mikeyjc

I clicked through from BB to PRICELINE and booked this Express Deal room since I had a 10% off e-mail coupon good for any stay (no minimum # of nights), and we needed one hotel night near PSC so we could catch an early flight the following morning. Towneplace Suites Richland Columbia Point 591 Columbia Point Drive, Richland , WA , United States Room price:$74.00 avg./night Number of rooms:1 room Number of nights:1 night Room subtotal:$74.00 Taxes & fees:$20.97 Coupon:- $7.40 Total charged: $87.57 Savings:You saved 32%* Confirmed best non-opaque rate for this property offered on PL was $109/night. Amenities: Free Internet Free Parking Free Breakfast Bed Choice Business Center Fitness Center Non Smoking Pets Allowed Swimming Pool Hope this helps. Thanks!

This afternoon, I clicked thru from BB to check PRICELINE EXPRESS deals. I found a 3.5* for $69, decided to buy it, but got a message saying the deal was no longer available. So, I decided to try PRICELINE NYOP instead. Bid $55 for EWR zone - failed. Bid $59, added East Orange zone (2* max) - failed. Bid $64, added Jersey City West zone (2.5* max) - failed. Bid $69, added Union zone (3* max) - accepted. Marriott Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport - 1 Hotel Road, Newark , NJ , United States Offer price:$69.00/night Number of rooms:1 room Number of nights:1 night Room subtotal:$69.00 Taxes & fees:$17.52 Total charged: $86.52 Savings:You saved 53%* Hope this helps. Thank you!

Tried for a 3.5* yesterday up to $48 - no joy: $40 -> DTW = rejected $43 -> + Allen Park (free DTW rebid) = rejected $46 -> + Allen Park + New Center (another free rebid) = rejected $48 -> + Allen Park + New Center + Taylor (another free rebid) = rejected Tried again today as follows: $42 -> DTW = rejected, received PL counter for $56 $45 -> + Allen Park (free DTW rebid) = rejected, again received PL counter for $56 $48 -> + Allen Park + New Center (another free rebid) = rejected, no counter $50 -> + Allen Park + New Center + Taylor (another free rebid) = won Deets: Detroit Airport Marriott 30559 Flynn Drive, Romulus, MI 48174 Check-In: Mon, Apr 7, 2014 Check-Out: Tue, Apr 8, 2014 Offer Price: $50.00 Rooms: 1 / Nights: 1 + Add nights for the same rate! Taxes & Fees: US$ 14.28 Total Charged to Card: US$ 64.28 I always prefer the Embassy Suites @ DTW (free nice breakfast), but this will do nicely, thank you. I did click through to Price.line from your site.

An unexpected win ... I placed a bid for a 3* @ $40 for Toledo - Downtown, and immediately 'won' the 3.5* Grand Plaza Hotel Downtown Toledo. Funny, as I had actually hoped to win the 3* (and admittedly not nearly as nice) Park Inn, since it supposedly provides 'convenient indoor skyway access' to the arena where I plan to catch the Toledo Walleye hockey game that night ... Priceline can be 'like a box of chocolates' sometimes :-) Deets: Offer Price: $40.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $40.00 Taxes & Fees: $13.84 Total: $53.84 Apparently, this or the other 3.5* could have been had via a Priceline Express Deal for $47 + $14.95 tax/fees = $61.95 ... guess I should have checked more carefully, since I was focused on the Express Deal for the 3* at $56 + $16.84 = $72.84. Unfortunately, I forgot to click through to Priceline from BB this time - so very sorry (really!!!), will make sure I catch you next time :-(

I should also add that I wanted to jump on this one now vs. waiting because: 1) This is the Saturday of Thanksgiving (Canada) weekend, and rates at the hotels closer to the Falls are really high that night. 2) The Buffalo Bills play their only October home game on Sunday, 10/13 - all the decent hotels on the US side are either sold out for Saturday night, or pretty pricey. Forgot to mention that it had a Pricelne satisfaction rating of 8.6.

