Jump to content
Loading...

iahphx

Members
  • Posts

    164
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by iahphx

  1. Stayed there last Friday (1/16) at that rate. Incremental bid at $35 was rejected. If you want to be in that area north of San Diego, it's a nice hotel for $40. Comfortable rooms, nice lobby, convenient location near I-5.
  2. For everybody this month (January) if you bring a canned good. I think that's the best theme park admission deal I've seen in a decade. Certainly worthy of a visit if you live in or are visiting SoCal the next 10 days. BTW, after January, kids admission will remain $12.95 indefinitely, which is still quite a savings off the old price of $33. You'll need to hunt for discounted adult admission prices, but they seem to constantly run promotions at the supermarkets and such.
  3. didn't see this one on their website. Do you know if it's expired already? BTW, I appreciate these somewhat off-the-beaten-path hotel discount ideas. When you're used to paying priceline rates in the US, European hotels (especially given the value of the dollar) look very expensive. Thanks!
  4. I'm actually planning on being in Vegas part of that weekend too. I've done some half-serious bidding, but my sense is that you can't get anything "good" in Vegas on priceline this far in advance. Is that true? I've looked at some of the Vegas room websites (like Vegas.com), but it's hard to get too excited by the offerings for that weekend -- even though things don't look THAT busy. All the "deals" are Sun-Thurs, and Vegas actually looks more expensive than most US cities on the weekend (understandable of course). Any ideas/suggestions on where to stay for good value would be welcome. I'm hoping to snag something comfortable (preferably near the Strip) for $50 to $60 for a 3 star, up to about $70 for a 4 star, and maybe a bit more for a 5 star. None of that seems terribly unreasonable. If nothing like that works out, I'd be happy to get a 2 1/2 star (like a Courtyard) somewhere in town for 35 bucks and spend the money on dinner or a show. Thanks for any suggestions.
  5. I use a Starwood AMEX as my primary card -- and have done so for years (I cancelled a regular AMEX card when I joined). They've just implemented a $20/annual fee which I'll have to pay next year, which is somewhat annoying, but the card is a great deal if you travel. Each dollar gets you one Starwood point. A Starwood point is worth about 3 cents, as it takes 3000 points for a weekend stay in a low end (Four Points) hotel in the US, and about 10,000 points for a Luxury Collection night (they recently upped a few hotels to 14,000 points for certain days). Unlike most airlines, there's very little hassle redeeming Starwood points for the nights you want. There are also occassional promotions that can make the points even more valuable. It certainly sounds like Blue may be as good a deal, although I must say it sounds like less fun. I probably wouldn't spend $300/night to stay in one of the world's best hotels (I'm too "value conscious"), but I have no qualms redeeming 10,000 points. So I personally prefer the hotel points to actual cash. I suspect there will be adherents in both camps. Regardless, these are certainly among the best credit card deals.
  6. That's an interesting link, Will. Thanks for mentioning it. I don't know, it just seems like the US B&B industry is still in the dark ages when it comes to marketing. It's usually the "rack rate" or nothing. You'd think that local associations would at least band together during off-peak times and launch some sort of discounted promotions (comparable, say, to how big city restaurants offer complete dinners during one month of the summer for $20.03). Instead, they seem content to cater to the price insensitive upscale market that wants "charm" over hotel-like amenities. I suspect that's a pretty limited market in most places (other than, say, New England inns in fall).
  7. If you've travelled outside the US, some of your favorite accomodations have probably been small inns and b&B's. The concept certainly "crossed the pond" in the past 15 years or so, but if you're like me, you don't stay in many such properties in the US these days. The reason tends to be value. If you're going to a medium sized town or larger that offers priceline, you can stay at a nice hotel for a fraction of the cost of a b&b. For some reason (perhaps to make a buck?) b&b's in the US tend to charge the equivalent of a nice hotel's "rack" rate (unlike in Europe, where they're usually significantly cheaper than "full service" hotels). So if I can get a room at a 3 or 4 star hotel for $40 or $50, I'm not very inclined to "take a chance" on a b&b wanting $120. Moreover, even in small "out of the way" rural places where you really WANT the charm of a b&b, the prices seem high compared to what you're used to paying with priceline for a deluxe hotel room in, say, Chicago. Even a "moderate" b&b is usually well over $100 these days, even in the sleepiest of backwaters. It just seems like a bad value equation, and doesn't make you want to try it. I wonder if priceline could also make a buck selling "last minute" unsold b&b inventory over the internet. In some respects, getting 60 bucks for a room would be better than zero for the innkeeper, and maybe you'd be inclined to try the place and come back. On the other hand, maybe they're too afraid you'd tell the other guests that you paid half the price. Ot maybe they'd find it "unseemly" to discount their rooms. I don't know. What I do know is that I'll probably continue to save my B&B stays for the English countryside until the value proposition changes over here.
  8. I haven't noticed the disappearing amenity thing, but I have noticed that hotwire prices sometimes fluctuate by a dollar or two for no reason. Like the computer can't quite get the pricing right!
