DDSeeker

With the addition of the "bed choice available" option, the Priceline Express Deals product is becoming a viable alternative to Hotwire for my needs. I have found BB.com's Hotwire hotel lists with amenities to be a useful tool in predicting which hotel I might get. Does BB.com have a similar hotel list for the Priceline Express Deals where I can try to match amenities?

Yes, that is the address for the property I stayed at. It looks like Hot.wire has rezoned much of the Minneapolis / St. Paul area. I guess you have a lot of work ahead of you. Know that many of us appreciate the time it takes to make the PL and HW lists as accurate as possible.

Aaron - I think I may have made an error in identifying the zone of this hotel. It is the "Bloomington West - Mall of America" zone. The precise name of the hotel according to Hotwire is "Crowne Plaza Bloomington MSP Airport/MOA". Furthermore, it appears that the "Bloomington East - Mall of America Area - Airport MSP" zone has been renamed "Bloomington - Mall of America - MSP Airport area". Sorry for the confusion.

I'm sure others may already know this, but it is worth repeating because I didn't know. I wanted two beds. Told Hotwire that there would be 2 adults and 1 child. The hotel intended to book me in a king only bed (no pull out sofa or anything). Fortunately, a room with two doubles was available. I only use Hotwire when I want to ensure two beds. If that's your goal, be sure to select 4 people. Evidently, three is not enough! Hotel Amenities Free Parking Free Internet Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Golf Nearby Accessibility Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

Started bidding using BB.com's Priceline link. A $52 bid for 2.5 stars failed at all Madison zones for the dates I needed. Offer Price: US$ 53.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: US$ 106.00 Taxes & Fees: US$ 23.64 Total Charged to Card: US$ 129.64

Thereuare ... Your deduction is correct. I stayed at the Granite Lane property.

Reservation made on same day as stay. This is an older building, but rooms are very clean and well maintained. I'd recommend it. Hotel Amenities Free Parking Free Internet Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Accessibility Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

This hotel was booked on the day of the stay. The Ramada Des Moines Airport is a new hotel for BB.com's hotel list. It is a tired old hotel that appears to have gone through several flag changes over the years. I saw evidence that it had been a Best Western and a Magnuson hotel in the recent past. In my opinion, this hotel doesn't merit 3 stars. It does have a restaurant attached to the hotel (Bennigans, if I recall correctly). A standard hotel complimentary continental breakfast is served in the restaurant. The hotel served its purpose, but that's all. Hotel Amenities Free Parking Free Breakfast Free Internet Pet friendly Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Golf Nearby Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom

This hotel was purchased on the day of the stay. It appears that Sioux Falls has been divided into two zones. At the very least, this is the first report to BB.com of a win in the Sioux Falls North - Airport zone. This Quality Inn and Suites is a very good hotel. FWIW, Hotwire reported that it was recommended by 100% of users. Hotel Amenities Free Breakfast Free Internet Pet friendly Indoor pool(s) Fitness Center Pool(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

Rate per night $53.00 Nights 1 Rooms (2 adults, 2 children) Subtotal $53.00 Tax recovery charges + fees $13.82 Hotwire total $66.82 Amenities Free Parking Free Breakfast Free Internet Pet friendly Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Self service laundry Internet access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking

Yellowdog, It appears to me that I provided the full list of amenities. There was an additional section called "Accessibility" that included the additional information below. Should I include these as amenities going forward? Accessibility Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

Chose to use Hotwire to ensure a room with two beds. Saw this property earlier in the day for $48, but since this was a same day reservation, I wanted more certainty on where we'd stop for the night. Began purchase with BB.com's Hotwire link. Amenities: Free Parking Free Internet Pet friendly Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access

Free Parking Free Breakfast Free Internet Pet friendly Fitness Center Business Center Internet access

New hotel for the list. Actually, a new city for that matter. Chose to use Hotwire to ensure two beds. Interesting note ... I scoped this hotel out about 5 p.m. on the date of the reservation. It was $56 at that time. I wasn't sure when wife and kids would call it a night. If they felt up to it, it was possible they'd push farther. When I made the reservation three hours later, the price had dropped to $52.

