Penelope2004

Be advised that the name of this hotel name might be confusing, as it contains the word "Airport" however it was in the Henrietta area Priceline map. (There are three Country Inn & Suites in this general area, with one of those being in the Henrietta South map at this time.) My PRICELINE EXPRESS deal full hotel name: Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Rochester Airport-University Area I chose this PRICELINE EXPRESS deal as it was listed as having a "Very Good 8+/10" rating on PL. Amenities: Free Breakfast Free Internet (in Room) Free Parking Indoor Pool Spa Shuttle Non-Smoking Gym Handicap Accessible Business Center Reservation is for two nights Cost per night: $64.00 Taxes/Fees: $28.98 Total, 2 nights: $156.98 I clicked through many of your links before deciding on this PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal

I forgot to mention - after the purchase, they upped the included amenities to include the following list: Free Breakfast Free Internet (in room) Free Parking Pet Friendly Non-Smoking Handicap Accessible Not a big change, however I thought that this description might be used in another Priceline listing, and could be useful to others.

We clicked through your PRICELINE links for this purchase. This was a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal - I had tried bidding on a 2.5 star in Henrietta South and +Henrietta, however neither bid (which were $56 and $65, respectively) was accepted. I'm ok with this purchase. The $41 was for "1 Queen Bed - Nonsmoking Standard Studio - Breakfast, Free Wifi Guaranteed Amenities: Pets Allowed Free Parking Free Internet Free Breakfast Guest Score "Rated 7.0 out of 10 (or higher) Price Per Night: $41.00 Room Subtotal: $82.00 Taxes/Fees: $19.72 Total Price: $101.72

I have found that if my husband and I both do the same exact search the prices will be a little different. This has happened on both Hotwire and Priceline. I always make sure to click through to the site from here, search, but make sure to leave directly to any competitor for a while. I come back here, click through, and sometimes the prices are lower. In the same day, or if I wait a day. Maybe it is what time of day I try, but I've had good luck this way. I have decided to NEVER take their "offered price" on Priceline (if you bid and lose, then they come back with "if you are willing to up your bid to "x" amount..." because you tell them with your behavior that they can get you to up your price. They will know who you are, because you have already given them information such as your phone number and email/name. There is so much information culling online that they must somehow develop a bidding profile/acceptance profile on users.

I clicked through both of your links, HOTWIRE and PRICELINE. "All Suites Hotel" Cost: $63 + $17.24 in fees = $80.24 All Amenities: Free Breakfast Smoke-free rooms Pool(s) In-Room accessibility Indoor pool(s) Fitness center Business center Hotwire stated that 100% recommended the hotel. Hard to believe, as Trip Advisor ratings are all over the place, though mainly in the upper realm. Ok win.

Sorry, I'm glad that I took a screen shot; Amenities prior to my purchase: Indoor or Outdoor Pool Fitness Center Free Parking Free Internet Free Breakfast

I clicked on your Priceline link to start. This is a great win for this time period. Driving to Rochester, NY (Henrietta) for freshman & parent orientation at RIT. Most hotel rates are way up already (and this is only April) - I'm booking for August. (College orientations can greatly rise prices at hotels, and if you don't book early, you may not even get a room.) We are splitting our stay. We will book one night (the 17th) for the three of us, then this 2 night stay, for the two of us. (RIT has parent orientations - we live quite a few hours away, so we will be spending 3 nights total.) I wanted to see if there were any Express deals on Priceline before I began bidding, and saw this deal. I cannot imagine a lower price, during this timeframe (orientation), for the amenities. This property was rated an 8+ for Priceline customer satisfaction prior to my purchase. Based on the amenities listed on this site, I was fairly certain that this was the property. It was, and other site reviews like this hotel as well. $62 a night. 2 nights. subtotal: $124 Taxes & fees: $28.12 Total $152.12 Listed Amenities:  Free Breakfast  Free Internet (in Room)  Free Parking  Indoor Pool  Non-Smoking  Gym  Handicap Accessible Thanks again!

