Hi Tokar, It looks like I started bidding around eight days before our stay. I don't remember what my first bid was, but I always start as low as I can after determining what prices others on the board have won. In this case, there was not much to go on as most of the posted wins were for weekends, and I thought I read once that downtown hotels are emptier during the weekend as they cater to business people during the week. In this case nobody seemed to get anything for less than $80, so I probably started around $75 (since at 4* there are lots of rebid opportunities). I base my increments on how many rebids are available and the prices other bidders have won. In downtown Portland at 4* there is no need to create a new request with so many free rebids available. Hope that helps.