robteb

After trying many MANY times over the past few weeks , and going up to $95 using various combinations of the three free 4* re-bid zones, I finally got the hotel I wanted! I initially won for Thursday the 3rd only, then used the PRICELINE "Extend my Stay" option and got Friday the 4th for the same price. Still trying for Saturday the 5th, with no luck so far. (I am hesitant to go over $100, for fear of getting the Westin.) I have a back-up convention rate of $145 at the Hyatt, which I can live with for my one remaining night -- it's better than the BAR of $179! Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE to start all my searches, of course!

4* Montreal (Downtown) Le Westin $454 ... 10/6/12-10/11/12 I'm hoping that's the total for the five nights, not per night!!

Thanks to BetterBidding, I was fairly confident that this was going to be the Hyatt. Thought about trying PRICELINE to save a few dollars, but there are just too many possibilities for 4* in Chicago, and really wanted the Hyatt -- even though parking rates are stupid high ($52/day!!) . We're hoping to find a cheaper off-site lot nearby. Amenities Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Spa Services Started my search with the BetterBidding HOTWIRE link above, as always!

I've been watching prices drop over the past 2 weeks on Hotwire ($35 down to $21 today). I think the Presidents' Day holiday has been keeping prices high for a Thursday pick-up (Wednesday was $10, which is great except for the fact that we won't be there yet ). I finally began to try Priceline a few days ago, starting at $14 and not going higher than $17. Finally accepted today -- total $168 with taxes and fees. Beat my back-up reservation at Budget ($149 + tax = $228) by $60! Started all my searches with the BetterBidding HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links, as always!

Wanted the Holiday Inn Soho only, so I started by checking the BetterBidding Calendar of Wins and saw that the only 3* won recently in this zone was indeed my preference. Used the BetterBidding HOTWIRE "QuickQuote" box above, the right amenity combo came up, so I chanced it and got my hotel! (My backup reservation was the AAA/CAA rate of $119, so saving $100 over the two nights makes me happy! :D ) Amenities Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access

Reservation says Summerfield Suites, although the hotel has changed its name to Hyatt House. Offered for $83 initially, went up to $84 when I selected 4 adults (to ensure 2 beds). Prepaid rate on the Hotel website for 2 beds is $189, so a great deal! Amenities Suite Smoke Free Rooms Airport Shuttle Complimentary Breakfast Fitness Center Pool(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Recommended in 100% of Hotwire customer reviews. (Also gets 4.5 rating on Trip Advisor)

Had a $5/day bonus cash offer. Tried for a compact at $22(17+5), added intermediate at $24(19+5), standard at $26(21+5) and finally won a full size at 28(23+5). A bit more than I expected/was hoping to pay, but considering it's the long Thanksgiving weekend, it's a great deal! Even a much better deal than HOTWIRE, where the best offer was $28/day -- $318.19 total for an economy! Actually didn't want a large car, but I guess I'll have to live with it (and the extra $58 in my pocket :P ) Your Offer Price: $23.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 8 days(7 days and 19 hours) Subtotal: $184.00 Taxes and Fees: $77.63 Total Charges: $261.63 Lowest Published Price: $529.02 Total Savings:* $267.39 (You saved 51%) Started with the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, as always!!

Not bad for the US Thanksgiving holiday! Actual price charged by HOTWIRE was $63.89 Canadian, which I estimated for this post as $63 even in USD. Amenities: Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Used the BetterBidding HOTWIRE link above, as always!

Website is back up, and as I suspected, the rates are much better than the hotel's ... Monday - Friday $2.25 / Half Hour Day Maximum (7am - 6pm): $14.00 Night Maximum (6pm - 7am): $6.00 so $20 max. unless you go in and out a few times, then it my be a bit more with the hourly rate. Also, there are over 2000 spaces so I don't think you'll have a problem finding one!! BTW, for others staying on the weekends, it's even cheaper ... Saturday max. is $12, Sunday max. is $6

There is a very large municipal parking garage directly across from the Sheraton, on the north side of Queen Street, underneath the Toronto City Hall. Rates should be much less than those of the hotel, as it is a city-run garage, not private. Unfortunately, the website is currently down so I can't give you exact rates. Check out the GREEN P website when it starts working again!. There are no in-and-out privileges, but you really don't need a car if you're remaining in the downtown area. I believe there's also a walkway underneath Queen Street, directly from the garage into the Sheraton. Hope this helps!

