lee1

I went up to $50 for a 3* and was rejected. We are going to consider some alternatives to staying in Syracuse on 7/10. It is intended as a layover on our late day journey to Montreal - I may make a stab at something else on the I 90/ I 81 routing.

We are trying to get one night in Syracuse at the beginning of a trip on 7/10. No luck yet but here are the results thus far: Starting with Syracuse East, then rebid adding North, and rebid adding Fairgrounds: 3* bidding ranged from $45-$48 2.5* bidding ranged from $41-$43 2* biding ranged from $35-$38. Will try again later. Any tips are appreciated.

After failing to get a 4* for $70 and $75, or 3* for $50 I was sucessful at getting a 3* for $55. Novotel Montreal Centre 1180 Rue De La Montagne $55 x2 = 110 + 21.09 tax and service = $131.09 I belive this is a new addition to the list of Montreal Priceline hotels

I made one try for a 4* @ $75 and it was rejected. No free rebids. I switched to a 3*. My sucess is reported separately.

I made one try for a 4* (downtown) for $70 and was rejected. I also made one try for a 3* (downtown) for $50 and was rejected as well. There are no free rebids for this region so I will try again.

My wife and I want to take a a trip while our son is at camp in July. We can fly from the Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo region. If a great deal can be had we can depart from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or Cleveland. Our possible destinations include many Canadian cities including Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, St. Johns, NFLD. US locations would include Seattle, San Diego, San Antonio. It appears that many of these trips are retailing around 300-400. The % of savings is really more important to me than the total cost. I am seeking the best $$ value. We just want to get away for a quick but cheaper than usual vacation. We are looking for airline bidding tips for such a journey. Thanks in advance.

I also have a couple of questions about how you get credit. I recently purchased airline tickets by going through your airfare checker. I hope you automatically receive credit when a reservation is made in that fashion. Do you? If not, how would I use the airfair checker and ensure you get credit? If I access Amazon (or other sites) through your support page rather than using my stored link in favorites and make a purchase do you get credit for any and all purchases? Thanks for this great site!

A couple of weeks ago I obtained a room at the downtown 3* Marriott on 6/25 for 50.00. I now want to get a second room for the same night and hopefully at the Marriott as well. A few days ago I started bidding downtown 3* - beginning with 50.00. Through rebids I have now been rejected up to $66. On that bid I got the "If you add $17..." offer. Of course I know not to add that much but even if I add another $6 I think I might end up with the Penns Landing Hyatt. Usually someone is not upset to get a 4* when they are seeking a 3* but in this case I am specifically seeking the Marriott. Any suggestions on what to do - or not do? For example, would a possible strategy be to wait a week or so and start bidding again back down to $50? I understand that I could end up elsewhere no matter what but any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, The correct date is 6/24. Thanks for noticing my error. I've made too many in my most recent posts. It looks like I may have to stay a little outside of Elizabethtown unless there is another location that I have not found. Any idea what the 1 star likely is? Thanks.

HI, If I can get a 2 star from Priceline for $65 or less then I will take that. If I cannot then I will choose to stay most likely in the Hershey/Harrisburg region. I just recently did a check on a Holiday Inn Express in Elizabethtown for 6/24 and there is no availability. It is possible that nothing is available at "any" price. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

We would like to stay in Elizabethtown on 5/24 (Friday). Although there are other hotels in the Lancaster and Harrisburg/Hershey region we want to stay in Elizabethtown because my son has a 5k race at 8 am on Saturday. Does anyone have any clue what the 2* hotel is in Elizabethtown and what a good bid would be? There are no free rebids for that area. My first and only bid thus far for $42 was rejected.

First bid successful at $50. With taxes and fees the total came to 64.11.

Made one stab at a 4* for $58 - trying to get the Hyatt at Penns Landing. Not accepted so I bid on a 3* - Info on that bid in my next message.

Priceline stated the Residence Inn was a 3* when my bid was sucessful. My AAA guide also lists it as a 3 diamond. That's all I know for now.

