Phaelon56

If you bid again you may or may not get the same hotel at the same price - there's no predicting. Also - if you bid again you have another PL service charge added to your overall cost. I had a co-worker bid for and win a hotel in San Francisco for a business trip. I bid the same dollar amount and star level as her win and within a few minutes of her bid but got a completely different hotel - it happens. Also - the "Add a Night" feature sometimes stays available for days or weeks after your win but it won't always yield another night. You can log in to PL and go to the My Trips tab. If it's still there it's worth a try but sometimes it gets you another night at the original price and other times does not. Or it may have disappeared altogether.

Yes - that system is becomign the norm in hotels that update their overall operational systems regularly. Ands much to their credit... when i stayed at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco a few years ago (a PL stay) they not only cheerfully reversed those charges when discovered them halfway through my stay - they also offered me a free dorm size fridge to store my own cold items in and delivered it to the room an hour later. Don't know if any of you have tried the little soft sided zip up beverage coolers but I bring one on all my longer personal trips. It fits in my suitcase easily and stays nice and dry on the outside. With a bit of ice from the hotel machine it easily keeps four or five small bottles of water and a zip-loc'd sandwich or two cold for the day.

If you're not looking for In/Out privileges for your car and don't mind self-parking and walking a few blocks after you leave your luggage at the hotel you should be able to find parking for about $18 - $22 inclusive per 24 hours. I stayed on a PL bid last January at the Villa Florence and was able to self-park in a garage a block of Market - between Elllis and O'Farrell IIRC and it had entrances on both streets.

Was looking last minute for a place adjacent to New Brunswick. Only one 2.5 * among the options so I wanted to be careful about the free rebid and didn't play with small increments as I don't have time to bid again after 24 hours. $42 first bid was rejected and got this property on my second bid at $52. Your Offer Price: $52.00 Extend Your Stay Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $52.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.36 Total Charges*: $67.36

I stayed overnight recently inthe Scranton area unexpectedly. Long drive back to NY state from NC and decided to stop late at night. Tried the Country Inn and Suites which was sold out but judging by the common areas it appears to be very nice indeed. I ended up at a place across the street - the "Countryside Inn". Similar in name only but at $50 or $55 per night it was a bed and it was clean enough.

Started at $47 and used three rebids. At $50 level was advised that $13 addition to my bid would guarantee a win. Added $1 to bid and won the Hilton. Was hoping for the Westin but this will be just fine. Your Offer Price: $51.00 Extend Your Stay Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $153.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $30.44 Total Charges: $183.44

Indeed they are! Best restricted rate is $256 per night and best unrestricted is $269. I was thinking that $115 seemed just a tad high but apparently not.

Did two bid series for 4* and 3* for Long Beach area with Long Beach itself as the target. No success with bids at up to $120 for 4* and $110 for 3* Started over for Newport Beach area with any 4* in the general Orange County area as the real target. Struck out trying for Newport -Huntington beach with a few free rebids at up to $115 and then added Costa Mesa (only other zone with a 4* and close to the work site I'll be visiting). Hit immediately at $115. Your Offer Price: $115.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $345.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $53.16 Total Charges: $398.16

I just used the Extend Your Stay option for a trip to NYC this past weekend. I had won the Millenium Hilton (across from WTC site) for a Sat/Sun night stay several weeks ago and decided about a week before the trip to add Friday night. Sure enough.... due apparently to adequate availability it allowed me to add the night at the same rate I paid originally ($121 per night).

It's safe and convenient to highways but it's a pretty ratty and worn out property. Don't hesitate to demand a different room if the first one is not up to snuff. I have a friend who had some family members stay there two years ago due family emergency (funeral) and cost considerations. A few of them had very problematic rooms but the front desk did transfer them - no problem. What frosts me is that they're calling it "University". By Syracuse standards (a small city with distcintly different zones) it's definitely not a University area property. That said - you can get to the campus in ten minutes by car. PM me if you need advice on dinding options etc (unless you are already familiar with the area).

I just used the Extend Your Stay option today for this same stay at the Hilton. Was able to add Friday night on to my existing Sat/Sun stay for the same price. Nice... now I get checked in Friday evening and get the entire day in the city Saturday instead of hassling with a long drive down very early Saturday morning.

