taliategan

Short weekend trip for nephew's high school graduation. Meeting and staying with family for balance of weekend. Started bidding low a couple of days ago in both Airport and Lake Oswego zones. Today started at $ 40 at 3.5* in Lake Oswego, received $ 10 counteroffer (figured this was probably the Crowne Plaza). Dropped to 3* and added a $1, and was accepted. This appears to be the other Courtyard in this zone from the one on the hotel list on this site. The one I won is Courtyard - Tigard, 15686 SW Sequoia Parkway, Tigard, OR 97224. Lowest rate on hotel web site for my date is $ 139, but are lower rates on the site's homepage for weekend dates. Have to work now on the rental car, but the Hotwire rates have gone up and are higher than the cancelable rate I made with Dollar several weeks ago. Use this site's PRICELINE link to make the purchase.

I have stayed in that area for State High Playoff games. The hotels in that zone are by a couple of the exits off of I-81. I believe the one exchange is Grantville and there are a handful of hotels in that area. The Holiday Inn is the only one reported on Priceline for that zone. It is pretty easy access to Hershey - I would say about a 15 minute drive on a two lane country type road that takes you right across the street from the Hersheypark parking lots. There are no traffic issues at all. Hershey zone would be your closest zone. The Harrisburg zone is also a possibility, but there would be more traffic issues, but a relatively short drive. Harrisburg West would probably be about 1/2 hour drive, but it may depend on which part of the zone. Since there is not a lot of reported activity in the Harrisburg East zone, you may take a chance on getting an unreported hotel. I would think if you bid a 3* or 3-1/2* you should be OK in that area.

Hotwire and Priceline both use bidding zones. The name used to identify the zone, which frequently is a city, an area or a portion of a city, an airport area, etc., does not necessarily mean the hotel you win will be located exactly in the name of zone. You have to look at the maps Priceline or Hotwire provide for that zone as your hotel can be located anywhere within the confines of that zone. Sometimes, such as your case, there can be multiple towns within one bidding zone.

It was recently reported on the "New Boundaries, Star Ratings" thread that the Wyndham was downgraded to a 3* - I think it is now reflected on the Priceline hotel list as a 3*. This was just about a week ago.

Priceline classifies Resorts as a separate bidding category. The best may to get a Resort is to bid in the Resort category. If you bid a 4* or 3.5* its possible to be upgraded to a Resort if a Resort is available at a price below the lowest price of a 4* if bidding a 4*, or below the lowest price of a 4* and 3.5* if bidding a 3.5*. This can happen, but its not the normal result if bidding at the 3.5* or 4* categories. Hotwire classifies Resorts by an Amenity Icon - its more common to see a Resort as a 4* or above, but at times Resorts under Hotwire can be under a 3.5* or 3*. Hope this helps.

For PRICELINE there is no way to tell. You would have to be willing to take any hotel in that zone under the Resort category for Omni Championsgate (Disney Main Gate Celebration Zone) or for the Hilton BC (Downtown Disney-LBV Zone). Check the PRICELINE Hotel list for the other possible resorts in both zones. You can attempt to specifically identify a hotel under HOTWIRE. Run your dates on Hotwire for the Orlando, FL - Omni Championsgate would be listed as Disney Maingate -Celebration zone hotel (probably either a 4.5* or a 4*) and Hilton BC would be listed as a Downtown Disney-LBV hotel (probably as a 4*). You have to compare all amenity icons for the listing to the listing for those hotels on this site's HOTWIRE hotel list. If the amenity list for that hotel lists 8 amenity icons, there may be more icons. Click the continue button and then on next page click "show all amenities". If there are more than 8 amenity icons, it will show on this list. This is the list you have to compare to this site's hotel list. If you have a 100% match, or it looks close to a match, you should make a further post to confirm whether you have the right hotel before you make the purchase. The Moderators of this site should be able to give you an indication whether the listing is a match or not. If you do not see a match, you may consider running partial dates for your trip. Since you have a long stay, it may be possible that the hotel you are trying to find may not be available for all of your dates - which means it will not show at all for your 11 day search. If it shows for partial dates for your trip, would you be willing to accept for part of your trip and try to find another hotel for the balance of your trip?

