jdedwards

You need to let up on the specific area if you're trying to get what you're thinking you're going to get under $150. Add a zone or two each bid within your boundaries. NYC ain't cheap. The blocks may seem big, but you can get to many parts of where you're trying to just by walking a little.

Started at 4* Downtown SoHo-Financial and Empire State Building for $99. Rejected. Selected Midtown East and Chelsea for $100 at 3.5*. Rejected. Selected Midtown West and Times Square at 3* for $103. Rejected. Selected Madison Square Garden at 2.5* for $100. Accepted at Holiday Inn Express at Madison Square Garden for $100. With taxes was $126.76. Bid day of an hour before check-in time on Saturday, August 21. Not bad hotel. King size bed, iron and ironing board, TV with cable, free Internet (tons of hotels make you pay $9.95 per night), bathroom, desk and chair. Free breakfast if you can wake up on time. Close walking distance to Penn Station. I was happy.

Selected Downtown area only. 1st bid - 4* - $50 - denied 2nd bid - 3.5* - $51 denied 3rd bid - 3* - $53 - accepted at Courtyard by Marriott - Downtown 6/19/10 - 6/20/10

I was really in a hurry on Saturday morning. I was escaping DC due to the masses coming for the inauguration, so I decided to visit Miami. I initially bid $50 on 4 stars in Coral Gables, Cocunut Grove, South Beach/Miami Beach, and Downtown. I got denied and switched to $55 for 4 and 3.5 stars. Got denied. I bid $60 and added 3 stars to the already selected 4 and 3.5 stars. Bid was accepted for the Doubletree Grand bordering Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami. The hotel worked out fine and was about a $14 cab ride or $2 bus ride across the bridge to South Beach. Found a few pubes in my bed and felt a few bedbugs, but overall it was a nice stay for the amount paid. The parking was not covered by the hotel and it was $29 a day for valet only. I think meters across the city are charged 24/7. I watched a meter maid from my balcony ticketing at around 2 a.m. on a Sunday. If I had more time and wasn't looking for rooms so quickly, I'm sure I would have found something nicer for less. This was just a quick strategy used in haste.

There is no metro at Dulles yet. Closest is Vienna.

Started with $135 for *4 on Tuesday, May 20th for all zones in Manhattan only. After being rejected, I tried $137 with all the same zones and added a *3 to the equation. Waited 24 hours and tried $138 the same way for only *4. Got rejected. Couldn't pick *3 for some reason. Waited 24 hours and did it the same way except I took out Empire State Building and SoHo. Won with $140. Total: Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $140.00 Subtotal: $140.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $30.77 Total Charges*: $170.77

On March 11, I originally bid $40 on a 3 star in downtown Raleigh. For dowtown Raleigh, Crabtree and Chapel Hill, I bid all the way up to $51. I got rejected all of the times and gave up until the next day. The next day my bid of $52 was accepted for the Sheraton in Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 15, after bidding on downtown Raleigh and Crabtree (North Raleigh near the mall). The total with taxes was $66.28. I got a king sized bed and somehow, I got a room called the "Starwood Preferred Guest Room." The sign by the door indicated it was different than other rooms located near it. It was a nice room with an enclosed patio in Room 148 that overlooked a garden and a larger patio with tables.

Used Savingsbarn link. Originally bid $63 on 4* for Omni in Downtown Richmond. Rejected and bid again for 3* in Downtown for $65. Accepted within a few minutes and got Marriott Richmond in Downtown. Total with taxes: $81.68 First time messing with Priceline and I went off the bids listed on this board. I was really in a hurry. Thanks!