gstoa

Correction -- these dates are for July 20-26, 2013!

Successfully bid my way to a 4* in the Montmatre-Republique area for $126/night from June 20-26 at the Mercure Paris Montmartre Sacre Coeur. I started at $65 (might as well try, right?) then, 20 bids later, achieved success at $126.

Summary of Charges

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $126.00 (USD)

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Guests Per Room: 2

Number of Nights: 6

Room Subtotal: $756.00 (USD)

Taxes and Fees: $83.22 (USD)

Total Charged to Card: $839.22 (USD)

Out of all of the 19 areas, I specifically wanted something in area 12 (Montmarte - Sacre Coeur - Pigalle) so I bid using a matrix of the following areas:

5 Champs Elysees - Arc De Triomphe

6 Champs Elysees Etoile - Avenue Monceau

8 Gare Du Nord

10 Latin Quarter

12 Montmarte - Sacre Coeur - Pigalle

13 Montparnasse

14 Opera Quarter East - Louvre Museum

15 Opera Quarter West - Jardin des Tuilerie

19 St. Germain

I specifically excluded these areas:

1 Alesia - Orleans Area

2 Bastille - Bercy

3 Batignolles - Clichy

4 Buttes Chaumont - La Villette Area

7 Eiffel Tower

9 La Defense - Neuilly

11 Le Marais - Republique

16 Place D'Italie - Gare de Austerlitz

17 Porte De Versailles

18 Porte de Montreuil - Pere Lachaise

I am bidding on a 5* in Paris for July 20-26, 2013 and want to make sure my bidding strategy is sound. Here's what I've found for the 5* hotels in the areas I want to stay in Paris:

Area #5: Champs Elysees - Arc De Triomphe (10 hotels)

Area #7: Eiffel Tower (9 hotels)

Area #15: Opera Quarter West - Jardin des Tuileries (6 hotels)

Here's what I've bid so far:

Bid #1: Area #5 for $125 (rejected)

Bid #2: Areas #5 + #7 for $130 (rejected)

Bid #3: Areas #5 + #7 + #15 for $135 (rejected)

Areas #2, 10, 11, 12 and 13 do not have any 5*, but I am feeling a little apprehensive about continuing to increment my bid amount up and extending to these additional areas. Is this a safe bidding strategy?

Thanks for the reminder! I tried low-balling 4* up to $55 then dropped to 3.5* and expanded areas until I found success at $85 at the crowne plaza. The great thing about bidding the MSP area is there are 18 markets and only two of them with 4* and five with 3.5* leaving 11 to use to expand and gradually increment the bid.

With taxes and fees this equates to $99/night versus $136 if booked directly on their web site - a 27% savings!

Looking for a downtown 3* or better from 4/12-15. Started bidding:

4* at $45 not accepted

3.5* at $45 not accepted

3* at $45 not accepted

Following some rather old instructions listed here. Orbitz indicates these properties range from $100-200 for these dates. I'd rather pay more for a 4* than save a few bucks for a 3*. Will try again tomorrow at $60.

The good news about Portland, OR is that there is only one zone with 4* hotels. The bad news is that there aren't any great deals to be had the weekend of 7/23-25. I ran up a variety of bids and stopped at $137/night because after PRICELINE taxes/fees the rate was closer to $150/night. I saw someone got the Heathman for $128/night but no longer available. I'll just use my Marriott points for the City Center Waterfront and save my cash for now.

4* $195 Napa rejected (counter offer at $291/night)

4* $205 Napa + Upper Napa rejected

4* $225 Napa + Upper Napa + Santa Rosa rejected

4* $240 Napa + Upper Napa + Santa Rosa + Fairfield rejected

3.5* $180 Napa accepted (Marriott Napa Valley)

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $180.00

Subtotal: $360.00

Taxes & Fees: $54.96

Total Charges*: $414.96

The Marriott site shows the "look no further" lowest price at $274/night.

I did receive a counteroffer in my attempt today. I know Napa is a high demand area but I'm beginning to wonder if there are really any deals to be had here. I'll try again tomorrow and try $200 for a 4*.

Day 2 attempts:

4* $160 Napa rejected (counter offer at $291/night)

4* $170 Napa + Upper Napa rejected

4* $175 Napa + Upper Napa + Santa Rosa rejected

3.5* $140 Napa rejected

3.5* $150 Napa + Upper Napa rejected

3.5* $160 Napa + Upper Napa + Fairfield rejected

I believe I've finally figured this out. Here are my bid and re-bid attempts today:

Day 1 attempts:

4* $125 Napa = rejected

4* $145 Napa + Upper Napa = rejected

3.5* $120 Napa + Upper Napa = rejected

3.5* $130 Napa + Upper Napa + Fairfield = rejected

I'll keep incrementing my bids up by $10 until I get something.

Yes, thank you for helping me out on this one! I was able to successfully follow your instructions and found the following:

Napa: 1-4*

Upper Napa: 2-2.5*

Sonoma: 3-4*

Fairfield: 1-3*

Santa Rosa: 1-3.5*

Can you please confirm that I use the following bid technique in this order?

Area=Napa

Star Level: 3.5*

Bid = $100

assuming that this is rejected, then I press the Back button and re-bid as follows:

Area=Napa and add Upper Napa

Star Rating=3*

Bid=$90

Is this correct?

Thanks for your pointers. I read -- and re-read the rebid instructions and tried to make sense of them as it appears that Priceline has changed their user interface from the 2003 rebid posting. Before I bid again, I believe to have found the following inventory from the Maps view:

Napa Area

City=Napa

4*: 2 hotels

3*: 4 hotels

2*: 6 hotels

Upper Napa Area

City=Yountville (no hotels found at any stars)

City=St. Helena (no hotels found at any stars)

Sonoma Area

City=Sonoma

4*: 2 hotels

3*: 1 hotel

Are there any more current rebid instructions or additional advice?

No, I'm not familiar with the re-biding technique you mention below. Are there any instructions you can point me to? Much appreciated.

Yes, I am willing to pay more for a 3.5* for these two nights. I tried the following bid approach today and will try again tomorrow at $120 for 3.5* and $110 for 3*:

3.5* (Napa only) $110, rejected

3.5* (Napa only + Upper Napa) $110, rejected

3* (Napa only + Upper Napa) $100, rejected

budget is likely $150/night

Looking for advice on securing a 3* or better in Napa or Upper Napa for October 23-25, 2009. Followed this suggested approach and was rejected at $86.

3* $81 (Napa only), rejected

3* $86 (Napa + added Upper Napa), rejected

Any other suggestions?

Won on the first bid of $35

Used the PRICELINE link in this forum.

Hyatt Lisle

Lisle - Naperville - Warrenville

1400 Corporetum Drive

Lisle, Illinois 60532

630-852-1234

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $35.00 (USD)

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 3

Room Subtotal: $105.00 (USD)

Taxes and Fees: $21.08 (USD)

Total Room Cost: $126.08 (USD)