chemist661

Thank you for your kind words. I have used the travel links twice & will do many more times in the future.

I bid each night pre & post cruise out of Honolulu. Seeing a previous bidder recently got this hotel for $80, I bid $60, no go. I added HNL airport zone, bid $65. No go. Waited a few days. Started another bid at $70. No go. Add HNL airport and bid $75. Got the add $22 counteroffer. I added another zone (that has only resort in it), bid $80. Success! Got the Radisson & am quite happy about that. :) Our cruise is for our honeymoon & getting the Radisson will be decent for our pre & post cruise hotel. :)

I bid $60 & $65. No go. After a few days, I bid again. Bid $70, got counteroffer to add $22. I added Long Beach airport and bid $74. Won bid & got the Long Beach Hilton. Best rate is $170 which is prepay & non refundable. I bid this far ahead because I am getting married & wanted someplace nice to stay after the wedding. :)

If one bids direct with the hotel at www.hoteldesartistes.com, they have a cash rate of 66 euros/night. If hotwire did not have a rebate, booking at the hotel site will save $$. 66 euros is equal to about $80.77. If one don't care about paying cash when checking in, booking with the hotel direct may be better. Non opaque, and cheaper. The other thing is that you don't have to pay until you check in. I only skimmed their terms/condition, but I would imagine that their cancellation policy would be better than hotwire's. With hotwire, you are stuck with their choice. It just happen that I like getting this hotel. Decent reviews on trip advisor, close to the station, etc. With the rebate, it is less for me. Next time, I will book direct.

The amenities are the following: Hotel, restaurant, comp breakfast, high speed internet. Also, it is likely this hotel if under the base price quoted, it says "taxes, tip included". If it doesn't say "taxes, tip included", it is likely another hotel.

I spoke to the CS rep & she told me that all 3 bids would qualify since I did them all within an hour. She noted my account to that effect. She went over with me that the first one was done at a certain time, the second one 15 min later & the 3rd one 6 min after that. It will be interesting to see what happens. Thanks for bringing up the one claim per household no less than every 6 weeks.

I talked to hotwire.com and I submitted claims for "double the difference". I should get the following amounts back: $99 minus $81 = $18. double difference is $36. $99 minus $81 = $18. double difference is $36. $92 minus $81 = $11. double difference is $22. The Customer service rep told me I can put in for the $30 rebates because the rebates & the "double the difference" are separate programs. Too bad they work with pretax amount & not give the booking fee back. Oh well, the deal is sweet if I get both credits. (double difference & rebate). :)

I'll explain what I did. To take advantage of the $30 rebates, I did 3 separate reservations. (I have 3 different entertainment books). The prices are as follows: 11/25 $99 ($106.15 total) 11/26 $99 ($106.15 total) 11/27 $92 ($99.15 total) On each of these dates, it said that the tax/tip was already included in the bid. That means that the hotwire fee is $7.15. Since there is a $30 rebate on each bid, I did 3 bids. I was fairly confident that the same hotel would come up since it said on each bid that tax/tip was already included. I did get the Hotel des Artistes for all 3 dates. Trip advisor reviews rated the hotel decently. (avg 3.5 out of 5). I checked the www.hoteldesartistes.com website & each night only costs 66 euro ($80.77 US) if prepaid. I will talk to hotwire & check into low price guarantee. Bottom line: Lets get some more date points & check what other booking sites/individual hotel prices compare to the hotwire price. Should be interesting. :)

Bid for my last night in Rome. Thought $64 was a very nice price for 3* double in Rome. Reviews on trip advisor were mixed. Fordors said it was best deal in its class. Total price w/ taxes & fees was $74.67. Hotel is 20-30 min walk from Termini train station.

I first checked hotwire & most 3/4* in the Ohare zone were over $100. Hotwire did have a 2.5* for $45. Checked to see if I can get it for less on PL. Started at $32. No. Went $33, was told to raise by $8. Bid $35, got the Chicago Ohare hotel. (that used to be the former Doubletree Club). I used the various DT zones for rebids. (DT was fine). The Ohare Hilton was over $150 on various sites & the DT hotels 2.5*-4* were not available on hotwire. I wanted a inexpensive room to overnite on my way to Ireland.

