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Research on HOTWIRE Hot Deals for 3 nights total: HW 3.5 Boutique FP, FI, for $56 (total $182.61 after $30 off, and this page suggests the last hotel was the Crown Plaza) HW 2.5 FP FB FI for $166 HW 4 FP for $193 after $30 off Chose 3.5* in zone 12 (Galleria) Bid 38, decline, suggest free rebid 47 Add 6 Bid 39 Add 5 Bid 40 Add 2 Bid 41 Add 3 Bid 42, bid accepted, total price for 3 nights: $155.52 Self-parking fee = $9 per day brings total to $182.52 Normal hotel price would be $94 per night. So, it would have been close to the HOTWIRE hot deal with free parking. I'm fed up with these hotels charging incessant amounts for parking, I think in areas where there are a mix of hotels, it's best to go with a known hot deal so you know how much your parking costs will be.

I wanted at least a 3.5* in a decent area, so I started with 4* downtown and spread out, then added 3.5 and started increasing my price from 50 to 55 slowly. I must have hit the minimum price because my $54 bid failed, but the $55 bid was accepted. Room subtotal:$55.00 Taxes & fees:$13.61 Total charged today:$68.61 Total charged:$68.61 Savings:You saved 43%* Here's my research: Max Levels: 5 - 21 4.5* - 12 4* - 1, 7, 9, 15, 16, 23, 24, 27, 28 3.5* - 2, 8, 10 3* - 3, 13, 14, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 2.5* - 4, 6, 11, 17, 19 2* - 1* - 5 Hotel Target Areas: 5* - 21 4.5* - 12 4* - 23, 28, 9, 16, 3.5* - 10 Not: 1 star or 2.5 star places Bid History: $50 - 4* in 12, 23, 28, add 3.5*, add 16 Add non 3.5 zones: 3 - $52, 13 - $54, 14 - $55

Extended Stay America - Charlotte - University Place 2 star University Area 8211 University Executive Park Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262 704-510-1636 Bids 1/11/14 3.5* up to $42 3* up to $40 2.5* up to $40 2* first bid $37 won + 14.56 = $51.56 Normal prices are $85-90 plus tax. PRICELINE EXPRESS showed a $39 deal in the same area with free breakfast. I was kinda hoping to get that one, but oh well.

Bidding history: Max stars and express deals: 4* - zone 1 ($140 express deal), 3.5* - 2 ($105 express deal), 3* - 3,5 ($95 express deal), 2.5* - 4 ($89 express deal) My bids: 4* zone 1,2,3,4,5 for 18-19: 75, 85, 95, 100, 105 - no wins 3.5* zone 1,3,4,5, for 18-19: 70-85; 90, 94, 98*** won (counter at $110) 3* zone 1,4 for 18-19: 65, 70 - no wins 2.5* zone 1 for 18-19: 55 - no wins 2* zone 1 for 18-19: 53 - no wins So, coming in $9 less than the express deal seemed good. Beware of the $20 parking charge (with in and out privileges) and the ~$12 fee for internet and the bottles of water, etc etc. The parking isn't a bad deal. We went ahead and parked in the garage upon arrival and traded the ticket in for the $20 ticket since there wasn't much space to park in front of the hotel. But the best part of it all: FREE ROOM UPGRADE! Priceline had us set for 2 doubles on a lower floor and I asked how much extra it would cost for a falls view room with just a single bed, queen or king. We got a queen bed on the executive 11th floor with a terrace/balcony overlooking the falls. Take note, this hotel is closer to the rainbow bridge and has great views of the American falls, but the Horseshoe falls are farther away. But, it did have easy access to Clifton Hill. I really enjoyed this hotel and it was the best one of our weekend trip.

My week-long bidding spree has ended tonight. With taxes and fees, I got the Adams Mark 2 nights for $252.32. Priceline had the hotel for $163 per night on the list view and a 3*/2* express deal for $114/$103. Hotwire's 3* was for $133. Seems that weekend rates this time of the year are about double the weekday rate. Here's a copy and paste of my bidding strategy and history: Fri-Sun Aug 16-18 3.5* zones 1,4 for 16-18: $42-57; 59-73; 74-82; 84-110 - (All Failed bids) 3* zone 2,3,4,1 for 16-18: $35-48; 51-63; 65-77; 85-105 - won at $105 2.5* zone 9,8,4,3,2,1: $35-48; 50-66; - (All Failed bids from the previous days) 2* zone 9,8,4,3,2,1: $30-40; 42-60; - (All Failed bids from the previous days)

Started bids at $50 and worked up to $72 before won. With tax, it's $89.51. Normal rate with tax would be $133.51. Be sure to sign up for the loyalty program to get the free WiFi.

