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Expedia and RegTag are both showing Days Inn for $89, and Super 8 for $76. (Both are 2*s). Seems you were right about my hopes for a $50 room from PL. I tried $50 for 2.5* 2 days ago, and then just now, I tried $50 for both 2.5* and 2*. Looks like I will have to bump it up a bit keep trying again tomorrow. Any additional suggestions..?

I'm trying to book one night in Homestead, Florida, but only one zone is available. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how I can rebid when there are no additional re-bid zones available. If I'm indeed not able to rebid, what strategies you guys would use to choose the one price you bid? I was comparing to Hotwire for a baseline, and seems the 2* hotels are going for $96. So I was thinking maybe $50 for a 2.5* on PL? What do you think? I don't need the room till Feb 16, so still have a bit of time left to rebid once a day if really necessary. Thanks in advance!

Bonus Cash Per Day: $2.10 (per day) Your Offer Price Per Day: $14.00 (per day) Total Offer Price with Bonus: $16.10 (per day) Not as good a deal as I see others are getting, but I'm still content with it. Could be due to the fact that we're only 5 days away from the trip and booking last minute.

Yeah, we are looking to book a few rooms for after a wedding, so I was hoping we could use this board to pinpoint if there are any deals close to the banquet hall in that zone. Oh well, was worth a try. We'll probably just book like normal. Thanks for taking a look at it anyways. Used the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin travel purchases

I'm considering the following options. Option 1: 4* - $76/night Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, Internet Recommended in 85% of customer reviews Option 2: 2* - $59/night Breakfast, Business, Laundry, Internet Recommended in 95% of customer reviews Option 3: 2.5* - $71/night Airport, Fitness, Pool, Business, Internet Recommended in 50% of customer reviews Any guesses? Looks like Option 3 may be the Holiday/Comfort Inn, but I'm not sure about the first two. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide! I used the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin travel purchases.

Started bidding at $55 for 4* (two rooms). Increased by $5 each bid until accepted at $85. Room retails for about $111 CAD, so once fees and exchange rate are included, this bid ends up being close to retail price :) Oh well, still saved a bit anyways... Thanks!

Started bidding at $45 for 4* using PRICELINE link. Added rebid zone for $50, then added another rebid zone for $55 which was accepted.

I know this response is late, but just FYI, it's the Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada :)

Bid History for 3.5 * Downtown Montreal zone at $40. Rejected. Added Dorval zone at $45. Rejected. Added Laval zone at $50. Accepted. Used the PRICELINE link. Thanks!

Thanks, dahammer. As always, excellent information :) I think I've pretty much decided to park at the Liberty Park Station Park and Ride for the day (not at the ferry terminal parking lots as I was originally thinking). PATH and light rail service both go late, but the shuttle doesn't. So parking at the light rail station doesn't restrict us to times when the shuttle service is running. Will definitely try to pick up a Santillo's pizza while we're there! Thanks again for your information!

2.5* Newark - Meadowlands (Elizabeth) Residence Inn, $90 ... 5/16/08-5/18/08 Offer Price: $90.00 Subtotal: $180.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $37.80 Total Charges: $217.80 I actually got this by mistake :). After unsuccessfully going through the suggested 3* 'algorithm' above, I foolishly did the same thing with 2.5*, not realizing till the end (when I won) the mistake I had made. Oh well, still managed to snag some savings, and considering the good deal I got on the Hyatt, I guess that *overall*, I'm still satisfied with my purchases :) I have one question about transportation. I thought that because of the location, it might make sense to take the ferry, see the sights, and then get off on the manhattan side (kill two birds with one stone - tourism and transportation all in one trip!). However, I'm not sure what the best way would be to get to Liberty State Park that morning. Would taxi be too expensive? Public transportation too troublesome? On the way back, I'm thinking that the easiest way might be to take the PATH to the airport and then take the hotel shuttle back. Comments, suggestions? What about driving ourselves to Liberty State Park in the morning and then taking public trans'n back to pick up my car afterwards? I already looked at the train routes/schedules and they seemed somewhat complex for this option. Thanks so much for all the bidding help and travel advice!!

Sounds good, I'll take your advice and start with the 3* and drop down to 2.5*s if necessary.

Dates: May 16-18 TA rating: 2.5/5 (this scares me a bit) Hotwire price is $119, save $41 3*. Suite, Fitness Center, Restaurants, Internet, Breakfast, Pool, Laundry

Thanks a lot for all the great info. Looks like that hotel isn't listed anymore, though. I really regret not having snatched it up yesterday. I'm going to start a thread on the hotwire board to try identifying the currently listed ones. Unfortunately, the value doesn't seem nearly as great as the $95 was.

Yes, I think that would be fine. Which areas were you thinking I should add?

I've never used Hotwire before so am not too familiar with it. Do the deals/hotels on there change often and sell out quick? Do you think I can risk keeping this Sheraton option as a backup till next week (or the week after) in case I don't get something better on Priceline? Thanks

driving, from Buffalo

please see reference thread: 2.5* Newark (Secaucus-North Bergen) Hyatt Place, $69 ... 5/18/08-5/20/08 As explained in the thread above, I am trying to bid for Fri, May 16 and Sat, May 17. Looking for at least 2.5* at not more than say $85 or so. Would probably willing to go up to $100 for 3* but anything more than that and I think I'd probably have to stick with my backup booking. :) BTW, I need a hotel that has easy access to Manhattan. I was bidding on Secaucus area because a friend recommended it, but am open to other options/area you can suggest. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Thanks, dahammer. Sounds like good advice, I'll definitely take a look tonight and report back my results. thereuare, as requested, I will start a new thread.

Offer Price: $69.00 Subtotal: $138.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $30.66 Total Charges: $168.66 I'm trying to book hotel for 4 nights: Friday, May 16 to Tuesday, May 20. Been bidding for a few days now, chosing Secaucus and Jersey City as my bidding zones (I usually add Jersey City as a rebid because I know I won't get anything for that cheap there, so it's basically like having a free bid in Secaucus). My bids ranged between $60-$85 without luck. I suspected it was Fri/Sat nights holding me back because when I checked the rack rates for La Quinta, they seemed to be completely booked up on Sat. So tonight, I split up my bid and won the last two nights at Hyatt for $69. I tried to extend my stay but was unsuccessful. When I checked their regular booking system, it looks like they're also booked up for both nights. I have my backup booked (Econolodge Carlstadt for $85/night, but I really really hope we don't have to stay there, though!! :)). So right now, my trip consists of 2 nights at Econolodge and 2 nights at Hyatt. Do you have any suggestions for how I could continue bidding for the first two nights (Fri/Sat)? I supposed it could still be Sat night holding me back from winning, however, I'm really iffy about splitting up the bids again, as I think staying in 3 hotels over a 4 night trip would be a bit much. I don't want to go below a 2.5*, and not more than say $85 or so. Would probably willing to go up to $100 for 3* but anything more than that and I think I'd probably have to stick with the Econolodge :) BTW, I need a hotel that has easy access to Manhattan. I was bidding on Secaucus area because a friend recommended it, but am open to other options/area you can suggest. Thanks in advance!!