Queerasmoi

No group, just me :)

This hotel has gone up to US$54/night. I should also mention it states recommended in 85% of Hotwire reviews. Amenities have once again vanished but it appears to be the same hotel as the 85% was present the last time I saw the amenities there. The "See hotels in this class" list has changed to: Best Western Plus Carlton Plaza, Trutch Manor, Harbour Towers, Huntingdon Hotel, and Fisher House B&B. (No mention anymore of Quality Inn, Victoria Regent or Gatsby Mansion.) It looks like going back 3 years, the 3* wins for this zone have always been Harbour Towers or Quality Inn. Not that I can rely on that, but now that I am committed to my trip I figured I'd take the plunge. Trip total comes out to 3x54 + 34.35 taxes/fees = US196.35 before clicking back to CAD. And drumroll... It's Harbour Towers! Thanks again for the assistance.

Just wanted to comment, since you said "with an outside chance of the Chateau Victoria Hotel and Suites": There is another listing that shows up for Downtown Victoria, same dates, at $59/night, 3.5*, and the Get a hotel like list is: Hotel Rialto, Chateau Victoria, Abigail's Hotel, Days Inn - Victoria on the Harbour, and Royal Scot. Amenities: Free parking, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, HS Internet, Accessible path of travel, Handicapped parking. This seems to imply Chateau Victoria is now considered 3.5*, not 3* (not that it guarantees CV is the hotel in question).

It would seem that sometimes, sporadically, the new HOTWIRE format omits amenities and then puts them back again at a later time.

Worth adding: If you're in the OP's situation where family would be willing to let you use their card (but your name would have to match) and they trust you, they can order an Authorized User card on their account under your name. You'd receive a card with your name on it, and it would bill their account. They are responsible for paying back so you make sure to stay in their good graces by paying them back promptly and otherwise only using it for emergencies. Myself I'm a working adult and no longer a student, but I keep an AU card on my Dad's account for emergencies and large medical expenses. Also if you're a CDN student... I realize the credit crunch reduced banks' exuberance to lend to young students, but it's my understanding that credit card companies still troll university campuses to get students signing up, and banks & credit unions still have products targeted to students. If you can promise yourself you will not use the card to spend money you don't actually have, get one with a modest limit and build your credit history.

OK, thanks. I think I will book a refundable backup, and then try PRICELINE or HOTWIRE closer to the date of when I'm sure of my plans.

In any case - any thoughts on post #2, likely identity of the hotel? I realize Victoria has not gotten a large number of wins so it might be sparse info.

Just wanted to add - I already had a LastMinuteTravel sign-in, and when I went to sign up for LMTClub last year it told me my e-mail was already in use. Sure enough, I used my existing LMT e-mail/password, and it signed me into LMTClub. I don't know if this works universally, but you may want to try using your existing LMT login credentials on LMTClub.

And speaking of the new format, now that my attempt to start a thread here was thwarted, I may as well tack it on... In the new format, each hot Rate hotel gives you a mouse-over list of five sample hotels that represent the star level (although some of them may not be in the actual zone). I would be interested to hear if actual purchased hotels are corresponding to hotels on the list most of the time or not.

The listing without amenities is the same as the other one now *with* amenities that got merged into my post. The merging of my two posts in two separate forums is the only reason you are asking me anything about currency. I was never asking for assistance in Portland, just using it as an example. I am only asking for assistance in Victoria. Moreover, the merging has made it look to other users like post #1 was my request for purchasing assistance. The top post of this thread should be #2. I disagree with the decision to merge these two posts because the one I placed in the general HOTWIRE forum was something of interest to all forum members, not just ones bidding in Canada. Everyone on this forum should be talking about the implications of being given a list of five possible matches, and I would like to be able to hear if people who complete a purchase actually get one on the list. Would it not make sense for that to be an open question across the board?

I searched February 8-11 for Victoria, BC. There is a $52 CAD ($51 USD)/night 3* hotel in Downtown Victoria. Any thoughts on what it may be? Amenities: Free Internet Indoor pool(s) Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower Mouseover "See hotels in this class" lists the following five: - Quality Inn Downtown Inner Harbour - Best Western Plus Carlton Plaza - Victoria Regent Waterfront - Trutch Manor - Gatsby Mansion Inn Four of those five, if those are what I get, would be acceptable. Trutch Manor is too far from where I'd like to be.

When did the "See hotels in this class" bit get added to Hotwire? I don't remember that being there the last time I made a purchase. I have noticed in some cases it will list hotels that are not in that zone. For example if I search Feb 8-11 for Portland, OR, I get a 2.5* hotel for CAD63 (this isn't an actual trip I'm taking), and the mouse-over says: Get hotels like: - Red Lion Hotel - Portland CC - Jupiter Hotel - Park Lane Suites - Comfort Inn Portland - La Quinta Inn and Suites Portland NW The very last one is definitely out of zone. So I wonder... if the list includes hotels not in the zone, does that mean they didn't have more than 5 matching hotels to list, so they had to toss in some neighbours? Is that a good sign that the hotel you get will definitively be one of the ones in the list? Another example, same dates, Victoria BC. This is a trip I may actually be taking. Now there is a $52/night 3* hotel in Downtown Victoria. *No list of amenities.* Mouseover lists the following five: - Quality Inn Downtown Inner Harbour - Best Western Plus Carlton Plaza - Victoria Regent Waterfront - Trutch Manor - Gatsby Mansion Inn In this case, all five *are* in zone, so it's possible that the winner could be something else. Any thoughts on whether these mouseover lists can be relied on at all?

