DDSeeker

New hotel. Amenities: Shuttle, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Laundry. Priceline does not offer 3* at airport, but had failed Priceline bids of $67 for a 3* in the downtown and Little Rock west zones. Paid $98; with taxes and fees: $113.95. Found rate of $94 at holiday-inn.com. Expect a successful $8 DTD (Double the Difference Guarantee) claim. (Hey, better in my checking account than Hotwire's!) Since this is a same-day reservation, I hope hotwire's reps are on the stick. Also will receive my $30 Entertainment rebate. Total after all rebates: $75.95. [Edit: Oh yeah, used savingsbarn.com to access hotwire. Always do!]

$151 total including taxes and fees. PL offers me upgrades to SUV for $5 / day or Premium for $7 / day. Last week, I failed on a $16 bid. I suspect I got a good deal because my rental period is a full week. As always, used PRICELINE link at savingsbarn.com.

Bid using savingsbarn.com. Bidding History: Bid up to $24 for 2* in Brookfield. Received counteroffer for $6. Feared that it may be Homestead Suites, and would not bid any higher in this zone. Failed in all zones for 2.5* at $33. Failed in all zones (except Brookfied) for 2* at $32. Failed in downtown and north zones for 2* at $33. Happy to contribute a new hotel to the board!

Yes still 4*. Sorry for the oversight.

Amenities: Restaurant, Fitness, Business Used savingsbarn.com link. I booked this hotel on our family vacation (including 5 year old and 8 month old). Desperately needed a room with two beds, so hopefully I get one since I told Hotwire that there are 2 young-uns. I noticed that Hotwire rates for Chicago were generally higher if I chose two adults and two children than if I chose two adults only (this was not true for the Hyatt). My inference is that most hotels have more availability for king beds than two-bed rooms. I feared I might get stuck with a king only if I bid through Priceline, though I did bid up to $57 for a 4* (both downtown zones), $50 for a 3* (both downtown zones), and $41 for a 2.5* (Millenium Park only) on Priceline for these dates. Total was $198 for two nights. I will get the $30 Entertainment rebate, meaning an equivalent bid on Priceline would have been $70. I intentionally underbid on Priceline due to the potential undesirable outcome of getting a king only room. That had to cost something on Priceline, and for me, that was $13 / night.

This is a solid, but uninspired, 4* property. I found the things I expected in a 4* like a bath robe and marble bathroom. It is in an older building, I guess built in the 1920s. The furniture in the room looked a little old, too, but old with character. There was a chair with ottoman and a very small work area. There was certainly internet access, but I believe it was extra. Staff was competent. I did, however, feel I got a "Priceline room". It was on the 3rd floor facing away from the Dallas skyline. The staff assigned me a non-smoking king bed without my request. The neighborhood is interesting; I am told it is near the gay section of Dallas. It had what appeared to be small trendy restaurants nearby, although I did not visit them. A Walgreens is across the street. If you like to run, beware: although the immediate vicinity of the Melrose is in a fine neighborhood, it didn't take me long to find myself in a less than desirable locale. An associate told me that the Library bar in the Melrose is a trendy spot. Even on the Wednesday night I stayed there, it was very crowded with professional looking patrons. I did not go into the Library. Overall, I again emphasize that this is a solid 4* property. The best metric to judge the Melrose is to acknowledge that I would stay there again.

thereuare, I used the "permutation strategy" that you advocate. If I am indifferent to those three zones, I can bid all three zones three times. I failed in all three zones (Elhurst, Bloomingdale-Itasca, Willowbrook) at $28.

As you are probably aware, it is not possible to target a specific hotel through Priceline. In your situation, there is another hotel of equal rating in the same zone as the Hyatt Regency on Hudson, the Doubletree Club Suites. Both properties appear in successful bids, so I'd say even if you get a successful bid for a 3*, you only have a 50-50 chance of getting your desired hotel. Because of this, I would suggest that Priceline is not going to be a good option for you. Regarding rooms with multiple beds, I've had Priceline reservations where the hotel made me take a king only and other times where they have made me take a room with two beds. It all boils down to availability. I would say that the majority of time, the hotel will honor my request on room type, but again, if you must have a room with two beds, it is better to try Hotwire.

At the time of my bid, this was the least expensive 2* in the Willowbrook, Bloomingdale-Itasca and Elmhurst zones. I intentionally wanted to avoid any zone where I might get a LaQuinta or Homestead Suites. This will be my first Baymont experience. I hope they impress me. Used savingsbarn.com.

thereuare, The Melrose Hotel was already on the hotel list. It is identified as a 3*. From what I know about it, the Melrose is a solid 4*. I don't know if a bidder got upgraded from a 3* to 4* to get the Melrose on the list, but it is there.

Only wanted Market Center zone, previous bid at $92 rejected. Wanted the Wyndham Anatole. That's where my meeting is. Oh well, I'll have to do with a 2 mile cab ride. As always, used www.savingsbarn.com.

