dsrichard

I’m liking Cosmo. Are you likely to have a coupon code for Hotwire in the next day or so?

Also is Cosmo anywhere to be found on priceline so I can use 5% coupon?

What are the odds that rolling the dice works? Which hotels provide sofabed option.

Comfortable with Option 1: room choice with 2 beds. Don't want anybody stuck on a pullout sofa.

2 rooms with 3 adults each (so 2 queen beds).

Need to be out the door (taxes, resort fees, etc.) for under $2000 total. I think that puts us at somewhere around $400 per room per night. 

Ok, have gotten confirmation from friends about attendance to Vegas. Wondering if you guys have insights into 5* availability, pricing for May 4-6. Prefer Center Strip (Aria, Cosmo, Bellagio) or NorthEast (Wynn, Encore, Venetian, Palazza). Thoughts? Do prices fluctuate on different days of the week through HW and PL?

I'm also seeing one other 5* hotel on The Strip - Central West Area that is listed at $364 (run of the house) or $389 (two queens). Any ideas what this one is? Amenities displayed as:

Business Center

Restaurant

Indoor or Outdoor Pool

Casino

Fitness Center

No Smoking Rooms/Facilities

Thanks -

David

P.S. -- I'm a huge fan and have been using the website for many years. A long time ago, I talked to you about UX design for the site (I had an agency).

Could also do Strip Southwest (T-Mobile) and Strip Northeast (Canal) but really hoping to hone in on Cosmopolitan, Bellagio or Aria and get them closer to $300 per night (vs. $400).

Getting 5 results for the dates listed above (5/4-5/6):

$185

Free parking, Free Internet, Condo, Pet friendly, Suite, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Kitchenette, Spa services

$314

Pet friendly, Suite, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Kitchenette, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower

$367

Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Casino, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Tennis nearby, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower

$374

Resort, Pet friendly, Casino, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower

$432

Resort, Casino, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower

Any hope of deciphering these? Also, these seem pretty doggone expensive. Any idea what likelihood of price drop is?

thanks -
David

Placed the following bids to try to get 4* or 5* in the Houston Galleria:

Galleria 5* - $51 (I can dream, can't I?)

Galleria 4* - $56

Won the Hilton Houston Post Oak. I've stayed here before and it is a decent hotel. Cheaper than the Hotel Derek on Hotwire for $100 per room -- although I really like the Derek.

Thanks for the great service. Let me know if I can help you with website usability (we've talked in the past) -- email me. :-)

best -

David

10/20 - 10/23

So I took a gamble and it paid off...

Hotwire lists only 1 hotel with 4* designation in Palo Alto (between San Francisco and San Jose). Checking against package deals, it appeared to be the Westin. Amenities were: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Spa Services, Business Center. Only problem is that they wanted $401 (!) per night.

I then checked all the major travel sites. Very little availability. Finally checked the Westin hotels' website directly. They had the same room for $289 per night. Still too expensive for three nights for me and my family.

Hotwire offers the double-the-discount if you can find the same room for a lesser rate within 48 hours. I booked the room on H/W for a grand total of $1334 (ouch). I then went to the my account section and requested a refund based on hotel availability through the Westin website. Within 24 hours, H/W had refunded my credit card $672.

The net is that I got the Westin Palo Alto for $177 per night. This is on a weekend that is oversold, overbooked, overpriced (Stanford Reunion weekend).

Thanks BetterBidding -

David

Well I didn't get the smokin' $99 rate, but it was the cheapest I found for my particular weekend.

5* Hotel aka VENETIAN

Zone1 (strip) - $180 rejected

$266 counter offered by PL.

Rebid +Zone2 - $200 rejected

Rebid +Zone3 - $220 rejected

Rebid +Zone4 - $230 rejected

Rebid +Zone5 - $240 accepted

No need to close the browser and re-open. All is good.

Hotwire was $284 and Travelocity was $300.

Woohoo!!!

Vegas!!!

David

No Luck with Bidding -

5* Strip only - $180 rejected

+ Airport LAS - $200 rejected

+ Conv. Ctr - $210 rejected

+ Fremont - $215 rejected

+ UNLV - $220 rejected

+ W.Strip - $225 rejected

Closed browser and re-opened through savingsbarn.

+ Henderson - $230 rejected

+ All Zones - $240 rejected (this actually might have been a costly mistake?)

Any thoughts.

Hotwire comes in at around $280 for 5* for those dates. We'd like to spend around $200 - $240. Is this realistic based on your experience?

David

I've been looking through the hints and tips and am trying to get a feel for what I might expect to pay for 5* accomodation on the weekend of January 21-23, 2005. I read about rebidding by modifying zones, what other tips should I keep in mind for bidding?

What should my starting bid be?

thanks -

David