The Super 8 in Ithaca is well regarded - newly refurbished, clean, nice people, comfortable beds. The cost: $97 a night. The "Discount" made the hotel $10 less than I could get it otherwise. Hotels this weekend in Ithaca have gone up quite a bit, and I didn't feel comfortable bidding on Priceline given that there are three of us. The price saved us about $10 over paying the least we would otherwise pay at the Super 8. I was fairly certain that it was the Super 8 given the TripAdvisor rating. The only other place it "might" have been would have been Country Inn & Suites, however that would most likely be ranked 2.5 stars. Happy with this win. Amenities: Free parking Free breakfast Free Internet Fitness Center Business Center Tripadvisor 4 out of 5. I clicked through your HOTWIRE links.

Hello, for people researching staying in Ithaca in the future, I STRONGLY recommend looking at both the Ithaca College and Cornell admissions AND annual calendars for your chosen dates. (sometimes admissions special events are not posted to the college academic calendar, so look for two calendars for both colleges.) Special weekends (such as "Ithaca College Accepted Students Days"/"Cornell Days") are impossible to find any room at a reasonable rate, if you can find a room at all. If you are interested, here are some real-World examples: Two years ago I was considering "Parents' Weekend" and saw that the Comfort Inn was running over $200 a night, with a two night minimum. I couldn't afford $400 + tax at the time. Checking today for "Cornell Days" (Accepted Students Days): Homewood Suites by HIlton is.....(drumroll please...) $504.00 a night. Any of the hotels/motels known as "clean & nice" in Ithaca are gone. Super 8 has a great reputation, but is sold out. All the upper/mid level hotels like the Fairfield Inn & Suites are sold out. Only the ones with "iffy" ratings are available. And there are still three weeks until Cornell Days - I checked for the night of the April 10th, but the "Cornell Days" run from April 9th - April 20th - weekdays are less expensive. I am not even sure if "bidding" for special college weekend days would even work, as they have a captive audience. For example, I stayed at the Holiday Inn over three years ago (it has since changed hands) and a gentleman who was helping me whispered that when my son graduated from college, I should call as soon as possible the morning after the prior year's graduation to book for the next year's (my son's) graduation. Also, if I booked graduation, I would need to book three nights, and it would be $300 a night. Occupancy Tax is 5%, so almost $1,000 for lodging for graduation weekend. It would be a non-refundable reservation. At a Holiday Inn. I wonder what the Hilton would cost? Now, this is three+ years ago, but Ithaca, while amazing, is fairly isolated. They have a captive audience. And the many hotels need to make money when they can. So, check the college calendars, and if there is a big special event, either try to choose another weekend (if you want to bid,) or if there is a big event, get a room as soon as possible. It is VERY important to follow the advice on Better Bidding; book a refundable rate room, then try bidding. If by some miracle you are able to score a deal on a room when there is a special weekend for one of the colleges, you can always cancel your refundable rate. When we went for the "Accepted Students' Day" four years ago, I didn't understand this; My son received a great financial aid package, and we decided to attend the day, so it was a last minute decision (two weeks in advance) - I searched and called all over. I finally found a place, (I had to search for "yellow pages + hotels to find this place - it was not listed anywhere else online) and we truly stayed in the last room available in the town, at a place that we will NOT be going back to. Ever. But that is another story. For my son's graduation, we will stay in the dorms for $170 for two nights at two per room. (FWIW, for their graduation, Cornell charges $210 per person for three nights stay. - If someone missed out on making an Ithaca reservation for that weekend, which will be for this coming May 22-24 and they want a hotel, they can stay 40 minutes away in Horseheads - the Holiday Inn Express is charging $240 a night. As I write this, it is March 17th. The prices will only get higher. I hope that this helps someone out there. ps, if your kid decides to go to one of these colleges, encourage them to do the "early explore week" then in future years volunteer to lead one of the "early explore weeks" for incoming freshmen - it is MUCH easier and less expensive to stay in Ithaca dropping them off then, rather than on "move in weekend." You may even get to bid! I hope the OP found a room. I just noticed that he was trying for one of the Cornell Days dates, on a weekend.

Just be careful and check a few actual attractions, and see what the venue actually charges (not what the pass place says that the venue charges.) I noticed that one of the pass programs grossly overstated what a specific museum visit would cost in Chicago. You might also want to check and see if any of the places that you would like to visit have free afternoons - that sort of thing.

