Nords

So funny story here. My wife and I are doing a vacation for our first ever trip to New Orleans February 9-12th 2017. Airfare booked. Next is the hotel. I book almost all my hotels through Priceline using name your own price. I love betterbidding.com for strategies and all that. I'm normally very careful about the bidding strategy. In this case I'm willing to take a 4*, 3 1/2* or 3* hotel. So everyday I start with 4* bidding using the rebidding strategies learned here. I'm only looking at French Quarter hotels. Well, at work this past Monday I was unsuccessful at 4* and 3 1/2* and was bidding on 3* hotels. Something came up at work that took me away from the computer and I just forgot which star rating I was bidding on. Well, stupid me, because I accidentally added West Bank in the rebidding option at the 3* level. So of course Murphy's Law happens and I win a West Bank hotel at 3* level! For those interested on the board and for tracking purposes it was the Holiday Inn West Bank Tower from February 9 to February 12, 2017 for $90/night (it said it was only a 12% savings, ha ha). Well that sucked because that is not where we want to be. So I panicked and called Priceline customer service. They were excellent. I told them what happened that it was an accident, etc. (begging for a cancellation). The agent had to put me on hold so they could call the hotel to get them to agree to cancel the reservation. Luckily the hotel agreed and I was able to get a full immediate refund back onto my credit card. Of course Priceline informed me it was a special case (my stupidity, ha ha) and that normally it is final sale and all that. So just thought I would share that mistakes happen (even $300 ones, ha ha) and I was very lucky to get my money back. Once I eventually get a hotel booked I'll update betterbidding.com in the normal manner. Thanks!

What I had done first was log-in to Priceline. Then entered the hotel and check in and out information and number of rooms and then hit the "search now" button (not the name your own price button). Shatner then does his 'negotiating' and the list view comes up. Instead of the other options next to "list view" just being "map view" and "best deal" there is now a 4th option called "express deals". For this search (I redid my Priceline search using the betterbidding.com link) on the exact Williamsport dates I won yesterday (June 29th), it gives me 2 express deal options. The first is 2 1/2* Williamsport Area hotel, 9.0 rating and amenities of "free breakfast", "indoor or outdoor pool" and "business centre". The price is $80 today. It was more money yesterday. The 2nd hotel is a 1* in the columbia-lewisburg area with no rating and amenities of free breakfast, free internet, indoor or outdoor pool, free parking, pets allowed, and restaurant for $57. If you bypass the 'negotiating' stage and went right to the name your own price page I'm not sure you would ever see the "express deals". The rebidding options that Priceline also gave me was after I was rejected on a name your own price (it probably only kicks in when your bid gets close to an "express deal" price).

Won the 2 1/2 star Holiday Inn Express in Williamsport for $75/night for the night of June 29th, 2012 using Priceline bidding. Interesting that when I was bidding on this one over the last few weeks that periodically Priceline would have "Express Deals" offered, which seem to be their version of Hotwire. They also gave me rebidding options a few times. For example, the last couple days, after bidding $70 on a 3* and getting declined, a window would open offering me a chance to rebid if I raised my bid by $14 (up to $84). I didn't do this but it was interesting anyway. On a side note, I'm curious who on this board has used the "express deals" option and whether the "guaranteed amenities" are similar to those this forum has identified for hotwire? Is betterbidding.com going to have to develop a whole new "express deals" hotel list and track "express deals" wins? Anyway, this one was won through traditional bidding. More then I wanted to pay really but it's still a good deal. For example, I checked this morning (I won this hotel yesterday) and priceline's express deal for this day for a 2 1/2 star hotel is $82 for what I think is probably the same hotel. The cheapest I've seen on Hotwire for a 3* on this date (which I think is the regular holiday inn that is attached to the holiday inn express was $91) but I've seen on hotwire the holiday inn express and regular holiday inn as both 3* there in their regular booking area where they give the names of the hotels. Priceline on their regular booking has the regular holiday inn as 3* and the express as 2 1/2*. Cheers!

Won the 3* Radisson Hotel Philadelphia Northeast at a bid of $60/night for June 26-29 (3 nights). Total after taxes is $214.95. I've been bidding for a while in this city zone and in the Langhorne, PA zone (which on Priceline is in the Trenton - Princeton, NJ area) with no real luck up to about the $75/night range. This $60 bid amount was rejected for Trevose - Bensalem for a few weeks now, but today it was my opening bid and was accepted so now I wonder if I could have bid less. The funny thing is that we already have this hotel booked directly through the hotel for basically $104/night as our backup. So now I have to cancel our formal reservations. Great to save $40/night on the same hotel we were happy to stay at anyway! And the $104 rate was even a pretty good rate. Thanks for everyone's help for planning for our family trip to PA this summer.

