gleemonex

struck out at the 2 and 3* levels up to $55. i offered $45 for a 2.5* and it was also rejected. i used my only free re-bid and upped it to $55, received a counteroffer to add $15. since i was out of rebid zones and just wanted to get the hotel over and done with, i added $15 and bid again. accepted at $70. must be something going on in flagstaff. Congratulations, you got your price of $70 for a 2

this is by far the most i've EVER spent on a hotel room, but due to some bad timing (apparently) with my visit to halifax and hotel availability, i decided to just bite the bullet and do it. the amenities shown: hotel, restaurant, swimming pool, fitness center, tennis nearby, business center, laundry facilities (self-service). Holiday Inn Select Halifax-Centre, NS 1980 Robie St. Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3G5 Canada (902) 423-1161 Check-in: Wed, May 4, 2005 Check-out: Fri, May 6, 2005 also used the giftcard thing for $10 off per night, which helped. used betterbidding's HOTWIRE link.

just bid $98 for 3* in halifax, got a counteroffer for $22, accepted it... and still got rejected! bids up to $120 rejected!! nuts. there's gotta be something happening there, a convention or something.

this is what we call a counteroffer. if you'd entered anything other than what they specified, you'd have been rejected. a counteroffer can almost always be undercut by understanding and using the rebid system. counteroffers can be useful though, when bidding in a city with little to no re-bid zones, or when you're sick and tired and just want to get your hotel :)

wow, you're right! hmm, ok, the picture is becoming a little clearer now. i guess it's time to book a backup. i'll still keep trying on the offchance that inventory opens up.

i just had bids of $45, $63, $70, $75 and $90 rejected at the 3* level for these dates. i first bid them together, then split them up and tried that too. the westin website shows the nova scotian has available rooms at $199 CAD a night. i'm guessing they either haven't given priceline inventory for those dates, or their asking price is $100+, which given the $40 and $52 winning bids reported recently seems odd. i haven't had to work this hard to get a hotel room in a while now. :)

good to know. thanks for the tip!

previous bids at $50, $55, $60 (counteroffer to add $17), $63 and $65 were rejected. Congratulations, you got your price of $68 for a 4-star hotel room. Sheraton Chicago Hotel Tower North Michigan Ave 301 East North Water Street Chicago, Illinois 60611 312-464-1000 Check-In Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Your Offer Price: $68.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $68.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $17.62 Total Charges: $85.62 cheapest rate on the sheraton website for this date is $199 bid through savingsbarn.com

previous bids at $50, $51, $53 (counteroffer to add $15), $54 (counteroffer to add $15) and $55 were rejected. Congratulations, you got your price of $56 for a 4-star hotel room. Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel Downtown Toronto 123 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M9 Check-In Date: Sunday, May 8, 2005 Check-Out Date: Monday, May 9, 2005 Your Offer Price: $56.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $56.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $12.56 (US dollars) Total Charges: $68.56 (US dollars) bid through savingsbarn.com

thanks for the info. i think i'm going to book a room at the waverley inn on barrington st if the westin doesn't pan out.

accepted on the first bid $45. Congratulations, you got your price of $45 for a 3-star hotel room. Holiday Inn Select Montreal Centreville 99 Viger Ave And St Urbain St Montreal, Quebec H2Z 1E9 Check-In Date: Saturday, May 7, 2005 Check-Out Date: Sunday, May 8, 2005 Your Offer Price: $45.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $45.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $13.00 (US dollars) Total Charges: $58.00 (US dollars) bid through savingsbarn.com

still having no luck at the 3* level for 5/4-5/6. have bid numerous times from $40 to $80. odd. might have to come up with a backup soon.

i've now unsuccessfully bid up to $80 for 3* in halifax for 5/4-5/6. must be an inventory thing, since prices on the westin's website don't seem to be out of the norm. interestingly, a 3.5* on hotwire was (and is still) up for $95. there goes my hotwire gauge theory.

i requested adding two additional nights to this stay via priceline's feature, but was unfortunately denied due to lack of availability at the westin. curious. i tried bidding the nights separately up to $75, no go.

i saw that hotwire had a 3.5* available at $86 a night, so i thought i'd juggle some dates around and give priceline another try. previous attempts at the 3* level up to $65 had been rejected, so i figured i'd start at $70 this time. my offer was accepted immediately. Congratulations, you got your price of $70 for a 3-star hotel room. The Westin Nova Scotian Halifax 1181 Hollis Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2P6 Check-In Date: Monday, May 2, 2005 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2005 Your Offer Price: $70.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $140.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $23.14 (US dollars) Total Charges: $163.14 (US dollars) cheapest rate for this stay on the hotel's website is $145 CAD ($117 USD) i'm thrilled, as this was the hotel i was really hoping to get all along. it's also extremely convenient because the via rail station is right next door, and i'm taking the train from toronto to montreal to halifax. excellent! oh, and that heavenly bed that i've heard so much about... i can't wait! now i'll just see if i can add a few nights via priceline...