Yes, it is listed as a 3.5 star hotel.

Hotel Blake, an Ascend Hotel Price: $75.00, Taxes, Fees, $22.24 = $97.24 Hotel Amenities Pet friendly Fitness center Business center Internet access Spa services Accessibility Accessible for visually impaired Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in shower I was very happy with the price and the location. We were within about two blocks of the "L" stop, and three blocks of our destination. The room looked great, but there was a moldy smell in the bathroom, and someone was vacuuming in the hallway at around 4 a.m.

Zone: Downtown - Millennium Park - Grant Park Area Hyatt Regency Chicago Price: $85 + $23.62 in Taxes/Fees = $108.62 This was a Thursday night check in 3/5 out 3/6/15 Amenities: Free Internet Smoke-free rooms Fitness center Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Accessibility Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Accessible bathroom Roll-in shower We ended up splitting out stay for this trip, which worked out great. The Hyatt upgraded us to a deluxe room (larger room) - the hotel is gorgeous, we ate at one of the three restaurants on site (we had a late arrival) - the next morning we were able to eat at an amazing local restaurant (Wildberry Pancakes), walk the remaining few blocks to the "L" then take it a few stops to our second hotel. I believe I checked through your links, but I this was three weeks ago, so I cannot remember. I apologize for not posting earlier. Also, after posting my second win, I realized that I may not have posted this as a Hotwire win. This was a Hotwire win, not a Priceline. Thank you. Also, since I added another win, since I split the stay, iit added another post instead of adding to this post, as I thought I was doing. I hope that is ok. I used your link to purchase this win.

I clicked on your HOTWIRE link prior to this purchase. Date Purchased: 3/8/15, for 4/3/15 -4/4/15 Gates - Chili - ROC Airport area Hotel Hotel Amenities: Free Parking, Free Internet, Pet Friendly, Indoor Pool(s), Airport Shuttle, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Internet Access Rate Per Night: $56.00 + Tax recovery charges + fees of $13.07 total: $69.08 I called after the purchase, to see if I could request a specific bed type. I was told that "it came through as a double bed." I expressed surprise, given I had put in two adults and a child (my daughter is 17) on the room request. She said that the double comes with a pull out couch. That will be "ok" for one night, but this is confusing. On the Radisson Hotel Site, you have the following choices: "a choice between two double beds or one king bed, plus all standard amenities." There is also a Business Class Room. There is no mention on the site of "one double bed and a pull out." I checked on Travelocity, and there was a mention of a double bed room. There appears to be two levels of rooms - and reserving on the Radisson site appears to give you the choice of a nicer room. I hope that we do not have a "bad" room - I also cannot find a mention of a pull out couch on any discussion of the amenities, though we were given verbal assurance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. While I know that I have no bed choice, being Hotwire, I also did not think that I would receive a "second tier" room. I am a Carlson rewards member, and I will try calling the week prior.

Thank you for your reply. I wish it was easier to tell how far in advance to bid, but I know that it is a guess at best. I've reached my limit on how high to bid - we are visiting a few colleges, and it adds up quickly. I've been looking at 3.5 star hotels on both Priceline and Hotwire, but they all seem to have issues, with odd locations, really being 3 star and not great reviews, reports of bedbugs, etc. Bidding on Priceline gives me more control over the location, (the Hotwire maps are just all over the place) while Hotwire helps out more with the amenities. I may try a bit north over the river. I realize that "night life" is better there, but we would rather stay near the college. I'll be on my other trip for the next few days, and won't be able to bid. I have to think about how to proceed.

Hello, I used your Bidding.Helper, and researched other wins as much as possible. I've also read the Calendar of Wins, as well as the Chicago Convention Calendar. I am trying to purchase a hotel in the Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area of Chicago on Price.line. The dates of stay will be: 3/5/15-3/7/15. I would like to stay in a 4 *, as I've seen listings in the area in the 3* and under which may be undesirable (bed bug reports/not really a hotel, but an apartment with $$$fee, and the like). I want to stay in this location as it is close to the Accepted Students Day at a nearby college/university. Here are my bids: Bid loop $68 +Midway airport area $72 + Midway airport area south $76 + Hyde Park $78 +Franklin Park Area $81 + Skokie $83 +Oak Park $ 84 The recent post: Priceline Chicago Loop hotel states that for the week prior to our stay, the bidder was able to get a 4 star in the same area for an accepted $69 bid. I am wondering if it is because they are staying longer? Or, do you think it is because they bid 6 weeks before their stay? Maybe because she bid on a Monday? In early March, there is not much going on in Chicago. I've clicked all of your links. Also, I recently posted Hot.wire purchases through your site. Thank you for your help and Advice.