Interesting. I clicked Choose on the $67 just now, and it proceeds to the booking screen. But given the choice and the reviews, I'd take Mark Spencer anyway over Shilo or Quality at the Convention Center. That being said, Mark Spencer has their own "bid for your room" functionality so I could just as well try directly. Is there something special you are doing to identify or is it just a matter of comparing with past results?

EDIT: More info I forgot to post. The Convention Center one says $89 similar hotels, with a strikeout through it, and then $67/night. The Downtown one says $114 similar hotels, strikeout, $63/night.

Okay here is every detail: 11/09-11/12 2* Convention Center - Lloyd Center Area $67/night This Hotel has: Free Breakfast | Free Internet | Free Parking (No rating at all - the space where there'd normally be a rating is blank) 2* Downtown Portland Area $63/night This Hotel Has: Free Breakfast | Free Internet | Pets Allowed | Business Center | Fitness Center Rated 8.0 out of 10 (or higher) I suppose the absence of Jupiter from Priceline's list view may be a sign that it's not in their NYOP stock anymore. I notice that Quality Inn Downtown Convention Center appears in List View as "Free breakfast, free internet in room and free parking" with 2*, so maybe that's the first one in my list?

I did a (regular) search on Priceline for November 9-12, and noticed the Express Deals tab. Do these hotels' star ratings match up with the ones you get with Name Your Own Price? Notably I see: Convention Center - Lloyd Center Area 2*, $67/night. The only 2* that matches that in the lists is Jupiter (where I'd be happy to stay again) but who knows what else it could be. Another shows up as Downtown Portland Area, 2*, rated 8.0/10 or higher, $63/night.

I recently got a priceline win for $94 on a Sunday in the Beverly Hills-West Hollywood zone at 3*. There were enough rebid zones to nail down the right price. Mind you, parking was $18/night at the hotel I won. It really depends on exactly what your needs are and when. You may want to consider making a refundable reservation at a cheaper-but-okay airport hotel, so that you at least have a plan B, and then keep bidding for what you really want more.

Ah I only noticed just now that it posted with "Westwood - Century City" in the title, but yes, it was definitely "Beverly Hills - West Hollywood".

Booked a one night stay for the last night of my holiday. Bid 3* Beverly Hills/West Hollywood $70, got a counter offer of $104, turned it down. Bid 3* BWH + Inglewood $76, rejected. Bid 3* BWH + Lawndale $82, got another counter offer of $104, turned it down. Bid 3* BWH + Inglewood + Lawndale $88, rejected. Bid 3* BWH + USC $94, won the Courtyard By Marriott Los Angeles Century City / West Hollywood. $94 + $22.08 fees = $116.08 total. Parking is $18/night, but at least the wi-fi is free.

The hotel was nice, except for the highway noise.

I noticed HOTWIRE had a 4* for $84 so I figured PRICELINE could do better. Bid downtown 3.5* $60, no dice. Added Lake Union $66, no dice. Restarted downtown+airport $71, and I got... Crowne Plaza Seattle Downtown Taxes and fees $18.96 Total room cost $89.96 I did use the PRICELINE link. Forgot to mention: On my first $60 bid, it counter-offered me $77.

Oh! Now I remember thanks to Twitter history. I was all ready to book but then I volunteered at the Federal NDP convention in Vancouver that weekend. Then I got a temp job, then I lost it. Then I had friends in town... Amidst all of that, travel got bumped to July and budget got squished to "spend as little as possible", ergo the couch :-)

Ok followed up. Reasonably certain that no trip ever resulted from the Portland inquiry.

Oops, didn't realize I left a thread hanging over a year ago. May 2011? Humm... I am pretty sure I just didn't end up taking a trip at all. I visited in July and slummed on a friend's couch.

I'm visiting some friends in Seattle who will host me next week from 4/11 through to 4/14, but they advised me they're considering leaving on a trip of their own on Friday April 13. So I suggested I could book a refundable hotel reservation for that one last night I'll be in town (I did, for about $100 at a okay but not great Best Western), which I can cancel if they decide to stay in town. If they do finalize that they're going on the trip, though, I can do a lot better than that hotel for $100 or under, so I'd give PL a try, then Hotwire if necessary, and cancel the fallback reservation. What do you think is the best value I can get on PL for a Friday night booking? I'd be looking for downtown (the Capitol Hill locations in DT zone are good too). Anything from 3* up is probably fine by me, but I know that 3.5* and up allows for more free rebids.