WillTravel

I did a search for SEA-LON flights on Orbitz, and I saw one that had an outgoing itinerary that lasted 23 hours, 40 minutes. Clearly that's ridiculous when a nonstop flight takes about 9 hours. However, since you can see all the details, it's easy to avoid. I looked on Hotwire to see if they had any rules about lengths of layovers, since I have to wonder if Hotwire would try to pawn off this 23-hour routing on an unsuspecting person. However, I couldn't find any rules about international flights -- all they say is that layovers on domestic routes are no more than 3 hours (and 80% are less than 1.5 hours). Or do they say something about their international layover rules elsewhere? I've seen Priceline rules re layovers somewhere or other, but I couldn't find them when I looked. A link would be great! Does anyone have any tricks for avoiding ridiculous itineraries when using Hotwire or Priceline?

Scorp, when I say 1*, I mean 1* or better. I went gradually down the scale from 3* to 1*, adding the Victoria Airport zone at some point. So I would have gotten a 2* in the Victoria Airport if it had been available for the price I bid. Priceline will upgrade you to the next star level if there is a hotel available for the price you bid. <P>I like the Victoria downtown area, but I wouldn't mind occasionally staying in a different area. I've been in the downtown area so many times. <P>We will probably stay in a private room at a hostel one of those weekends ($35 Canadian, no extra tax, but shared bath). I noticed on Orbitz last night that Paul's special web rate of $49 Canadian is no longer available -- in fact last night it looked like Paul's was sold out. A hostel is a different experience than a nice hotel, but I enjoy both. <P>James Bay Inn sounds great. I'll keep it in mind. I wouldn't mind the Empress as a special treat - but I tend to only stay at 4* hotels if I have an employer paying for it!

I tried rebidding again today. No luck. I went up to $27 for a 1-star for the dates 5/9-5/11 in Victoria and Victoria Airport areas. I went up to $28 for a 1-star for the dates 6/13-6/15 in the Victoria and Victoria Airport areas.

I've looked at the Seattle public transit site, and at least in theory it's not that bad to get to the airport via public transit from downtown. King Country transit page: http://transit.metrokc.gov/ The fare is cheap too -- $2 maximum at peak times, I think. But for $8.50, Grayline is probably worth the extra cost.

I talked to a travel agent today and he recommended TravelGuard's travel insurance. From what I understand, they do have what amounts to trip cancellation insurance. So booking a charter flight doesn't have to be a huge risk. From what he told me, the trip cancellation insurance would cover Priceline also (air or hotel), but I'd want to verify that extensively first.

Does the Priceline Spring Sale email (received April 9) mean anything, or is it just an advertising ploy? Are they actually offering any different deals than usual?

Some Canadian VISA cards (like mine) do not work. My AMEX works. I've read that MasterCard works. I don't think it really matters, but just to be on the up and up, I put my full Canadian address in the Address box (using the second line provided). Then I choose a phony state (California) and zip code (90210).

He could go to an Internet cafe or something to do the bid.

With Hotwire, it's rather like a regular hotel consolidator site -- except you can't see the name of the hotel nor the exact location (just the zone). You do see the amenities, star level, zone, and price.

Just for fun, I tried up to 165HKD on Priceline Asia for a 1* in Victoria for May 9-11 to see if I could get anything (including a rebid that included the Victoria Airport zone). That failed. The bid might sound really low, but the processing fee on Priceline Asia is 65HKD. Considering Paul's Motor Inn's special Orbitz web rates, there was no logical reason to go much higher. Currency exchange site: http://finance.yahoo.com/m5?&a=1&s=CAD&t=HKD&c=0 This must work a little differently, because after the 165HKD bid (and then clicking the URL in the email), I got a screen saying that if I wanted to bid again I'd have to raise the price by at least HK50, or else change one of the parameters. That's obviously different than the standard Priceline.

SqueegeeKid, that's very useful info. I had never heard of any successful bids in the Victoria Airport zone. The Fairmont Empress would be fabulous, and the Laurel Point (which is affiliated with Paul's Motor Inn, but which is a higher-class hotel) has a great location. BTW, I posted above that the BC taxes on hotel stays are 17.5%. Actually, the combined tax is 17%: 7% GST and 10% hotel tax. Priceline only charges the 10%. Americans either don't have to pay the 7% or they can get a refund (not sure which).

Too late to edit again - Orbitz offers $49 CAD per night for Paul's Motor Inn (not sure if that will work or not for me, since it says a US billing address is required. AMEX works for me on Priceline). A $30 Priceline bid (if that is available) might beat that slightly (considering the handling charge), but the added uncertainty and unflexibility wouldn't be worth it for me.

I didn't take full notes, but I made multiple failed bids for all the weekends in May (except a stay from May 2-4 for which I failed with a 1-star at $19), going up to $30 for a 3* and $25 for a 1*. It looks like my $19 deal of a few weeks ago is not going to happen again anytime soon. But this is somewhat to be expected - Victoria starts getting a lot of tourists around May and through the summer, and hotel rooms often double in price (conventional summer prices compared to conventional winter prices). May 17-19 is the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada, and May 24-26 is the Memorial Day long weekend and attracts a lot of American visitors. Best May conventional rates (to my knowledge): $54.99 Canadian at Paul's Motor Inn for a corporate rate (Nice motel. Already recommended in my review.) $49.99 Canadian for Traveller's Inn (Multiple locations. Nice motel. You can get $10 off per night if you book online, but the price on the weekend is $10 higher, so it balances out.) $59.99 Canadian at the Dominion Hotel (This includes a skimpy meal or two. The price varies somewhat depending whether you have 1 bed or two, and whether it's a weekend or not, and the price rises starting with the third weekend in May. This hotel is old and rather stately, and I like its location best.) (Rough exchange rate: $1.50 Canadian = $1 US) Total added tax is 17.5% (I think).

ITASoftware.com is the back-end software used for sites like Orbitz. I have done a few test itineraries and have gotten great prices. It is better than Orbitz, because it also searches itineraries that do not begin in the US. I like how it allows you to search for airports within a set radius (up to 300 miles or so) from the airport you select. You can see some totally unexpected results, with certain airports being much cheaper than other airports, for no apparent reason. Also, some open-jaw itineraries end up being cheaper than simple round trips. ITASoftware doesn't have booking capacity, but if you get the itinerary, you can get a travel agent or the airline to book it for you. http://beta.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ It doesn't have web fares and may miss a few other things. I'm curious now as to how often Priceline beats the best ITA price.

My daughter and I liked this hotel also (package deal, not Priceline). It's about a 7-minute walk to the Disneyland entrance. This Howard Johnson is also on the shuttle system, so every 10-20 minutes there is a shuttle to the Disneyland entrance. I didn't see folding beds in our closet, but there were two good-size beds. Mimi's Cafe, which is catercorner to this hotel, is relatively inexpensive with large portions. IHOP, about a block further down and directly across from Disneyland, has free kids' meals after 4 PM. There's a small store (like a corner grocery) in one of the hotels on Harbor Boulevard between Disneyland and HJ - I think it's in the Tropicana. There's a video arcade room, which kids are quite happy to spend money at. The staff told me by email that I could get a microwave for an extra $30/night. (I decided it wasn't worth it.) I was happy with this hotel, and my daughter was also, but she did like the extra convenience the time we stayed directly across from Disneyland (at the Best Western Anaheim).

In that case, I'll definitely consider it. $50/night is in the range of what 2 hostel beds cost in the cities we are visiting (London and Scandinavian cities).

I think Priceline states that all of its rooms have to have a separate bath, even the one stars. Now I'm very curious to know what the 1-star offering in USE in San Francisco is. Probably something in Chinatown? Maybe I'll have to bid for it when I visit next, just out of curiosity. (Edit: The other bulletin board lists the Alisa Hotel (www.alisahotel.com) as a successful 1-star bid in San Francisco USE. The hotel web site indicates it is a "boutique hotel" and says "the Alisa Hotel is at the crossroads of Union Square, the Financial District, and the Chinatown Gate.") In general, this is my approach: Business travel paid by someone else - as high a star level as possible. I do enjoy these hotels, but I don't enjoy them four times as much as a lower-star hotel. Family travel with one or more kids (self-paid) - package deals (like Alaska Airlines to Disneyland), Priceline if I am reasonably confident the bedding arrangements will be ok, even hostels if I'm ok with the establishment. On my own (self-paid) - Hostels Admittedly, after several recent trips using a package deal or Priceline, I do feel a bit spoiled and feel a little less inclined towards hostels. Still, I will be travelling in Europe with my older child this summer (if all goes well), and we will be visiting several expensive cities. We can't really use Priceline, because he definitely requires a separate bed. Hostels will be fine for most of the visit, and it will provide him some independence also. If we have an early morning flight, then we might have one night in a hotel. I'm also considering B&Bs, but I'd have to be convinced they were worth the extra money over hostels.