Hello, For our upcoming trip in late June to PA from Canada, the next area we've been trying to get a hotel in is the Langhorne - Levittown, PA area (due to proximity to Sesame Place and also close enough to Philly for a day trip to see the sights there). We've mostly been bidding under Priceline with no luck yet, but I've been using hotwire as a guide for bidding amounts. On Priceline, this area of PA is actually under the Trenton - Princeton area of New Jersey. I've looked for a Hotwire hotel list for Langhorne - Levittown and I can't seem to find it on this forum. The Priceline hotel list for New Jersey has hotels in the hotel list for this area (again, under the Trenton - Princeton category). I looked at the New Jersey Hotwire hotel list but don't see Langhorne - Levittown there. Interestingly, when you search on Hotwire for Langhorne, it does give you options in the Bensalem - NE Philadelphia area (which is where we have a reservation direct through the Radisson Philadelphia NE as a backup). In Priceline, that area is part of the main Philadelphia page (I think under Trevose). Just looking to see if betterbidding has a Langhorne - Levittown list of hotels for Hotwire? As soon as I'm able to win something I'll update the post to a win (although if it is Priceline, it'll end up in the New Jersey forum I assume). Thanks again for all the help I've received through my previous questions about Pittsburgh and Harrisburg for which I was ultimately successful in getting great deals through Priceline and Hotwire respectively. Cheers.

No problem. However, when you updated the hotel list it looks like you put it under Harrisburg (York). There doesn't seem to be such a district in Hotwire. This hotel was won under the Harrisburg (West) district. I think york might be one a Priceline district name but I just checked now at the Harrisburg Hotwire map and don't see a 'york' district at all. Thanks!

Booked the "Radisson Hotel Harrisburg", which the hotel list calls the "Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center". Looks like the hotel name may have changed slightly. Stay date is June 25-26, 2012 (2 adults and 2 kids). It was 3* on Hotwire so it looks like this hotel has been downgraded by Hotwire from 3 1/2*, so the hotel list should probably be updated (and its name). Even though I knew it was a 3*, I was pretty sure this was the hotel I was buying upfront due to the amenities shown, which were: Free Parking, Fitness Centre, Business Centre, Airport Shuttle, Pool(s), High-Speed Internet Access, Smoke Free Rooms, Restaurant(s), and Tennis Nearby. Just FYI I've been trying to book something for Harrisburg/Hershey area for a while, mostly bidding through Priceline but I've been unsuccessful, even at the same star level and the same price so I'm pretty happy to see this one on Hotwire at a good price.

I've been trying to buy a hotel in the Harrisburg area in late June as part of our family trip to Pennsyvania from Canada. I haven't yet been successful in a bid for Harrisburg but I wanted to point out a likely change in the Hotel List for Priceline for Harrisburg. The hotel list for this area lists a potential 3* hotel in the Hershey district. In ground truthing Priceline to maximize rebidding, I noticed that Hershey on Priceline has as its maximum star level a 2 1/2* Moderate Plus level hotel. This is actually good news somewhat as it means more options for rebidding on 3 1/2 or 3* properties in the other districts. Not sure if the 3* hotel listed in the hotel list has been downgraded to a 2 1/2 star property or what. Just thought I would share. As soon as I'm successful in my bidding I will post the results. Thanks!

Thanks for everyone's help with this one. It was funny, after 1 1/2 weeks of daily bidding for a 4* hotel in Pittsburgh (Downtown), starting at around $60 and moving up $5/bid to around $110 and being unsuccessful, yesterday (April 24th) I was successful for the Renaissance at $65 (for June 24th, 2012). I'm wondering if what happened is that since the date I was successful was exactly 2 months out from the reservation if that kicked in the hotel to start accepting lower bids based on a bit better level of vacancy rate certainty for that day. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with the $65 price for that hotel.

No problem. I just posted a reply to my old NYC thread. I was actually just successful this morning with a Priceline bid for this pittsburgh trip. Should I reply in this thread with the details or in a new thread? Thanks!

Thank's for your help (and sorry for the 6 month late reply). My wife and I decided to put this trip on hold more due to lack of vacation time then hotel or flight availability. It's still on our radar for maybe this fall (2012) and I'll definately use betterbidding as part of our HOTWIRE and/or PRICELINE research and booking.

Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah, it looks like 3 1/2* properties still have a lot of rebidding options as there are only a couple districts that have them. So I'll try that too. The north shore residence inn looks great too as an option. I looked back in the forum for April-June in 2011 and there were successful bids on 4* properties in June last year at a number of the properties but not enough posts to tell which days of the week you are more likely to be successful. Many of the bids were about a month out so I bet 2 months is just too soon. Why would a 4* hotel give away $75 rooms that far in advance when they have lots of time still to fill up the hotel at much much higher prices. We're still 2 months out from the trip so I have lots of time as well. I'll let the board know what I get either way.

