Jump to content
Loading...

lowballer

Members
  • Posts

    167
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by lowballer

  1. Park City, Utah has a few Priceline properties, including a very pleasant Marriott I reviewed here. There's also the I-70 corridor in Colorado in the Dillon/Silverthorne/Frisco area. If you're looking at Tahoe, Reno and Carson City aren't too far away from much of the north shore, especially Mt. Rose. Of course the whole point of PL or HW is to dump excess inventory, which there isn't a whole lot of in high season. Still, it might be useful for stays during midweek or near the beginning or end of the season, for example.
  2. 3* failed at $35; 2.5* failed at $30. This is the one on 800 Lake Cook Road in Deerfield. Total 32 + 10.97 = $42.97
  3. Failed at $36. Total 37+11.93 = 48.93. This is a Tuesday. Funny how the SFO airport zone works when bidding 3*. There's a band about $7 wide ($33-40) that almost always hits no matter the night, and a group of about four or five hotels that routinely come up, but little apparent corellation regarding what comes up when for how much. (This is the long way of saying I was expecting to get the Marriott at $37.)
  4. The city of Burlingame (where SFO and most of the hotels are located) levies some sort of occupancy tax in the range of $1+ per room night. I've been hit with it staying elsewhere near the airport on PL stays. For me it was $1.25 for one night at the SFO Mariott; perhaps it varies by location within Burlingame or something. A few other places in California (notably Sacramento) have a similar tax. It is certainly a nuisance, but it is somewhat legit in that it is a government-imposed charge that everyone has to pay and is separate from the X% sales tax. And it's not a nefarious energy surcharge.
  5. Well, maybe those flight attendants used to be TOBB moderators.
  6. Continuing with different parameters: I tried Denver, checking in 9/24 and checking out 9/26. Zones specified were Greater Downtown Denver, Tech Center and DEN Airport. Both searches returned 13 results, and are likely the same hotels in the same order. This time Computer A was cheaper on seven results and the price was identical on six. Computer B was never cheaper. Where A was cheaper, the difference was small, on the order of a few bucks. (The largest difference was $4, $115 on A versus $119 on B, which was each computer's most expensive hotel.) Because the other computer was cheaper this time, the hypothesis that Hotwire adjusts its results at random, without necessarily discriminating by browser or time of request, is supported. However, it does not explain the instances where rates are the same on both computers, nor does it account for the "outlier" result in the first search.
  7. Well, all this got me thinking. Here at work I have two computers right next to each other. Why not put in simultaneous Hotwire requests using the same parameters on each machine? I used San Francisco, checking in 9/17, checking out 9/19, with these zones: USE, USW, Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf and SFO Airport South. The browser is the same (IE 6) on both machines. On both screens for each machine (the homepage and the page where you select the zones and confirm) I entered the information, then clicked both mouse buttons as close to simultaneously as humanly possible. I doubt I was off by more than a tenth of a second. On both computers, Hotwire returned 23 hotels. The star levels, lists of amenities and presence or absence of the "Customer Favorite" designation match at each position in both lists. So it is nearly certain that both computer A and computer B returned the same hotels in the same order. But the prices were different for 21 out of the 23 hotels. In these 21 cases, the same computer, B, was cheaper. A was usually more expensive by 15-20%, with one outlier at 34% more. For two out of the 23 hotels, the result was the same. Here are the results, in the order received: Zone | Star Level | Computer A | Computer B EMB* | 4.5 | 169 | 141 EMB* | 4.0 | 120 | 103 EMB | 3.5 | 95 | 80 EMB | 3.0 | 121 | 103 FW* | 4.0 | 196 | 162 FW* | 3.0 | 164 | 137 FW | 2.0 | 112 | 96 SFO | 4.0 | 58 | 47 [1] SFO | 3.5 | 85 | 85 SFO* | 3.0 | 49 | 49 [2] <--identical SFO | 2.5 | 70 | 60 SFO | 2.0 | 49 | 40 USE | 4.0 | 157 | 134 USE | 3.5 | 117 | 99 USE | 3.0 | 87 | 75 USE | 2.5 | 143 | 124 USE | 2.0 | 94 | 70 <-- biggest percentage difference (34%) USW | 4.5 | 242 | 197 <-- biggest absolute difference ($45) USW*| 4.0 | 101 | 101 <-- identical USW | 3.5 | 90 | 77 USW | 3.0 | 99 | 84 USW | 2.5 | 75 | 65 USW | 2.0 | 62 | 56 * listed as a "Customer Favorite" on both computers [1] designated as "Best Value" on both computers [2] designated as "Best Value" only on computer A (even though both give the same price) I guess I could list the amenities but the table as it is was enough work. (If you try to repeat this experiment, use fewer zones :) ) More importantly, what it strongly suggests is that Hotwire varies its rates with each request, regardless of browser or time.
  8. Priceline has something like this too. While you're in "wait" mode there's small text that reads "PHR:" followed by what will become your hotel reservation number.
