pterrell

As I thought, Betterbidding can't get credit for Android app users. So I'll switch back to using the full web page views on my next visit.

First bid of $46 accepted. Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $46.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $12.64 (USD) Total Room Cost: $58.64 (USD) Last minute decision to spend a night in Sacramento to spend another day with family. Used the Priceline Adroid app as the family had dinner. I took that route because of the coolness factor and remembered reading of a promo on a future $25 savings. I wondered what others in the restaurant thought as the jingle "Priceline negotiator" played on my phone. Sorry for not using the Betterbidding links. After this post, I'll search if there's a post on Betterbidding to get credit when I use the app.

I guess I'm the only family member "thrifty" enough to use Priceline and Hotwire. My sister decided that she'd rather rent a car, pay for downtown parking, and then spend the night in the Marriott(?) over by the med center... And I didn't see anything on Hotwire that looked like Hawthorn or Governor's Inn. So I used Priceline and got the 2.5* HIE... Thanks for the advice though!

As others have reported, $39 taken on first bid. Was hoping for the Hawthorn, but I'm sure we'll be fine at the HIE. Used the Betterbidding PRICELINE links.

Colfax, a belated thanks. Since I followed up on your post, that hotel has not been offered. The ways of Hotwire... I'll wait a few more days to see if it shows up again. And of course I'll use the Betterbidding PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links when it do. ;-)

I'm planning a family gathering in Sacramento Sept 30 - Oct 1. Two families are going to arrive by Amtrak and the local family is disabled, so knowing that the hotel location is near the station and light rail is key. I'm seeing at 3* for $48 that I'm suspecting is Governors Inn. The amenities match the Hotwire list, with the addition of shuttle service, which is listed on the hotels website. TripAdvisor matches with a rating of 4. 3* Governors Inn Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet OR Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast, Pool, Fitness, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet Anyone want to disagree? :)

Whoops! Another case of posting while sleepy! :) It looks like I posted under Priceline and not Hotwire. And of course I used the HOTWIRE link to make my purchase.

I believe that this is a new one for the list. I went with this "3*" HOTWIRE hotel as the most PRICELINE offered for this zone was 2.5*. TripAdvisor and Hotels.com both peg this HI Express at 2.5. So I wonder if I could have paid less on PRICELINE. Sigh... Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access Hotel rate per night: $56.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $56.00 Tax recovery charges and fees: $12.37 Total Total price: $68.37

Hey, pmc22! Thanks for posting your winning bid. I used the info to place my bid and ended up with the same hotel for Thursday night. So, if you see an exhausted father running across the lobby after an active 2-year old, it may be me.

Seeing pmc22's winning bid of $46, I started bidding with $46 for the Convention Center. And accepted at the same hotel. What a let down...no trying to figure a strategy and rebidding on other zones. ;-) Hey, pmc22! If you see an exhausted father running across the lobby after an active 2-year old, it may be me. Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $46.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $46.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $13.35 (USD) Total Room Cost: $59.35 (USD)

Documenting a "distracted" Priceline bid. :) Not only did I bid a few $ over the recent lowest bids, I accepted travel insurance! Starting from the Betterbidding PRICELINE form, I bid $39. Opening bid accepted. This was for a last minute trip down to Bakersfield as I got word my mother's "standard hospital procedure" had gone bad... Check in at 2:30am. Only problem was a long walk to the the hotel room. Despite my slight overbid and accepting insurance, the deal beat out the lowest HOTWIRE rate. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $39.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Travel Insurance: $5.00 (USD) Room Subtotal: $44.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $12.19 (USD) Total Room Cost: $56.19 (USD)

In line with my opinion of "feel free to ask for the best", I encouraged my niece to ask for a room with a view. When she checked in and was given her room assignment, she asked if the room had a view. The clerk switched her to a room with a nice view of the canyon, bridge, and sliver of ocean. When I checked in, I didn't ask (I just asked for a room near her room) and was given a room with a view of the parking lot and street. :) The brother-in-law was so happy that we saved them $70 that he treated us to dinner that night...

Just "for the record", my family joined my sister-in-law's family at the Holiday Inn Express in Fort Bragg for one night. Room for two adults was $88. Amenities: breakfast, fitness, pool, internet I'll post some comments on the previous post. And this time I used the HOTWIRE link in Betterbidding, before starting a session for my Entertainment Book rebate. :)

The 3* may be the property my niece just purchased: Holiday Inn Express. The 90% of customer reviews matches, and fitness center is one of four amenities. I posted the purchase here: My hotwire Fort Bragg win Sorry if this is coming too late for your trip...

A new hotel for the list: Fort Bragg Holiday Inn Express Complimentary Breakfast Fitness Center Pool(s) High-speed Internet Access The Hotwire rate was actually $89 for 3 adults. I was showing my niece how Hotwire worked. She wanted to stay at Holiday Inn Express with the lowest rate of $130. I showed her the amenities and the Tripadvisor rating that matched the HIE, but I couldn't "guarantee" it because it wasn't listed in Betterbidding. So she went ahead with the idea that if it wasn't the HIE, it was still going to be a nice place to stay. Needless to say, she was happy that she did get the HIE. Sorry, but I didn't start from the Betterbidding links. But after her happy win, I told her about the site and she said that she'd start that way next time. And we may join them, in which case I'll start with the Betterbidding links. :-)

Double charge problem solved. HOTWIRE refunded my payment and gave me a $25 credit towards my next purchase. I was curious if the hotel was still on HOTWIRE. A few random searches have it available in the summer for $59. That's a great deal! To bad we don't have the excuse of seeing relatives in the area.

