Thanks for maintaining the board Thereuare and for your prompt response. Not sure about the Motel 6 comparison through, I consider this board much higher quality than that motel chain. 😄😄😄. I almost never plan 6 months out, 90 days out at the max just because I think the rates dip seasonally depending on demand and coming from an Airline background, I am fairly savvy that the reservation systems generally start playing with prices around that time frame.
I'll be watching the Monday, Tuesday pricing then and hoping the rental market dips a bit since that seems to be the one where prices are off-kilter the most. Living in San Diego I heard of $300 a day car rentals during peak summer, but September after Labor day the demand is going to be soft so prices should reflect that. I will post what happens in the appropriate forum.
Hi everyone. Seems like forever since I visited this board and I miss traveling and all the good advice I got here.
I am traveling late September to Omaha for a personal trip and seeing that Prices for Hotels are approx $100 for 3* Hilton Brands and $79 for Auto Rentals (per day). If anyone has been traveling domestically this year, is it better to wait till the last minute? I very much doubt that inventory is that low that prices would go up especially since there is little if any Conference/Business travel compared with Pre-Covid.
I am not asking this question specific to Omaha, which is why I put the question here. Is 3 weeks before still a sweet spot for prices or has that changed? If you are booking a car rental or hotel accommodation when would you be finalizing your reservations?
Thanks in Advance!
May I ask what the Taxes & Fees were? I might be planning a similar trip and that is a really good price considering it is right after the holiday. Thanks for posting.
This hotel is 3.5*, which is correct on your Priceline Hotel list. I was just doing some research and happened to notice the error when reviewing my previous stay.
After reviewing the Betterbidding Forum, went ahead and bid $70 for a 3* in University Area and won on the first bid. The current advertised price on PRICELINE is $202 so it's a 66% savings.
It is close to the place I wanted to visit so it is a good win. Using the BiddingHelper.com made bidding very easy. Thanks!
Check-in:Sun, Nov 15, 2015 - After 03:00 PM
Check-out:Mon, Nov 16, 2015 - 12:00 PM
Address: 3549 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia , PA
Number of rooms:1 room
Amenities:
Free Internet (in Room)
Pool
Non-Smoking
Gym
Restaurant
Handicap Accessible
Business Center
Found a new Priceline Hotel in the Denver (Stapleton) zone. Started at $55, $58, $60, $65 using only the Denver (Stapleton) & Denver (Airport) zones for 2.5 stars.
The hotel is highly rated so it is a good find if you want to be close to the airport.
Bidding.Helper was used to make the bids.
Room subtotal: $65.00
Taxes & fees: $14.34
Total charged today: $79.34
Quality Inn & Suites Denver star rating 2.5
1 Night, 1 Room
Check-in: Mon, September 28, 2015 - after 03:00 PM
Check-out: Tue, September 29, 2015 at 11:00 AM
Hotel Address:
3737 Quebec Street
Denver, CO 80207
I knew I forgot something! Of course I used your Priceline link to make my Bid! I haven't used Betterbidding in a while but I didn't forget that.
Because there hasn't been much posting of Car Rental prices lately I wasn't sure what to bid for Denver so I choose $20 based on a post where they bid $18 and $20 and got rejected (from 2013). Won on the first bid and it is a good deal since my total 3 day rental is still under $100. Most major rental companies charging $51+ with the lowest price at $34 a day so I think it is a pretty good deal.
Company: Hertz
Deal type: Name Your Own Price
Daily offer price: $20.00
Number of days: 3
Taxes & Fees $31.69
Total charged: $91.69
Savings: You saved 68%*
Originally bid for a Compact at $14, $15 & $16 dollars per day but not winning.
So bid a Mid-Size at $18 a day and won. As usual, the taxes and fees are nearly equal to the amount bid.
Lowest price offered on Hotwire for same size was $25 per day, so I assume I got close to the lowest price available.