This is Caribana weekend here in Toronto, probably the busiest weekend of the year for our hotels. You probably wouldn't have done much better in advance! Hope you come visit another, less busy weekend! :)

Needing a last minute booking for tonight and tomorrow night, I exhausted every different bidding combination possible, my last bid being $125 for a 3* including about 6 zones (I can't remember the exact combo), and had no luck getting anything in LA proper (was hoping for something near LAX), I then discovered that the largest citywide convention in LA's history, the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, is this week!! Every single 3.5* and 4* hotel is basically full!! I finally tried Burbank, starting at $80, and got lucky at $100 on my 3rd re-bid. The AAA rate at the Holiday Inn was listed as $171, so I think I got a great deal, all things considered. Btw, I also tried finding a rental car on HOTWIRE, with no luck. Thank God for my corporate rate (which I normally can beat), as regular rates at the few companies not already sold out started at $120 per day!!! God bless Microsoft for keeping the travel industry busy! Just noticed the hotel name got cut off in the thread title. It's the Holiday Inn Burbank - Media Center. I of course started all my bidding by clicking the BetterBidding PRICELINE link above!

Actually, it's Pride and Canada Day this long weekend. Caribana is the next long weekend, July 30-August 1 (known in Toronto as Simcoe Day). Hope you have fun in our city anyway :)

Bid using several zone combinations over that past few days. Didn't really expect to win a 4* for a full week this cheap, but got lucky with the Hyatt. It looks like a great hotel, but was actually was hoping for something in Santa Monica. I tried 4*/3.5* in SM only (didn't want 3.5* in any other zone) with no luck yesterday, up to $130. The Hyatt's only a 10 minute drive, so it should work ok. The winning combo. was Santa Monica/Lawndale/Culver City/Brentwood-Westwood/Beverly Hills-West Hollywood.

Unless it has recently changed, The Hyatt is in the Convention Centre-Old Latin Quarter zone, not the Downtown-Ciy Centre zone.

It's also the Canada Day long weekend (July 1st is a statutory holiday in Canada, and this year it falls on a Friday, so many people will be starting their summer holidays that weekend).

Thanks for editing my title!! I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to do it myself!! Not sure how the extra words even got in there! :)

I've tried bidding for this stay a few times over the past week, but prices have been higher than usual for a non-holiday period. Finally tonight at $84, I got a re-bid offer for $109. Of course I passed on it, knowing I would probably be successful if I split the difference. I figured the magic bid would be around $97, but with three free bid zones at the 4* level, I thought I'd try $91 just for fun first, and it was accepted by my favourite Montreal hotel! I'm really glad PRICELINE split downtown Montreal into two zones. It makes winning the Hyatt almost as easy as it was before they increased the star level from 3.5 to 4!! I began all my bidding sessions right here with the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, as always!!

After several rounds of bidding over the past week, just got lucky with this one, considering it's the Memorial Day long weekend! A little further East than I was hoping for, but for this price, I can live with it. Now I just hope they can help me out with 2 beds in the room. I called and they have added the request to my reservation, but of course couldn't make any promises. My 18-year old son and I just don't fit well in one bed! :) Started every bidding round with the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, as always!

The Sutton Place is on the EAST side of Bay Street (the NE corner of Bay and Wellesley, to be exact). Hope this helps for future reference.

Wow, I've never noticed how HUGE this zone is!! A good possibility for this set of amenities would be the Holiday Inn Yorkdale on Dufferin Street, although it has never been reported here. There are also many many brand new hotels up in Vaughan, including another Novotel, a Hilton Garden Inn, 2 Holiday Inn Expresses and a Courtyard -- all 3* possibilities. However. given that this hotel has a Hotwire customer rating already, I would lean towards something a bit older than these. Good luck!

Needed 2 rooms for friends coming to town. I've been trying some lowball bids over the past couple of weeks ( i.e under $60, just in case I got lucky :) ), but my friends were starting to get nervous and wanted some concrete plans, so began my bidding today at $72 (based on a HOTWIRE search result of $87 for a 3.5* Downtown East with Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant(s), Businees Centre & High-Speed Internet Access which I assumed was the Delta, and gt_man002's winning $75 bid yesterday), and won right away. It's a nice hotel and a great central location for visitors, so we're all happy! Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, of course!

Sorry, I've never actually been inside. I've just driven by it many times.

There is a brand new Hilton Garden Inn on Peter Street, which is in this zone. It is 100% smoke free, and does have a pool, so it might be a good guess! It's a GREAT location, by the way -- near the Rogers Centre, the entertainment district including the Royal Alex and Princess of Wales Theatres, Much Music, and only a short walk or streetcar ride to the Four Seasons Centre, Yonge Street, the Eaton Centre and the other big theatres. I can't think of any other new hotels which would be less than 4*, so the only other possibility would be a downgrade of an older 4*. Hope this helps.

Well, after several weeks of checking both HOTWIRE AND PRICELINE almost daily, a 4* suddenly appeared on HOTWIRE this evening for $136. By the amenities listed (Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa), I was 99% sure it was the W New York. I immediately went to PRICELINE and sure enough my first bid was accepted by the W!! Kinda wish I'd started a bit lower, but the W for $107 on the night of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Dinner?? Who's going to complain?!?! [bTW, I had a Travel Zoo back-up rate of $159 at the Intercontinental Barclay -- now cancelled with $50 in my pocket!!] And of course I used the BetterBidding HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links everytime!!!