snarksnark

I saved $3 with by bidding on Price.line! (Priceline.Express Deals was offering a 4* hotel at CAD$188. My bids up to $182 were rejected. My bid at $187, $1 less than the Express Deal, was accepted.)

Bidding as usual, starting from the happy PRICELINE link on this very site. Bids of up to $91 for a 4* were unsuccessful. However, since I was using the Delta Chelsea as my backup plan, and it appears to be the only hotel people are winning for 3.5% bids in Toronto Downtown North, I was content to move down a half-star. The original bid of $64 for a 3.5* was rejected with a free rebid offer of $79. Thanks to everyone here, with at least 6 rebid zones at that level, I decided to see if I could do better. Two bids later, at $73, I did, and got the Delta Chelsea as expected. Thanks, Betterbidding.com!

PRICELINE accepted the $55 bid (made using the "PRICELINE" link at the top right) which works out to $71.47 after taxes and fees. HOTWIRE was listing a 3* which, based on its amenities, was also the Adams Mark for $74 ($92 all told). I was hoping that PRICELINE would give me a different hotel, based on the poor reviews the Adams Mark has received, but that is the risk when you use opaque bidding!

I should also add that I clicked the "extend your stay" button and asked for two more days, which was denied. Instead, I was offered the extension at $195 per night.

What I meant to say was that I have been bidding for a few days in the $80 to $95 range in NMA and in the Loop for 3.5* and 4* properties and, prior to this bid, had been unsuccessful. Oops. Anyway, I'm pleased with the win.

Started with the PRICELINE link at the top right on this site. Have been bidding for a few days in the $80 to $95 in NMA and range unsuccessfully.

Used the PRICELINE link. Various bids up to $66 for 4* were rejected. Bid of $58 for a 3.5* was rejected, but with an invitation to rebid at $75. Ignored that and added a free rebid zone; rejected at $61 but accepted at $64. For comparison, HOTWIRE is offering the following for downtown Ottawa: 4* - $99 3.5* - $89 3* - $74 3* Hull - $59 So, I think $64 for the Crown Plaza's not bad.

In what seems to be a trend, I too got the Palmer House Hilton for $70. Bid of 4* for $65 failed in NMA - River North alone. Bid of 4* for $65 failed in Loop alone, with an offer to rebid for $82, which I ignored. Next bid of $68 for Loop + Skokie was rejected. Added $2 and Hyde Park for the win. Looking forward to the trip; I had this same hotel for a trip last summer, very convenient to the architecture walking tours. Note: the dates should read 11/20/09-11/23-09

Rejected same $12 for Luxury, Premium

Rejected bids: 4* NMA $75 4* NMA + Midway $80 4* Loop $80 Won: 4* Loop + Midway $90 Next time I won't bother breaking up my trip like this.

The saga ends, as reported elsewhere, with a $90 4* bid being accepted for the Palmer House Hilton for my remaining dates. That is why I prefer PRICELINE to HOTWIRE.

I may have dismissed thereuare's suggestion regarding HOTWIRE too quickly. For comparison, Hotwire has the following properties for my remaining dates: Loop 4* $129 (Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet) -- probably Palmer House Hilton? Loop 3.5* $135 (Boutique, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet) -- probably Hotel Allegro? There are no similarly priced properties in NMA for those dates.

"Upgraded", they say, to a 4*, but denied the stay extension for the next price. This after various rejected 4* bids from $60 to $85 for Millenium-Loop-Grant Park or NMA, alone, together or with Midway as a free re-bid zone. The penultimate bid was for $85 4* Millenium-Loop-Grant Park/NMA/Midway, which was disappointingly rejected.

I'm vacationing in Chicago for the week. I have the Hyatt Regency for Sunday 7/13 (now reported in another topic) and Hotel 71 for Monday 7/14 and Tuesday 7/15. I need Wednesday 7/16, Thursday 7/17 and Friday 7/18. My reason for saying I don't want the Hyatt is just sour grapes at not getting the $65 rate which seems successful on other dates (such as for my accidental bid for two nights during the next week). I will also need a hotel for Saturday 7/19, although it's a long drive home so I might want my Saturday hotel somewhere closer to Detroit or Cleveland so I don't have to drive all the way home on Sunday. For that, I'd settle for a Super 8. I'll only have the option of extending Hotel 71 for two more days, so I'll be changing hotels again anyway. I suppose that means the best approach would be to try another $100 bid for the remaining three days, which might end up being Hotel 71 anyway. In that case my first bid would have to be for Loop, rather than for NMA which was my earlier pattern, but I'm not picky. I see from TripAdvisor that Hotel 71 is getting mixed reviews, mostly on the basis that its restaurant is closed for renovations and the elevators are slow. I almost never eat at hotels, so this is no problem for me, but the reviews are not sufficiently positive that I'm jumping at the opportunity to request an extension. I'm not inclined to go to Hotwire unless Priceline bids for $15/night under the Hotwire price at a given star level are rejected. I prefer cheap to choice at any given star level. I'm not familiar with any of the hotels in the area, and frankly I'm hoping the hotels are the least memorable part of the vacation (for any reason). And I do try to help the site and start my bids off your PRICELINE link.

Refused bids: $100 4* Millenium-Loop-Grant Park 7/14/2008-7/16/2008 $85 3* NMA + Millenium-Loop-Grant Park 7/14/2008-7/17/2008 $90 4* NMA + Millennium-Loop-Grant Park + Midway 7/14/2008-7/17-2008 $80 4* NMA + Midway 7/14/2008-7/17/2008 Also, a bunch of other bids over the last few days ranging from $65 to $85 for 3* in the same areas have been rejected (no rebid offers). So, should I go for two more nights at Hotel 71 at this rate, or play Wheel of Priceline for a 4* NMA (I don't want the Hyatt in the Loop) at up to $20 more?

Kitchener, ON zone (no surroundings), June 29, 2007 to July 1, 2007, 2.5* Winning bid: US$79, reporting an upgrade to 3* (total cost US$185.39 = about $199 CAD) (Radisson.com rate: C$130/night, total cost C$288.60) Rejected bids: $77 for 3* (with invitation to rebid for at least $99) $67 for 2* $71 for 3* Earlier rejected bids (2 days ago): $56 2* $53 3* Hope this helps someone! (Note: multiple persons bidding on one day explains the $71/$77 and $67/$79 bids, both today)