Started my bid process for 3* downtown (only area zone with 3*). failed at $35 and worked my way up to $43 with three rebids but no luck. Backed off and waited 48 hours then started new bid process. began at $50, no luck, did rebid at $60 and finally scored at $64 with only one free rebid remaining. I'm surprised I had to go this high but suspect that Spokane has limited number of hotel rooms and perhaps tougher to get great deals. Best direct book online rate through the Red Lion web site was $104.95 per night for same dat.e

I just did a failed first bid and then less than 48 hours later did the same process again - this time with a win. "Free rebids" are still very useful but the reduced wait time makes things even better Example: I need one night in downtown Spokane WA in June. There are 3* hotels in the downtown zone and that's my desired star level. There are three other zones for Spokane - all of which are 2.5* or below. First bid series: Downtown at $35 for 3* fails... add other zones one at a time and work my way up to $43 but have now run out of free rebids so I wait more than 24 hours. Second bid series: Start with $50 for 3*... it fails so I add a free rebid zone at $60 and that fails also. I now have two free rebids left or I must wait another 24 hours. I bump my bid to $64 and get a win. It's a good hotel (Red Lion Resort) and at $64 plus PL fee it's a good deal. The hotel's lowest direct book discounted Web rate is $105. I usually achieve even greater savings than this on PL but it's still a great deal! And even with the reduced wait time of only 24 hours it still would have taken me seven separate session over a one week period to achieve what I did in two session over two days by using free rebids.

I just used the Add a Night / Extend Your Stay feature for the first time. I won the bid last week and decided today to see if I could add on a night at the beginning of my stay. The option was still there when I logged in to My Trips at PL. I'm staying at the Millenium Hilton in lower Manhattan on a Saturday and Sunday night and wanted to add Friday. That hotel caters predominately to a Mon - Thurs business clientele. I was fairly certain I'd get the Friday night at the same price and indeed I did. Last night I also started a new bid process for a different trip less than 48 hours after my first bid process failed and was successful the second time around. Love these new features.

Seaparate bids will always raise your overall cost unless you luck into gettting a lower winning bid for some of the days than for others and it ends up offsetting the extra fees. The priceline "processing" charge was $5.95 last tie I kew but now they bundle it into "taxes and fees" - it may even be higher than that. Every separate winning bid incurs the charge. IMHO it's pretty risky to bid for one night, hope to get the "extend your stay" option and then expect that the nights you want will be available and at the same price. This condition: spells out the risk - the fact that they offer it means only that there were most likely some nights availabel either before or after the nights you won on your initial bid. That availability could be at either end of the trip and can change by the hour.

Although the OP states that he's left this board and discussion there are some worthwhile issues to be discussed. This statement: appears to have two true statements and one that's incorrect. Hotwire and Priceline may not "bettting sites" as on-line casino's are but everyone who participates takes a gamble. If illness or any other sort of unforeseen circumstance interferes with the planned travel one can assume that the money is lost. I research my travel plans and other significant purchases extensively. PL and occasionally HW are services I avail myself of regualrly and nto only do I save some mony but I get to stay in nicer properties than I coudl typically afford (or would choose to pay for). I have on more than one occasion been unable to travel and had to eat the cost of that hotel stay. But if I add up the money I've saved over time using these services I'm still way ahead of the game and am comfortable enough with the winning vs. risk ratio to keep playing the PL and HW game. That said - I've never booked PL for a stay that cost more than $500. For anything of longer duration or much higher $$ outlay I alwways look for refundable or reschedulable options. I have had HW refund my money once but that was because the hotel was closed when I arrived despite HW's verbal assurance the previosu day that the property was open (post hurricane issues). On another occasion my colleague and I had to reschedule a business meeting and she convinced the hotel manager to credit our pre-paid PL stay to a different arrival and departure date. But that was done at the hotel's discretion - not PL's - and they were accomodating because we were renting a conference room, buying food for our clients etc.

