stevedesign

BTW, I used the PRICELINE link at the top of the page for my bidding as I always do. Anyone who appreciates this site should make a point of always using the links to support the site.

Was going to start lower as I had a week to spare but thought they will never accept anything lower than $47. Got it on the first bid. Lesson learned- start lower! Hotwire had it, I believe, changing daily from $57-$61. BTW, the room is $159/nt so I basically got 3 nights for the price of 1. Couldn't be happier. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $47.00 (USD) Number of Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $141.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $31.86 (USD) Total Room Cost: $172.86 (USD)

Sorry about not keeping these in the same topic- since they were different areas I didn't think that they should be listed together. Since these posts have all now been merged into one Basking Ridge topic and titles removed, they no longer make sense. To clarify: I bid 2 different areas for the same night- Morristown- Florham Park and Basking Ridge. I could not get the Hyatt for this stay in Morristown as I had on the Sunday before so I bid Basking Ridge additionally and scored there as shown. The retail prices listed were actually for my other stay at the Hyatt in Morristown and has nothing to do with the Indigo. As always, I used the links at the top of this site to place all bids.

BTW, the retail price for this hotel per night went from $209 to $249 over the course of bidding.

2* Staten Island New York NO LUCK……June 7-9 Bid starting at $33 to $52 with NO LUCK. Didn’t want to get this zone but for a cheap price would have accepted it. Moved to a new zone for bidding.

Bid from $50 in $2 increments adding 2.5* for rebid. Counter offered at $58 but ignored it and scored at $62. Hotwire had the hotel for $73. Bid a 2nd time later to add a room and scored at the same price. The threshold must be around $61/$62 as I called and was told there were plenty of rooms available. No issue getting 2 beds but they would not confirm until we checked in. Rate per night was $161. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $62.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $17.01 (USD) Total Room Cost: $79.01 (USD)

Bid starting at $45 up to $68 in $2/3 increments and dropped star levels to 3.5 and 3 with no luck. Surprised as so many have scored the Hyatt cheaply. See another post of mine (different dates) for a score of the Hyatt at $70. Perhaps that is a threshold during the week.

2.5* Newark - Meadowlands (Elizabeth), NO LUCK…… June 7-9 Bid starting at $43 up to $68 in $3 increments- no luck. Added West Orange and Jersey City as rebid zones as any would be acceptable. Moved on to a different zone as we didn’t need to stay in this location but wanted the country inn and suites. Bidding was done during the week before time frame.

3* Somerset - Brunswick (Carteret), NO LUCK……June 7-9 Bid starting at $41 and bid all the way up to $60 using Clark zone as rebid and gave up. Mind you the actual price for the Radisson hotel was $89/night (and only $79/nt when I started bidding) so I don’t know if this hotel is even a player any longer. Never counter offered. Changed locations completely to rebid

Bid starting at 39 in $2/3 increments using 3* for rebid. Counter offered at $43 and hit at $50. Added another night for $50 later- no problem. No issue getting 2 double beds. BTW, hotel seemed pretty busy with lots of tour buses and business travelers. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $50.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $23.30 (USD) Total Room Cost: $123.30 (USD) BTW, the retail price for this hotel per night was $159.

4* Parsippany - Morristown (East Hanover - Livingston) NO LUCK….. June 5-7 Started at $54 and bid up to $60. HOTWIRE had the Westminster hotel (I believe) for low $90s. Going rate was around $127. No counter offer at $60 so I quit

3.5* Somerset - Brunswick (Clark - Westfield), NO LUCK….. June 5-7 Started at $49 and used 3* as rebid in zone. Added other zones Bid up to $65 and quit. Wanted the Crowne Plaza but the rates kept escalating as I had to wait late to bid for this trip so no luck and moved to another zone.

Bid starting at $55 up to $70 in $5 increments. Added 3.5 and 3* as rebids as I did this last minute. Tried to add the rooms for June 7th but would not accept. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $70.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $140.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $30.02 (USD) Total Room Cost: $170.02 (USD)

Thanks for the replies. I too have found that these aren't always correct but I find it odd that some locations and star levels are emphatic about the red box warning where other locations don't show one even with a $20 bid. I didn't see anything written about this on the site so I wanted to raise the issue and see what other's thoughts were about it. I'm hoping to start bidding for 3 different stays in NJ (if the trip is not cancelled) and will as always use the links above and post the wins when I get them. Maybe I will track what the red box states in relation to the winning bid...... Steve

Priceline gives the tip box that one is pricing too low with the red box below the bid popping up. "Based on recent data, your price has almost no chance of being accepted". My question is has anyone done a study as to whether this is actually accurate as far as suggesting an opening bid or is it not? When I have gotten the box and neglected it I usually have not gotten the property. Is this based on some algorithm based on the average of prices accepted in the past? Or is this more "real time" changing frequently? I have found that some lower star ratings have a higher threshold than some higher star ratings (i.e. a 3 star property may have a suggested bid of $70 where a 4 star property might go as low as $40) Any comments from the board would be appreciated.

