galileocan

An update - I fortunately was upgraded to a two bedroom suite for the night, solving my bedding problem. Overwhelmed at my luck for $100. A word of warning, that is really bothering me - this hotel (The Shoreham) is NOT...repeat....NOT worthy of a 4 star. Priceline I find more and more is passing off sub standard hotels to bidders as 4 stars when in fact they should be rated one star level down. Had I paid regular rate at this hotel I would have been very upset. It honestly makes we worry about booking "Name Your Own Price" on Priceline any more, as this is becoming more common all the time.

First bid for Midtown West at $100. Won on first bid!! A little nervous because I do need two beds. I notice that the hotel site does offer rooms for that night with two beds. Will call hotel tomorrow and plead with them to give me a two bedded room! Even if I have to sleep on the floor it's a steal for Midtown!! By the way - used the betterbidding.com PRICELINE QuickQuote link. Not sure if that gave me an advantage or not, but thought I would mention it

I was trying to bid on a 4* hotel in Greenville, which of course is the Westin Poinsett. This is the second time I've tried, and because the hotel has a very low regular rate right now on both Priceline and the Westin web site ($119/nt), I thought this was the time I could finally bid on this hotel and win it. Not to be. I tried several times over the last week, and went as high as $90 for the night which is only $20 below the rack rate price. To me this means that the Westin Poinsett probably does not participate in the Buy It Now program with Priceline. com Can anyone advise differently? So I decided to go for a 3* hotel in Greenville and won on the first bid. I figured I might get the Hyatt and seeing it at $105 for the night, I bid at $40. Bid accepted. I may have won it in the high $30 range, but nevertheless, this rate is excellent and represents a 62% savings off an already discounted rate at the Hyatt of $105 for the night. I'm very pleased, as should my boss who I'm saving his money! :) Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $40.00 Subtotal: $40.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $11.57 Total Charges*: $51.57

Went through the link from savingsbarn.com and got the Doubletree in Novi on the first bid. $55 for the night. This hotel is rated on tripadvisor.com as the #1 hotel in Novi right now. The best rate on the hotel's web site was $127.20 for the night, so I saved over 56%. Not too shabby! Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $55.00 Subtotal: $55.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $14.16 Total Charges*: $69.16

Tried unsuccessfully to win a 3* Hotel in Troy at bids of $60, $65 & $70 using re-bid zones 1) Sterling Heights and then 2) Warren. Next day tried again with an opening bid of $75. Rejected with a counter offer of $97. I declined and added re-bid zone Sterling Heights at $78. Rejected. Added re-bid zone Warren and increased to $81. Got it. The winner was the Marriott Hotel in Troy which is a great property. The lowest rate on the Marriott Web site was $209 for the night or in other words over a 60% savings! Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $81.00 Subtotal: $81.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $17.40 Total Charges*: $98.40 :)

Amenities for this property are "Airport Shuttle" and "Restaurant"

Needed an additional room for a friend who is staying in Montreal for the Victoria Day weekend but arriving earlier (5 night stay total). Since I won the Doubletree for myself at $66 on the first bid, I thought I'd bid a little lower for my friend. Once again, I won the room on the first bid, with a bid for the 5 nights of $60 per night. Regular rate on the Hilton Website for the Doubletree Montreal is at $134.10 plus tax. Total savings of approximately 55%. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$60.00 Subtotal: US$300.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$60.04 Total Charges: US$360.04

Was debating between a 3* and 4* property in downtown Montreal for the Victoria Day Weekend for a 3 night stay. Was really hoping for the Hyatt which is rated as a 3* hotel in downtown Montreal, and has been won by several others on Priceline. Decided to go for the 3* and bid $66. First bid was accepted, which was disappointing. I think I could have gotten it $5-$10 cheaper, especially this far in advance. Nevertheless the rate on the Hilton Website for this property is $139.00 per night which is a savings of approximately 52%. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$66.00 Subtotal: US$198.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$41.91 Total Charges: US$239.91

Got two rooms right downtown for $66 plus tax per room, per night Quality Hotel Downtown - Ottawa, ON 290 Rideau St. Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5Y3 Canada 2 room(s) @ $66.00 per night x 1 night(s) $132.00 Tax recovery charge and fees Hotel subtotal $21.37 $153.37 Grand total per room, per night = $76.68