Needed a Saturday and Sunday night - decided to start with 3* as $120 was my anticipated top end for bidding. if no success I would move bidding to Jersey City waterfront. 3* MTS at $100 - failed 3* MTE at $110 - failed 3* UMT / CPS at $120 - failed Opened bidding to all zones at $121 and won Milllenium Hilton downtown. Not my ideal location for acccessing Manhattan activities but works well with my Jersey City parking plans as well as my Monday business activities in Brooklyn. Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $242.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $48.22 Total Charges: $290.22

I'm baffled by this. The Wyndham (foprmerly a Marriott) at Carrier Circle Rte 298 used to come up quite predictably at about $50 - $55 but that was a couple years ago. Since then a Hilton Garden Inn opened near them and Wyndham did a complete overhaul of the rooms including new beds etc. (sorely needed as my sore back can attest to). I think you might try again and start at $50 then move up. I don't know if the new Marx Hotel at the edge of downtown is doing PL but if so it's a good choice - free parking, close to lots of the better restaurants and very classy place. But you could also end up with the University Sheraton if bidding for that zone and In knwo nothing about the current state of that property. And if you get to the point of having to pay $75 or so for a non PL or HW choice check out the new Parkview Hotel - next door to the Marx. It's an independent place operated by the owner of the Genesee Grande. I have heard very good reports about it and the tripadvisor reviews are uniformly positive (apart from one that was posted when they had first opened in July 2005 and were having a few teething problems) Tripadvisor Parkview Hotel I checked local events calendars and don't find any major events in town - have you checked Expedia or others to see what availability is like that weekend?

Just stayed here on a two night Priceline win at $55 per night. Great location right next to the downtown Bethesda Metro stop. Very helpful and courteous staff and a lovely room. Other Hyatt's I've stayed in recently on PL wins refused to let me have a room with a King bed - I was only offered a non-smoking with double beds. At this property they said I could check in later or even change rooms later in the day if I wanted a King bed. I opted for the double and it was fine. Valet parking is $20 - $24 per day with in-out privileges but if you drive around the corner there's public parking available at $8.25 per 24 hours - it's a one block walk to the hotel.

At that particular Hyatt try asking for a non-smoking room with one King bed and I think they'll stilll offer you a room with double beds. Two things worth mentioning about that Hyatt: 1) Check the available wireless access points and try the one labeled "nnu" which is not the primary Hyatt access point. It's an alternate access method offered under contract with them and IIRC it charges $3.50 for the first 20 minutes and then 15 cents per minute thereafter. If all you're doing is a quick email check and such it's way cheaper than paying the $9.95 per 24 hours. It bills you directly through an https connection - no credit charge to the room. 2) I always self- park and walk the block to the hotel. There's a garage that's a few hundred feet closer than the Hyatt "official" garage and they charge only $22 per 24 hours of parking. But it's $10 for anything up to two hours with no in-out privileges thus only good when you plan to park the car and leave it

Something yes but perhaps not much. I suspect that in the great majority of cases that offer will rarely ever be extended when you split a bid. But it is worth considering as an option.

This was a bid for lodging as part of a last minute business trip. Retroactively posting here - I recall there being only one rebid opportunity if I wanted this zone at 3* so I started a bit high and got it on the first try. This is the second time I've stayed here on a Priceline win. On my first visit the staff at the desk treated me with an attitude about like I was just a notch above a street person looking for a free room. This time they were cordial and friendly but did not budge when I asked for a king instead of two full beds in the room. I assume this is standard policy. Not a problem - nice enough room anyway and had a decent view of lower Manhattan.

Started PL bid at $18 for Economy size. Bid screen advised that raising to $22 for this size would have "very good" chance of winning and 423 would have "excellent" chance. Tried at $18 anyway and no luck. Raised bid to $22 and expanded choices to Compact. Nice win - bets price on Carrentals.com was over $22 for Economy with off-airport no name company and Avis Escape rate was $30 per weekend day and higher on weekdays. Breezenet showed nothing through anyone for under $28 for these dates. I rent with Avis frequently on my corporate account - hopefully they'll still offer me the free one class upgrade that I usually get.

Yes... the info runNgun posted is exactly what I was offered. Nice to know that the option is sometimes available but I doubt that I'd ever have the occasion to use it.

Apologies to all if this topic has been covered elsewhere and I missed it. I just bid and won today for two nights at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda MD. On the screen that showed my winnin bid results was a link that said something to the effect of: "Happy with the hotel you won? Get extra nights at the same rate." It might have said "extend your stay for the same rate" but regardless... I've never seen this before. Is it new or just something that's only offeed on rare occasions?