Doppelganger

They've accepted lower before, but my $37 bid was not accepted yesterday, and I didn't have time to keep delaying, so I didn't try $38 or $39.

I've stayed here before, and it's a pretty decent place. Not as nice as a typical Hampton, Fairfield, or Holiday Inn Express (also frequently categorized as 2.5*), but it's cheaper than those places too. $37/night is a good rate compared to what I've paid in the past ($55-$64/night, booking direct). This property was formerly the Jameson Inn which is featured on the list of Hotwire hotels for Evansville. Also, speaking of the Hotwire hotel list for Evansville, the 2* Evansville Plaza Hotel no longer exists (the former building was torn down and the Hampton Inn Evansville Airport was built in its place).

The Hotwire amenities for the Super 8 Louisville Airport location are: Free Parking, Free Breakfast, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Business Center, High-Speed Internet Access

A bit disappointed with this result. When I did my search, Hotwire showed this property as being recommended by 75% of TripAdvisor reviewers. However, when I booked the reservation and looked up the hotel, it's only recommended by 58% of TripAdvisor reviewers. Now if I do my search again, the offering for the same rate/area/amenities no longer has any mention of the TripAdvisor rating. It appears that Hotwire changed the hotel in between when I clicked on the search result and when I clicked submit on the reservation. If it hadn't been for the 75% recommendation, I probably would have stepped up to the 2.5* offering, so it really feels like Hotwire pulled a bait-and-switch on me. EDIT: actually, now I'm not so sure the 75% recommendation was from TripAdvisor; it may have just been based on Hotwire reviews.

If the $10 included unlimited tolls for the period you used it, then you got a good deal. However, you need to read the fine print carefully. I think in many cases, the rental company still makes you pay the actual toll charges. Once they get the bill from the state for the tolls used by that particular transponder during the rental period, they charge your credit card for that amount. At least, that's how it would have been if I had used the EZPass in my Budget rental recently in Florida.

Bid areas included Downtown, Airport, Hixson, and Lookout Mountain. A $40 bid was rejected. Hotel Name: Chattanooga Choo Choo 1400 Market Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 5 Subtotal: $225.00 Taxes and Fees: $48.60 Total Charges: $273.60 Sorry, I didn't use the PRICELINE link this time, but I wanted to share the data.

Thanks for the help and suggestions for this trip. I ended up booking direct. For Greenville, I didn't want to get the Hyatt at 3.5* because then I'd have to pay for parking, internet, and breakfast. I didn't want to get the La Quinta at 3* because their base room is a Double and I would potentially not have the opportunity to upgrade to a King, or would have to pay to do so. The Hilton Garden Inn had a special at $67/night that includes free breakfast, and by booking it through Entertainment.com I should be able to get a $50 rebate, so I did that. For Charleston, the most attractive options on Hotwire were 3* properties in either West Charleston or Ashley River area. The 3* in West Charleston was a suite with kitchenette and free breakfast, most likely the Hawthorn. The 3* in the Ashley River area could have been the Holiday Inn, Best Western, or Courtyard. Although these would be closer to downtown, they would not include all the free amenities provided by the Hawthorn. The Hotwire rate for the Hawthorn (assuming that's what it is) is not much better than booking direct ($62 vs. $69), so I booked direct to again take advantage of the Entertainment Book rebate.

The "per gallon" price from the rental company may be less, but they charge you for a full tank, based on the stated capacity in the owner's manual (I'm assuming). If you don't bring it back bone dry, you'll be paying for gas that you didn't use. Example: Bring it back full, fill it up yourself: Let's assume you are "near empty" when getting ready to drop off the car. Fill up the car at $2.80/gallon, and it takes 12 gallons, for a cost of $33.60. Pre-buy the gas, bring it back empty: Let's assume you bring it back in the same condition as above, and whatever gas is in the tank is gas you paid for earlier. Pre-pay price was $2.60/gallon, and the tank capacity is 14 gallons. You will be charged $36.40. Basically, with pre-paying for gas, whatever gas is left in the tank when you return the car is fuel that you are paying for twice (albeit, the 2nd time is a little bit cheaper than the 1st). It's in the rental company's interest to have you pre-buy a full tank of gas, because they know that its unlikely that they'll actually have to put a full tank in to fill it back up themselves.

Link clicked!

Trying to identify two possible hotels for an upcoming vacation. Hotel #1: West Charleston area: 3*, $66/night from 6/20 to 6/23 Amenities: Suite, Near Beach, Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby, Kitchenette Recommended in 70% of customer reviews with 10+ total reviews. It seems like it could be the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, but I'm not sure. I don't know how that qualifies as "within easy walking distance of a beach." Hotel #2: Greenville: 3*, $46/night from 6/23 - 6/26 Amenities: Airport Shuttle, Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access Recommended in 75% of customer reviews with 100+ total reviews. I don't see ANY hotels on TripAdvisor with 100+ reviews, so I assume HOTWIRE is pulling reviews from more than just TripAdvisor.

Hi, I'm going to be staying a few nights in Charleston, SC next month. I would like to use PRICELINE to get the best deal on a hotel, but if I end up having to pay for parking, that kind of eats into the savings from using Priceline. It's not the end of the world if I get a downtown hotel that doesn't have free parking, and I understand the risks of using PRICELINE. That said, what would you recommend if I want to minimize my chances of getting a hotel that does not have free parking? Avoid certain areas? (eg., Downtown, Ashley River, ???) Avoid higher-end hotels? (eg., 4*, 3.5*, ???) I usually try to get the highest star rating that I can, but I would probably still be happy with a 2.5* hotel. I'm a little hesitant to book a 2* hotel without knowing what I'll get.

Here's one to add to the list for this area. I was hoping for one of the Residence Inns in Grandville or the Airport area, but let's hope the Courtyard is okay. Price accepted was actually $40.67, not $41, but I rounded up. Price for me was only $24, because I had $50 Priceline bonus cash (and for that reason, I had to use the PRICELINE link from my bonus cash email, instead of the BetterBidding PRICELINE link. Sorry!). My search area was Grandville, South - Wyoming, and Southeast - Airport. I didn't include North, because of poor reviews on the Radisson. Price breakdown for my 3-night stay: Offer Price Summary [font="Courier New"]Bonus Cash Per Room, Per Night: $16.67 [u]Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $24.00[/u] Total Offer Price Per Room, Per Night with Bonus: $40.67[/font] Total Charges to your Credit Card [font="Courier New"]Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $24.00 Subtotal: $72.00 [u]Taxes & Fees: $25.95[/u] Total Charges: $97.95[/font][/codebox]

Not bad for a 4* hotel in downtown Chicago, especially seeing as the going rate for direct booking is $239/night. I'm hoping my wife and I can share a king size bed, instead of having 2 double beds. How big does a convention have to be to affect room availability? There is a convention of 35000 delegates from 4/21-4/24 and a convention of 16000 delegates from 4/25-4/30. Would those impact the availability of the $50-60 rooms that are sometimes available? I'm planning to drive to Chicago, but then use public transportation once we're there. My current thought is that the cheapest parking may be off-airport parking around Midway. Is there any issue lugging suitcases on a CTA train? Any better suggestions for how to minimize transportation costs? (btw, I did use the BetterBidding link for PRICELINE)

This 2-star Priceline property at 1401 East Mall Drive in Holland, OH (near the Toledo airport) is a former Fairfield Inn. All the rooms are external access. Our room, a non-smoking room with a king size bed was small, reminiscent of a Motel 6 room. Although described as the Quality Inn Airport, it's several miles from the airport, so no airplanes were heard. It is near the freeway, and we did hear traffic noise during the night. There were a few smudges on the walls that were a little disconcerting, and some mold developing on the ceiling in the bathroom; otherwise the room seemed clean enough. Amenities included a mini-fridge and microwave in the room, free wireless internet and free continental breakfast. We did not take advantage of these amenities, so I can't speak for the quality. Some more towels would have been nice, as there were only two, and some more pillows would have been nice, as there were only three. The bed did not have a fitted sheet, but thankfully the flat sheet on the bottom did not come loose during the night. Had it still been a Fairfield, I would have expected better. For an older hotel on it's second owner, it's about what you can expect for a cheap hotel with a little more to offer than a Motel 6, Super 8, or Econo Lodge.

Won the Holiday Inn at 5915 Wilson Avenue in the Forest Park area. I was hoping for the Hampton, Residence Inn, or Drury. A little disappointed, as I was hoping for a hotel with free breakfast and an indoor pool. However, it's still a good deal and free parking and free internet make it a better option than most of the 3* or 4* hotels. Booked through the PRICELINE search box on the BetterBidding site.