Hello, My family is looking to book a hotel for one night on Sunday, June 24th in Pittsburgh. This is a one night stop to check the sites and go to the children's museum after check-out on the Monday (part of a family trip from Canada through Pennsilvania over to Philadelphia and home through the finger lakes). Probably because it is still 2 months out, hotwire and other travel sites hotel rooms for downtown Pittsburgh for that date are pretty expensive for quality properties. I've been playing with that date using the tips from better bidding (of course using the PRICELINE link from this site) for 4* properties. Luckily, only downtown has 4* properties so there are lots of rebidding options. I've started around $65-$70 and gone up to about $110 everyday for about a week with no luck. While we're not fussy and would be happy with a decent 3* or 3 1/2* downtown (or noth-shore/stadium) property, there are fewer rebidding options and we want to be in one of those 2 districts. My guess is that I am just too far out to book. Is it pointless for me to keep looking this early at those prices? I'm fine taking some risk and waiting but don't want to be completely stuck if I wait until the week before and then no property is available. Is there a chance even this early for a decent price at a 4*, 3 1/2* or 3* property? Any other bidding tips I haven't done? I've seen on the forum some cheap prices in April for 4* properties downtown Pittsburgh but these bookings have been pretty last minute (and April is probably cheaper then June too). Thanks!!!

Looking to identify a 4*, MTC Hotel. Amenities are: Boutique Hotel, Business Center, High-Speed Internet Access The only 4* hotel on the hotwire listing for MTC is the Shoreham Hotel but all the amenity options for that list a restaurant and this one doesn't. Any ideas?

Just won on Priceline bidding the 4* Treasure Island on Las Vegas Strip North for $45/night from 06/13/11 to 06/17/11. I actually started bidding on 5* at $60 and $62, then changed to include 4* in the north and south strip at $45 and won Treasure Island right away. Not the most strategic bidding probably but this was my first time using Priceline. It was a lot of fun! I used the PRICELINE link too. Thanks.

OK. Sorry about that. I haven't used this forum in a couple of years (just haven't travelled in a couple years) so I'm a bit rusty. I clicked the HOTWIRE link and replied to the thread. Thanks!

4* LV Strip, South Area Hotel June 13 - 17, 2011 $52/night casino, fitness centre, pool, restaurant, business centre, golf, spa I think it is either MGM Grand or NY NY. Any way to tell? I think I would rather MGM Grand but both are probably fine. Any preferences? This is my first time in Vegas. The other option is: 4* LV Strip, North Area Hotel June 13 - 17, 2011 $52/night casino, fitness centre, pool, restaurant, business centre, golf, spa I think this is Treasure Island. If that is true, does anyone have a preference between these 3 hotels? They all have pretty similar rankings and reviews on TripAdvisor although maybe MGM is slightly better reviewed?

Hello, I recently got from Hotwire for $74/night the 4* Palmer House Hilton. Dates (3 night stay) will be April 22 - 25, 2009. Amenities shown were: Fitness Centre Business Centre Pool(s) High Speed Internet Restaurant(s) I just have to say a couple quick things. I'm new to the board (just formally signed up today), but I've been lurking for weeks now. I love betterbidding.com. I also have to apologize to everyone here that I did not use your HOTWIRE link to book. I plead ignorance though. It wasn't until after I booked and read more of the postings here that I realized that's what I should have done. Also, this booking was completed on March 26, 2009 and I'm just now getting around to posting it. Sorry! From now on, I'm going to use Betterbidding for everything (and tell people about this forum too!) and will always use your PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links. We can't wait for our trip to Chicago though. I've never been and my wife hasn't been since she was 15 on a school trip (won't tell you how many years ago that was...). The trip is a babymoon for us as she will be 6 1/2 months pregnant. We're flying from Detroit (would have driven, but I'm not going to subject her to a drive that long), after dropping off our 1st child with her grandparents in London, Ontario the night before. Certainly, any suggestions on things to do would be great. As of now, I told my wife I need to do the field museum and go up one of the towers (likely Hancock after reading this forum and tripadvisor). Then we'll probably just walk the magnificant mile and do a boat tour of some sort (she can sit down for that!). Question. How receptive has the Palmer House been with room requests? I'd like to request from them a King sized bed. Have they generally granted such requests even though it was a Hotwire booking? Some of the reviews on Tripadvisor have been a bit dodgy (anyone see the recent one about rats!!!!), but for us the hotel is just a place to sleep anyway. Finally, being Canadian, I note that it looks like the Blackhawks might have a playoff game one of those nights. Is getting tickets a foolish and costly endeaver? In Toronto it would be hopeless (including of course that the leafs suck and haven't make the playoff for like 4 years now). Any hints for trying for tickets? Thanks everyone here. If it wasn't for this board we probably would have booked a package deal through HOTWIRE or Expedia or something and while there were deals over that time they don't come close to the $74/night at the Palmer. Thanks again!