After tax, two nights for 3 people came out to $120.14. The Days Inn website listed the same room for $122.90. Hotwire let me down on this one. Amenities were: Free Breakfast Free Internet If you're considering this one, consider going straight to a hotel's website.

So, like many other betterbidders, I didn't want to leave anything to chance when spending >$2k for a Caribbean excursion, so I ended up booking a trip to Curacao through an expeditious travel site. The Marriott resort was discounted ~$700 for airfare and lodging, so it ended up being cheaper than getting a resort on Aruba for $110 + 24% tax for 7 nights. One word of warning: for many of the travel sites, Priceline included, sometimes the deals look really good for a 7-night trip because the flight to there may have an overnight layover in the USA so you have a >18 hour trip there and -1 night for your intended stay. I still love betterbidding, but just couldn't take the chance here.

I'm no stranger to Priceline and BB, so I thought I would check on deals in Aruba this spring, and I see a lot of people were able to choose 4.5* / Resort, but that seems to no longer be a choice. Is it possible Priceline has done away with Resort/4.5* level for bids? I wanted to bid resort so that I can be sure not to get the Renaissance, but I'm not sure how I could do that now. And I don't think it's worth chancing just to save that extra money. Am I missing something?

By chance, what was the cost of the taxes involved? I'm comparing rates to some flight+hotel deals and wanted to get a final price per night. Thanks!

3/22/13 - 3/23/13 Bids: 3.5* 1,4,2,3 $35-37-39-41 failed 3* 1,4,3 $35-37-39 failed 2.5* 4,1,2 $29-33-35/39 failed 2* 4,1,2 $30-35-39 failed 1* 4, $25 won Extended Stay America - Greensboro - Wendover Ave - Big Tree Way Greensboro West 4317 Big Tree Way Greensboro, NC 27409 I should have bid lower than $25. I always hate winning on the first bid attempt for a star level. Either way, it's a cheap place for a quick trip.

Failed bids: University Area 3.0* $40 Airport 3.5* $47 Looking forward to the warm weather this weekend!

Got this Hotel for my Dad. Started bidding at $35-45-50 and got it at $54 with one re-bid remaining. With taxes, around $72. The hotel website advertised it for $139 a night. Beware, parking is $13 overnight or $16 for valet, so calculate that in if you're considering.

I had been using normal prescribed methods to get a hotel in zones 5 or 14 (Conv Center or Whitehouse) for 4*, 3.5*, or 3*. My max bids so far were $77 for 4* and 66 for 3.5*, all declined. I put in a $54 bid for 3* zone 5 and they recommended a free re-bid at $63. So, since I had two zones to go, I added zone 14 and bid $58 and was accepted. Makes me wonder if I could have saved that extra 3 dollars! I feel good.. I've never had more than $4 between a non-winning bid and winning bid, so I feel good that I'm getting a good deal. Regular rate: $179 / night Betterbidding via Priceline rate: $58 / night Can't wait for Brazil Day 2012!

If you have bid in all the zones and star levels for that place, it will count exactly 24 hours after your last bid before you can place a new one. There are multiple locations that don't have 4* hotels, so you can get lots of free bids from those other sites. Be sure to check the bid locator map. It's amazing that for the hotel that I got in DC this past weekend, I was within $5 of all of the previously accepted bids, all year round. So be sure to use that feature as a good starting point if you don't have enough time to work your way up.

Posting this for a friend who was taking his kids there on Spring Break for a Monday-Wednesday stay. He was pleasantly surprised at this rate.

Four Points By Sheraton Washington White House - Downtown 1201 K Street Nw, Washington, DC 20005 202-289-7600 Priceline winning rate: $69 / night Regular rate: $129 / night Bidding History: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=155041& Summary of failed bids (zone - star level $price): 5,14 - 4* $30-$79 5,14 - 3.5* $30-$72 5,14 - 3* $25-$67 1 - 3* $20-$48 3 - 3.5* $35-58 3 - 3* $22-$52 6 - 3.5* $26-$58 6 - 3* $26 - $40

Finally got a winning bid! I'll post about it separately. Tried zones 5 and 14 again, and here were the failed bids: 5,14 - 4* $79 5,14 - 3.5* $72 5,14 - 3* $67 Finally, after adding zone 11, I got a zone 14 White House hotel (Four Points by Sheraton) for $69. I wonder if I could have gotten it for $68, but with the limited amount of 3* bids available, I had to increment more than the 3.5* and 4* zones. Since I'll be out of town next week on business, I wouldn't have as much time for betterbidding at work (BBAW). Betterbidding.com has always helped me, so I hope I helped someone with my info! I'll post above about my win.

