DDSeeker

Rate per night: $68.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Tax recovery charges & fees: $16.02 Subtotal: $84.03 Chose to use HOTWIRE for this stay since the DDSeeker family (2 adults; 2 kids) needed two beds. I anticipate arriving very late and didn't want to be stuck in a room with one bed. I applaud BB.com for supporting both HOTWIRE and PRICELINE, understanding that individual travel plans may make one opaque service more attractive than the other. As always, started my search using BB.com's HOTWIRE link!

Rate per night: $82.00 Nights: 2 Rooms: 1 Tax recovery charges & fees: $33.10 Subtotal: $197.10 Trip total: $197.10 == Amenities Indoor pool(s) Fitness Center Pool(s) Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Free Parking Free Breakfast Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower == I'm willing to gamble sometimes on Priceline when traveling with the full DDSeeker family (2 adults / 2 children -- 7 & 12). I was not willing to gamble in Wenatchee. I could see on non-opaque sites that rooms with 4-person occupancy have higher rates than 2-person occupancy. This was not true for Holiday Inn Express, but there wasn't any guarantee that I'd win the Holiday Inn Express on Priceline. Consequently, I opted to use Hotwire for this stay so that I could specify that four people were staying in the room. Used BB.com's HOTWIRE link to access Hotwire.

Offer Price: $51.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $51.00 Taxes & Fees: $15.14 Total Charged to Card: $66.14 === Failed at $50 for 2.5* in the following zones: Seattle Airport (SEA) Bellevue Kent Mukilteo - South Everett North Everett Univ of Washington - Northgate I did not bid in zones where I anticipated a charge for parking. I also eliminated some zones where my evaluation of the 2.5* did not meet my expectations. I think I'll be happy at the Towneplace Suites. Began bidding at BB.com's PRICELINE link.

Bonus Cash: $10 Offer Price: $34.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $68.00 Taxes & Fees: $19.42 Total Charged to Card: $87.42 Love me some bonus cash! I started my bid with BB.com's PRICELINE link.

Offer Price:$82.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $164.00 Taxes & Fees: $28.18 Total Charged to Card: $192.18 Was bidding for 2.5* and got upgraded to the 3* H Hotel. I figured I'd either get the new Holiday Inn (2.5*?) or the H Hotel. The H Hotel was the price to beat with a $120 rate. Failed yesterday with a 2.5* / $81 bid. Used BB.com's PRICELINE link to begin bid.

Offer Price: $65.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $65.00 Taxes & Fees: $15.87 Total Charged to Card: $80.87 Was bidding on a 2.5* and was upgraded to this 3* Courtyard. Failed at $64 yesterday. This is a new hotel for the Indiana list. Started bid with BB.com's PRICELINE link.

Bonus Cash Per Day: $2.10 (per day) Your Offer Price Per Day: $24.00 (per day) Total Offer Price with Bonus: $26.10 (per day) Total Charges to Your Credit Card Your Offer Price: $24.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 10 days(9 days and 22 hours) Subtotal: $240.00 Taxes and Fees: $181.66 Total Charges: $421.66 I had a really hard time with this bid. Had $21 (over 10 days) in Bonus Cash for this reservation, so my bid was technically $24 + $2.10 Bonus Cash. $23 +$2.10 Bonus Cash for full-size was rejected today. $22 +$2.10 Bonus Cash for standard was rejected yesterday. I don't feel I overpaid, I just think this was a tough bid. Best alternative was HOTWIRE for $489.99 all-in for a standard car. Attempted to use the BB.com links prior to redeeming Bonus Cash. I hope what I did was successful.

I'm not a Priceline newbie, but believe it or not, I've never had a chance to use Bonus Cash. Priceline has generously offered me $3 / day bonus cash up to $21 for a car rental. I'm bidding for a full-size car from Chicago O'Hare (ORD). My most recent bid of $22 was rejected, but that was before I realized I had Bonus Cash. My target rental period is 7/29 through 8/8 ... 10 days. Since my Bonus Cash offer is capped at $21 even though I'm interested in a 10 day rental, should I treat this as $2 off per day? My instinct is to bid $21 tomorrow when my lock-out period ends. My reasoning is that with the Bonus Cash, a $21 bid will be treated like $23. Is there a flaw in my thought process? (I know how to use BB.com's link and Bonus Cash at the same time. Access PL as normal through BB.com's link and access Bonus Cash through the "Rewards" link rather than using the email link provided by Priceline.)

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $45.00 Subtotal: $45.00 Taxes & Fees: $14.09 Total Charges*: $59.09 This stay is for a Sunday night only. Bid up to and including $44 for a 2.5* in the ORD-South zone. Was not willing to bid for 2.5* in North zone. Intentionally wanted an ORD zone for an early Monday morning flight. Feel good about this Priceline win. As always, used BB.com's PRICELINE link.

Baymont Inn & Suites Grand Rapids North/Walker Grand Rapids North 2151 Holton Court Nw Grand Rapids, Michigan 49544 616-735-9595 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $34.00 Subtotal: $34.00 Taxes & Fees: $12.06 Total Charges*: $46.06 BB.com shows the Baymont Inn and Suites to be a 2* in this zone, but evidently PL rates it as a 2.5* now. (Please update the hotel list.) In my opinion, the typical Baymont Inn is appropriate categorized as a 2*. Mrs. DDSeeker is comfortable at a Baymont, though, and I can't deny the rate is good. As always, started bid with BB.com's PRICELINE link in the northeast corner of the webpage.

