the_chad

Came to say the same. I looked and looked and swore I was missing something. "HOW ON EARTH CAN I NOT FIND THE NYOP?!" I thought it was just the redesign. Or not enough coffee... but sure enough, it appears gone forever.

I think more than anything, it's less about whether I would like/need a 5* hotel and want to bid via PL, but more what's the best deal? We will definitely be spending a good amount of time AWAY from the hotel, so unless a 5* is possible at or very near the 2 previously mentioned above, I'd opt for one of them. Likely the Intercontinental is it seems in a better location...

I have seen the One Farrer Hotel in HW searches as a the likely property via REVEAL. It is well rated (Trip Adv 2019 Travelers Choice), seems like decent location, and fairly inexpensive. A very good option it appears. But Grand Park Orchard may be in a better location. The Intercontinental is appealing at that price and a good location, as well as a TA Travelers Choice. Were those found on HW via BiddingHelper.com? Obviously going the PL route, I am ok with winning any hotel. Thus my "but... you know" comment 🙂 If I decide to book a specific hotel and take no chances, HW or PL, I'll be sure to use mapsandhotels.com

I've been playing around with the Bidding Helper to get some background on what appears to be a Country with not a lot of (updated?) data points. I'm looking to stay in the Colonial District, Orchard Rd, or Little India. PL itself shows 5* in those areas ~$200, so I figure bidding less than $100 probably won't get me anywhere. If HW is any indication, 5* seem to be in the $145 range, so maybe ~$120 isn't out of the question. I'd love to score a win for Hotel Fort Canning or Marriott Tang Plaza as they appear in the BB PL hotel list. But... you know. Any thoughts or advice are appreciated as always.

I used the BB quick tool and came across these amenities via PL Exp: Free Parking Business Center Restaurant Free Internet Indoor or Outdoor Pool Fitness Center Free Internet in public areas Rated 9 our of 10 or higher The "is this a good price" showed as potential options: $249...Jw Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa $353...Omni Cancun Hotel And Villas - All Inclusive $359...Paradisus Cancun - All Inclusive $369...Royal Service At Paradisus Cancun - Adults Only Taxes: $37.97 Mandatory fees (at resort): $31.01 TOTAL: $162.98 *Cursory quick search shows roughly $300 with taxes and fees if booked elsewhere

Used BiddingHelper.com as usual. From the previously posted amenities, it appeared it was the Sheraton. And it was. Amenities: Pet friendly Indoor pool(s) Smoke-free rooms Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Spa services Accessibility Accessible for visually impaired Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in shower

I'll be posting a new win at some point for Philadelphia, but am writing down these recommendations thereuare! Thanks for adding those to the topic; I can't wait to check them out.

The zone listed on HW is actually Ann Arbor East - University of Michigan (there is also a West). Amenities list: Free parking, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Indoor pool(s), Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Tennis nearby, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower All in $78.16 (retail price on Holiday Inn is $114+) As usual, I used the Bidding.Helper above.

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and pulled the trigger. Westin, sure enough. $132 all in. This may be better for another post, but after having played the PL/HW game for years, almost solely with the help of you, aaronjb, and betterbidding (THANK YOU again), I haven't watched/experienced much in terms of price and availability fluctuations. Usually, I get the lay of the land, then decide if I'll use PL or HW/PLEx, and make it happen. This was the first time i really thought, "will the price come back down, even briefly??" So in your experience thereuare, how often does a price come back down? Or similarly, how often does waiting to the very last minute, pay off? I'm usually too risk averse to wait until the day before, but do wonder if it's possible. Sometimes I'm far less concerned about what hotel I'm getting and more concerned on getting a 4*+ for a great deal. Maybe I'll start looking the day before/of via the biddinghelper just to see what results are returned for comparisons.

Started bidding at $70 in $5 increments to $90. No luck. Median price listed at $181. Current PRICELINE EXPRESS deal shows $107. I'm not concerned (this time) on which hotel I get, PL or HW, just the area and 3.5*+ A few days ago, a 4.5* Hot.wire hotel was showing ~$69, which I returned to accept, but it was gone. It now shows $106. Not sure why all the sudden jump, esp considering my beloved Cardinals are out of the playoffs :'( It's 2 weeks away, no other areas work, date is fixed. Aside from the notion, "anything can happen," what are the chances that waiting another couple of days will yield the return of a lower priced PRICELINE EXPRESS deal (or Hot.wire)? What would you all do? As usual, I used the Bidding.Helper.

Amenities list via Bidding.Helper: Free Parking Restaurant Airport Shuttle Free Internet Indoor or Outdoor Pool Fitness Center I was hoping for Hyatt North, but this will work almost as good. $65.49 all in. (not sure if it matters, but it appears that PL labels the actual city zone as "Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)" and does not include "Aldine")

Bid accepted at $152 after using rebid zones. Total w/ tax: 368.56. Crossing my fingers for a harbor view, but pleased regardless. As always, used above Price.Line Quickquote link (and Bidding.Helper) throughout. I'll add a few more data points I scribbled if I find my little cheat sheet buried in my carryon ;) Thanks!

Started bidding at $120. Using rebids, bid until accepted at $177. With taxes total was $215. I've never stayed at Hotel Max but seems like a decent hotel and is a few blocks from the Link. A lot more than I wanted to pay for just the one night, but it seemed like everything was high. As usual, used the Price.Line Quickquote link above. Thanks again for the site and the help! For data points... PL Exp was showing a 3.5* for $183 and a 4* for $202 (though previous this was ~$247) On Orbitz, Hotel Max showed a total for the same night of $332.46 with taxes. At least i saved over $115 off the retail price.