This one was a tough one. Had been trying for a few days to secure a 4* hotel in downtown Washington D.C. for two nights on a weekend in April. I may have been impatient because this was not one of my better deals on Priceline and normally I find the best deals are within 1 week of arrival, although this still was a good deal. Had been shut out for the last few days bidding with re-bid zones in the neighbourhood of $65-$80. Now tried to up it slightly with the following results; Bid 1 - Convention Ctr - Capitol Hill area, 4* - $75 - REJECTED Bid 2 - Added White House-Downtown - $80 - REJECTED Bid 3 - Added Crystal City - $85 - REJECTED Bid 4 - Added Springfield - $88 - ACCEPTED Capital Hilton has received some so-so reviews. Was hoping for the Renaissance. Nevertheless, a pretty good hotel and a good location. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $88.00 Subtotal: $176.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $34.37 Total Charges*: $210.37 Best price on the hilton.com website was $177/nt plus tax, so basically 50% off. I'm used to winning bids in the 60-65% off range, so although this is definitely a good win, its not as good as normal.

Won the Hilton Chicago on my first bid. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $75.00 Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $18.96 Total Charges*: $93.96 As a point of reference, the best price on the hilton.com web site is $179.00 plus tax. Savings of approximately 58 percent! :)

Used the link from savings barn on this one............. Wanted a hotel downtown, and the highest star category is 3. Chose that and Bid 1 was $50 - Rejected. Add free re-bid zone Taylor-Southgate and raised my second bid to $56 - Accepted. Best rate at the Omni was for Amex cardholders at $96 a night on their web site. Otherwise $116/nt if not an Amex cardholder, so basically 50% off that rate. Pretty good. :)

Bid for a 2.5* property at RDU Airport Bid $40 - Rejected. Counter offer to increase by $17. I declined. Re-bid adding Raleigh South. Increased bid by $5 to $45 - Accepted. I'm very leery however about the Courtyard by Marriott. Very bad reviews on tripadvisor.com This could be dicey. Hoping that I get a bug free bed.............*gulp* :)

Used the link from Savings Barn and won this 3* property in Greenville on the first bid. Details: Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $58.00 Subtotal: $58.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.78 Total Charges*: $71.78 The cheapest room on the Hyatt.com web site is $169 plus tax. Compared to my $58 plus tax, that's a savings of approximately 66%. Pretty good I'd say. Certainly not as good as some other wins at this hotel, but this is a business trip so I'm not complaining!

Won on the first bid using the link from savingsbarn.com 4* Southfield - Bid $50 - ACCEPTED! Best rate on the westin.com web site was $179/nt., therefore I save over 70%!!! Awesome!! :) :) :o :) :D

Bid $76 for a 4* in Ottawa (Ottawa-Hull). Not Accepted. Added free rebid zone Gloucester and bid $81. ACCEPTED! Best available rate at www.marriott.com is USD$223.00 a savings of over 63%!!! :)

Needed another room night at a 4* BOS Logan Airport hotel for Friday night, December 21st. Had booked on Priceline for the previous weekend and received the Hyatt Harborside for $65. Decided to go lower this time. 1) First bid - $50 - rejected 2) Added Brighton-Brookline zone & bid $55 - rejected 3) Added Medford zone & bid $60 - accepted at the Hyatt Harborside again Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $60.00 Subtotal: $60.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.26 Total Charges*: $75.26 Regular room rate on hyatt.com for the same night was a base price of $169 plus tax, a savings on Priceline.com of over 60%! :)

Wanted a 4* hotel near Logan Airport for the night of the 14th of December. Had stayed at the Hilton a year ago and got a good deal on Priceline. Assumed I would get the Hilton again or perhaps the Hyatt Harborside, as these appeared to be the only 4* properties near BOS airport. First bid was $65 for a 4* hotel. Bid accepted - Hyatt Harborside. Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $65.00 Subtotal: $65.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.97 Total Charges*: $80.97 Base price for equivalent room on the Hyatt.com web site was $159/nt., a savings of almost 60%. :)

