Fragnetic

I knew the hotel before hand, which was somewhat important to me for this particular part of my trip. This was my first time using Luxurylink. They basically have packages put together for a set number of nights and various auction or buy it now methods. Many are exotic and pricey, but for this one, it was a single auction with minimum bid set at $719. I called the Chamberlain first to make sure they had availability for the package during the nights of my stay. Then I bid $719 and no one else bid before the auction ended, so I won it.

NOTE: as I was a first time user I did not have any credit card info on file and they did not require me to put in credit card info before bidding! In fact it was almost anonymous.

They give 24 hours to contact and arrange payment otherwise the auction is lost. I used a coupon code I found on line for the $100 off. They then send payment reciept and request for date(s) of trip and they make arrangements with the hotel. Customer service was friendly, however they only work M-F business hours.

They dont have a very large selction of properties and night plans (most are 3 and 4 night stays), but it just so happened that I needed a 3 night stay with the ammenities they listed and the hotel had great reviews AND availability, so I pounced. Ill be sure to post back here after the trip to tell if there were any "gotchas" along the way.

Although I'm familiar with Luxury Link, I've never (yet) bought or bid on any of their packages. But I've seen some good deals from time to time. Can you provide a link or any specifics of the package you're looking considering?

Hi BEAV, I just successfully won the auction on Luxurylink, here are the details:

staying from 02/18/09 - 02/21/09 (3 nights)

Chamberlain West Hollywood

Grand King Suite

Includes overnight parking

Includes internet in room

Includes breakfast for two each day

Includes all taxes and fees

Total for winning bid was $719 + $30 auction fee, but I applied an online coupon for first time users $100 off, bringing the total to $649 for everything.

They were very friendly on the phone and I am finalizing the details with the hotel now...

So I just successfully bid and won on a LuxuryLink package that happened to correspond to exactly what I was looking for. Colfax, thank you very much for your insight and help with regards to the Priceline and Hotwire bids. Had the package not lined up perfectly with what I needed, Im sure I would have acted upon your advice. And Im sure Ill use it in the future also. These forums have been a great help and really opened my eyes to the potential travel savings, thanks again!

As far as my winning bid goes, here are the specs for those that are interested:

staying from 02/18/09 - 02/21/09 (3 nights)

Chamberlain West Hollywood

Grand King Suite

Includes overnight parking

Includes internet in room

Includes breakfast for two each day

Includes all taxes and fees

Total for winning bid was $719 + $30 auction fee, but I applied an online coupon for first time users $100 off, bringing the total to $649 for everything.

This came in right at the price point I wanted once I did the math for the cost of the package items that I was going to purchase anyway:

$649 / 3 = 216 a night

$216 - parking ($28), - internet daily charge ($10), - breakfast (lets say $20), and - taxes 14% = $139 a night in HW/PL terms

The cheapest I could find a grand king suite at the Chamberlain was $335 a night with an advance non refundable purchase. So I saved about $200 a night! The hotel has recevied very good reviews on Tripadvisor and I just felt more comfortable picking out exactly where I wanted to be. Had I needed to stay 4 nights or in some other area, this wouldnt have worked, but as it is we are pretty happy. Thanks again to all who responded and Ill post back later with any other info thats relevant.

While working on securing a hotel in LA for February, Ive been working on all angles, and came across this site. Considering I am staying 3 nights, want a 4* + and will be in need of parking, internet and breakfast, the deals seem pretty good--almost the same as Hotwire when factoring in those pricey extras and yet I would know the hotel in advance. Anyone else have any luck or bad experiences with luxurylink?

I think we'd be cool with the Luxe, Palomar or W...but not crazy about the Angeleno and that seems a common win in that star rating/zone. What bid should I start at do you think?

I'm going to get back to you on this one tomorrow, Fragnetic. Thanks for your patience.

Do Le Petit or Sky Hotel that AaronJB mentioned appeal to you?

Colfax - Those two dont particularly appeal to me but I suppose I am being too picky? For the forum, here was my failed "strategy" from yesterday:

Priceline bid $100 on 4* BH/WeHo - rejected

added Lawndale and $110 - rejected

added Culver and $125 - rejected

Got worried about adding any more zones and stopped.

Came back hours later and tried again, thinking it wouldnt let me bid again in same 24 hours, but they did.

Bid $135 on 4* BH/WeHo - rejected

added Lawndale at $150 - rejected

added Culver at $155 - rejected!

- Brian

Please keep all posts regarding this stay in one thread, Fragnetic. If you end up buying something on Hotwire we'll move this whole thread to the Hotwire section.

Are your icons for a 4* hotel in Hollywood-West Hollywood zone?

Wow I screwed up that post 2 times! made a dupe thread and left out a slightly important detail, the zone. Sorry about that. Yes, Hollywood-West Hollywood. I don't want to stay in Hollywood for this trip, but would be ok with expanding into West Hollywood, but still trying for a 4* + hotel...thanks for the input

stay of 2/18-2/21

amenities: Boutique Hotel, Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, High-speed Internet Access

Only one I could find on Tripadvisor was Hotel Le Petit?? But I dont see a business center or anyone else who has won that one...