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $79.00 Subtotal: $158.00 Taxes & Fees: $32.44 Total Charges*: $190.44 ========== Bidding for 3.5* in NMA-River North only. Began at $70 and increased $1 per rebid. First saw $20 counteroffer at original $70 bid. 3/4 mile from where I need to be, but hey, I saved $50 from next best alternative on EasyClickTravel.Com ... plus, I need the exercise!

Very last minute bid. I had five minutes left before PL's same-day bidding cutoff. In effect, I had time for a single bid. My price to beat was all other interstate motels. I think I did that and got an above-average interstate motel. I made a single bid of $50 for a 2.5* in all Baton Rouge zones. This was almost certainly an overbid, but, like I said, I had one chance to bid and I did beat my price to beat. This hotel is new to BB.com's hotel list. It is very new ... I was told it was nine months old. I was upgraded to a king suite, which is an oversized room with a hide-a-bed. Perfect for my family's trip down I-10. As always, began bid with BB.com's PRICELINE link.

I was bidding for a 2.5* and willing to accept any zone in Chattanooga. $41 bid for 2.5* in Airport, Lookout, DT and Hixson zones failed. I expected that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo would be the 2.5* winner in the Downtown zone. That hotel looks awfully kid-friendly (which is a positive!). I was rather surprised to get upgraded the Sheraton Read House. There seems to be a $15 parking fee (a negative). But the low price for one of Chattanooga's best hotels is sure to mitigate that. I saw counteroffer after counteroffer for the Downtown zone only. I never saw counteroffers for Airport, Lookout or Hixson all the way up to $41.

Was bidding for a 2.5* and got upgraded to 3*. I was avoiding zones where I figured I'd get charged for parking. I didn't bid French Quarter, DT or Conv. Center. I did bid up to $40 for a 2.5* in Garden District, Metairie and West Bank and failed. Used BB.com's PRICELINE link, and, as always, I'm pleased with my win!

Bid $17 for standard car and failed.

3 days @ $12. With taxes/fees, the total is $65.19. My first bid was accepted, so future bidders may want to try to undercut $12 for weekend mid-size rentals in Nashville. Used PRICELINE link at BB.com.

I was bidding for a 2.5* and got upgraded. :) Useful information for these dates: Failed Bid: $35 for 2.5* Downtown-Vanderbilt-Metrocenter Failed Bid: $34 for 2.5* Airport BNA Failed Bid: $31 for 2.5* Opryland I was targeting the Downtown-Vanderbilt and Airport BNA zones. I figured this meant that I was virtually certain to get the Airport zone, but I'm OK with that. Would have settled for Opryland, but would have demanded a haircut in price. All in all, I feel good about this bid, particularly since I know I couldn't have won DT-Vanderbilt at the same price and that I know $35 is the best price for a 2.5*/3* in the Airport zone. As always, I began my bid with the PRICELINE link at BB.com.

A friend is meeting me in DC when I'm there. When I told him I got a room on Priceline, he wanted to duplicate my success. Anyway, after directing him to BB.com so he could use the PRICELINE link here, we tried to undercut my $70 bid. His first bid was $65 for a 4* in the Georgetown-Foggy Bottom zone. It was rejected with no counteroffer. I didn't want to try to explain advanced bidding techniques, so I advised him just to match my $70 bid. Bingo! The bid was accepted for the Renaissance M Street. Check-in 01-21-10; check-out 01-22-10. The useful info here is that, while $70 may not be the lowest bid that would have been accepted on this date, $65 was too low for a 4* in the Georgetown-Foggy Bottom zone. We're both happy. :)

Rejected in 4* WH-DT at $70. First bid in GT-FB zone. I see some accepted bids as low as $65. I still think this is a steal for DC. As always, used PRICELINE link at BB.com to start bid.

First bid. Priceline warned me that my bid was far too low to be accepted. PL suggested I bid $41. Hotwire had a car for $17, so I undercut that. As always, accessed PRICELINE through BB.com's link!

First bid accepted. HOTWIRE wanted $16. Rental is for one day. Accessed PL through BB's PRICELINE link.

EasyClickTravel came through. I have the Buckingham for $324. The best part of this reservation is that I can cancel and receive at least most of my money back. The questionable part is whether or not the Buckingham is truly a 3* as EasyClickTravel claims. For $324, I guess I'm going to find out.

I have two conferences ... one at the Waldorf Astoria (Park & 50th) and the other at Madison & 50th. I'm going to schedule other meetings that are typically in the upper 50s in MTE. I've put in my request for the Buckingham. I agree that the Buckingham is unlikely since it is an EasyClickTravel "on request" (those have never worked for me). It effectively freezes me for 24 hours as I wait for EasyClickTravel to respond. I don't want to drop below 3*. I kind of like the idea of a spacious room at the Eastgate Tower, but I really do view that as a 2.5*, so that is a big negative. I'd be willing to bid Empire State zone if I had confidence I wouldn't be on the southern half of the zone.

Began all bids through PRICELINE link at BB.com. Bid up to $320 for a 3* in MTE, MTW and CPS. Failed. I know this is a tough time in NYC, but I still would have thought I'd hit somewhere. Have yet to make alternative plans. My three choices are The Buckingham Hotel for $326 on EasyClickTravel. The Buckingham is a "on request" room. Eastgate Tower for ~$315 on GTA Hotels. This is a little far from where I want to be and is often considered a 2.5* property Keep bidding on PRICELINE Any suggestions?

SWEET Got a suite in the Tremont House with this reservation. Includes kitchenette and sitting room. Queen size bed on second floor of suite. Marble bathrooms. All this plus the Tremont's outstanding location! I need to buy a lottery ticket with all this good luck. Future bidders should take this experience with a grain of salt.