I'm currently looking for a hotel in Saint Louis, and my searches reveal that these two Radisson hotels are now Crowne Plaza hotels. (A search from the Radisson website reveals no Radisson brand hotels in Saint Louis. My Streets & Trips 2006 software shows a Radisson downtown at 200 N 4th St and a Radisson in Clayton at 7750 Carondelet. The Crowne Plaza website shows Crowne Plaza hotels at these two locations.)

This Quality Inn used to be the Fairfield Inn. $35 bid; $47.06 after taxes and fees. $30 was not accepted; did not try $31-34.

This property, at 1401 East Mall Dr, is now a Quality Inn (still 2*).

I need to stay one night in the Toledo, OH area on 3/14/08. I'm okay with Motel 6, Red Roof Inn, Days Inn or similar, provided I know which one it is so I can check reviews. Hotwire shows a 2-star hotel in SW Toledo - Maumee - Holland for $39. The only amenity is laundry facilities. Any ideas as to what it might be?

Tried for a 4*, but bids up to $55 were unsuccessful, and I really didn't want to spend that much when I just need a place to stay for one night. Started 3* at $35, which was rejected but received a follow-up offer of +$9 ($44). I tried again with $40, which was accepted by the Millennium. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $40.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.51 Total Charges: $53.51 (booked through SavingsBarn.com)

I'm looking for a hotel in Cincinnati, so I went to Hotwire to see what they have. I'm fairly new at this, but it looks like the 3.5* offering for $54 (11/8 - 11/9 stay) is the Millennium. Amenities match: Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access. They show a TripAdvisor rating of 3.0 out of 5, with 80+ reviews as of October 2007. Looking at the TripAdvisor site, this certainly appears to be the Millennium. The hotel list for Ohio shows the Millennium as a 3* hotel, so if I'm correct that the current Hotwire offering is the Millennium, it would seem that Hotwire has boosted it's rating. Just FYI.

REVIEW: The Hyatt Place was very nice. As many of you probably know, the Hyatt Place is a remodeled/rebranded AmeriSuites. They appear to have replaced carpeting, furnishings, and bedding; they also painted/wallpapered. If you look close, the paint job wasn't the best, but it doesn't detract from the appearance of the hotel. The location of the hotel appears to be an upper-middle class residential and business area. The road the hotel is on is a heavily traveled main route a couple of miles from the interstate, but due to stoplights it is not high-speed traffic; I did not notice any objectionable noise. The lobby and rooms were both nicely appointed. The 42" LCD HDTV's in each room are a nice touch. Although we didn't use it, the sectional sofa was large and looked comfortable. The king size bed was comfortable. The bathroom is tiny, but clean. A second sink and a mini-fridge were provided in the living area. There were plenty of staff on hand, and they were friendly and helpful. The free continental breakfast was sparse (fruit, yogurt, cereal, bread, juice, milk, and coffee) but adequate. hot breakfast items or pastries are available, but cost extra. All rooms are non-smoking, which is a good thing in my view. After making the reservation, I called the hotel reservation desk to request a king size bed. The person I spoke to said that I had been assigned a room with two double beds, and that the room selection was controlled by Priceline, so they could not change it. I called Priceline, and they called the hotel on my behalf, and were able to get me a king size bed. Overall, I consider the Hyatt Place well-worthy of the 2.5* rating, and a great deal for the $40 price they accepted.

Thanks. Please note the rental was with Alamo, not Avis.

$35 bid was rejected; offer was extended for 2nd chance bid at $44 ($9 more). I declined, and used a rebid to bid $40, which was accepted. FWIW, bids up to $51 were rejected for a 3* hotel in the Louisville-East area. Bids up to $70 were rejected for a 4* hotel in Louisville-Downtown, and bids up to $60 were rejected for a 3* hotel in Louisville-Downtown. (I was a little surprised that $60 wasn't good enough for a 3* downtown since others have gotten the Galt or Hyatt for as low as $45. Must not have the availability right now...) Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $40.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.23 Total Charges: $53.23

Used Hotwire on 1/19/2007 to book a mid-size car for spring break (Honeymoon, actually, but happened to be during a typical spring break week.) 6 day(s) @ $25.95 per day $155.70 Tax recovery charge and fees $49.09 Total $204.79[/code]Includes all applicable sales tax recovery charges and fees. Prices are in US dollars. Company was Budget. Car was a PT Cruiser. Offered an Eclipse convertible for [$5/day? (memory is fuzzy)] upgrade upon pickup. The PT Cruiser was fine.