agedude

Thank you for your reply. I'm getting a little nervous because prices for my timeframe are going up. Hotel Muguet sounds great.

Sorry, posted Holiday Inn fiasco in a separate topic. Hoping the 4* Notre Dame-Louvre-Marais property is the Hotel Regina, but amenities don't seem to match.

Booked a 4* Montparnasse Area for $149 because it was "Recommended in 100% of Hotwire customer reviews" in the hot deals listing. I was afraid I would get Holiday Inn Montparnasse Pasteur, but looked at customer rating for the Pasteur specifically on the Hotwire "Packages" seeing customer recommends listed at 71% and 57%. 71% being the customer reviews at the top of the specific hotels page and 57% after you click on the specific customer reviews link. Booked, got Holiday Inn Pasteur, immediately called and complained. Third person I talked to told me the rating on their website in their packages were from Expedia, not Hotwire customers. I asked where I could see the Hotwire customer recommendations and was told they are not available. I expressed my chagrin to the Hotwire Supervisor telling her I bid blindly based upon the 100% Customer Recommendation, only to find out after the hotel is revealed, their website show customer recommendations of 57% and 71%. After an hour of discussion, I finally got a refund. I also noticed the 100% customer recommendation was removed from the 4* Montparnasse property. Bottom line: Be careful of "% customer recommendations" on Hotwire.

Only listing on Hotwire for star rating, area and dates is for $227 per night. Only amenities listed are: Pet friendly Pet friendly - terms apply High-Speed Internet Access Guestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access; an extra charge may apply. I can't find anything with so few listed amenities. Also, got a refund from Hotwire after booking hotel last weekend for the same trip. Booked a 4* Montparnasse Area for $149 because it was "Recommended in 100% of Hotwire customer reviews". I was afraid I would get Holiday Inn Montparnasse Pasteur, but looked at customer rating for a Hotwire "Package" seeing customer recommends listed at 71% and 57%. Booked, got Holiday Inn Pasteur, immediately called and complained. Third person I talked to told me the rating on their website in their packages were from Expedia, not Hotwire customers. I asked where I could see the Hotwire customer recommendations and was told they are not available. After an hour of discussion, I finally got a refund. Bottom line: Be careful of "% customer recommendations" on Hotwire.

On the PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals, there is a hotel in the Opera East - Louvre for $216. It's 4* rated 7 out of 10. An educated guess is you could get it for a bid of $185.

Started bidding 1 month ago starting at $85 per night Starting bid tonight was $106, rejected 2nd Attempt was $108 added Latin Quarter, Montparnasse ACCEPTED Expedia Price per room is $184 including breakfast buffet

Thank you for your help and advice. You are also correct in chastising me for being a user and not a contributor. My bad and it won't happen again. I did get a $5 counter offer once on a 4* in Anaheim, bid $40, offered $45. I had also been going to Europe during Christmas season so you are probably right about "low season" rates. I didn't think about it. I feel better bidding now that an "expert" has shared their opinion and advice. Thanks again for the help and feedback.

First time posting. I've used Priceline for many years and also followed the advice on this site. I've recently bid on 4* hotels in Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville, bidding $85 per night. I will be traveling between 27 Sep and 10 Oct. Every time and at every location, my bid has been rejected but I am being offered a 4* hotel at the $114 - $118. For example, I bid $85 for a 4* in Paris, the same price I paid for the Marriott Rive Gauche 18 months ago. I get rejected and am offered a 4* Latin Quarter-Montparnasse hotel for $118 (Marriott again I assume). Over the last 5 years I've been able to book 4* hotels in major European cities (London, Paris, Munich, Vienna) for $70 -$85 between 90 - 120 days in advance. What I am wondering is has anyone else noticed the same type pattern when using Priceline? Specifically, instead of accepting a deep discount initially the offer is being rejected and the bidder is given what I consider a "reasonably" priced alternative. I've had Priceline reject offers in the past and give an alternative, but normally the alternative is $5-$15 higher than my bid. Not a consistent $20 -$25 higher, not at 4 different locations simultaneously, and not with essentially the same counteroffer price at 4 different cities. Do you think Priceline has essentially changed its bidding strategy to push these more "reasonable" prices of $114-$118 per hotel? Do you think waiting longer to book, i.e. >30 before the stay may result in getting a "discounted" price of $70-$85 per night? Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated.