterchecker. Very convenient. I checked all around till my head is spinning, and rates change faster than I can change pages. It appears that a great majority of the 3* or more are over $200, even at the airport, altho EasyClickTravel has a 3* believed to be Holiday Inn Airport for $109. So I tried to reserve that room, and am waiting to see f they can confirm it. Have you ever heard of anyone having trouble with canceling their reservation with them? Their terms and conditions were a little fuzzy in places. As long as EasyClickTravel is cancellable, I'm still interested in obtaining a room in Miami Beach, so would like to try the bidding process again later. I'll have to raise my top bid to $125. Can't go much beyond that. Thank you!

Got a reservation with comfort inn down in Florida City for $89, and not likely to do much better than that, but will keep checking back. Thank you so much for your assistance with this process. I'll keep you posted in I find anything more interesting that I want to bid on. Still have the following night in abeyance, but that's another thread altogether. Thanks again.

Hi. Well, the bidding gods are not on my side today. Using savingsbarn, I bid as instructed, no luck. Am I best off repeating tonight's pattern tomorrow night, or do you think I'd be more successful if I raised it a bit? Thanks again for your help.

Hi. Did all the above....All rejected. Since I'm not familiar with pricing in this area, I don't know if the "going rates" are high or not. I'm at a loss as to what I should bid from here. At what point is a bid too high? Advice, please?

Looking for: Miami Beach (1st choice) South Beach (2nd) Downtown (last) Maximum bid: $100 Minimum star rating: 3*, If I am getting the hang of this, it appears that I have 2 re-bid zones - North Miami, and Southwest So I bid Miami Beach, 3*, $50 (?). Add re-bid zone No Miami, bid $55. Close browser. Then I get a little confused as to strategy. Help!

Hi again. Went thru savingsbarn each time, and I did everything exactly as directed - everything was rejected. For our next approach......? Thanks for working with me.

Thank you so much! I'm starting to get the hang of it, I think. I need to wait a few more hours nefore I can bid, just in case they stick rigidly to the 24 hr schedule. One thing remains unclear, depsite reading all the material in the posts you suggested. "Select 2.5* Southwest... Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously When you say. add re-bid zone... Am I: - adding a zone that has no 2.5 stars or above, such as North Miami (this is the only one that has no 2.5* or above) or - just raising my bid to $55 for the existing one? One more thing: I need to do this again for another area for the following night. May I bid on Priceline again for that stay tonight after this one is completed, or will I have to wait another 24 hours? Thanks!

>>>>I assume price is more important than zone? (ie- you'd prefer a less expensive hotel in Dadeland (your second zone choice) than a more expensive hotel in Southwest (your first zone choice))<<<< Oy. Such decisions..... Yes, that's fine. A less expensive hotel in Dadeland than a more expensive one in SW. I wish I knew how much fees and taxes normally run! If I assume that T & F are $40, then my max bid should be $85. I've been working from a bottom line perspective. Perhaps that's the wrong way to go. But I'm trying to be realistic, too.

Hi again. Zones, by preference order, I guess would be Southwest, Dadeland, coral gables Minimum star level would be a 2.5*. Preferred maximum is anything in those zones that I can get for under $125, including fees and taxes. With AAA rate, I can get Amerisuites for that night for 162. Thanks for your patience.

An overbid is exactly what I fear. I'm new at this, trying hard to figure out the strategy. Apparently unsuccessful so far. Please bear with me. What I did was add zones that I figure I could deal with - I need to be between the southern Everglades (friday's activity) and Biscayne park (Saturday's activity). I don't need fancy, but clean, safe and preferably with breakfast. Would prefer not to spend over $125 total. Is that unrealistic? Does that answer the questions adequately?

Thanks for your prompt reply! "To try your request again, change one or more items with a check. " Thanks, Lois

Hi! I'm trying to get a decent price on a hotel in Southwest Miami for 1 night, 1/12/07. Would prefer Amerisuites, a 2.5* Most prices for this night at the Amerisuites are around $175. Lowest price I saw was priceline for Quality Inn Kendall (2*) at 109 Bid Southwest Miami, 2.5* $35 rejected Added Dadeland, added 2* $35 rejected Added Coral Gables, $40, got a screen saying that that I'm not likely to get this, and to make it my best offer, since I will have to wait another 24 hours. So I changed it to $45, still rejected. But they gave me another chance. I'm keeping the screen open for awhile, since I am now totally befuddled as to what to do. I don't want to overbid and end up with the Quality Inn. Have I done it right so far? What should my next step be?

Just to clarify - I just stayed at the Wyndham Condado on 3/6/04, and yes, they did charge a resort fee of 11% ( I don't know what number the percentage was done on, but it came to $12.45) This was over and above hotwire fees and taxes. They also tried to double charge me for the original tax, which I had paid through Hotwire. They took it off readily, once it was brought to their attention. Just pay attention to what they charge you extra for.

A review: We stayed here on Sat, March 6. The grounds are gorgeous, the room was very nice, although on a major road that was extremely noisy. It only started cooking around 10 PM and built up from there. Thank God we always travel with earplugs, or we never would've slept a wink. Before we checked in, they wanted an imprint of my card, which was fine, then made me sign an agreement that I would be paying 2 taxes, the regular hotel tax, and a resort fee. Each was 11%. I knew I'd already paid the regular tax through Hotwire, so I told the clerk that and crossed off that part of the agreement. Sure 'nough, tho, the next day when I got my bill, it was all on there. I fixed it with the morning clerk, who readily took it off without a second glance. I can't help but wonder if they do this all the time and actually get away with it with some folks. My $130 room still ended up costing me over $165 by the time taxes and Hotwire fees were added. It could've cost me $177 if I hadn't been paying attention. Breakfast at the Wyndham was outrageous - $6 for coffee and 2 danish, or $17 for a buffet. We walked down the street about 200 feet and found a nice little caf

I just got the Wyndham Condado on Hotwire for $132 (3/6). Grand total, including taxes and fees - 152.95. I am pleased. Thank you for your help. I have a better understanding of how to do this now.

How much did the absolute total come to for the one night? Hotwire adds the disclaimer that resort fees are not included in their price. Right now they're offering what I believe to be the Wyndham Condado again, at $132, with taxes and fees at $20.95 for a grand total of $152.95. Is that close to what you ended up with as a final price? I just don't want any surprises once I go for it. Thanks!

It's at the El Canario by the Lagoon. $140 ( minus 10 or 15% AAA discount) gets us a queen bed and a good breakfast. It's cancellable up to 4 days in advance, so I figured I'd be safe with it. It's gotten good reviews, is AAA approved and is close to the piers,too. It's not a resort, but it should do, if I can't get a resort. Thanks for the explanation on the way Priceline works. I understand alot better now.

So what should my strategy be at this point? Does it make any difference whether I bid in $10 or $25 increments? To not pay any more than the hotel that I already have reserved ($140 complete), my max bid should be 110, no? That would be 110 hotel, 22% tax (I'm assuming casino), and Priceline's $10 cut. Am I talking snowball in Hell here? What happens if you bid the same amount three days after your last bid? Is there any chance of ever getting it, or do they keep records of that kind of thing and ignore you at that point? I'm still trying to get a handle on how it all works, so please excuse any dumb questions I might ask.

They don't say. They just ask me if I can extend my area, change my dates. Then offer me a window to rebid, stating that "You should consider a price above your original offer of $95 per night to increase your chances of getting a hotel room in the Puerto Rico area. ", then state that the average retail price of a resort is $275.

Twice more I have bid on Priceline for a resort class hotel, each time raising my bid by $10. ( I already have a hotel reserved that's only going to cost me $140 total, and I really don't want to go any higher than that.) Each time the bid was rejected, but with an offer to bid again higher immediately. My last offer of $95 was this morning, once again with an offer to rebid right away. On checking Hotwire, I noticed that the hotel that we're pretty sure was the Wyndham Condado fluctuated both up and down by as much as $10 over the course of the 11 day period, and now appears to have disappeared altogether. On checking webrates directly, it said they were full. Any tricks as to what I should do now, especially with the offer to rebid now? Thanks!

Oops! Just realized that Priceline doesn't do 4*. I got it mixed up with Hotwire. But I still have the other questions remaining....

Well, I gathered up my courage and tried $75 on Priceline, which was rejected. I bid on a resort level - should I change that to 4*? What would the difference be? I'd prefer not to stay in the Isla Verde area, only because I would like to be as close to the cruise docks as possible. What are my chances that I could end up far away? I do have a safety hotel - the El Canario at the Lagoon ($140 minus AAA discount), so I have room to play. I keep reading about a 72 hour limit, yet I don't see it on Priceline. Is this a bidding strategy? I still have the window open to rebid on my last rejected offer. Thanks!

Hi Thereuare. Thanks for your help thus far. My date is 3/6 to 3/7 pre-cruise. I just checked Hotwire, and going by the info given in the other areas in this forum, checked the packages available, etc. There's a 3 1/2 star available for that night for $137. I'm taking a not-so-educated guess that it's the Wyndham Condado. If it is, is that a good price? What are my chances that it is? I'm hoping to stay pretty close to the piers, and all the hotels look so very expensive. But after reading this forum and hearing the low prices some folks are paying, I have no clue as to what's good. Should I wait a bit longer? What's your opinion?