Priceline offered a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for a 3* in Fort Erie for $71 ... figured it was this property, so I decided to try bidding instead to see if I could save a few bucks. Bid $50, selected Fort Erie - declined Bid $55, added Niagara-on-the-Lake - declined Bid $60, added Port Colborne (no 3*, free rebid) - declined Bid $65, added Lincoln (no 3*, free rebid) - accepted Probably could have gotten this for a bit less, but I wanted to jump on it since Hotwire offered a 3* in Fort Erie for $103. Details: Clarion Hotel & Conference Centre 1485 Garrison Road, Fort Erie, L2A 1P8 Check-In: Sat, Oct 12, 2013 Check-Out: Sun, Oct 13, 2013 Rooms: 2 rooms / 1 night Offer Price: US$65.00 Rooms: 2 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: US$130.00 Taxes & Fees: US$26.92 Total: US$156.92 We've stayed here before; not the Ritz by any means, but a decent, clean room with comfortable bedding and an OK pool area. I clicked through to PRICELINE from this site.

Just needed a decent room in this area over Canadian Thanksgiving weekend as we passed through; tried for 3* and 2.5* in Brantford on Priceline - no joy. (I can post my losing PRICELINE bids in a separate thread, if you'd like). So, I decided to book this one, based on 95% favorable rating on Hotwire and 3.5 rating on Trip Advisor. Comfort Inn - Brantford, ON 58 King George Road Brantford, ON, N3R 5K4 Check in: Fri, 10/11/13 Check out: Sat, 10/12/13 Rate per night: $54.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Tax recovery charges & fees: $13.66 Trip total: $67.66 Amenities: Free Parking Free Internet Pet friendly Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Figured we should book now to avoid getting shut out during the holiday weekend. I clicked through to HOTWIRE from this site.

We need to head to Portland for a wedding the weekend after Christmas. With only two hotels in town (one 2.5* and one 2*), it was pretty much a lock that the 2.5* NYOP option would be this property - which also just happens to be the place where many of the out-of-towners plan to stay :-) And, since I didn't see this property in the master Better Bidding - Indiana - Priceline hotel list, it looks like I've become the first person to report it. Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Portland 100 Holiday Drive Portland, IN 47371 Room Cost: $68.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Taxes and Fees: $14.69 Total: $82.69 I started bidding around Thanksgiving, actually, when Priceline offered bonus cash. Decatur provides a free rebid for a 2.5* in Portland, as Decatur only has a 1* NYOP property. Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $40 - rejected; added Decatur, bid $45, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $46 - rejected; added Decatur, bid $50, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $51 - rejected; added Decatur, bid $53, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $54 - rejected; added Decatur, bid $56, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $57 - rejected; added Decatur, bid $59, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $60 - rejected; added Decatur, bid $62, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $63 - received $81 counter; added Decatur, bid $64, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $65 - received $81 counter; added Decatur, bid $66, rejected Selected Portland, 2.5*, bid $67 - received $81 counter; added Decatur, bid $68, accepted Interesting: I just now noticed that if I would have started my search with Decatur, I would have received 2 free rebids for Portland = Decatur and Bluffton. Very interesting. As always, I clicked through to PRICELINE from the link on this website.

I once again fished for steals at 4* and 3.5* hotels around Niagara Falls for this stay, with no success ... after all, this is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. So, I decided to give Hamilton a try again like we did in August ... and, did even better than I did last time :-) Courtyard By Marriott Hamilton 1224 Upper James Street Hamilton, ON L9C 3B1 Check-In: Sat, Oct 6, 2012 Check-Out: Sun, Oct 7, 2012 Offer Price: US$55.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: US$55.00 Taxes & Fees: US$14.89 Total Charged to Card: US$69.89 And - as always, I clicked through to PRICELINE from the link on this site. I first tried bidding $60 for a 3.5* star in Hamilton - no dice. Added 3*, lowered to $55, and got it on the first bid. This hotel had at least 2 (possibly 3) wedding parties when we stayed there in August; but, either the parties were fairly self-controlled, or the hotel did a great job of keeping things peaceful overnight - no noise problems at all. I just tried to run a comp on marriott.com, and discovered that they have a 2-night minimum stay over this weekend ... best rate I could find there per night was a special Marriott Rewards member rate of US$147.48 + tax (US$166.64 total) per night. Priceline still offers no opportunities for multi-zone bidding tactics for Hamilton, unfortunately. So, we will enjoy our repeat stay at a great property as we head to the area to enjoy our (new) favorite Canadian Thanksgiving tradition: http://ballsfalls.ca/whats-on/thanksgiving-festival/

On 7/27, I tried fishing on Priceline for a room closer to Niagara Falls, but didn't have much luck even at $100+ bids for 4* and 3.5* properties. So, since we need to drive through Hamilton on our way home anyway, I decided to try getting a room there. No rebid zones available unfortunately, so that doesn't allow for some of our "elegant" multiple bid strategies. Tried first for a 3.5* at $62, but failed ... added 3*, and got the Courtyard: Courtyard By Marriott Hamilton Hamilton 1224 Upper James Street Hamilton, ON L9C 3B1 Check-In: Sat, Aug 11, 2012 Check-Out: Sun, Aug 12, 2012 Offer Price: US$62.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: US$62.00 Taxes & Fees: US$15.93 Total: US$77.93 Also received an offer to extend at the same rate, but declined it since we only planned to spend one night in the area. As far as comps went, the Marriott website did not allow booking this property for Saturday PM only (2 day minimum stay required). So, when I checked to see what they wanted for a 2-night stay that weekend, they wanted CDN$179 per night + taxes. I've mostly had good experiences with my Courtyard stays, so I hope that this one won't disappoint either. I did click thru to PRICELINE from the link on this website.

I forgot to mention that I first tried (and failed) to book a room on Priceline for this night (7/31 check-in) near DTW as follows: 4* @ DTW Airport, $60 - failed, received a counter of $73; rebid and added Southgate (only other available zone with no 4*), $62 - failed 3.5* @ DTW Airport, $45 - failed, no counter; rebid and added Southgate (only other available zone with no 3.5*), $48 - failed Not sure if you want this here or in the Priceline section ... bottom line though is that I wouldn't have used Hotwire if Priceline had accepted my bid.

Booked this on Hotwire this past Monday (7/30) PM. Embassy Suites Detroit Metro Airport 8600 Wickham Road Romulus, MI, 48174 HotelPhone:(734) 728-9200 Check-in: Tue, Jul 31, 2012 Check-out: Wed, Aug 1, 2012 Amenities per confirmation page: Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Free Parking Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower Recommended in 100 % of Hotwire customer reviews ... for research purposes: the 100% rating, I believe, is the key factor on Hotwire that differentiates the Embassy Suites from the other 3.5* properties @ DTW Airport. Rate per night: $63.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Tax recovery charges & fees: $13.31 Total: $76.31 Very happy to have landed the Embassy Suites vs. the other properties due to the cooked-to-order breakfast that comes with the room (interesting, though, that the listed amenities didn't include the free breakfast ... perhaps doing so would more clearly identify this offering as the Embassy Suites ...?) I clicked through to HOTWIRE from the link on betterbidding.com

We wanted to stay by MCO since we have an early AM flight back home ... so, I used zone bidding as follows to snag this one: $33 for MCO $35 added Winter Park $37 added Castleberry $39 added Kissimee $41 added Ocoee $43 added Orlando East $45 added West Disney $47 added MCO West Result: Marriott Orlando Airport Orlando International Airport (MCO) 7499 Augusta Natl Drive, Orlando, FL 32822 407-851-9000 Check-In: Sun, Feb 12, 2012 Check-Out: Mon, Feb 13, 2012 / 12:00 PM Rooms: 1 room / 1 night Room Subtotal: $47.00 Taxes & Fees: $13.55 Total Charged to Card: $60.55 Received an offer to add nights, but declined (not needed). Best advance-purchase rate for this property and date on marriott.com tonight: $129 + tax = $145.12 I clicked through to PRICELINE from the link on Better Bidding ... it's the least I can do since you all have saved me so much $ over the years :-)

Yes, your plan came to mind after my temporary brain cramp passed LOL ... sorry. FYI, I started @ $37 again last PM, got the same $45 counter, then closed out and added Southgate with a $38 bid ... and got the same counter of $45 again. Declined for now, especially since my spouse has advised that she'd prefer that I bid on a 3.5*, which she hopes will put us @ the Embassy Suites (I know, we could "win" the Marriott instead). Will keep you posted. Thanks again for your patience.

Apologies ... Detroit, for 1 night, 11/18. Selected DTW zone, bid $37, got the counter, and (for the first time) couldn't change the counter price. Thanks!

I noticed something new today on Priceline - haven't visited this Forum for a while, so I don't know if anyone else has reported it ... I placed a bid on a hotel today for $37. Priceline came back with the same old counter-offer screen that I've seen so many times before, and said that if I wanted to increase my bid to $45, they'd give me the room. No worries ... yet. But, I did notice that Priceline pre-filled the $45 bid in the name your own price field on the screen. I've rarely accepted Priceline's counter-offers; and, when given an opportunity like this in the past, I've tried to re-bid somewhere toward the lower part of the middle of the range between my original bid and their counter-offer. So, today, when I tried to change their $45 pre-filled price to $38, I for the first time got an error message that said something like "You must bid at least $45 for this room." Has anyone else experienced this situation?

Looks like we've found a new property! Details: Staybridge Suites - London, ON 824 EXETER RD., London, ON, N6E 1L5 Phone:(519) 649-4500 Check-in: Fri, Oct 7, 2011 Check-out: Sat, Oct 8, 2011 Adults: 2 / Children: 0 Rate per night: $66.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Tax recovery charges & fees: $14.21 Trip total: $80.21 Amenities: Suite Complimentary Breakfast Fitness Center Pool(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Kitchenette When I saw the "suite" amenity, I hoped we'd get the nearby Homewood Suites (where we stayed with a Hilton award last year), but this one should work out just fine. I clicked thru from the BB HOTWIRE link :-)

Just thought I'd add that Marriott has poured some money into refreshing this hotel between my two most recent stays ... much nicer, brighter, and better IMO this time vs. last time a few years ago. Very happy with our stay this time!

I leave early tomorrow AM for a flight out west, and figured I'd get a room by DTW tonight to minimize the old AM "drive to the airport" stress. Not the best deal, but not too bad either ... I probably should have bid a bit higher for a 3.5*, but didn't want to risk ending up at the Marriott again. I started bidding in the low $30s earlier this week, and got a "free" bid each time by adding the Taylor-Southgate zone (2* max there). My second bid for a 3* Wednesday was $35; Priceline countered wth $50, which I refused. Late last PM, I bid $38 for 3* @ DTW, and PL countered with $53. I instead added Taylor-Southgate, bid $40, and PL accepted this bid: Check-In Date: Friday, May 13, 2011 Check-Out Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011 Hotel Name: Courtyard Detroit Metro Airport Romulus 30653 Flynn Drive Romulus, Michigan 48174 734-721-3200 Your Offer Price: $40.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $40.00 Taxes and Fees: $12.63 Total Charges*: $52.63 I called the hotel this AM and they cheerfully confirmed my request to switch to a king NS room (PL had booked me into a room with two doubles) FWIW, the best comp I found for this property tonight on the Marriott website when I checked this AM was $83.54 including taxes. I much prefer the Crowne Plaza over this particular Courtyard at this star level, but no worries. I of course clicked thru to PRICELINE from the BB link.