I failed on several attempts to get a 3* in the Inner Harbor area for 4/7. Through rebids and multiple days of bidding I went all the way to 119.00 with no luck. There must be a bigger event than mine going on. I then tried Mt. Vernon which is directly next to Inner Harbor and made a one shot bid at 75.00 This also failed so I decided to go more cheaply north of the city. I ended up perhaps more north than I would have wished but still saved. I tried for Hunt Valley/Timonium for 52.00 was told that if I added 15.00 immediately I could rebid. Instead I added Carlyle-Cross Keys and bid 56.00. It was rejected. I added Mt Vernon and bid 59.00. I got the Residence Inn in Hunt Valley/Timonium for 59.00 for April 7. With the free breakfast, etc. it is a good deal.

I did not see the "This site" link in your response because Norton blocked it. When I went to the Wyndham site I got a message that the hotel was full so unfortunately I gave up on that option. I continued to bid on the 3 star up to 119.00 and had no luck. At that point I decided to bid on hotels north of the city. I got the Residence Inn in Timonium and am posting that information separately.

I have tried without success to get a 3 star for April 7. This is for a small convention. There must be something major going on. I started at 48.00 and with free rebids and over the last several days I've gone up to 90.00 with no luck. I am unsure whether I should go up to 100.00 (still less than going rate) or go for a 2* or go to Towson for a 3* and drive in for the meetings. Any suggestions?

We plan to stay in the Allentown area Satuday, March 5. Apparently there are no postings here for sucessful bids for the area. Does anyone have any experience bidding for the region? Thanks in Advance.

Hi, I went from 49 to 57 in $2.00 increments. Thanks.

Success at $57.00 I got the Hyatt for Sunday night the 6th of March. Your Offer Price: $57.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $57.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.48 Total Charges: $72.48 Now I need to find a place in Allentown or nearby on the way for Saturday night - coming in from Berwick after judging "Odyssey of the Mind" any tips?

I just tried an alternative by going to one night - Sunday the 6th thinking that maybe inability to get a room was based on bookings for Saturday the 5th. I have rebid to $49.00. Still no luck. Thanks for the comment regarding Hotwire but I won't go that high but at least it gives me a guide.

As other posts have noted, the Philadelphia Flower Show takes place in early March. I have tried to get two nights - Saturday and Sunday March 5 and 6 at the Hyatt in downtown Philadephia for the past few weeks. I have followed the procedure of sticking with the 4* and adding regions (where in reality there are no 4*'s and upping my bid bit by bit. I started at $43. Yesterday I went up to $61 with no luck. Unless someone has a tip I believe I will now go to a 3* and start the process over. Good luck to all.

We stayed at this location October 9 and paid 57.00 through Priceline. We were in town to see a taping of the Red Green show. It is in a nice location. The hotel is one of the nicest we have stayed at (but bear in mind I'm budget minded). It is quite upscale and the staff is quite friendly. The room (a King bed) was quite large. It had data ports, an in room bar, etc. and fluffy robes next to the bath/shower. When we checked in we were offered a suite for an additional 30.00 CDN but declined. We garage parked two blocks away for 11.00 overnight - much less than the hotel rates. As noted there are many places to eat in the area. I recommend this place if you want to have an upscale experience for a decent price.

This was something of a last minute bidding process. We were supposed to be camping for the first 6 days but my wife is not feeling well. However, since we were locked in to going due to other activities we decided to try Priceline. My bidding took place on the night of 7/8/04. One try at dowtown Ottawa 3* at 34.00 - rejected. Added Gloucester 3* also at 34.00 - rejected. Bid 32.00 for 2.5* downtown Ottawa - rejected (typically the 2.5* is Marriott Courtyard and has been gotten for 36.00) - rejected. Added Gloucester 2.5 - and bid 33.00 rejected. Bid 28.00 for 2* Gloucester - accepted at Travelodge. Total with fees for 6 nights came to 193.89. BTW there are two Gloucesters. One is a town South of Ottawa. The other is a part of central Ottawa to the East. This Gloucester is actually in Ottawa.

I was requested to add this information from 2003. Last year when we stayed in Kitchener we stayed in the Comfort Inn via a Priceline bid. My sucessful bid was 45.00. The bid was made on 9/3/03 - about a month before Oktoberfest. I don't recall whether the 45.00 bid was a second bid but I believe it was. This year we are staying at a 3* which was posted under Kitchener/Oktoberfest as well. We were not dissatisfied with the Comfort Inn - my wife just wanted a little more this year.