I get the impression here, and on the other board, that there are really very few 1-star bids. Or at least people do not post them. (I have posted one. The place was just as nice as some higher-star hotels I have been to, but it had exterior walkways.) Any ideas why this is? Most 1-stars are perfectly functional and you are as likely to have a reasonably experience there as anywhere (and I think they may be more likely to have free parking, but no guarantees, of course). Maybe it's just that 1-stars are not as likely to participate with Priceline. Maybe I should ask a more general question: Why do you bid the star level that you do?

I'm not an expert, but my understanding is after the 72-hour period, you can just start a new bid. No need to build on the previous one.

Scorp, what I had in mind by a pre-travel waiver is something like I paid for with my Alaska Airlines holiday package to Disneyland. For $31 per person, I could cancel the trip at any time (up to two hours prior to departure) for any reason, and it would only cost me $100 per person (I think these are the figures). Obviously being able to cancel for any reason at all is the best type of insurance to have. However, I'd also consider insurance that would just cover the possibility of cancellation due to illnesses (me or family). Scorp, what type of credit card do you have? Do you have to pay an annual fee? It might be worth it for trip insurance. I'd also like to hear if anyone has used their trip cancellation insurance.

I find it interesting to look at the taxes paid and calculate backwards to determine what Priceline paid for the room. Now in my limited experience (2 successful bids), Priceline has subsidized the purchase slightly. The actual cost to Priceline (based on the taxes) seems to be about $1 more than what I paid per night (pretax and pre-$5.95-charge). But then Priceline also gets the $5.95 fee, so that helps them out and theoretically they come out ahead anyway. Any ideas about when Priceline will "subsidize" a room bid, and when it won't? I'm very price-sensitive, and so bid low, so the odds of this happening are higher for me, I suspect.

One reason I'm really reluctant to try Priceline for flights is the nonrefundable, non-changeable aspect. I know from experience that a work or family crisis or illness can interfere with whatever dates I choose, especially if they are far in the future. However, I was wondering about booking a Priceline flight and purchasing a pre-travel 3rd-party waiver. Has anyone done that? Could it possibly work?

Thanks, thereuare. The thing is - I'm pretty sure the rooms with 2 beds are more expensive than the 1 bed rooms. The standard for this hotel when you book online directly seems to be "Run of the House" - meaning they decide what room you get when you get there. If you try to book a two-bed room directly, it costs more than "Run of the House." It's only fair from their point of view, of course. No harm in asking, though, so I will.

Your Offer Price: $19.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $38.00 (US dollars) Taxes: $3.88 (US dollars) Processing Fee: $5.95 (US dollars) Total Charges: $47.83 (US dollars) I bid for this in early March. I started with $20 for a 2* in Victoria and failed. I then bid $15 for a 1* in Victoria and failed. I then selected the Victoria Airport region also, and raised the bid to $19. Note that I was taking a risk I'd get the Victoria Airport region by doing this, but if so, it wasn't a big deal. This is a fine motel, especially for the price. I am very pleased with it. One nice feature was getting a room with two double beds and a microwave (fridge and coffeemaker are standard). I saved about $30 Canadian total for the two nights I stayed there over the corporate rate which I have gotten in the past.

Your Offer Price: $26.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $52.00 Taxes: $8.54 Processing Fee: $5.95 Total Charges: $66.49 I bid for this on 3/23. First, I tried $25 for a 2.5* and the Downtown area. Then I tried $25 for a 2*. Then I tried $26 for a 2* and added the Lake Union district. I noted another bid that had been posted on TOBB the same day for $26, so I thought I'd try. I'm curious if this address (505 First Avenue North) is in the free public transit zone in downtown Seattle or not. Does anyone know? If not, how many blocks away is that? The hotel web site is http://www.innatqueenanne.com. There are both positive and negative reviews on the web on various sites. I'm quite easy to please, especially at this price. One possible drawback is that I plan to take my daughter with, and we may well end up with a single queen bed room. My web investigation indicates this hotel has some rooms with queen beds only, and some with a queen and a twin. We'll deal with it if we get the single queen only, but obviously we'd like two beds. Any ideas for that?