Bidding Strategy. Really wanted this hotel, 2 rooms, 3 nights (Thursday thru Sunday) but saw that the La Quinta advertised rooms for $51/nt ($47 AAA/senior) and this hotel has been reported on other boards. Decided to bid only 1 night as we were having dinner with friends in New Britain the first night and figured we could rough the LQ if necessary and then bid a different zone or star level for the remaining days. I was still optimistic about the Fairfield as PL listed WINNING HOTEL BIDS on their site with a 43% savings which suggests that it could not be the La Quinta. Advanced purchase for the Fairfield had just been added at $79/nt for our dates vs. the standard $99. Awarded the Fairfield, added a night and then rebid again getting it for the last night too. I started with the $41 price as it had been awarded previously. VERY happy with the bid. BTW, the added cost was only a $13 increase for bidding separately instead of all at once and I felt it was a cheap insurance policy. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $41.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 2 Room Subtotal: $82.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $18.18 (USD) Total Room Cost: $100.18 (USD) x 3 nights FYI, I do use Priceline hotel reviews to get a feel for what hotels are generally awarded but had never used Priceline's SEE WINNING HOTEL BIDS feature before last week. Definitely a benefit altho I don't believe they always list the lowest winning bids from what I have seen. Of course I used the PRICELINE link at the top to bid.

Ammenities listed: Fitness, pool, restaurant, business center, laundry Unexpected change of plans losing my Saturday night hotel so I needed a new place and looking to keep costs low post convention. On Priceline I bid every imaginabale zone and star level from 4 to 3.5 to 3 in all the zones I wanted and used rebids where I could to no avail. (sorry guys, I could never begin to list them over the course of 2 days for the priceline side of this). Finally on a 3* bid at $59 got counteroffered for $74 for the convention center zone so decided to take the available Hotwire room at $59 as it might have been the same property. I was surprised by this as I have always gotten a better deal on Priceline if the property was shown on Hotwire. I'll be experimenting soon in CT and NJ and will report what happens. The Hilton GI is listed at 90% approval on HW and 3.5 on Tripadvisor but on other sites has better reviews. I believe that HW had the Springhill Suites prior with 4 on TA but that disappeared and this hotel came up instead, with the same amenities. FYI the same listing for $59 is now showing

I actually did not post my win as the renaissance property but the Marriott at the convention center - someone other than myself changed the property name and star level. Feel free to correct and delete the superfluous posts if you like Marriott New Orleans Convention Center 859 Convention Center Boulevard

I believe I did use the links at the top- I always do. BTW, the Marriott at the convention center is a 3.5 star property, not 4* as far as I know.

Started bidding at $45, then $48 and hit on $51. Was counter-offered for $15 more from the start so knew I was close. Also saw the property available on HOTWIRE. Great price and turned out to be a much nicer property than expected- we got a renovated room and never saw any areas that looked dated. Parked on the street- free right around the corner as long as you move your car in time- tires were chalked! Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $51.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $13.83 (USD) Total Room Cost: $64.83 (USD) Used the PRICELINE link for bidding.

Bid starting at $55 and used rebid zones in $3 increments. Got counter offer each time so knew I was close. This is one day before a convention starts so I feel fortunate. The Marriott rate for the night is $209 Room Subtotal: $61.00 Taxes and Fees: $16.77 Total Room Cost: $77.77

Shannon- Have no fear. I gambled knowing that I COULD get the beach but since no bid was ever accepted below $60 for a 3* there from what I found and knowing there was a counter offer for $59 for DT, I decided to add the beach as a way to continue bidding. I gambled and I lost, well, sort of if you consider $50 at the beach a loss! We were not looking for a beach vacation but a central location with good restaurants so DT was our first choice. We are OK with the beach so didn't mind getting it and now are rethinking how much relaxation time we will now be "forced" to enjoy. Since there are other 3*s at the beach, you wont definitely get the Sirata but by bidding that zone and the others without 3*s (I didn't add Largo for example since I was paranoid about being too far north which probably was silly) you wont get downtown St. Pete. Good luck and happy BD. Make sure to let us know what you get. Best- Steve

I bid using free zones around St. Petersburg/beach for 3.5* and 3* hotel with $1 increments starting at $40. Counter offered at $44 for 3* hotel St. Pete (assuming Indigo which I wanted) for $59. Went back to bidding and got up to $48 (for my first time ever I was afraid to use the out of the way areas since I did NOT want to get stuck so far away from St. Pete

I bid last minute first for a 2.5* property, 2 rooms since we are 4 hoping for the courtyard inn at $33, but rejected. Rebid a 3* for $53 for only one room hoping we could all fit, but again rejected. Finally moved down to 2* and scored the Jamesom. Good reviews so hopefully we will be pleased. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $33.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $66.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $16.52 (USD) Total Room Cost: $82.52 (USD)