When I was bidding for a 3.5* in LBV/DTD a few months ago, I could not get a "good" deal either. I ended up bidding on a 4* in the SeaWorld zone. Either zone worked for me at the time. If you stay patient and keep bidding up to your limit, something may become available in your price range. I would make a backup plan after a certain point if you are not successful - switching to a different zone, or bid higher for a Resort in LBV/DTD or drop down to a 3* in LBV/DTD.

When I was bidding for my January trip of few months back, I was also bidding on Resorts and 3-1/2* in the LBV-DTD zone. From the research I did, the best bet for a resort under $ 65 was the DTD Hilton. It seemed that most of these wins though were made only a week or two before travel. Sometimes the Hyatt Grand Cypress comes in the upper $60 to lower $70 range. If you really want a resort, I would suggest keep trying. You may have a chance at $ 65, but you may have to increase up to $ 70 or $ 75 to increase your chances. I think your $ 65 limit is more likely for the 3-1/2*. The Radisson LBV and Embassy Suites LBV can go for under this amount, especially the Radisson. Some of the other reported 3-1/2* hotels (Royal Plaza, Doubletree Suites and Buena Vista Palace) in this zone may come within this $ 65 limit, with the Buena Vista Palace being the least likely. I would think if you keep bidding up to your $ 65 limit for 3-1/2* you will likely get a win.

I stayed at the Westin about a month ago from a PRICELINE bid. A few things to note - the hotel is across the street from one of the Convention buildings, but there is no other hotels, restaurants or shopping in the area where the Westin is located; there is no resort fee - but there is a parking fee $ 12.00 self-parking; $20.00 valet parking; all parking is in a garage adjacent to the hotel; if you self-park, there could be a saftey issue as there was usually nobody else in the garage; the rooms all have some sort of kitchen area - I believe our room (two queen beds) had the least - a refrigerator, with plates, bowls and utensils; we had dinner plans both nights, so we did not eat in the hotel restaurant; the pool and fitness areas looked very nice, but did not use the pool as it was on the cool side when we were there; and, there is a complimentary shuttle to Universal, but not Disney or SeaWorld. Very nice hotel, but you probably need a car. I 'll let the moderators confirm whether the HOTWIRE listing is the Westin or not.

Gaylord Palms is sometimes available on HOTWIRE - I did not see it currently listed for your dates; but since your travel dates are still far out, its possible it may be listed between now and closer to your travel. I would keep monitoring the HOTWIRE listings for your dates. It would likely show as a 4*, maybe a 4-1/2*, as a hotel listing in the Disney Maingate-Celebration zone. You would have to compare all the amenity icons to the those listed for the hotel on this site's Hotwire hotel list. If you believe you see it, I would also try to confirm before purchase by posting on this thread. I do not believe the Marriott World Center has been reported on HOTWIRE. If you use PRICELINE you would have to be willing accept another hotel other than the two you are hoping to get. Gaylord Palms is in the Resort category under Disney Maingate-Celebration zone. A successful bid in that zone would likely be the Gaylord Palms or Omni at Champions Gate, as these are the only reported Resorts in that zone. There is always the possiblity that another Resort could be added, so it would not be a definite that you would get one of these two by bidding in that zone for a Resort. Marriott World Center has been classified as a Resort in the Downtown Disney-Lake Buena Vista zone for PRICELINE. There are many other Resorts in this zone, so I think your chances for getting the Marriott would be less likely than hoping to get the Gaylord Palms in the Disney Maingate zone. On any bidding on PRICELINE, you would have to be willing win a Resort other than the Gaylord Palms or Marriott World Center.

I'll try your last question since I am not sure on your hotel identification question. I think if you are comparing a Disney value to offsite, it is hard to beat Disney especially if Disney is offering discounts on rooms. If you need to rent a car, you will have the added rental expense plus paying the daily parking fees of $ 14 at the parks. However, staying offsite can save on other expenses though such as more dining and shopping options. I think for Disney Moderates and Deluxes, you can save more money staying off-site at a comparable hotel. LBV is very close to Disney, so you are not really far from the parks. If you do not have a car or plan on renting a car, I personally would not stay off-site because the off-site hotel shuttles are not very frequent (with the exception of maybe the DTD hotels). Most people will have different viewpoints on offsite vs. on-site. I would say if you feel your vacation would be lessened by staying off-site, I would stay on-site unless you are on a very tight budget. I personally prefer to stay off-site as like to get away from the Disney atmosphere once I leave the parks.

You have to bid in the Resort category to have a chance to get the Hyatt Grand Cypress - as that it how Priceline has this hotel classified. You should not bid the 3.5* category (very little chance of getting Hyatt Grand Cypress, as the Hyatt would have to be available at a price lower than lowest offering in the 3.5* category.) You can go back on Priceline today and make additional bids by adding additional zones in the Orlando area that do not have Resorts in those zones. There are 13 bidding zones in Orlando - only LBV, Disney Maingate and SeaWorld zones have Resorts listed. If you add any other zones but Disney Maingate or SeaWorld and just bid on a Resort you will only win a Resort in Lake Buena Vista. You can keep increasing you bid with these 10 re-bid zones until you get to your maximum amount. (You should also factor in the resort fee which you have to pay separately to the hotel when you check-out.) However, since there are other resorts in Lake Buena Vista zone - you could also win Hilton DTD, Hilton Bonnett Creek, Marriott New World, or possibley even the Swan or Dolphin.

Wanted tp provide an update - one of wife's friends was able to find a rate of $199, $231 total, for Westin Time Square. Not sure where she found this rate, as I could not find for 4 adults in a room. Prepayment was required. The dates changed to 3/5 to 3/7, rather than 3/6 to 3/8. There was very little showing on Hotwire for Time Square, and wife and her friends were set on staying in Time Square area. Thanks for your help.

Not disappointed in the result - just took a shot on this zone that I might get the hotel I was staying at the next night (if so, I would added a 2nd night to the purchase) - knew chances were slim as there were a lot of 3.5* and 3* hotels in this zone.

Obtained after severals days of bidding (only 1 re-bid zone in area). I was bidding 3*, and was bumped up to 3-1/2* - I thought this was a possibility as a 3-1/2* in this zone was showing as a best value in all of Northern Virginia zones. Twice received counteroffers of $ 50 when I bid $39, but I did not accept. Slowly worked my way up to $ 44. I was hoping for the Courtyard Dunn Loring, as we are meeting some friends the following day and staying at that hotel on 3/20 at rack rate. This stay will only be a sleep over, as I don't expect to check-in until about 11:00 p.m. Lowest rate listed on hotel's web site was $ 84. TripAdvisor ratings are mixed

Thanks for the tips. I think the Roosevelt would be better for them location wise than the Tudor. I know they want to see Hair - I'm not sure what else they are planning for NYC. They were looking at the Marriott Marquis which was $ 259 a night. I ran the search for 8 adults - it could actually be 7 or 6, but if I book now it would be better to book for more rather than less people. I'll have my wife e-mail the group and see if they can reach a consensus. I may also tell them to book a cancelable rate at this time and wait until closer to the trip to book through HOTWIRE so I know a definite number of people in case anyone would decide to cancel.

Trying to find hotel for my wife and her friends going to NYC 3/6 to 3/8. Ran for 2 rooms, 8 adults. Would prefer Time Square - but seems better options and price in MidTown East. The hotel I am looking at 3.5*, at $ 164.00 - following amenities - Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, Internet 75% approval rating & 3.5 trip advisor rating. Seems like it could possibly be Roosevelt or Tudor or may Doubletree Metropolitan (although this was last report as a 4* with same amenities). Thank for any help, as I know very little about New York City.

Surprised you have not received a response to your inquiry yet. I'm not an expert in identifying hotels, but I would guess this more likely the Embassy Suites LBV (although the internet icon was not shown on a previously report win). I do not think the Buena Vista Suites have previously been reported on the Hotwire hotel list.