Any help IDing would be appreciated, thanks!

It just dawned on me...Academy Awards are Sunday, Feb 22. You're stay is the Weds/Thurs/Fri night before Academy Awards but Beverly Hills hotels will be popular the nights before too.

I checked Hotwire to see if eliminating your Friday night would bring the rate down and it doesn't. 3.5* still $116 and 4* is still $239.

Conventional rates for your dates are fairly high---Hyatt $275, Sofitel $270, Intercontinental $288.

But the Mondrian is $495 for these dates, making it less likely that the Mondrian is the hotel that will come up if you bid on Priceline. (But even with its high rate the Mondrian is still possible.)

If you want to gamble on PRICELINE someone will suggest a strategy. The $239 on HOTWIRE is a fairly shallow discount when you can book conventionally for $270.

Yes, my wife and I are wrapping up a SoCal trip with the last three nights in LA and picked Beverly Hills (over where we normally stay, Santa Monica) precisely to get a small feel of the buzz leading up to the Oscars. So it stands to reason that the hotels will be pricier those dates as well and less interested in filling rooms. I think at this point I would pretty happy with any BH-WeHo 4* if it comes in around $150-$175, but that may be a pipe dream...

Unless you're eager to secure something now my suggestion would be to keep watching Hotwire for another week or two and see if that 4*'s price comes down closer to your $149 limit, as I suspect it will.

Thanks Colfax. After reading several posts discussing the topic of timing, I still havent seen a definitive answer. It would seem to me that the longer I wait, the more stressed the hotel would be about filling its rooms. On the other hand, the greater chance the hotel rooms get filled up organically and thus no need for cheap reservations. The only other issue with those dates are they are the 3 nights leading up to the Academy Awards, not sure if that matters. Shame about the Beverly Hilton...thanks for the input!

Unfortunately with PRICELINE there is no distinction between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. A bid in that zone has an equal chance of winning a hotel in either zone. HOTWIRE does split the zone into Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, so that could be an option.

I am currently seeing a 3.5* for $112 with amenities: fitness, pool, restaurant, business, and internet with a 3.5/5 tripadvisor rating based on 140+ reviews which seems to match the Crowne Plaza in Beverly Hills. I know it's a lower rated hotel than what you were looking for but the 4* is $239, which seems to be out of your price range. (The 4* looks to be the Hyatt Century Place)

You will likely get a better deal on PRICELINE, but you would have to be open to West Hollywood. Is this ok? Would you be willing to go with HOTWIRE?

Thanks for your input slick_gd...hmmm...we prefer Beverly Hills to WeHo, and the price range I threw out there was a target range that was ideal but not set in stone. That being said, $239 is a little too much to be assured a BH location. If we decided to go with Priceline and roll the dice on the combined BH-WeHo zone, do you know what potential 4* hotels are in the WeHo zone and what a good bidding strategy would be, considering a $239 Hotwire price? Thanks again!

Welcome to BetterBidding, Fragnetic.

You did very well for your first time trying Priceline. Priceline almost always accepts less than their counteroffer, so it's possible some price between $65 and $82 might have been accepted. If you overpaid at all it was only by a few dollars.

Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your future purchases.

Have a good stay.

Thanks for your input, I guess I wasnt sure that it would even go through for any amount less than the $17 bump. And I didnt want to take a chance on being rejected a second time since they say only one re-bid. Ive read on here to add zones, but it seems to me that if I add zones that I dont want they could accept the offer in an area I dont want?! Or is the key to find zones that don't have any hotels with the rating criteria I used? I'm still trying to figure this out since I dont understand then how that would make an offer go through...

I used Priceline for a successful win for the first half of this trip, but now looking to book 3 nights in Beverly Hills. Any suggestions on bidding strategy or potential hotels that match would be very appreciated :)

* Would like 4 - 4.5* or nicest I can get on either Priceline or Hotwire

* Dates are 02/18/09 - 02/21/09

* Ideal price would be in the $100 - $149 range, but flexible

* Would prefer to stay in Beverly Hills as opposed to West Hollywood

* Ideal hotel would be the Beverly Hilton, but targeting in this area looks to be impossible

On another note, do hotels in BH have any history of worse rooms, poorer treatment for guests who book through PL or HW?

Thanks!

Bid $65 Newport Beach, 4* - Rejected

Offered for $17 more - which I did - Accepted

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $82.00

Subtotal: $328.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $51.09

Total Charges*: $379.09

This was my first time ever using Priceline. I normally like to research ad nauseum every aspect of the hotel (and end up paying much more), but thanks to this forum, I worked up the courage to go with Priceline. I also looked at Hotwire for this area and star rating and based on the amenities listed, this was the same hotel I would have gotten on Hotwire for $129 a night. I'm thrilled with $82!

Thanks for running this site and helping out the traveling community :)