Sorry if resurrecting, but my question is related and thought starting new topic wasn't necessary. Are we safe to assume that if a 4* hotel is shown on PRICELINE EXPRESS via Bidding Helper for $247 (6/26, 1 night, Pike Place), that naming our price wouldn't be successful until we came fairly close to that $247 price? As in, the chances are low for a bid of < $200 (maybe even $225) being accepted. Is that correct?

Kept seeing similar prices so I tried my luck on getting the Westin Bonaventure for cheaper on PL. Succeeded (barely) with a winning bid of $101, two nights w/ tax for $242.70 I posted a new topic in the PL area. Thanks for all of the help!

Used Price.Line link above (and BiddingHelper.com). Attempted to start bidding at $80 but was given the notice of the bid being historically low to be accepted. Started actual bidding at $88, immediately was countered with $114 offer. Rejected and added rebid zones until $101 was accepted. Total w/ tax for two nights: $242.70 Rate on Westin site $175 PRICELINE EXPRESS 4* offer was listed at $110 Hotwire 4* at $108

Yellowdog, I think you missed the disconnect in the Bidding Helper info. 1) Yesterday, the $113 3.5* hotel was not appearing in the Easy View tab, but a $111 3.5* hotel was. I was not sure if it was the SAME one from the regular HW tab. Even so, I included ALL of the amenities from the Easy View listing. Again, I mentioned that they could be different (since the regular HW tab listed a 3.5* for a slightly different price, $113). Currently there is a $134, 3.5* hotel appearing in both. It's list from the Easy View tab: Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Internet access, Accessible for the deaf, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Handicapped parking, Roll-in shower 2) Yesterday, and at the moment, there is one 4* hotel listed in the HW tab for $110 (savings from $184, 90% love it) that does NOT appear in the Easy View. No 4* is appearing in the Easy View... Since I can't get the "full" list, I listed what was available from the regular HW tab/list. Hope that makes sense. And thanks as always for the insight and help.

Would this be the LA Hotel (soon to be Hyatt Regency)?? Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Internet access Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility I can't see the ENTIRE list on the Bidding Helper because the Easy View shows a $111 room but clicking the red proceed icon returns an error page. Not sure if it's the same hotel or a different one... Interestingly enough, there is also a 4* showing for $112 (3.5/5, 90%) that does not even appear in the Easy View list. It has amenities of: Pet friendly Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Internet access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf

FWIW, if you/they don't mind walking 5-10min, I think parking at Union Station is $6 for 24hrs. Just think, with that $14 extra dollars you could maybe split a beer! ;)

Sounds good. Thank you both. I do have a little time to play with it and will look more into it this weekend. Also, I will probably book a safety hotel in the area that does not charge for a cancellation. (At the moment, I'm working on a stay in LA followed by San Diego. I'll post accordingly)

Romelle, I like that idea and usually have a similar method. The only problem here is that I haven't seen a 5* listed before and thus it's difficult to really gauge against anything similar on HW or PLE. Thereuare, I'm probably willing to bid less than what would be accepted at the 5* level. If it was estimated that I would need to approach $175+ to win, I would likely try my luck at the 4* level to hopefully stay in the $100-$125 range. What bid would you start with at the 5* level? Lastly, for the placeholder 4.5*, what is thought to happen in a successful bid (assuming it is a real placeholder)? Do you get the 5* or 4* property??

I will be at Stanford University for an event May 3-5 and always include in my search nearby areas for good deals (see Sofitel in Redwood City). But this time I am looking really hard at staying in Palo Alto. While using the Bidding.Helper tool (or PRICELINE link), choosing my dates, and viewing the star levels for Palo Alto, I see 2 additional levels that I've never seen before, 4.5* and 5*. Previously, I recall the only 4* being the Westin (current hotel list here for PA shows the Westin as the only 4*). Any guesses? Garden Court (definitely on the higher end but I would not have figured they would have become a PL partner)? The Epiphany? Where would you suggest I start my bidding for either star level? Thanks! Glad to be back on here! And traveling ;)

Thanks Thereuare! I'll pass on the good luck to my fiance! She's running in the USA Track and Field 5k Road Championships, she'll need all the luck she can get! :)

I actually started bidding for a 4* Downtown, but after 4 bids (85, 95, 105, 110) I started thinking it would be worth trying 3.5* to save a few bucks. Switched gears, bid $100 for 3.5*... immediately accepted. (A VERY RARE time where I wish my starting bid had been lower) Total w/ tax = $121.67 More info for those inclined: Biltmore was showing retail price of $225 ($250 w/ tax) for the same room. Hotwire was listing a 4* room for ~$155 ($192 w/ tax), a 3.5* for $179, and 3* for ~$105. Priceline was listing retail price of 4* at $250 and 3.5* at $199. I knew the weekend was busy with a conference and a race (why we are going); rates were going to be higher than normal. Since we have a room at the Marriott the following night (complimentary), I had a small hope to win there so we didn't have to move. Reviews for the Biltmore are hit or miss, but for the price and location and all other things considered, I'm pleased. [Of course used PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links above/below]

FYI: previously, parking at the Sofitel was free. Per one of the employees at checkin, that has changed (luckily the day after we left!). She did not mention the cost. I would double check if I was considering bidding. Also, the Sofitel SF Bay is a great hotel, especially for the price. HIghly recommended.