Rental Car Reservation Details
Pick-Up Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Drop-Off Sunday, April 7, 2013
Hertz Corporation
• Unlimited Mileage
• Automatic Transmission
Car type: Mid-Size Car Toyota Corolla or similar (make/model not guaranteed)
Pick-Up/Drop-Off: Albuquerque Intl (ABQ)
Summary of Charges
Rental Car
Your Offer Price: $18.00 (per day)
Total Rental Days:4 days
Subtotal: $72.00
Taxes and Fees: $58.58
Total Charges: $130.58
Lowest Published Price: $263.09 (USD)
Total Savings:* $132.51 (USD) (You saved 50%)
* This is your savings on the total cost of your rental car when compared to the lowest published rental car rate available at time of booking for the itinerary and rental car company shown.
Decided to bid Priceline for a last minute getaway in San Diego. I wanted to keep costs down and since I was driving, this Hotel is less than 10 Miles from Downtown and right off the freeway. The room is one of the updated rooms with new beds and pillows and Holiday Inn has never given me a problem when requesting two beds (or maybe Im just really lucky).
$50 was my first bid (based on previous priceline wins) and I won on that bid. Since downtown prices are double that, it's a pretty good deal.
Summary of Charges
Offer Price:
avg. per room, per night $50.00
Rooms: 1
Nights: 2 + Add nights for the same rate!
Room Subtotal: $100.00
Taxes & Fees: $21.00
Total Charged to Card: $121.00
*Prices are in US dollars.
Holiday Inn Mission Valley Stadium
3 star Mission Valley East - Central San Diego
3805 Murphy Canyon Road , San Diego, CA 92123
858-277-1199
Check-In: Sat, Apr 7, 2012 / After 03:00 PM
Check-Out: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 / 12:00 PM
I know that most people only post their car rental bid amount and not their total cost, but there is a problem with that because I have noticed that in many cases the fees and taxes on the rental is higher than the rental price by itself!
My latest bid was for a compact car x 4 days at PHX on Priceline:
$15 bid amount x 4 = $60
Priceline Fees & taxes = $67.50
Total $127.50
I realize I am not a frequent renter like I used to be, but 100% tax/fees the norm now?
25% to 30% of rental bid price used to be the norm. What has changed?
Thanks for reading!
~Steve
Before I bought this, I checked regular car rental rates for compact cars. ($179 for 4 days)
Then I checked Priceline rates for compact cars. ($126 for 4 days)
Then I checked Hotwire rates for compact cars. ($136 for 4 days)
The hot RATE for the SUV was showing as $108 for 4 days, so I bought it and hope I get a Ford Escape which gets the best mileage in the group.
HERTZ Mid-size SUV
Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl., PHX
Phoenix, Arizona
1805 East Sky Harbor Circle South
Pick-up details Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Drop-off details Tue, Feb 21, 2012
Miles Includes unlimited mileage
Cargo 2 large suitcases
Features Automatic Transmission, Air Conditioning
Seating 4 adults
Models Ford Escape, Toyota Rav4 or similar
This Bid was from Nov. 2011 and I used $9 per day bonus cash which actually bumped me to a $45 per night bid.
Used the Betterbidding PRICELINE link to purchase.
Holiday Inn Portland Airport
8439 Northeast Columbia Boulevard, Portland, OR 97220
Check-In: Thu, Nov 24, 2011 / After 03:00 PM
Check-Out: Sun, Nov 27, 2011 / 12:00 PM
Rooms: 1 room
Summary of Charges
Offer Price:
avg. per room, per night
$36.00
Rooms: 1
Nights: 3
Room Subtotal: $108.00
Taxes & Fees: $26.04
Total Charged to Card: $134.04
Prices are in US dollars.
Regardless of whether you bid on HOTWIRE or PRICELINE, there is no guarantee you will get the Palazzo since hotels with the same features can join or leave the program at any time. If you only want to stay at the Palazzo, I would book the hotel directly or through a site like TravelWorm or Travelzoo (using Betterbidding links of course!) To do otherwise is just foolish. If you won't be happy with the Venetian or the Bellagio, I would not use the opaque bidding sites.
And welcome to betterbidding.com!