Up-to-date list of failed bids... still working on it! 1 - 3* $20-$40, 11 3 - 3.5* $35-50 2,7,10,13,11 3 - 3* $22-$44, 11 5,14 - 4* $30-$65, 4,6,2,7,10,13,11 5,14 - 3.5* $30-$56 2,7,10,13,11 5,14 - 3* $25-$51 11 6 - 3.5* $26-$45 2,7,10,13,11 6 - 3* $26-$40, 11

Oops, I forgot my Zone 14 - White House / Downtown failed bids, price point around $85: 14 - 4* $30 - $46, 4,6,2,7,10,11

I just wanted to post my declined bids for these zones and star levels for the Washington DC area for the dates 4/13/12 to 4/15/12. This is when the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade is, and I wanted something either near the Convention Center area or at a location more South/West that could be accessed via Metro. Here are my declined bid results: 1 = Alexandria East 3 = Arlington, VA 5 = Convention Center / Capitol Hill (my target area) 6 = Crystal City Area - Star Level* Price, Additional zones used not containing that star level to get additional bids 1 - 3* $20-$25, 11 3 - 3* $22-$29, 11 5 - 4* $30 - $37, 4,6,2,7,10,13,11 5 - 3.5* $30 - $35 2,7,10,13,11 5 - 3* $25 - $30 11 6 - 3.5* $26 - $33, 2,7,10,13,11 6 - 3* $26 - $28, 11 Since I have a couple of weeks, I'm hoping to score something lower than that $55 price point for a good hotel. I'll keep everyone posted! Here is some previous data and some price points also used for research: 1 - Alexandria East Old Town - Hawthorn 3* $62 1/2 mi to Metro free weekend parking 4/17 - 4/20 1 - Alexandria East Old Town - Hilton 3.5* $77 1 mile to Metro free weekend parking 4/12 - 4/15 3 - Arlington - Sheraton 3.5* $72 5/13/12 5 - 4* ~$80 5 - Conv Ctr - Courtyard 3* $58 3/9 - 3/11 (parking $38-44) 5 - Conv Ctr - Hyatt 3.5* - 3/22 $55-150 6 - Crystal City - Doubletree 3.5* $55 4/7/12 ($23/day hotel parking) 6 - Cyrstal City - Sheraton 3.5* $55-60 5/10/12

Thanks for consolidating my posts. This hotel is quite nice. My wife said "finally you found a good hotel". Great location, too. There was a manager's special happy hour from 5:30pm - 7:30pm with free drinks (the cheap ones) and bar snacks. There was also a free buffet breakfast with made-to-order omelets from 6am-9am. Very good. Parking was listed at $9, but actually $10, in a parking garage behind the hotel. Oh, and the bottled water in the hotel room would be a $3 charge added to your hotel bill, so beware. Overall, well worth the price $50+10. If I was traveling on business, this would definitely be one of my choices, even at the advertised rate of $139-159 per night. Thanks for the tips, betterbidding and betterbidders!

Amenities listed: Complimentary Breakfast High-speed Internet Address: Ramada Inn Bowling Green 4767 Scottsville Road, Bowling Green, KY, 42104 Other hotels listed were 2.5* for $70 and then Franklin area hotels. I think I'll be happy with it.

I like bidding up to my target. Priceline listed this as $184 per night. Hilton's website said $139-159 depending on type of room. Amenities: High speed internet access Indoor Pool Business Center Pets Allowed No Smoking Rooms/Facilities Parking Free Airport Shuttle Television with Cable Per my previous post, these bids were rejected the past two days: 43 3* 40 2.5* 34 2* 46 3* 43 2.5* 37 2*

I'm bidding for a hotel in Charleston, WV for Sunday night, 6/5/11. So far, these bids have been rejected: 43 3* 40 2.5* 34 2* 46 3* 43 2.5* 37 2* The most recent bids I've seen were: Priceline Charleston and that was $44 for 2* in April. My max will probably be $50 for 3*, $47 for 2.5*, and 44 for 2*, but I've got a couple of more days to bid. If I can't get that, I'll probably go with the 2.5* on HOTWIRE for $55. I'll post my results.