I used the Hotwire Link to complete this transaction. 3 Star, VA-Richmond (Airport RIC) Best Western Plus Richmond Airport Hotel Topic Description: 2/20/15-2/21/15 ALL amenities Hotwire represents: Free parking Free breakfast Free Internet Airport shuttle Fitness center Pool(s) Business center Self-service laundry Internet access Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in shower Date hotel was booked: 2/14/15 We needed a hotel with a shuttle for our second night in Richmond (early flight - the rental car counter does not open until after our flight leaves - to reduce stress in the morning we will return the car the evening before, take the shuttle back to the hotel, then the shuttle to the airport in the morning. - To some this may seem like a waste of time, to us it will reduce stress.) I am a little concerned as there are smoking rooms, but I will call ahead to see if we can request non smoking. Overall it looks like an ok value (their site lists a room at $74.25 with a choice of non-smoking - for the additional $20 we would have had a choice of non smoking and two beds. I would have preferred the Hyatt, but the value is ok. )

I used the Better Bidding Hotwire link to complete this transaction. Topic Title: 3 Star, Richmond (Downtown), Linden Row Inn Topic Description: 2/19/15-2/20/15 @ $73.00 a night (with $20.15 taxes & fees, brings the total price paid to $93.15). All Amenities: Free breakfast Free Internet Boutique hotel Business center Internet access Golf nearby Tennis nearby Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in shower Hotel was booked on February 14th, 2015 Booked for one adult, one child (my "child" is 17 years old - my D and I ("mom") will share a bed for one night.) I had called the Inn first, and asked about VCU visit discount, and was quoted a price of $109.00 a night. I'm very happy with this win.

Hi, This is posted on HOTWIRE, isn't it? Holiday Inn does not offer a free breakfast - it would have the icon for "restaurant on site"

We just returned from our trip, and had a wonderful time at the Crystal Gateway Marriott (or Marriott Crystal Gateway) :) . I posted my review on TripAdvisor. The one odd thing, every other site lists the Crystal Gateway as being a four star hotel, however Priceline definitely gave it a three star rating (I have a pdf of my accepted bid listing this as well as the amenities .) This is absolutely, positively a four star hotel, given all of the amenities, as well as how all other sites rate it. On Priceline, I had not even been given a "four star" choice to bid on in Crystal City/Arlington. We had a wonderful, wonderful time; I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to a suite, the person who checked us in looked into if there were any available, and comped us an upgrade to a GORGEOUS suite :) for the two nights that we were in town. It was easy to convince my DH to eat on site there, as we had saved so much on Priceline. We will definitely be recommending this hotel to our friends. Also, I highly recommend the Crystal City area as excellent for families visiting DC. We had great access to the Metro, we felt very safe, we didn't have to drive inside DC, yet could easily drive to Arlington National Cemetery, and we drove to eat out with friends in Old Town Alexandria. We then easily parked back at the hotel, and could have our teens talking/playing a game/watching the TV while we and our friends shared a drink in the lounge area. Phone reception was excellent so we could reach each other. I guess I really see the benefit of Priceline for the hotels now. They fill otherwise empty rooms, and the bid winners may spend more money on site. Between one round of drinks, a delicious breakfast and coffee, we spent over $100 on site at this hotel. It was beautiful, lovely, attached to the underground mall which led to the Metro, was non-smoking, and every staff person we met was just marvelous. We are Marriott converts. I realize that we can never guarantee a hotel choice, but in the future I definitely will only bid in areas that have Marriott brand hotels as choices. Thanks for all your advice on bidding here. :o

