bxneurotic

I got the 3-star Best Western Plus Scranton East Hotel & Convention Center in Dunmore, PA. It was listed as "Scranton North-Archbald" area with pretty much every amenity possible. I stayed here once before, and was going to book a room here anyway through Hotels.com for $85, so scoring it for $57 through Hotwire was awesome! Thanks Better Bidding :)

Bid $16/day for an Economy car in Portland for April 5-10 and was denied. Immediately changed my search to Compact and bid $17 and was accepted. $128 total through Hertz. So happy!! I meant to reserve my car last week at this price directly through the rental company, but the cost has since doubled as the trip nears closer, so I'm glad I was able to still get this price, even if it did require bidding.

I've been stressing about this quite a bit and put about 8 hours of research into this and still am not sure of the best option, so I thought I'd come to the experts. 4 of us are traveling from PA to NYC on August 20th to go to a concert in the East Village, and I'm trying to figure out the absolute cheapest (yet safest / most convenient) way to make this happen. I'm assuming the PATH trains would be the best / most affordable way for 4 people to get in and out of the city? I was thinking of going to either the Journal Square, Grove St, Pavonia/Newport, or Hoboken stations, since these have service straight to 33rd St, where I can hop the yellow subway line to the East Village, so any reccomendations on which station would be best (safest / closest / most affordable for parking) would be appreciated. Normally when I go to NYC, I take the NJ Transit from MetroPark and stay overnight in the city, but for 4 people, $64 in train fare is just too much when the PATH train will only cost us $14 as a group roundtrip, so I figured I'd give it a try. The cheapest hotels I could find in the NJ area were around $50 and located by the Newark Airport. The Howard Johnson Newark Airport is only $42 with taxes on Hotels.com, but then they charge $15 to park, so I kinda hate to pay that parking fee, plus another $10-15 to park at the train station. Ideally I'd like to find something within walking distance to a train station, though I doubt this will happen on a budget, as everything I've found close to the trains seems to be around $150. I wouldn't be opposed to staying in NYC either, but the cost for 2 double beds in the city is outrageous. As far as hotel accomodations, I don't need anything fancy. As long as I'm not overly likely to be mugged, have my car stolen, or catch any sort of disease or lice, all is well. Since we likely won't get back to the hotel until around 1am, we really just need a place to sleep since we'll be 4 hours from home. Reccomendations welcome!! I thought about bidding on a place on Priceline, but not sure if it would be wise for 4 people, and Hotwire's prices aren't too appealing.

After numerous tries for different star ratings and prices combos in the Philadalphia Cherry Hill- Mt Laurel area, I widened my search and added the Gloucester-Runnemeade area along with Cherry Hill and bid for a 2.5* (knowing that one didn't exist in that second area) and I won the 3* Wyndham in Mt. Laurel. I'm pretty happy as this hotel retails for $120 and we only paid $50, and we were originally going to settle for paying $50 for a 1*.

Thanks for the info!! I actually stayed at the Howard Johnson last year and it wasn't nearly as bad as the reviews I'd read. Some of the amenities were comically bad (like the swimming pool had been drained and filled with trash), but the room was actually large and clean, the location was excellent, and the staff were incredibly friendly. Rather than risk it though, I think I'm just going to opt for the Tropicana outright, since I can get a room on the boardwalk for $92 a night through Expedia. While virtually any other destination would be considerably cheaper through PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, they don't seem to offer many 'deals' for Atlantic City!

2* in Downtown Atlantic City w/pool, restaurant, beach nearby, golf nearby, tennis nearby $69 for July 24

I should have posted this when I got it on 12/5, but better late than never, right? I was going to book this hotel anyway through Expedia, so I was very thankful for Hotwire and the tips on this board that allowed me to get the room for more than 50% off. Since I'll be traveling with 3 friends, even after taxes we'll only be paying $13 each, which is a steal! Thank you Better Bidding :) Amenities: - Fitness Center - pool - restaurant - laundry facillities - high speed internet access

I went through Savings Barn and bid $40 for a 2.5* hotel in the areas of Downtown, University Center, and Cranberry Township in Pittsburgh. Priceline upgraded me to a 3* and gave me the Wyndham in University Center and I am VERY pleased!! I was originally going to pay $40 for a 1* motel outside of town, and instead I get a 3* Wyndham for 75% off the retail price [$163!] in the exact area I wanted to be; I couldn't be happier!! :) Thank you so much to this board; without all of the great tips here, I would never have discovered Priceline bidding!

For a 3* hotel in downtown Cleveland, I bid $34 and was denied. The next day I bid $40 and was denied again. Today I went through Savings Barn and bid $50 and was accepted on the first try for the Hilton Garden Inn. I was a little surprised to get this; it wasn't my first choice, but it wasn't my last choice either. I realize I probably could have saved money if I had bid lower and tested out different zones, but this was my first time using Priceline, and my trip is in a week so I was getting a bit impatient after being denied twice. I still ended up getting 50% off what I would have paid through Orbitz or Travelocity, so I am satisfied, and will definately use this service again :) Total cost = $50/night x 2 nights + $23 in taxes = $123

What are the other "zones" I can safely bid on? I've never done this before, so I'm trying to be very careful not to get a hotel outside of the area I want to be, especially since I've never been to Cleveland and don't know the area at all. Also, is it bad that I'm waiting until the evening to place my bids? Unfortunately my 24 hours isn't up until 9pm, so I wasn't sure if this was affecting things.

I'm just bidding for downtown. I'm willing to go up to around $65, though obviously I was hoping to keep it around the $40 mark, since every other 3-star for downtown seems to have won at this price. No back-up reservation.

I'm trying to book a room in Cleveland, OH for two nights [August 16th & 17th]. I was hoping for a 3-star hotel. My first bid of $34 was denied. [the red message came up for $33, so I went just above that.] Today I bid $40 [since most others seem to have won at this price] and I was still denied. What am I doing wrong? I only have a little over a week and am getting a bit frustrated here.

I used this message as a guide for my first priceline bid, and went just above the red message and was still denied :)