My wife and I received an invitation to join other Celtic musicians at a ceili in Davision that required us to play pretty late ... rather than drive an hour+ home afterward, we decided to get a room near the event. First report to the board for this property on Hotwire, I believe: Wingate by Wyndham - Grand Blanc - Airport 1359 Grand Pointe Ct. Grand Blanc, MI, 48439 Phone:(810) 694-9900 Amenities: Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) (Note: although not listed in the amenities, our room came with a complimentary self-serve breakfast bar with scrambled eggs, link sausage, make-your-own waffles, cereals and pastries, juices, coffee and tea.) Rate per night: $59.00 Nights: 1 / Rooms: 1 Tax recovery charges & fees: $12.37 Total:$71.37 It only took us 15 minutes to get to/from the venue from the hotel. Very decent property overall; I would stay there again if we needed a room in the area The very nice and professional desk clerk cheerfully honored our request for a room as far away from the hockey teams as possible; they had set aside a room with a king bed on the 3rd floor for us. No slam against hockey families; my son played travel hockey for 3 years, so we opted for some peace and quiet this trip LOL. Unfortunately, my wife booked this trip and did not click thru to HOTWIRE from this site ... we will do better going forward, I promise.

Hi all. Over the past week or so, I've bid $8 for a Full-size, Standard, and/or Mid-size for this time period to see Priceline's response. Each time, Priceline came back with a "Good Chance" of $12 and a "Great Chance" of $13 for all 3 sizes ... so, I nibbled at $10 and $11 daily but without success. Figured I should lock this in now, since this rental falls during the April school break period ... so, I bid $11 again today for a Full-size, which Priceline rejected with no counter-offer. I then upped my bid to $12 and changed to a Standard, and Priceline accepted the offer. Details: Standard Car (Unlimited Mileage) Your Offer Price: $12.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 7 days Subtotal: $84.00 Taxes and Fees: $80.14 Total Charges: $164.14 Lowest Published Price: $556.64 Total Savings:* $392.50 (You saved 71%) (Cost was $26 less than renting either a Full, Standard, or Mid-size on Hotwire for the same rental period.) Pick-Up Location: Hertz Corporation Seattle Tacoma Airport 17801 Pacific Highway South Suite 301 Seattle,WA 98158-1200 1-800-654-3011 Pick-Up Date: April 9, 2011 - 11:00 AM Drop-Off Date: April 16, 2011 - 11:00 AM I did click thru from the PRICELINE link in this forum before I pulled the trigger.

Agreed! Forgot to mention that the win came with an offer to extend my stay at the same rate ... not needed for my stay this time, but I'll post as an FYI in case this info helps others on the Board when they bid.

Thanks ... especially happy now, after checking marriott.com for a comp: Best available rate: $154 per night + tax = $175.56 total

Got this one on the first bid. Detroit Airport Marriott Detroit Airport (DTW) 30559 Flynn Drive Romulus, Michigan 48174 734-729-7555 Check-In Date: Thu, Aug 12, 2010 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, Aug 13, 2010 / 12:00 PM Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $42.00 Taxes & Fees: $13.09 Total Charges*: $55.09 I need to arrive at the airport by 6AM Friday to catch an early flight; figured I'd book a room nearby to minimize AM stress. Since I got this on the first bid, appears we all could start at an even lower bid for 3.5* by DTW in the future ...

Seemed logical to follow the crowd here ... especially since we need to catch a 6:35AM flight on Tuesday the 26th ... :) Details: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $30.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Taxes and Fees: $15.60 (USD) Total Room Cost: $75.60 (USD) Strategy: Last PM, after seeing all of the successful $30 bids posted here (THANK YOU ALL!!!) ... I bid $30 for a 3* in the DTW zone - rejected, no counter. Added Taylor (free rebid), increased to $33 - rejected again, no counter. Tonight, I figured I'd try the same strategy - and, ended up with a win at $30 on my first bid. VERY glad now that I received 2 rejections earlier tonight at the 3.5* level ($39 for DTW, $41 for DTW + Taylor). This forum simply ROCKS !!! :) As always, I clicked thru to Priceline from the BB Forum link.