  9. I went ahead and bid $50 on priceline and, sure enough, got the Sheraton Suites. So it was a $9/night savings over hotwire (less for my friends because they had a $25 hotwire certificate, but they can save it for next time). Not much difference in this case. For areas without a lot of free rebids on priceline, I suspect a lot of folks will be taking the hotwire deal, especially if their travel date is close at hand. BTW, feel free to move or reference this at the "Delaware" spot.
  10. Another thought I have is that, for the average consumer, if a "perfect" priceline bid can save you less than $10 night now, and you don't get to choose your amenities (like a suite hotel), priceline may not be worth "the risk" of overbidding. This would be a new dynamic in the competition, as most of us "experienced" bidders have long preferred priceline because it could usually get us rooms significantly cheaper than the "take it or leave it" fixed rates on hotwire.
  11. Just an update on this interesting bidding situation. I went ahead and bid $45 for these nights on priceline and got a message saying they wouldn't take that, but that I could bid again if I raised my bid $13. Instead, I waited 3 days and raised my bid by only three dollars. This time I got neither the room nor a "bid a little more" offer. Kind of not sure what to do with this now. With the $25 credit they have, it would make hotwire's rate about $53/night, and they'd be guaranteed a suite hotel. I'm a little surprised that the gap between "a perfect" priceline bid and a "fixed price" hotwire bid is apparently so little in this situation. I may come back to priceline with $49 or $50 just out of curiosity in a few days.
  12. Thanks for "double-checking," thereuare, and confirming the "rating" on Sheratons. You found the same Wilmington hotels I did. The Brandywine Suites doesn't have a pool and the Homewood doesn't have a restaurant, so it does seem like it "has" to be the Sheraton. Frankly, those 2 alternates don't bug me -- it's the idea that there could be some lesser "extended stay" property lurking. Of course, most of those don't have restaurants, so it seems like the odds are very good of getting the Sheraton. This is an interesting bidding situation because I could envision others willing to pay "a few bucks more" than priceline if they have more "choice" in their hotwire hotel (like picking an all suite property). I'll let the board know how it goes.
  13. Some friends asked me to help them book a hotel in Wilmington, Delaware. On priceline, it seems that most folks these days bidding at 3 stars are getting a Wyndham for $45. Hotwire, however, is offering for $59 a 3-star "suite" hotel. Wilmington, DE is only a medium sized city and, as you might expect, there aren't many suite hotels. Given the amenities listed, I'm pretty sure its the Sheraton Suites. But I have bad luck bidding on Hotwire, as they often seem to find a way to give you a lesser hotel than you expect (like a 3 star Holiday Inn). My friends even have a little Hotwire bonus money (given to them for a previous unsatisfactory stay when a hotel manager made them sleep on folding beds in a conference room!). If there was a great likelihood of getting the Sheraton, they would prefer it to the Wyndham. My general question is whether hotwire would consider a Sheraton Suites to "only" be a 3 star (if so, it seems the odds of them getting that property are extremely high, as there really are no other "suite" hotels that would be in the category). Or would a Sheraton be rated higher under their system?
  14. Yeah. I think this has the potential to be good for folks who like to bid on travel because Barry Diller's company may try to make Hotwire more competitive with Priceline. Right now, Hotwire is barely useful. Diller's company is quickly becoming a behemoth in on-line travel (they own Expedia, Hotels.com, etc), so it's likely he will try to "make something" of this brand. Hopefully, part of his effort to expand the brand will be better deals to attract more customers.
  15. $35 didn't work, received offer to bid $9 higher. Bid $40 and accepted.
  16. Just looked at "tobb" and I see more frustration with tucson resort bidding. This summer, it looks cheaper to buy direct. Not that the hotels are making it easy, of course -- it looks like you have to wade through all sorts of special promotions to find the best one for you. Who'd ever believe priceline would be an easier way to rent a hotel room?
  17. Anyone headed to the Grand Canyon should probably avoid priceline and book directly with the "in park" lodging, whose prices are regulated by the NPS and are generally a better value than the less convenient motels outside the park. Look at grandcanyonlodges.com for info, but then call Xantera's toll free res line, as that has more complete inventory. I'd personally recommend a cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge or, if those aren't available, a regular room at the Bright Angel Lodge. Folks seem to be "afraid" of the rooms without private bath, so they seem to go last. I'd rather have the private bath, too (and would gladly pay the differential), but at 50 bucks without bath (the rooms do have sinks), the atmospheric cheapo rooms are a steal to be 50 feet from the rim. And the shower facilities are decent. If Bright Angel is not available, the room rates seem to start at about $100 for more modern, but far less atmospheric, accomodations (the El Tovar, which is also atmospheric, is overpriced IMHO). For $100, I'd make sure I was at least on the rim.
  18. Just returned from the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, and I've got to tell you that the summer AMEX R&R rate is one super deal. $89 night, third night free (plus the somewhat nasty $20 resort fee). In addition to the usual Wyndham By Request perks like an enormous welcome fruit & cheese basket and free local and ld phone calls (which are supposedly excluded with priceline rates) the hotel apparently out of the kindness of their hearts gave us a $12.50 daily per person breakfast credit (even for our kids), and paid the tax and gratuity to boot. This even allowed us to eat the Sunday Brunch buffet for free (kids pay a dollar per year, and I could apply the extra to the adults). Tell me the last time a hotel casually threw in brunch for you! (it's never happened before to me). The hotel itself is quite nice -- rooms (they're really studio apartments) are huge, the staff is quite accomodating, and the location and desert views are great. The place will never win an architectural award, but I wouldn't call it ugly. Golf and tennis facilities are great, and there's an olympic sized pool club. Oh, and you get turndown service with a rotating cookie selection. What more could you want for this price? Priceline be damned!
