big turk

Tried bidding all over Minneapolis-St. Paul for a 4*, started at around $40 and went up to $67 using bids, rebids, etc. No luck. Then I bid for a 3.5* starting in the Airport-Mall of America area at $45. The first attempt resulted in a hit at the Sheraton Bloomington, which looks like a good deal to me. Minneapolis is probably the city where I have enjoyed the most success with Hotwire and Priceline, so it is always a pleasure to book knowing that I will get a good price!

Started bidding using the PRICELINE link above for two rooms, one night in Moncton, New Brunswick. Began with a bid of $66, 3* for Moncton, denied. Raised bid to $68, 3* for Moncton and added Dieppe. Bid accepted by the Residence Inn Moncton, a brand-new hotel located in downtown Moncton. It is rated number one in town by TripAdvisor. I am very pleased with this outcome, as I couldn't even get an Econo Lodge in Moncton for that price through conventional booking sites.

Started using the PRICELINE link above - note that this bid was for 2 rooms. Began at $50 for Halifax, 4 stars - rejected Added Dartmouth zone, upped price to $51 - rejected Added 3.5 stars, still $51 - rejected Added 3 stars, still $51 - accepted This appears to be a substantial savings over the regular price, so I am very pleased with the outcome of this bid.

Started bidding at 4* using the link above, as follows: 1) Downtown Toronto, $45 - rejected 2) Added Don Valley (no 4* in this zone), $49 - rejected 3) Added Toronto West (no 4* in this zone), $54 - accepted At $54, I'd consider this a fair deal. With prices like this, it seems that now is a good time to head to Toronto.

Priceline only has one Lisbon bid zone which encompasses central Lisbon. This appears to be a somewhat large area so anyone with their heart set on a specific quarter of Lisbon should pay heed to this. I bid once for a 4* at $65 - rejected. Second bid for a 4* at $72 - accepted. To date I have used Hotwire to book some rooms for my June vacation to Spain and Portugal. This was the first time I used Priceline as Hotwire doesn't serve Lisbon. The value provided is similar to what Hotwire has given me to date in this region - good, if unspectactular deals. The $72 price ($81 with taxes and fees) is below the Tripadvisor average of $121 and lower than most websites "special deals", although Orbitz was only a couple bucks more. Still, I am satisfied. As always, I used the PRICELINE link above to start my search! Thanks!

Used the HOTWIRE link above to select this property. Amenities shown include restaurants and laundry facilities. The price is OK - looking at TripAdvisor, it appears that I am getting at most a $10 discount off the promotional rates at other websites, but since it's in an area I was looking at anyway, I'll take it. If I may editorialize though, it appears that based on my experiences so far, the deals to be had on Hotwire are much less appealing in Spain than in the U.S.A.

The only amenity shown for this property was KITCHENETTE.

Used the HOTWIRE link above to select this property. I am very pleased with the location as it is in the middle of Old Madrid, but looking at the website it does not really resemble a 4-star property. I guess I'll have to wait and see, but as nice as it is it doesn't look 4-star worthy. The price is reasonable - $104 is a bit of a discount, but by looking around various other travel websites it is apparent that it's by no means a fire sale price (it could probably be had for around $120 elsewhere). Still, it's a peak season in a busy city, so I'm satisfied!

Ironically enough this is our corporate preferred hotel that I was trying to get away from to try something different, but I suppose that at least I'll be getting it for nearly $50 less than the regular rate! Anyway, I kept it pretty simple: 1. Bid - Ottawa 4* - $93 rejected 2. Re-bid - Ottawa 3* - $93 accepted I'm quite familiar with the property and it's well located and nicely appointed. It's not opulent, but it is quite comfortable and not a bad deal for $93. (Note to admins: I'm getting better at remembering to use the PRICELINE / HOTWIRE links here) :)

Started out at $60 for 3* in White House-Downtown. Added $2 and a zone twice. Stayed 3*. Ended up with the 4* Hyatt Regency for $64.

I can't say with 100% certainty that it was the last zone I added, but it was definitely among the last one or two zones in the Washington DC area that I added. I should also point out that this was for 2 rooms.

Started at $71 and went up in $1 increments by adding zones. I wasn't too picky about where I stayed, but I kept it at 3*.