i tried this same sort of strategy yesterday. i checked hotline for halifax out of curiosity, and they had a 3.5* for $93. so i figured that priceline might also have inventory at the same place. so i opened up savingsbarn and bid $60 for a 3* in halifax, which was rejected. i added a rebid zone and tried $65, which was also rejected. is there any sort of rule of thumb about using hotwire to gauge priceline?

after bidding unsuccessfully many times at the 3* level (trying to get the courtyard to bite) up to $45, i've decided to bid mostly 4* in toronto this year. why bid 3* up to $50-60, when you can get a 4* for the same price? i dunno what's up with the courtyard this year. bummer. nice place and it was great deal while it was so cheap. so i bid $60 for a 4* in downtown toronto, they made me wait a bit, then finally came back with a add $17 counteroffer, which i rejected. added a re-bid zone and bid $61, which was accepted. Congratulations, you got your price of $61 for a 4-star hotel room. Hilton Toronto Downtown Toronto 145 Richmond Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 3M6 Check-In Date: Friday, April 29, 2005 Check-Out Date: Sunday, May 1, 2005 Your Offer Price: $61.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $122.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $19.50 (US dollars) Total Charges: $141.50 (US dollars) bid through savingsbarn.com

thanks for the strategy. just tried it, no go up to $45. i'll wait the 72 hours and give it another whirl.

tough city for priceline? i haven't seen many wins/reports on it. i'd like to stay in a 2 or 3 star (preferably 3), looking to spend $75 or less. sadly, not many rebid opportunities here either. :)

i decided to try out a 4* in downtown toronto, for at least a part of my stay. bids at $50, $52 (counteroffer to add $15), $53 ($15 counteroffer), $54, $55 ($17 counteroffer), $56 ($17 counteroffer), $57 ($17 counteroffer), $58 ($17 counteroffer), $59 and $60 were all rejected. finally got it at $61. Congratulations, you got your price of $61 for a 4-star hotel room. Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel Downtown Toronto 123 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M9 416-361-1000 Check-In Date: Thursday, April 21, 2005 Check-Out Date: Monday, April 25, 2005 Your Offer Price: $61.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $244.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $32.07 (US dollars) Total Charges: $276.07 (US dollars) bid through savingsbarn.com.

i tried this 3 days ago and struck out at $35. waited the 72 hours and tried again at $45. success! Congratulations, you got your price of $45 for a 3-star hotel room. Radisson Woodlands Hotel Flagstaff Flagstaff 1175 West Route 66 Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 928-773-8888 Check-In Date: Saturday, April 16, 2005 Check-Out Date: Sunday, April 17, 2005 Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $45.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.32 Total Charges: $57.32 bid through savingsbarn.com.

yep, it's that time of year again. after staying in the loop last year, i decided i'd try for NMA. (the loop was great except that it's pretty desolate after dark.) opening bid, $45 for a 4* in NMA (trying to see if the hyatt would bite): rejected. new bid, $50 for 4* in NMA + Skokie/Evanston/Niles: rejected. new bid, $55 for 4* in NMA + Midway: rejected. new bid, $60 for 4* in NMA + Lincoln Park: counteroffer to raise bid by $17, i rejected. new bid, $63 for 4* in NMA + Skokie/Evanston/Niles + Lincoln Park: counteroffer to raise bid by $17, i rejected. new bid, $66 for 4* in NMA + Midway + Lincoln Park: counteroffer to raise bid by $17, i rejected. new bid, $70 for 4* in NMA + Skokie/Evanston/Niles + Midway + Lincoln Park: accepted. Hyatt Regency Chicago North Michigan Ave 151 East Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 312-565-1234 Check-In Date: Monday, April 18, 2005 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 Your Offer Price: $70.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $140.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $29.20 Total Charges: $169.20 bid through savingsbarn.

well, decided to test the waters on this one. opened with a bid of $30 for a 3* in anaheim (disneyland), rejected. new bid, $32 for a 3* in disneyland + fountain valley, rejected. new bid, $36 for 3* in disneyland + garden grove, counteroffer to raise bid by $10, rejected counteroffer. new bid, $38 for 3* disneyland + seal beach, counteroffer to raise bid by $11, rejected counteroffer. new bid, $39 for 3* disneyland + fountain valley + garden grove, counteroffer to raise bid by $11, rejected counteroffer. new bid, $42 for 3* disneyland + fountain valley + seal beach, accepted. Congratulations, you got your price of $42 for a 3-star hotel room. Marriott Anaheim Disneyland Area 700 W Convention Way Anaheim, California 92802 714-750-8000 Check-In Date: Friday, October 22, 2004 Check-Out Date: Sunday, October 24, 2004 Your Offer Price: $42.00 Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $168.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $27.80 Total Charges: $195.80 bid through the barn :)

i'd like to take my nephew for his first visit to disneyland, so i'm looking for a strategy for these dates. i'd like to go for a 3 star. thanks.

great idea! i'll be sure to take more pics of the hotels next trip. the few i've got, i've already uploaded (chicago).