BurBunny

I used to wonder the same thing about the "revolving" icons for the same hotel. I'd seen time when the Amerisuites would be available at a certain price, then the next time I'd come back and see a 2.5* hotel with just the shuttle and pool icon at the same price, and wonder if it wasn't Hotwire trying to further mask the real hotel. That's why I'm so glad to see there really *is* another hotel at this level in this zone, especially since the Comfort Suites in this location is quite popular. Nice going!

Ah HA! So this is the mystery property which has been coming up. Thanks! Are you sure about the breakfast icon? I've not seen that at the 2.5 star level in Downtown except for the Amerisuites (and I just did some searching again and couldn't duplicate it). If you are sure, then you've just identified a "key amenity" for identifying this property - excellent!

The rationale which is appropriate for regular airfare decisions is good here, too. If you find a fare you like, buy it, and don't look back. Two airlines - Continental and Delta - will credit you the difference if your fare goes down. As to the impact of the war, if it is anything but extremely short, expect fares to go up, because airlines will begin cutting flights further, decreasing the supply. Several executives have said they're not looking at cutting fares right now, because they don't feel that will change who is flying - they'd only be reducing fares for people who already are flying, which is a bad business decision. Depending on how many flights are cut and people are laid off due to the war, when it's over they *may* reduce fares temporarily to get peoople back in the air. But that is far from certain.

Olson, You might want to check Hotwire again. I just did a search on it for March 22, and Embassy Suites came up (3.5* Downtown with red "S" for Suite icon) for $93 a night. They do have rooms with 2 double beds and a pull-out sofa, which would work for your situation. Might be a nice option for you :)

Bidding for a friend. First bid (just because I had lots of free rebids and couldn't resist) at $70 - rejected Your Offer Price: $80.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 5 Subtotal: $400.00 Taxes: $39.50 Processing Fee: $5.95 Total Charges: $445.45 Tax rate for this hotel = 10% Since my previous try for 5/23-5/26 couldn't get accepted for all three nights together, and I had to split into individual nights (Saturday being the hang-up) was surprised to see this go through. This resort must have a preference for longer stays. I'll re-bid the 5/24 for the other reservation later today :)

LOL Thereuare! Miracles never cease! Jawdad, it's hard to say about high/low season with the 3* properties in Fort Lauderdale. 2002 winter prices didn't see much of a variance over summer. As recently as August last year, January 2003 prices were about the same as summer - a touch higher, but still in the $55-60 range. However, then availability dried up and prices went up dramatically for the rest of the winter season, though we're seeing them come back down nicely for summer (as they should). Since you have plenty of time, I think I'd bid conservatively right now. No harm in bidding now at all as long as your plans are firmed up and you don't mind having a non-refundable hotel set. My recommendation would be to bid at $55 first, then use your Miramar free rebid zone and bid $60 if that's rejected. If neither of those work, you can try $65 and $70 the next time (minimum of 72 hours later), and so on. However, I'd not go above $75 this far out. Too many variables and too much time. I probably wouldn't go above $65, but that's me. As a point of reference, there have been many rooms in November gotten for around $57, though that is definitely shoulder season. January is the beginning of high season, so prices if they follow demand should be higher. But Priceline prices this far out don't always mirror demand. If your traveling companions don't want to put all the rooms on one credit card (so they can be bid together and guarantee you all will be in the same hotel), then definitely make sure to bid them as close together as possible. The 3* zone seems to go in cycles - for awhile all the wins will be the Embassy Suites, then awhile the Marriott Marina and back again. I don't believe I've ever noted a time when they were both getting acceptances in the same time frame. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but just relaying my experience. Hope that helps! Definitely do ask any other questions you have before bidding :)

In bidding a Resort* property today in Las Vegas, I noticed that if I selected a zone for rebid that had a 5* property, Priceline then added 5* as being selected. In other words, zones with a 5* property are *not* free rebid zones for a Resort. If you're bidding resort level, to be safe, only select zones with max 4* level for your rebids.