Although San Diego is pricy in the summer, I decided to splurge. I see that $88-90 may win this zone--San Diego coastal. I bid $85, no go. I bid $86, got counteroffer to add $22. Bid $88. This bid did the "trick". I usually don't pay that much for a hotel, but this is a decent deal considering that it is "peak" season in San Diego and bargain hotel deals are getting harder to come by. The hilton rate is $199/night so I did decent on this bid. Many thanks to this board & the posters for all the excellent info!

I would complain to Ramada corporate after the fact. Tell them that non smoking rooms were available for booking on the web. (ramada site). During checkin, I would bring up health issues due to tobacco smoke in confined places. (ie hotel room). I usually ask nicely about bed/smoking preference. Lately, alot of the hotels I won bids on were nonsmoking. I ask nicely if I can have 2 beds. All but one time, my bedding requests were accomodated. (the one time it wasn't done, I got a free roll away and a nicer room. :)

I bid $40. Got counteroffer to raise bid $12. I go 25% of the increase. I did new bid adding Las Vegas speedway/Nellis zone (2* max in this zone). I bid $43 & won. Got the Residence Inn Hughes Center. I like having a suite with full kitchen. Free hot/cold breakfast is nice. :)

Bid $32. Got counteroffer to add $9. Bid $34. Another counteroffer for $8. Bid $36. Accepted. Phoenix Airport Hilton. Used free rebid zones of West Phoenix, Fountain Hills, Phoenix North. I stayed there for free on an United "bump" and it was a decent hotel.

Bid $52. Got a counteroffer to add $15. I usually go 1/4 of the counteroffer. Bid $56. Won the Radisson Woodlands. Regular rates on Travelocity, Expedia, Hotels.com are approx $90/night.

Checked the other board, someone won the Hilton with a $32 bid. Bid $30, got counteroffer to add $8. Added Coronado and bid $32. (although not a true free rebid, I wouldn't object if they gave me a hotel on Coronado!!). There is one free rebid zone for a 3*. Question: Is there any street parking close to the Hilton so I don't have to pay the $11 for parking? I don't mind walking a little ways.

Based my bidding on reading another thread. Bid the following: Bid $40 for 2.5* Del Mar zone. Got counteroffer to raise bid by $12. Added Coronado, bid $42. Success! Got the Courtyard by Marriott, Solana Beach. Could have ended up with the Hilton like the bidder on the other thread. Satisfied with the Courtyard. Nice hotel & free parking. :) One night 1/23/05.

Bidding the following: (4 rebid zones for 3*) $34, 37, 40, 44. Success at $44. :) Hilton.com price was $87 for 2 adults.

Looking at previous postings for 2*, bids were won a $25. I started at $25, got counteroffer to raise bid by $5. Bid $27, won bid! Got the following hotel. Towneplace Suites (a Marriott brand) 11588 Leona Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Checked out their website, rooms have kitchenettes. I'm glad this one came up. Hotel looks fairly new. :)

Bid $37. Got counteroffer to add $11. Started over adding one free rebid zone. Bid $40. Success! Relatives need hotel near airport to catch flight out next morning.

I bid $45/50/55 using 2 free rebid zones. No success. Waited, then started over. Bid $60, got counteroffer to raise bid $17. Started new bid adding one free rebid zone. I upped bid only $3 to $63, success! Got the Hyatt. Sidestep & Hotels.com prices were over $200/night. Got an excellent deal. :)

Bid $27 and successful. Great price for 3*! :)

Bid $35. Added free rebid zone Redwood city. Bid $37. Success.

Bid $34 with Downtown San Jose. Added free rebid Redwood City and bid $37. Bid successful!

If you take the "hotel hoppa" shuttle bus, they will charge 3 pounds for each person & they make lots of stops. What I did when I stayed at this hotel right after New Year's was I took one of the buses from the bus terminal from LHR to the hotel. Check with the info desk to determine which bus you need to take. (I recall that you take one of the buses from stations #17,18,19,20). For that short distance, the ride is free. Make sure you get the stop right by the hotel. On the way back, it was quicker for me to catch the bus to LHR. (walk across the street and down the block). I had only carry on luggage so it was easier, cheaper & quicker for me than the hoppa shuttle bus. If you have lots of luggage, then the Hoppa may be more feasible. (I think it's the Hoppa #6)