denangme

First bid accepted. Used the PRICELINE link.

These were the amenities when I booked: Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access

2 rooms for $56 each. I used the betterbidding.com HOTWIRE link. Hotel - 2 rooms, 1 night Renaissance Toronto Hotel Downtown One Blue Jays Way Toronto, Ontario M5V 1J4 Canada (416) 341-7100 Hotel rate per night: $56.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 2 Subtotal: $112.00 Tax recovery charges & fees: $19.98 Total price: $131.98

First bid accepted. I used the betterbidding PRICELINE link. Renaissance Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Downtown 107 Sixth Street Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 412 562-1200 See Hotel Website View Map and Directions Check-In Date: Sat, Dec 20, 2008 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Dec 21, 2008 / 12:00 PM

Ended up booking through HOTWIRE @ $269 per night for a total of $928. 4* Times Square - Theater District. Amenities are: fitness, restaurant, high-speed, business center, & spa. Used this Hotwire New York thread to identify that it was the Westin Times-Square. A little above my price point but appears to be a solid hotel. Any success in collecting miles on a hotwire stay?

Thanks for the back-up plan, however I'm starting to lean towards upping my bid to $250/night. (my uneducated opinion is that I'll get a better 4* on priceline than the Paramount or Gild Hall - true?) Another question, is it advantageous to wait another few days before bidding again? (first night is in 9 days). IE. When do hotels typically release rooms to priceline? Are there Thursday evening "fare dumps", or they most commonly release 7 days prior to the stay, etc... or have you noticed that priceline prices are lowest 7 days prior to the stay date, and then start to increase again?

Update: Bid the following for my stay (6/19 - 6/22) with no success: CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS 4* 190 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES 4* 197 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS 4* 205 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG 4* 212 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG/LIC 4* 220 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG/LIC/BRK 4* 225

In order, I would 1) increase the bid to ~$220 for all three nights, 2) split the stay, 3) lower the star quality. Any estimation of price difference between the nights during this stay? IE. could I get Thursday @ $250/night and Fri/Sat @ $160/night? Am I right in assuming more hotels free up during the weekend during this period? (Online rates appear to indicate this is true.) (Updated other thread)

Never knew you could review your past purchases! I checked this trip and stand corrected... I bid on a 4* (3/14-3/16) @ $159 per night that had the following amenities: -Fitness Center -Restaurant(s) -Business Center -Laundry Facilities -High-speed Internet Access -Spa Services It was the James Hotel.

So the following bids for my 6/19 - 6/22 stay got rejected. CPS 4* 130 CPS/MTW 4* 140 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS 4* 150 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES 4* 155 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS 4* 165 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG 4* 170 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG/LIC 4* 175 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG/LIC/BRK 4* 180 CPS/MTW/MTE/ESB/TS/UES/UWS/MSG/LIC/BRK/CHL 4* 185 Any advice on what to do next? My ideas are splitting up the stays (which days?), consider 3*, try again by increasing my bid.

Thank you.

Ended up taking the 3.5* on Hotwire for both nights (3/14 & 3/15) at $141 per night. It was the James Hotel.

Going to NYC for a long weekend. Looking for a 4* for these three nights (Thurs June 19 - Sun June 22). Definitely want to stay in Manhattan, preferably Central Park area. Not too familiar with where the ideal areas to stay are, so possibly open to Times Square, Midtown West and others. Maximum bid would be around $200. Any advice would be appreciated as bidding for NYC is a little overwhelming. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice! How often can I rebid on PRICELINE? I would like to re-bid using your suggestions.

Yes, splitting the stay between hotels is possible. No, $100 is not my absolute max.

Bid #1) 4*, North Michigan Ave - River North Area, $60 - rejected Bid #2) 4*, Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area, $65 - rejected Bid #3) 4*, Midway Airport Area, $70 - rejected My plan: -book a hotel that i can cancel -rebid as above later this week, but change the final bid to ~$100 Any advice would be appreciated.

1st and only bid... Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$60.00 Subtotal: US$60.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$16.24 Total Charges: US$76.24 Marriott Toronto Bloor Yorkville Downtown Toronto 90 Bloor Street East Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A7 416-961-8000 See Hotel Website View Map and Directions Check-In Date: Sat, Dec 29, 2007 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Dec 30, 2007 / 12:00 PM

You're probably already aware of this strategy, but in case you are not... I'm heading to Italy (either VCE or FCO) for ~8-10 days near the beginning of July. Our plan was to fly Iberia to MAD or BCN for ~800 then take a discount European airline - Easy Jet or Ryanair - from there to our destination in Italy for ~150 roundtrip. Unfortunately, I don't see those fares into Spain anymore. Now our plan is to fly into London (LHR or LGW) for ~800 then out of LTN or STN to Italy for ~200 round trip. Add in another 50-100 in cab fares (or less for public transporation) and you got your flight to Italy and back for (1000-1100) plus a "free" stopover in another city. I see Ryanair flies from STN to TRS.

My 2nd post. My apologies for not having in the proper format. Congratulations, you got your price of $75 for a 4-star hotel room. Save even more when you add a rental car below. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$75.00 Subtotal: US$150.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$30.39 Total Charges: US$180.39 Intercontinental Toronto Downtown Toronto 220 Bloor Street West Toronto, Ontario M5S 1T8 416-960-5200 Check-In Date: Fri, Jan 12, 2007 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Jan 14, 2007 / 12:00 PM