Is the $20 rebate coupon only for 4-star hotels? I'm debating if the wording is a restriction or just ad copy. My Hotwire stay was at a 2.5 star, but the amount was in the range of many 4-stars due to all-inclusive.

I used HOTWIRE on my purchase of a Playa del Carmen all-inclusive, although I tried real hard to PRICELINE it. One reason I didn't go PRICELINE is that many of the zones are too big and we're trying to do this trip via bus and short taxi rides. From the amenities listed, I knew the hotel (Real Playa del Carmen) and it's location near the bus stations. And knew that with all-inclusive, we wouldn't have to "go find something to eat".

A new one for the board. But the amenities and TripAdvisor ratings matched, so I was pretty confident that the "opaque" hotel was the Real Playa. This was a last minute purchase, as we were flying to Cancun and then taking the bus down to Belize. Since this route was saving $500, I thought it worthwhile to leave a day early and recover by spending a day at a place we didn't have to go anywhere. The only problem with the hotel was the front desk clerk not finding the reservation, then after 15 minutes of looking while helping others, proclaiming that we needed to pay the Hotwire "quote" as all Hotwire was doing was making a reservation for us. I knew that wasn't right, but wanted to get checked in and not have a clerk decide to put us in a dumpy room. The clerk did "upgrade" us (to a room with a/c) and the stay was great. So I just need to go through the paperwork of reversing the hotel's charge on my return. Amenities Resort Near Beach Food and Beverages Included A La Carte Dining Water Sports/Activities Included Evening Entertainment Included Daily Activities Included Complimentary Breakfast Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Laundry Facilities High-speed Internet Access Tennis Nearby Hotel rate per night - Hotwire hot Rate: $119.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $119.00 Tax recovery charges and fees: $8.53 Total price: $127.53 Of course I started my purchase with the BetterBidding link to HOTWIRE, before going to the Hotwire Entertainment Book rebate page.

Another last minute trip to Fresno. :-) And the Radisson returns to better bidding after being pushed aside by the Holiday Inn. Started bidding at $40, rebid $42, with second rebid accepted at $44. (I wouldn't have minded any zone as my errands are all over the city.) Disappointed in that one errand was to the bank next to the Holiday Inn, but the Radisson does have better freeway access for the other errands. With the low price, I can't complain... Your Offer Price: $44.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $88.00 Taxes and Fees: $19.02 Total Charges*: $107.02 And of course I started with the BetterBidding link to PRICELINE!

The room was very nice and modern, with a comfortable bed and LCD TV. Plenty of space too. Everything was clean, including the bathroom. (The wife took an extra long shower, so I know she was happy...) Free Wi-Fi was speedy enough. The room was on the seventh floor with a window looking down on neighboring roofs. Not as nice as the higher views at the Radisson, but then I've also been placed at the same level as the roof vents there... A little bit of trek from the underground garage, to the elevator and to the room. But not bad compared to the sometimes long treks at the Radisson when the lot is full. During the check in, the clerk gave me two passes for leaving the garage "in case I lost one". That was nice as I left the garage once in the morning to run errands and again on departure. All in all, a better place than the Radisson at the same price as the La Quinta.

First road trip in months where I haven't stayed with a relative. It's known as having a 13-month old baby that hates his car seat! Tried to bid 3* NW Fresno (Pinedale - UC), starting at $45 and stopping at $60, using Fresno West as a free zone. Nothing... Bid $40 on 3* Fresno and got offer to increase to $52. Rebid with Fresno West at $45 and accepted. First time to Holiday Inn Downtown. Always remember walking past it when it was the Hilton and then empty. Used the Better Bidding links for PRICELINE!

BTW, I extended my stay by a day at the Four Points. (Another day sorting through the remains of my burned-down parents' house looking for family "heirlooms" that survived, as the salvage company hauled out the debris...)

There's plenty of motels I've avoided, that's for sure. Although I think back to my pre-PRICELINE days and using the coupon books for cheaper stays along Motel Drive. I'd tried several times to stay at the Four Points, but it was always showing up about $10 more on HOTWIRE than the Radisson, LQ, and HI. And I never won it on any PRICELINE bids. I'm trying to remember if that's because it was part of the old Fresno NW zone. And I haven't stayed at any of the newer places in NW Fresno except the Extended Stay. Colfax, I would think you've stayed at most of the Hotels in California!!

Time to head down to Bakersfield for some family time. :) Hoping for a stay at Residence Inn, where the insurance company is putting my mother up. But the Priceline Negotiator put me in the Four Points. Maybe he was thinking he wanted to match my stay in Fresno... Hotwire had a 3* for $39/night, but a posting on BetterBidding indicates that it's an Extended Stay Deluxe with less then positive reviews on TripAdvisor. So starting from the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, my opening bid of $45/night was accepted. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $45.00 Subtotal: $90.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $19.31 Total Charges*: $109.31 The room is very nice and it's got a fridge and microwave. When the wife found our room was on the second floor with no elevator, she she had us switch to a downstairs room rather then carrying all the baby stuff upstairs. But no microwave or fridge there. So we switched back. Thanks to the kind desk staff for putting up with a couple of Priceliners.