Bidding for a friend. Bidding 2 rooms. Tried to bid 5/23-5/26, but was rejected up to $90 Then tried separating 5/23-5/25 or 5/24-5/26. Also both rejected. Bid 5/23 separately. Accepted at $80 Bid 5/24 separately. Rejected up to $100 Bid 5/25 separately. Accepted at $80 One thing to note. Do not use a zone containing a 5* property as a free rebid zone for a Resort - PL will mark the 5* option. So free rebid zones for Resorts are those with max level of 4* or above - just like a 5* bid. Your Offer Price: $80.00 Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $160.00 Taxes: $15.80 Processing Fee: $11.90 Total Charges: $187.70 Hotel shows tax rate as 10%, so PL price was actually $79 per room. Will keep trying for 5/24 :)

As a note on the checkmarks in all the levels, this is why you always want to start at your highest * level and bid down. When you bid lower levels, all the levels above you are automatically selected. So you may check 3*, but Priceline sees you as bidding 3, 4 and 5*. So if you want to bid a 4 or 5* separately, with a higher price than you'd bid a 3*, you'd need to bid those first, then start over with a completely new bid and bid 3*, etc.

Terrific post with GREAT information! Thank you! :)

Priceline is the same way. Generally, you need to know which major city a smaller city is near to figure out the "parent" zone. Maybe Priceline and Hotwire will revive geography education in the US :)

There are always Hotmail free email accounts... :)

Will be interested in hearing Hotwire's response. Many upper-level hotels will rent a refrigerator to you if you have need (such as keeping medication refrigerated). On Hotwire, also look for a "kitchenette" icon - any of those properties will automatically have a small refrigerator.

The $10 bonus money many of us received came from being registered with Priceline. We were emailed the offer. How it worked was if you wanted to bid $75 on a property, you'd actually make a bid of $65, and Priceline would add $10 a night to your bid, making it really $75. Priceline does this from time to time. Register at Priceline, and keep watching here :)

On these HK bids, can you also post the exchange rate (do I recall correctly that it's 7.8 HK to $?) so that bidders can get a sense of the deal? Thanks :) Definitely can learn a lot here about using the different PLs for your benefit!

On these HK bids, can you also post the exchange rate (do I recall correctly that it's 7.8 HK to $?) so that bidders can get a sense of the deal? Thanks :)

That really is odd! I checked a couple sites to make sure the taxes are still at 11%, and all my sources say the same thing. Wonder if PL is doing one of those promotions where they are reducing their prices, but haven't told us about it yet? Regardless, you got a gift there! Enjoy!

Starr, if you got to the page asking for your details, you were on a purchase page, and you'd selected a hotel. :) You select your hotel on the page where they show the prices and icon amenities, then you put in your info, and finally once that's complete Hotwire shows you what you've purchased.

Congrats, Windchaser! Glad the information was of help - welcome to BetterBidding! :)

Ken, I definitely agree with Thereuare here. While you'll need to wait 72 hours before you can bid again, I'd not bid less than $75 for the 3* Downtown zone for your dates. Another option for you while you're waiting would be to see if Valuetrips (Valuetrips) has availability at the Amerisuites that night. They offer fully cancellable reservations, either at $79 or $99. Also, take a look at the Holiday Inn Express. They have some attractive pricing and are a good property in the same Downtown area on 17th. Then rebid in 3 days for the 3* :)

One method I use for narrowing down which hotel *might* be the Hotwire property is to do an Expedia search. For that, I'd do a search for 3* or above, then see what's in the area. Look at exactly what Expedia has listed for amenities. Almost all the time, they will match up exactly with what Hotwire lists. For example, if a property doesn't list a fitness center in their description, and Hotwire has a fitness center icon, you can eliminate that property. The problem comes when there is more than one property which matches the icons. Then you have to guess. Plus there can be properties not listed by Expedia with which Hotwire has contracts. That's not common, but it has happened. Until someone reports amenities lists from a win, all you can do is make a more educated guess. If you need more help with this, just holler!

Isn't that fansastic?! This is really taking off!

I always look for the taxes, too, so I can find out if the price paid is the actual Priceline price or if I might be able to bid slightly lower. Any bid history of rejected bids can also be very helpful.

Great job, Dave! Hope you have a fabulous cruise! Would you mind posting the taxes paid as shown on your receipt? That will help others in the future as well :)

Looks like a friend isn't going to use my last bonus... so we have one more here to use, same terms - $10 per night, $50 max, one time use: Priceline $10 Hotel Bonus As with the others, it expires today, and is for one use only. Happy bidding, and if you're successful, please post here :)