Willow Branch

oops. Sorry!! Friday, Oct. 27 & checking out Sat. Oct. 28. I also forgot to say that it was "restaurant(s)" I just put "restaurant" in my first post. The price is now $85.00 instead of $84.00 THANKS!!

I'm not sure if I am at the correct place; I had a HOTWIRE question. The area: "Busch Gardens--University of South Florida area. The amenities are as follows: All suites hotel, free breakfast, Business enter, Fitness Center, internet, kitchenette, pool(s), restaurant, self service laundry, suite 3* AND $84.00/nigh Would this be the Embassy suites?? The restaurant tells me probably not, but yet it has kitchenettes.....ANY GUESSES??

Whenever I change the time to 1:00 for pickup, I get the $240.00 charge. HOWEVER, after I read your post, I then looked at it more carefully--what Hotwire did to me every time was then change the city (I noticed that changed the city to Orlando in very small, tiny print). Goes to show one ALWAYS to be on their toes!! THANKS for answering me! I am still quite surprised that a rental car (ECONOMY) is so expensive. (I think I'll go into the rental car business!! :)) Have a GREAT day & thanks for this AWESOME site!!!! Willow Branch

OK

I went to Hotwire to book an economy car at Sanford, FL airport-- March 16 (5:30PM) & drop-off March 24 at 7:AM. The price is about $380.00. HOWEVER, if I change my pickup time to 1:00PM rather that 4 1/2 hours later, I would save $150.00!! WOW! I would have the car for a longer period of time & would be paying $150.00 less. Unfortunately, our flight doesn't get in until 5:30 pm. What would happen if I booked it for 1:00 & then called them that I would be arriving a few hours later. Has anyone done this before? Would I loose my reservation? I have never read anything about this before, so thought I would get some advice from all the experts. THANKS in advance for your opinions! Willow Branch

I needed one more night to my previous bid for 3* on Thursday night (8/26); I bid again since I couldn't "extend a night" cuz I had bid for 2 rooms & only needed 1 room for Friday night. I lucked out & got the same hotel :) :) and got it for $106.00 for 8/27; not bad for New York!!

THANKS Yellow Dog--you are AWESOME!!! Have a WONDERFUL day!! Willow Branch

Hey, just a dumb question......I have never needed to "extend a night", so I have never tried it--Please help! I bid for 2 rooms for 1 night & got a hotel room; now I would like to extend it for just ONE of the rooms--is this possible? OR, would the "extend a night" only be possible for both rooms??? THANKS in advance!! willowbranch

I wanted a 3.5*; I bid up to $209 (per room) for August 26 & then decided to quit. I then decided to lower my star level & bid on a 3* & got the Courtyard by Marriott for August 26--2 rooms for 1 night at $107 per room. You might beable to get it a little cheaper as my last bid was $99.00 & I was getting tired of rebidding. THANKS priceline & THANKS Betterbidding!! I do have a question for you. I would like to extend the night to one more night, BUT, just for ONE room only; is this possible? I have NEVER used the "extended a night" feature, so I am not sure what the regulations are. THANKS in advance for all you wisdom :) :) Willow Branch

Hey, THANKS soooo much for your expert information!! I just needed to be sure about the hierarchy. THANKS for your willingness to help me!! Since I had the information about the "resort" level, I was able to figure out all of my rebids! WOW, I could have bid all day long as I had COUNTLESS rebids! It was a lot of fun!! I was able to get the Omni Resort at Championgate (Orlando FL area) for $76.00 for June 17, 18, & 19. Yes, I bid through your PRICELINE link! Was VERY happy with this; although they really need to get rid of their stupid resort fee of $16.00 which is really more like $18.00 with all the taxes added on!! Willowbranch

I am trying to figure out all of my rebids. I just want to make sure that I understand about the hierarchy...... Does the "Resort" level fit in between the 4 star & the 5 star level?? I believe it goes like this: 1 star, 2 star, 3 star, Boutique, 4 star, Resort, 5 star.......IS THIS CORRECT?? I WANT to get the Resort level at the Disney Maingate, but I just don't dare get very "creative" with re-bidding until I know for sure what I am doing! THANKS for your help!! Willow Branch

oops! SORRY!! I did them in separate posts becuz at first I was looking at Palm Beach & the other post was for Fort Lauderdale. I ORIGINALLY was flying into Palm Beach (thus my 1st post), then the airline changed my schedule & they are now flying us into Fort Lauderdale, so that is why I am looking into Fort Lauderdale. Doesn't seem to be much available for cheap. Willowbranch

I have been bidding on PRICELINE for an airport hotel in Fort Lauderdale for 3/19; no success! Just looking for 1 night--cheap!! For a 2 1/2* airport location, I have bid up to 74.00 so far. For a 2* airport location, I have bid up to $62.00 so far. Now, I am looking at Hotwire. I looked up the "Hotwire list of hotels" on this site & did not see this one listed. $45.00, 2* Fort Lauderdale--Holly Int. airport, FLL. Amenities: Swimming, Laundry Facilities. (when I look up "show all amenities, it does not change the amenities at all). Some Roadway Inn?? THANKS for your help!! willowbranch

I am thinking that this is probably the Holiday Inn Conference Center at the airport location in Palm Beach; is this correct in your estimation???? THANKS They are giving me $54.00/night for March 19 & 20; not bad since I have been bidding on PRICELINE & have bid up to $62.00 & no bites. THANK you in advance!!

The ICONS are: shuttle, Wt.Room, Pool, On site Restaurant, Bus.Center, Laundry, High speed internet. They are giving me $54.00/night for March 19 & 20; not bad since I have been bidding on priceline & have bid up to $62.00 & no bites. THANK you in advance!!

Probably should have started out lower.......was accepted on my 1st try. I always 2nd guess myself when I receive something on my 1st bid :) Oh well, still a large savings from conventional booking!!

OOPS, forgot to state the dates......May 7, 09 for 1 night. With all the free rebids, this bid was fun to do ( I had approx. 31 of them :)). I started at $38.00 & went up by $2.00 increments. At $42.00, was given a counter-offer of "add 12.00 & you won't have to change anything.......", so I just kept going with my $2.00 increases until I received it at $46.00. Thank you for this wonderful board!

I bid for a 3* hotel in Downtown Detroit.....was suprised to get the Courtyard by Marriott which HAD been a 2 l/2*. I noticed that Downtown Detroit also has a 3 1/2* level. I got the Courtyard for $55.00 for 9/22--it was my 1st bid since I was bidding for that evening. Anyway, thought you would like to update the Priceline Hotel List. Willow Branch

WOW, you are incredibly QUICK!!! I just posted my response & there you had an answer already!! I am just such a Priceline fanatic --I'm so use to getting a room for a fantastic price that I just hate the thought of paying retail! However, after looking at Hotwire, I figure that I might just as well bite the bullet & book my room like "most" people do--conventionally!! Then at least I can hand-pick my hotel. I haven't book conventionally for the last 5 - 6 years--OUCH!!!! Thanks for ALWAYS being sooooooo helpful!! Willow Branch

Yes, it is the Chicago area.....meaning that we need to stay in the Palos Heights area (the closest that Priceline has hotels is in the "Tinley Park" or "Matteson" areas. Unfortunately, 2.5 is the highest star rating available for this area. One family is going to check in on Thursday, Sept. 18 & we are going to meet them & check in on Friday, Sept. 19. I had a feeling you had creative methods, but I also realize that this probably will not work since we do have specific perameters! If you are unable to help, I certainly UNDERSTAND!!! HOWEVER, I sure would be interested in what you would beable to do if we were staying in another area. You must have something under your sleeve that I do not know about. :) :) THANKS in advance for all your friendly help!! I LOVE this site!! Willowbranch

I'm not sure if I can bid, or if I should just book this conventionally. Two families will be meeting together.....one family will be coming on Thursday night & staying thru Sat. night. The other family will be coming in on Friday night & staying thru Sat. night as well & of course want to stay at the same hotel. How would I do this? Would I Bid for 2 rooms starting on Friday night & hope to get an "extend your stay" on the acceptance page? BUT then, I believe that I would have to extend my stay for both rooms, right? Is there any creative way that you could suggest?? I'm thinking that this probably will not work. Any advise would be appreciated!!

Oops, just realized that I never posted my win......been too busy making plans for vacation. I started bidding at $52.00 & they came back with a $15.00 counter offer. I had a free re-bid, so I upped it to $54.00 and again they gave me the same $15.00 counter offer. The following day, I bid $55.00 & got it!! :) Goes to show, NEVER take the counter offer!! I do like the counter offers because then I know that I am getting close & that there is inventory available for the night that I want. Probably because this was a Thursday night that it was cheaper than a Friday night. However, when I pre-booked a room, they were all around $200.00/night, so I am THRILLED with this win!! Sounds like a nice place to spend one night. Thank you!!

Thanks Thereuare: It sure is nice to have someone like you around! I am going to ask for their card to bid. I only do it for close friends & I always preface it with "I can't guarantee what you'll get....it may be horrible!!" So far, I have been VERY lucky.....I have got the coolest places for cheap!! I do try & walk them through it; usually, they get frustrated & just want me to do it. But, for cars, I will NOT use my credit card!!!! THANKS!! Willow Branch

Hey Nick5 (Cheryl) We just got back from Residence Inn in Auburn........We thought it was GREAT!! You do only get a Queen Studio with Priceline, but, there is a pull out couch, so we had bedding for 4. I would LOVE to get this place again!! The kitchen had a 2 burner stove with dishwasher, frig & microwave. (I took pop tarts along, so my kids were thrilled. They have a room with a pool table, there is a fireplace in the lobby & coffee, tea & flavored creamers 24 hours a day. The hot breakfast was wonderful. There was scrambled eggs, sausage, hot grits, hot oatmeal (not just the packets, but in a hot pan) with brown sugar & walnuts to put on them. Oh, no stirofoam dishes but real ceramic dishes :) Also, make your own waffles, donuts, bagel, muffins & English muffins. Beside the usual OJ, & Apple juice, they had red punch & they had tomato juice in little cans. They also had hot cheese to put on your eggs, yogurt & a bowl of fresh fruit. (hot chocolate with marshmallows. The weight room had a variety of weight machines as well as free-weights. The pool was pleasant & the hot tub could have been hotter, but hey, did the trick. The property is about 10 years old but they told us they just got done decorating. It was VERY clean & had a nice fresh look to it. I will bid 2.5* again & hope & pray that we would get this property!!!! Since it was cold, we didn't use the outside facilities, but they had a wood play structure, tennis & basket ball courts.....just a wonderful courtyard! Great property!!

Could you give me some advice on paying for a rental car for someone else with my credit card? ALSO, someone just e-mailed me to try & buy airline tickets for them.......if I would put their names on the tickets with my credit card, is there any risk?? THANKS! Willow Branch