Over the past week I have been trying to secure two rooms for one night in Dusseldorf (4* category, in a central location). As this city really doesn't have any other re-bid zones (that I know of!), the only choice for re-bid was West Dusseldorf, and I didn't want to be in that area. I basically started at $75 was declined......waited a day or so for my next opportunity and bid $80. Declined again. Waited another day and then went to $85 - declined, but...was offered a "one time" only opportunity to up my bid by $23 and get the hotel. Anyhow......bottom line is that I kept waiting and upping by increments of $5. Finally today was accepted at $100 for each room plus taxes and service fees. Best price on the hilton.com web site was 129.00 Euros which is about USD$180. So the savings was just over 40% per room - a good deal in my opinion. Went through savingsbarn! Here are the total charges. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$100.00 Subtotal: US$200.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$28.96 Total Charges: US$228.96 This is not the best deal I've ever gotten on Priceline, but it certainly is more than satisfactory! :)

Used the link through savingsbarn.com to bid on a 5* hotel in Amsterdam for August 17-19. Wanted the Hotel Krasnapolsky, but since the Hilton was showing as about $50 cheaper on a regular rate, I figured that I'd probably end up with the Hilton on a Name Your Best Price - and I did. 1) Offer - $130 - 5* City Center-Museum Quarter - REJECTED - Counter offer to raise by $22. I declined. 2) Selected additional Zone of Amsterdam South and raised bid to $135 - ACCEPTED. Although the Hilton was not my preferred choice location wise, with the money I've saved, I can easily take cabs and still be miles ahead. Regular price on the Hitlon web site was $270, a savings of exactly 50%.

Needed a 4* in Manhattan for my birthday trip, July 2nd-6th. I've used Priceline before for NYC, and have won the New York Hilton a couple of times. Really like the hotel, and kept my fingers crossed that I might get it again. Bidding went like this 1) MTW - $110 - Rejected 2) MTW, UWS - $113 - Received an add $22 to win the bid offer. Rejected it. 3) MTW, UWS, UES - $115 - Rejected 4) MTW, UWS, UES, MTE - $120 - ACCEPTED!! And....I DID get the New York Hilton! :) :) Another great Priceline success story! Lowest rate on the Hilton Web Site is $209 per night, more than a 40% savings!!

Thanks, however it seems odd that a property would only participate in a "Name Your Own Price Scenario" doesn't it? If a property has rooms, why would they shut themself out from having someone on Priceline who is willing to pay for a hotel at the set rate rather than go through a perceived hassle of bidding for a hotel, they may not want? I've used this strategy many times on Priceline, and have yet to get a hotel that did not show up in a regular priced offering. If there's more than one hotel in your star category, you never know which one you'll get, but I've found every time that on the Name Your Own Price, you always seem to get one of the hotels that you would have found on the list of hotels available at a regular rate in that star category

I generally check what Priceline is offering at their own rates for the various star category hotels. I assume that the "Name your own Price" hotels will be one of those hotels from that star level. When I checked the rates on Priceline, they were only offering one 3* property in Troy. I assumed that if I bid, that I'd get that one - and I did!

Just bid for a 3* in the Troy area. Looked like the Hilton was the only 3* in Troy that Priceline was offering, so was kind of expecting to get that hotel. Went on the Hilton web site and the lowest available rate for the night I was looking for (May 1/07), was $153 plus tax. Decided to go in at $60 for the night on my bid. Suprisingly........I was accepted on the first try! Over 60% off the hilton.com rate! :) Your Offer Price: $60.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $60.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $14.38 Total Charges*: $74.38

I've been trying for a couple of weeks to get a cheapie 4* in downtown D.C. Haven't had any luck, even with re-bids. Finally got it tonight with the following bid structure - I also went via www.savingsbarn.com Bid 1 - White House - Downtown 4* - $71 - Rejected Bid 2 - Added Arlington-Old Town Area - $76 - Rejected Bid 3 - Added Crystal City - $81 - Rejected Bid 4 - Added Springfield - $91 - Accepted - Capitol Hilton Just checked the Hilton.com web site. The least expensive rate for a room for March 3rd is $151/nt. My rate is 40% below Hilton's best web rate. I'm pleased. Your Offer Price: $91.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $91.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $20.57 Total Charges: $111.57