  9. Thought I'd be the first to submit a Utah hotel report. :) I really liked this place. Nicest Marriott I've gotten on PL and better than many putative 4*s. It is not the easiest place to find, and the directions you may get online aren't necessarily the fastest way there. From Salt Lake City, instead of exiting I-80 at U-224, it's faster to continue on to U.S. 40. Go south ("east") on 40 and exit at U-248, then go right (west) off 40 and look for Sidewinder Drive after a couple of miles on the right. Anyway, at checkin I had my choice of a king bed or two doubles. I took the king. No mention of booking method. I received a coupon for 50% off at the restaurant my first night there, but I never ate there. (It might not have been for 50% off the entire meal; I didn't really check.) The lobby has that "ski lodge" look: lots of wood furnishings and green/brown earthtone color scheme. Upon entering my room (around 9pm) the bed had been turned down and two mints left. The room had a micro-fridge -- an empty fridge, not a minibar -- and a very comfortable bed, similar to Westin's Heavenly Beds, with plenty of pillows. After a long day of hiking Saturday I got 8+ hours of very restful sleep. My room looked into the atrium, in which the pool and hot tub are located. The inner first floor rooms open right out into the atrium. Some of the upper floors have small balconies, but my third-floor room did not. A copy of the Salt Lake Tribune was outside my door by 7am each morning. I believe on weekdays they give out the USA Today. The room was quiet and the TV seemed to have a few more channels than typical for a Marriott. The pool was quite warm, almost as warm as the hot tub. There were lots of families with kids in the pool area, and some kids were playing on the exercise machines, but they didn't bother me. Also, the steam room seemed not to be working, but this wasn't a big deal to me either. Parking can be a little tricky, because the lot in front isn't too big. I was given a pass to use the garage around to the side, and I ended up parking there. You can also park on street; otherwise they'd have to call it "No Park City". Nearest grocery store is the Albertson's at the corner of 248 and 224. Second nicest Albertson's I've ever been in. In contrast, the Wal-Mart off I-80 is hard to get into and out of and doesn't have groceries. No problems upon checkout. The published rate for this property was $79, which seems to be a good deal as it is. Clearly this hotel makes its money in the winter. At the $37 I got it for it was a steal.
  10. A couple of years back the Park Hyatt would regularly hit at $55-60 on weekends. This is the first time I've seen a winning bid for it in awhile. Glad to see it back, as it was my favorite Priceline hotel in the city. I don't expect it to be as cheap as it was back then, but I hope it pops up more often. Anything to avoid the Hilton.
  11. I'm guessing this belongs in the San Francisco category because San Mateo is in the SF bidding area. Was looking for a one-night stay south of San Francisco but not at the airport. $50 rejected but $51 hit. Pretty good considering this is a Thursday. I bid this for a friend who wanted multiple rooms and I don't have the breakdown with taxes/fees added. This property is labeled "San Mateo Marriott Sfo Airport" by PL but is NOT the 3* Marriott located in PL's Airport zone. It really is in San Mateo, one exit north of the 101/92 cloverleaf. For the same night 4* in Santa Clara was rejected at $120, and he didn't want to deal with the 3*s down there.
  12. I should add that I bid this yesterday, and failed at $26, so I was true to my username :)
  13. Was looking for something in the northern or western Seattle suburbs -- not downtown and not Renton/Kent, and the airport zone only as a last resort. I used downtown as a free rebid zone anyway because there's pretty solid precedent for needing a MUCH higher bid to hit there than in the suburbs on summer weekends. I threw away my worksheet :) so I don't remember my failed bids exactly, but erring on the conservative side (I went a bit higher, but never above $40, in a few zones) I failed at: 3* $38 Bellevue, SEA Airport, Lynwood 2.5* $36 Bellevue, SEA Airport, Lynwood, Bothell, Redmond 2* $32-33 SEA Airport, Lynwood, Bothell, Redmond, Northgate Also failed at 2* $31 Everett and Marysville north of town. I did manage to get this place, tho, for a total cost of $37.00 (fees were $10.00 exactly). Hotwire had it for $31+fees (that it was the Homestead was pretty obvious) but not much anywhere in Seattle for less than about $55. Homestead Studio Suites Bellevue 3700 132 Ave SE Bellevue, WA 98006 I'm getting in late and leaving early the next day, so I didn't really need anything fancy. The rejections surprised me a bit, but maybe the Saturday checkin was problematic.
  14. Well, that North Lake Tahoe zone on Hotwire is HUGE; on a busy day it would take at least an hour to drive from one end of it to the other. One end is much more convenient when taking I-80 from the west, where the other is far better when coming from Reno. And Squaw Valley is several miles from anything, except for the specialty stores there. When I typed in "squaw valley, ca" into Hotwire the only match it came up with was Amsterdam. Yes, *that* Amsterdam. I had to use "lake tahoe, nv" instead. :)
  15. I'd think that if a hotel cared about this, it would have two Priceline rates: one at whatever its minimum is and one at $40 (in the case of a 4* with a Priceline rate below $40). That way the hotel, rather than PL, could capture the extra revenue from people bidding 4* and still be available as an upgrade to those bidding less than $40 for 3* or lower. (I am assuming there isn't something in the contract between PL and the hotel that would otherwise prevent this, such as a minimum interval between rates.)
  16. Long-time bidder and refugee from that "other place"... first-time poster. This is for right after the 4th of July weekend, after everyone has left. It was my first bid, so maybe you can get it for even less! I placed the bid today (June 23). Hilton Reno Resort and Casino 2500 East Second Street Reno, NV 89431 Total: $25 + $9.30 fees = $34.30
QUICKQUOTE [X]
PRICELINE & HOTWIRE on one screen!
NOTE: Priceline searches for
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY ONLY
Room %roomN%:
Age of child:
FINDFAST[X]
×
×
  • Create New...