Sorry, dates of stay: July 20 - July 23

I just saw the above posts, and while I have no proof, I thought it might be helpful to post what I have been wondering as well as a strategy (so far successful!) I used to win a bid on a Marriott brand: I wonder if Marriott hotels are given the right of first refusal? (Meaning that they get to see a bid first.) I googled a lot before I bid my first time on Priceline, and it may be interesting for those interested to google "Priceline" "Marriott" and "preferred partner." They do have some kind of agreement with each other. I don't know the wording of the agreement, but I do know from other online documents that the two somehow have a financial interest in each other. While still a gamble, here is one strategy I successfully used: I looked up on the Marriott site all the Marriott Hotel brands, did a little research on which of those Marriott brands are in which bidding areas in the place I wanted to travel, and bid in those areas. (If there were defined bidding areas close together, and only one had Marriott brands, I would bid in the area that had the Marriott brands.) I first researched (here) past winning bids at those hotels, knew about how much I was willing to bid based on what I wanted, and both times ended up with a Marriott brand. I wanted Marriott because 1) it is all non-smoking, and I didn't want to end up in a smoking room; and 2) from comments on this site, Marriott is comparatively amenable to giving us two beds versus one bed (though not guaranteed!) And while I read that the two hotel groups on Priceline can feature different hotels (ones seen in the "knowing the price and purchasing area" may not be offered in the "opaque bidding area"), I wonder if a Marriott brand hotel is advertised in the direct purchase area, will it also be in the opaque area? I know it states strongly on this site that you should not begin bidding higher. However, if I was correct (unsubstantiated!) that Marriotts are given the right of first refusal, I was willing to begin with a slightly higher bid to obtain a more expensive "suite" level of a two star Marriott Brand, based on my unsubstantiated belief that Marriotts are given the right of first refusal. In Williamsburg, VA, there were two 2* Marriott Brands (that are suite based) in the area I wanted to bid, so I bid a little more with this in mind. I received my preferred Marriott suite, which includes continental breakfast (hot items) and a pool, just what I had hoped for. I knew it was truly a gamble, (I was still crossing my fingers after I sent my bid!) but it was like testing a hypothesis. I also know that if I ended up with something not so great, I would still be spending less. Once again, totally unsubstantiated by any official source - however, I was successful based on my assumptions. If I like the hotels, I will be using this strategy in the future. I would love to see if any one else had similar experiences/thoughts? :) Or am I way off base? :)

First bid of $54 was accepted. Number of Rooms: 1 (suite with breakfast included) Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $162.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $32.84 Total Charges: $193.84 I know, it appears a little high as an initial bid for a 2* - however it is a suite with a pull out couch, has breakfast and a pool, and great reviews. From past slightly higher bids in this area that won this hotel, I was hoping for the same success, and was very glad to receive this same property :) (was listed as $154 in the non-opaque section of PRICELINE.) It is about 2 miles from Colonial Williamsburg.

Hotel accepted first bid of $75. Taxes & Service Fees: $29.64 Total: $179.64 Booked 7/3/08 Hope you get the credit - I linked from your PRICELINE link before I registered - I don't think it matters, but hope you do. I am thrilled with this first bid on Priceline. I spent DAYS researching hotels in and around Washington DC. I also spent hours of that time on your site, as well as on other trip advice sites (which featured reviews.) I am not sure if I can post names, so I won't. This is part of a larger trip to a family reunion, then Colonial Williamsburg, and then Washington DC. I hadn't realized just how much hotels cost around DC, and the more affordable hotels were nowhere near Metro stops. After balancing all of our needs, and asking our kids if they would prefer to stay just one night with a guaranteed bed, or two nights and possibly sleep on the blow up mattresses, I felt much braver bidding on Priceline when they voted for the latter. The Crystal Gateway Marriott gets excellent reviews, (I'll be writing my own when we return) is beautiful from their photos, you can walk to the Metro from the Crystal City Underground Mall (which will be much cooler than the cement in July), and is reputed to be very safe. It is also very close to the City, and if we have any time, we can hop two stops further out to go to Old Town Alexandria. I also figured that as this tends to be a more "business traveler" destination during the week, there would be more of a chance of us having two separate beds (as a business traveler on their own would most likely prefer the larger bed.) The rooms in this area appear to be a bit larger than in Washington DC proper, so our blow up mattresses will be in the car (just in case we can't get the two beds.) Yay! Thank you. :)