One last question. I'm planning to stay at a 4* hotel. If I book each night separately, they will exceed the $95 threshhold with taxes and fees. Now I've seen posts that indicate that taxes and fees are included in the $95 minimum. But has anyone had success breaking up a stay to collect the $30 rebate twice? It would work for me. I feel like I'd be picking Hotwire's pocket, but I don't see why I would fall outside of their terms.

I'm considering using this offer, and of course I want to give savingsbarn.com the credit. However, the instructions on using the appropriate link (www.hotwire.com/epi.jsp) don't make sense to me. If I enter Hotwire's site through savingsbarn.com, and then proceed to "close the browser" (I interpret that to mean close the IE window that I just opened), how does savingsbarn.com get the credit? I'm a dummy. Please be more explicit.

Although I agree with AaronJB that the Palmer House is a nicer property than the Hilton Chicago, I suspect that the Palmer House has been downgraded to a 3.5* while the Hilton Chicago remains at 4*. I draw this conclusion simply based on pricing information. Caveat Emptor.

Two rooms for one night. Total with taxes and fees: $77.92 This was my first bid. Since this is for tomorrow night, I couldn't wait out the 72 hour waiting period. I bid for this property in 2004 before I found this board and determined the minimum price was $31. Used the PRICELINE link at www.savingsbarn.com.

FWIW, on a 7-1 to 7-3 stay, I still see a 3* NMA ($150) with Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness. This matches the old star level and amenities for the Tremont. This piece of evidence suggests that the Tremont may not have been downgraded.

OK, I came to some of the same conclusions y'all did regarding the 110% guarantee. The big revelation came when I sat down to do the arithmetic of what I'd be saving. As thereuare implies, even in a pretty good scenario, it is likely to only be a couple bucks. Therefore, as a general rule, I agree with the previous posters that the risk/return profile of making a claim on cheaptickets isn't worth it. However, I do have new information for the board. I was targeting a hotel in College Station, Texas. I chose an unidentified "Off the Record" easyclicktravel hotel: HOTEL I now may report this as the LaQuinta, College Station. This is the same hotel I was targeting through cheaptickets. It turns out that buying it through easytravel was cheaper than making a claim (and assuming I won) through cheaptickets. Also, although I feel like a seasoned BB'er, I was surprised to learn that cheaptickets is a sponsor. Of course I'm pleased to throw a few nickels your way when I make an on-line reservation, but I wasn't aware of that. I'll remember next time. Is BB an affiliate of easyclicktravel, too?

I'm considering booking and making a claim. Is cheaptickets.com as honest with their guarantee as Hotwire? I'd appreciate any input from people with experience.

I see a 3.5* hotel in the Chicago Loop for $124 that appears to be Hotel Allegro. The amenities are identical as thereuare's list. In addition to the star rating, another difference is the 3.5* hotel is a "customer favorite". I checked for dates July 1 to July 3 to get the $124 rate. If this is indeed Hotel Allegro, I may have a small DDG claim for you. I know a site that has Hotel Allegro for $116 for those dates. If there is any interest, let me know.

It appears that landn confirmed that the W City Center is a 4* hotel in this post: W City Center

Thereuare, I like your use of this "permutation" strategy when a bidder is indifferent to several Priceline zones. My question is this: Why didn't you use a River North/Loop bid? Did you mistakenly leave this off, or is there a statistical reason for this omission?

FWIW, La Quinta gave me a bill. Priceline paid $29 + taxes and made ~$7 and change on this room. Of course this is dispositive of nothing. Perhaps La Quinta had a $28 rate out there that I missed.

1 night, March 13, 2005. Price: $29 Taxes & Fees: $11 and change ------------------------------------ Total: $40 and change =========================== Bid history: 2* Hobby Airport $25 -- Failed (Counteroffer for $31) 2* Hobby Airport, Clear Lake-Nassau Bay $27 -- Failed (Counteroffer for $34) 2* Hobby Airport, Clear Lake-Nassau Bay, Downtown $29 -- ACCEPTED ================== The worst part about Priceline is that I wonder if I could have gotten it for $28. It's a game to me. There are no free re-bids for 2* in Houston, and I really wanted the Hobby Airport zone. I would have accepted anything, but the risk of getting a more distant zone made it undesirable to find the minimum price. As always, used the Savingsbarn.com link!

I have always had the fear that I would get stuck with a king bed only with Hotwire or Priceline. That still may be the case with Priceline, but I want to draw your attention to an aspect of Hotwire. Hotwire asks for the number of children. It would be quite disingenuous of Hotwire to acknowledge my two children and not provide a bed for them. Is there still a danger with Hotwire?

Originally bid $32 for Universal - Failed Bid $33 for Universal and WDW - Failed Bid $34 for Universal, WDW and Kissimmee - Won Sheraton Safari ===================== As always, used the SavingsBarn.com link