Hi,
I tried these 3 links today and they are not working (they claim they are expired). Just wanted to let you know. We got to keep BetterBidding funded.
TravelWeb
TravelWorm
Treasure Island
Good job Julis, you bid PRICELINE like a pro, although there was the off chance your stay could have been split, you came up roses compared to the regular hotel rate. Congratulations!
Colfax, even if what you say is true, it still doesn't make sense to downgrade the star rating, as it affects the pricing of the "premium hotel". The hotel controls the inventory and pricing of priceline rooms, so why would you want to cheapen the product?
First bids were for 3* $47 Santa Barbara, CA and $50 adding Goleta, CA.
Closed and reopened browser.
Next bids were for 2.5* $55 Goleta and $57 adding Santa Barbara which won.
Wasn't sure what I needed, so I'm very happy with the hotel and price paid. Lowest HOTWIRE price was $88 for 2* and hotel web site was $89 per night.
I used betterbidding's PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin my travel purchases.
Hotel Name:
Sandpiper Lodge
3525 State Street
Santa Barbara, California 93105
Your Offer Price: $57.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 2
Subtotal: $114.00
Taxes and Fees: $21.96
Total Charges*: $135.96
24May10, 1 night, 83$
Because Best Western does have a relationship with HOTWIRE, My best guess (w/o a guarantee) is that your property is:
Rated: 3 stars
Best Western Carpinteria Inn
4558 Carpinteria Ave
Carpinteria, CA 93013
If this is the property, the price would be $17 off the normal $99 rate.
If you want a reasonable backup bid, you can consider the Petit Ermitage.
The room rate was only $172 on Travelworm (but parking $30 more) and can be canceled. The deal Aaron mentions above is prepaid and can not be canceled.
A 5 day stay which includes a Saturday/Sunday is problematic because weekend rates are typically higher than weekday rates and are usually harder to win, especially in an entertainment district like West Hollywood. I think the $119 was accepted because the date was far enough out and that August has lower occupancy (There usually is a lull in Television/Movie filming prior to the new season starting.) You can keep trying, but I would recommend getting a backup reservation you can cancel in case you win.
Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.
That is Spring Break week. I checked rates via Travelworm - they usually have the best hotel rates other than PRICELINE for Las Vegas and everything is averaging $120 Fri, $180 Sat, and $120 Sunday for a 4 star hotel. I'd say your chances of getting it on PRICELINE is not good. I'd reccomend if you have time, make a backup reservation that you can cancel, and then you can keep trying via PRICELINE without worrying you won't have a place to stay.
Make sure you use the Betterbidding links for your reservation no matter which way you go.
Most likely it is:
GuestHouse International Hotel - Norwalk, CA
12500 Firestone Blvd,
Norwalk, CA, 90650
And it is close to the Norwalk Golf Center < 1mi.
3* Omaha (Central Omaha - Ralston) Comfort Inn & Suites
in Priceline Hotels - Montana / Nebraska / New Hampshire / New Mexico
Posted
So I did both Priceline and Hotwire Searches for my dates and wasn't seeing anything I wanted for under $100 a night. Since I was just traveling by myself, I have had previous good experiences at the Comfort Inn & Suites and checked their direct rates on the Choice Privilege's site which included a 30% discount for longer stays and I felt that price was the best value and also close to where I wanted to be in Central Omaha. FYI the 30% discount also is shown all priceline although the overall price is slightly more than if booked directly.
Comfort Inn & Suites
7007 Grover St.
Room Type:2 Queen Beds, No Smoking
Number of Rooms:1
Number of Occupants:1
Daily Rates:Sep 22, 2021 for 2 nights at $59.84 (per night)
Sep 24, 2021 for 2 nights at $81.47 (per night)
Sep 26, 2021 for 2 nights at $56.52 (per night)
Estimated Tax and Other Charges:$71.85
Estimated Total:$467.51
Also will be trying out Turo for the first time on this trip for my car rental since rental rates are still very pricy relative to what they have been in the past. I will look forward to that experience as well.