  19. Darn that's cheap! Best deal I've seen on priceline in sometime. BTW, wouldn't the US priceline automatically reject this offer? I recall reading on "TOBB" that there is a minimum bid for each category, and if my memory is right, it's something like $30 for a 3 star hotel.
  20. Perhaps another sign that the golden age of priceline is over. Needed this property for a weekend in June, looked at the hotel website and it looked wide open. Bid $40, which (according to another message board) has been repeatedly successful. Rejected. Called Sheraton direct -- told them I had a half off coupon (the usually worthless ones Starwood sends out, and I suspect the Entertainment 50% off rate would net the same). Viola -- $39.50 + tax (saving me the $5.95 priceline fee, too).
  21. Yeah, there's definitely a learning curve. For most folks, just taking a look at some of the successful posted bids and then taking a look at hotwire for their specific days will probably lead them to a successful priceline bid that they will be happy with. Unless you're planning your dream vacation, or are simply "anal" about the process, that's really all you need to do to be a "smart bidder."
  22. Certainly more art than science, but for frequent priceline users deploying all of the "tools", it gets fairly easy to guess what you're likely to get. Of course, once in awhile, you get something completely from left field. But that's part of the game -- you've got to be willing to stay in some places you'd rather avoid, for the "thrill" of saving some money (often, a lot of money) and the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised more often than not.
  23. Operating under the assumption that many of the same hotels participate in both Priceline and Hotwire, I've taken to pricing Hotwire before I do any priceline bidding. This technique has become more useful of late as Hotwire has expanded their list of cities. It's hardly scientific, but I have found that I can usually get a priceline reservation for about 10 bucks less than the best rate I see on hotwire for that star level (and I operate under the assumption that hotwire is a little more lenient on their star rankings). This would make some sense, of course, because Hotwire's business model would seem to necessitate some sort of additional markup over priceline's "you've got to guess it exactly right for the lowest price" model. The other useful thing about consulting hotwire is for times when you get frustrated with a priceline bid that, based on previous recorded results, "should" be accepted. If you're not seeing hotwire rates "in the ballpark" of your bid, chances are the inventory is simply not there for the low rates on one or more of your days. Just today, for example, I broke down a multi-day bid on hotwire to see if I had any "problem days" in my earlier unsuccessful priceline bid. Sure enough, I found one day in my intended stay where hotwire had awful rates. I then took that day out of my priceline bid and voila -- bid accepted at the price I wanted (of course, you then have to work your trip around the day you can't get!). Another benefit of consulting hotwire is their willingness to reveal the amenities of the hotels participating. As has been discussed elsewhere on this board, this often helps narrow down the guess of what hotel you're likely to get, perhaps even on a comparable priceline bid. There may also be times when, based on the data hotwire gives you, you would choose to pay a little more to "select" a specific hotel on hotwire. With priceline, you're likely to get the low bidder at the star level you choose -- with hotwire, you get to choose which "unnamed" hotel you want, with the amenity list and customer recommendations giving you some pretty darn good clues. This is particularly valuable in big cities with lots of hotels in a zone or star level. For example, the Atlanta downtown zone has been corrupted by a 3-star Holiday Inn Select when everyone really wants one of the nicer "real" 3-star hotels in that zone. Using hotwire, I believe you could easily "guess" your way to one of the better hotels (perhaps picking a "customer choice" property after reading the reviews?) for a few bucks more than what you could get for the worst hotel for on priceline. Similarly, if you wanted a suite, or a property with a pool, you could choose that on Hotwire as well. Bottom line is that it's an advantage to consult hotwire before placing a priceline hotel bid, and then deciding if and how much you want to bid on priceline.
  24. Received this for a couple different nights in June. $40 didn't work. Availability looks scattered -- if Doubletree's website doesn't have a special internet rate available for your night (starting at $89 going to $119), fuggetaboutit. I see that Priceline has now consolidated two zones in Wilmington, downtown and north. Hotwire is going with the same single zone, too. That's a shame, because I think the two markets are quite different -- downtown is, well, downtown, with all the usual pluses and minuses. The north zone was more suburban, probably preferable to most folks who weren't doing business downtown. Now you simply need to roll the dice and see what you get.
QUICKQUOTE [X]
PRICELINE & HOTWIRE on one screen!
NOTE: Priceline searches for
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY ONLY
Room %roomN%:
Age of child:
FINDFAST[X]
EXCLUSIVELY at BetterBidding:
10% OFF

PRICELINE COUPON


(click here) and use

promo code

: EASTEREGG

(Hotel and Car Express Deals max $60 discount... expires 03/31/2024)
×
×
  • Create New...