Since you have 4 full size bodies, I would recommend HOTWIRE rather than PRICELINE so you can guarantee you will have bedding for 4. Our kids are both under 10, so I use PRICELINE when bidding knowing that we can manage somehow. I won the Westin Imagine for a trip next month. After I check the the hotel's web site, I noticed there is a possibility we will get assigned a room which has only one king bed. With our children being small, we can still manage with the one bed - but it would be more difficult for you with two 18 year olds. You should not have any problem getting a nice hotel in the SeaWorld or Universal area. Your trip is still pretty far away. Its still possible to get a good deal on HOTWIRE or PRICELINE at this time, but more hotels will be available on Hotwire when you get within about 2 months of your travel date. I monitor the hotel listings on Hotwire about 3 or 4 months out - sometimes you can find a hotel which is identifiable and a good deal. Sometimes if keep monitoring the listings, the listings will change (a hotel which was previously listed at a particular star category in a particular zone is gone and a different hotel is listed). If your dates are firm, I would suggest making the purchase on HOTWIRE at any time you find a hotel you would like to stay which you can identify and the price is good.

I am try to price booking a room on Hotwire or Priceline on 1/15 for a hotel by the PIT airport and paying for parking at a private lot for our length of stay vs. booking directly with a hotel that has a stay and park option. If you purchase a hotel through Hotwire or Priceline, do any hotels allow to park at the hotel for an additional charge above the Hotwire or Priceline rate or this someting that can only be booked directly with the hotel?

Obtained through HOTWIRE - 8 day rental @ $14.00 day ($177.57 total) for full size car, for 1/16 through 1/24 at MCO, with National. This was the first time I saw rates drop for standard or full-size cars closer to mid-size car rates, so I made the purchase (probably should have checked PRICELINE first). The rates for both standard and full-size were listed as $ 16.00 a day, but when I clicked the continue button for full-size - there was a notation that rate dropped from $ 16.00 to $ 14.00. I decided to make the purchase at that point. I previously had a reservation with Dollar for $ 195.00 total, on mid-size or larger (Dollar's Lock N Go Category). This full-size should meets are needs better, with 2 adults and 2 kids.

If the SeaWorld and Universal zones are now split on Priceline, the SeaWorld area is a bit closer to Disney than the Universal area - although neither is that far away. There are a lot of hotels in the SeaWorld area because the Convention Center is also in that zone & many of the hotels in that zone are close the Convention Center. If you are trying to avoid resort and/or parking fees, you stand a better chance with 3* hotels or below. Many of the 3-1/2* and higher star rating hotels in the Orlando area have these add on fees. Still a chance with a 3* hotels, but less of a chance and the amount of the charge will likely be less as well if you would happen to get a 3* with a resort or parking fee.

You can rule out the Holiday Inn Parkway East, which had been a 3* reported hotel in this zone, which hotel is currently closed. I do not believe there is any plans to re-open this hotel.

Now that Priceline has split the former WDW zone into two zones - DTD/Lake Buena Vista & Disney Maingate/Celebration, a bid for a Resort in the Disney Maingate/Celebration zone would likely win the Gaylord Palms or Omni at Champion Gates (which are the only the reported Resorts in that zone). If you are only interested in the DTD/Lake Buena Vista Zone - there is no way to tell what is behind the closed door. Some have tried to overbid at a price above what the DTD Hilton normally goes for on Priceline and have not been successful - they can get the Hilton at a higher price than if they started the bidding lower. I am not sure if timing a bid would reduce the likelihood of getting the Hilton - bidding months before your travel date rather a week or two before your travel date. You may want to track all the recent wins for a Resorts in the DTD/LBV zone and see if this would reduce the chances of getting the Hilton.

I would check the reported Priceline hotel list for the Universal/Seaworld zone and make sure you are comfortable with all of the hotels listed at the 3* level; your win will likely come from that list, but it is not a definite as a previously unreported hotel is also a possibility or the star rating of hotel that was previously reported as other than a 3* may move into that category; price is difficult to say as it will depend on what hotel(s) have made rooms available to Priceline dates for your dates - I would guess in the $ 30 to $ 45 range; also, not sure how close to Universal zone you want to be - but the Priceline zone also includes hotels in the Convention Center and SeaWorld areas (which is still close to Universal - approximately 10 to 15 minute drive, depending on traffic); Hotwire has a smaller zone that just includes the Universal area, but you would not likely get as good of a price on Hotwire as Priceline.