This is a solid 3* property even though the building screams the 1970s. The property is ocean front and I believe every room is an ocean view room. Desk clerk was friendly and accommodating. Offered us a slightly larger room on the third floor which we happily accepted. Room had a small balcony and our room had folding chairs to use if we wanted to. The roof of the lobby was directly below our room, but honestly, the focal point of the view was the ocean. We slept a couple of nights with the balcony door slightly open to let in cool air. Our room abutted the elevators, but we never heard a sound from them. The hotel itself is adjacent to railroad tracks with frequent commuter trains in the morning. For the most part, we never heard the trains either -- even with the window open. The city must have noise reduction hours because the trains would blow their horns about 8:00 a.m. but not before. That didn't bother us as we were heading out the door at that time to make the most of the day. Parking is $12 / day. There is a city owned parking garage immediately east of the hotel for slightly less. We didn't see it in time since we arrived at night, but cost conscious Better Bidders might consider that option to save $4 / day. Nearby activities not to be missed: 1. Take a boat ride to the Channel Islands. We went to Santa Cruz Island and had a wonderful hike with spectacular views. Be sure to take and liberally apply sunscreen. Nearly everyone on our boat got to see the Island Fox, a species only found on the Channel Islands. On the boat ride back, the captain spotted a whale and maneuvered the boat to give the passengers a better view. Loved the two-fer of a trip to the Channel Islands and a whale watching trip. 2. Be sure to take a side trip to Carpinteria Bluffs at exit 85 in Carpinteria. Head west on the trail that parallels the railroad tracks. When the trail ends, cross the railroad tracks even if it feels you shouldn't. You'll soon be at a bluff overlooking a group of harbor seals. We were lucky enough to see a whale offshore during our May 2014 visit.

Targeted 2.5* in LAX zone (morning flight on Saturday), but really willing to stay in a number of zones. Failed at $59 before succeeding at $60. $76.84 all-in. Some other info that may be useful to future Better Bidders ... failed 2.5* bids in the LA area: 1. Inglewood - $59 (Did see $73 counteroffer after bidding $58) 2, Manhattan Beach / El Segundo - $59 3. Beverly Hills / West Hollywood - $59 4. Santa Monica / Marina del Rey - $59 5. Culver City - $58 6. Brentwood / Westwood - $58 As always, started bidding process with BB.com's [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=40]PRICELINE[/url] links.

Targeted 3* in Ventura proper. Bid $50 and received counteroffer for $58. Bid $51 and won Crowne Plaza Ventura. Started bidding process with Priceline link at BB.com.

Saw a 4* hotel in Newport Beach for $90 on PRICELINE EXPRESS. I figured it was the Marriott and set out to try to beat that price. I bid only for 4* hotels in Newport Beach and used free rebids. Won the Fairmont Newport Beach for $82. I failed at $81, so this was the lowest price available for a 4* on the specific Saturday night I wanted. Used Priceline link on BB.com to start bidding.

I attempted to discover the price for a 2.5* hotel in Winslow or Holbrook, Arizona. I bid up to $54 for the rooms and failed in each city. I was bidding for two rooms, so there is a small chance that I could have won if I were only bidding for one room. After a 5% discount for using Priceline's SUMMER promotion code, the all-in bid for both rooms together was about $124. At this point I gave up on Priceline and booked conventionally through Travelocity -- of course accessing Travelocity through BB.com's Support Page. I bought the Best Western - Arizonian Inn in Holbrook for $143 all-in after a 15% discount for using promotion code RMN15. I need one of the rooms to have two beds, and there's always the risk that you'll get stuck with Priceline. I assigned a $20 premium for the certainty of reserving a room with two queen beds. Good Luck to future price-seekers in Winslow and Holbrook!

Two rooms. Used discount code SUMMER for 5% discount. Please note that this is a rating change for this hotel (hotel list identifies this property as 2*). Bid history: FAILED -- $46 for 2.5* yesterday FAILED -- $47 for 3* today Accessed PRICELINE through link at BB.com

New hotel for the hotel list. This is the lowest price ever reported for a Wichita Falls 2.5*, but it was my first bid. Try to undercut $38! Accessed PRICELINE via link on BB.com.

Bid for two rooms. This was the lowest 2.5* rate available for my date. Failed 2.5* bids for all Amarillo zones at $35. Did received a $41 counteroffer for the Amarillo West-South zone. Began bid using BB.com's PRICELINE link.

First bid -- so bid lower. This is a new hotel for the Newark-Freemont zone. Extended Stay is typically a 1* chain, but this particular property looks better than most in the Extended Stay chain. Even so, I think this makes bidding 2* in Newark-Fremont unattractive. Some online reviews indicate PL customers are assigned to smoking rooms. I didn't know smoking rooms still existed!

Probably overbid, so try bidding lower. I didn't have a lot of lead time on this hotel. Bid history: Nacogdoches 2.5* $40 - FAILED Nacogdoches + Center 2.5* $45 - FAILED Nacogdoches 2* $46 - Comfort Suites All in, this property is $59. It was my fall-back traditional reservation choice, too, with an all-in price of $77. So I saved $18! Thanks Priceline! Thanks BetterBidding! *** Always start bidding with BB.com's PRICELINE link ***

Amenities: Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower