pavemental

Thanks! I meant to add to my original post that this property had the "95% recommended -- Amazing!" designation and is #1 of 5 hotels in Revere on TripAdvisor.

Amenities: Free parking, Free breakfast, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Indoor pool(s), Airport shuttle, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, In-room accessibility. We've stayed at this Comfort Inn a few times when flying out of Logan so we could park and use their airport shuttle. It's very nice, great beds, breakfast, etc. We're going to a Celtics game and wanted an affordable room not terribly far from TD Garden with free parking, an indoor pool, and free breakfast since we're traveling with 2 kids. I had my eye on a 3.5* deal in the Burlington-Woburn zone for $67, making it around $84 with fees and tax. But by taking advantage of the $20 Hotwire discount that popped up, the room I got was only $3 more and gives us a slightly closer location and free breakfast for 4! I used your HOTWIRE links, as I always do. Thanks!

Sat. 11/2, 1 night 2* Red Roof Inn Framingham Boston Metro-South (Natick-Framingham) $42 (total price $54.38) Used your PRICELINE links, as always. Going to a concert & didn't want to spend >$100 for Boston proper. I'd planned to go 3* and try for a $75 deal in Metro-West or Metro-North, but we'll be in a part of Boston that makes Natick/Framingham easy access, so I ultimately focused there and lowered my price range. (PL calls this Metro-south but it's really more west.) This property is surprisingly well- rated for its class, and your site helped me feel fairly confident about the ID. It was listed (I'm pretty sure, anyway) as a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for $49. With that Oct. 5% code it would've been $59.74, so I had nothing to lose to try a lower bid. Score! Saved $5 & no buyer's remorse that I could've saved more. ;) Love this site. I look forward to needing hotel rooms because I just love the thrill of a good score.

We were thrilled with this property at a total price of $86.55, which is what we were prepared to pay for a less convenient location. We'll be in Burlington that night for a show downtown, so we really wanted a downtown hotel so we could avoid driving. We'd almost given up on that idea for <$100, and were ready to settle for a nice hotel a few miles away in South Burlington (but not the further south zone that Priceline calls South Burlington.) When I saw this 3.5 property come up I couldn't tell if it was something like the Sheraton (nice but a few miles away) or --wishful thinking-- the Hilton. Amenities listed: Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower It did not say Free Parking, so that clued me in that it *might* be a downtown hotel. But what clinched it for us were the Hotwire Customer Satisfaction ratings: For condition, service, comfort, and cleanliness, their average rating was 4. But for location, 5. We knew that it would not get a 5 for location if it weren't downtown. Thanks, Better Bidding! Scored again!

I received an email promotion for $7/night bonus cash, so my $45 bid was increased to $52 to win this room. I needed to be as near to Northampton as possible, and was not willing to add additional zones which are all even further south (I'm traveling from the north), so here's my bidding strategy: MA-Springfield (Northampton-Hadley-Amherst) 1. 3.5*, bid $60, bonus increased it to $67 - rejected 2. 3*, bid $58, bonus increased to $65 - rejected 3. 2.5*, bid $60, bonus increased to $67 - rejected Priceline showed me a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal (something like eBay's Buy It Now) for $57 for a 2*, so I knew that was going to be my fallback once I ruled out the better properties, some of which I knew to be closer to my ideal location of downtown Northampton. 4. 2*, bid $45, bonus increased to $52 - accepted! Total cost: $59.12 I had been also looking on Hotwire and was consistently seeing a 2* for $65, which I strongly suspected was this same HoJo Hadley location. This booking is simply for my husband and I to stay locally after a concert (avoiding a 2+hr drive home at midnight) so my goal was to find the cheapest, closest room. This fits the bill. Thanks again!

Back in June I booked a room at this hotel through Hotwire. At the time, after much research I felt pretty sure it was going to be the hotel I wanted, and it was. When I decided to book a similar stay for this coming weekend, I did the same Hotwire search and once again it was indeed the Holiday Inn. This is a really nice hotel for our needs. My husband works nearby so I take the kids and we enjoy the pool, shop, etc. Kids eat free at the hotel restaurant, which is a great deal for us as well and makes up for the lack of a free breakfast. All in all, this is a fine property at a good, competitive price. We can't use Priceline when the 4 of us travel, but Hotwire allows us to get a really nice booking at the advertised price of some of the lower-end places. I appreciate BetterBidding because it allows me to feel confident that I got the best deal for the best property. Sometimes all I want is a bed and a shower and will bid low even if it means risking getting a motel I'd never choose. But other times when I want to book a particular property, or have specific needs like an indoor pool, Hotwire is perfect and this site helps me pin down which property I might be getting. Thanks again! Here are the amenities currently listed on Hotwire: Indoor pool(s) Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Free Parking Free Internet Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

The amenities listed for this property are as follows: Indoor Pool(s) Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Free Parking Free Internet Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

This was exactly the hotel I was hoping for. I know there's always a chance of getting other hotels that aren't listed here but in this case I felt pretty confident that it was a match. Thanks! When traveling with my kids I can't use Priceline but I've been having great luck with Hotwire lately, thanks in large part to the great tips here.

I wanted a room in Newton or Waltham, not Boston proper. Hotwire had a 3* for $67 and I was pretty sure it was the Hilton Garden Inn in Waltham, so I thought I'd try Priceline to see if I could beat that price or match it for a slightly better hotel. From this site I had a good idea of the Priceline properties in that zone, and saw that a few of them charge for parking, which I felt was unexpected and nervy for suburban hotels! Still I figured I would try for one of the 3.5* or 4* hotels and allow for that parking charge up to the $81 total I was seeing on Hotwire for the 3*. With Boston Metro-West (Newton-Waltham) as my only zone, I bid: 4*, $50 Rejected 3.5*, $52 Rejected 3*, $55 Rejected I didn't want to go lower than 3*. Later bid: 4*, $60 Rejected 3.5*, $61 Rejected 3*, $62 ACCEPTED! 9/24/11-9/25/11 Hilton Garden Inn Boston - Waltham $62/night, total with taxes & fees: $77.21 I'm totally satisfied, they have free wifi & free parking, and it was still $4 less than the best deal on Hotwire, so not only did I save $4, I got the satisfaction of knowing that I couldn't have done any better. (Even if I'd ended up with the 4* Westin for $77 and had to pay $11 to park, I would've still been happy only paying $7 more than the Hotwire price.) Thanks--I love this site. Being able to bid with confidence really improves the experience for me.

1/31/11-2/2/11 Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel $62/night Hotwire rate Total price for 2 nights: $139.74 Amenities Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby It says it's a saving 21% off other sites $79 (midweek, low season I guess) 363 Maine Mall Rd., South Portland,ME,04106 (207) 775-6161 This is a great deal! I was tempted to go for one of the 2* hotels but there are a couple in Portland that are awful so it was too risky. Thanks again, Better Bidding!

Needed a room near Canton, MA for a music festival in Sept. Checked out the options on this site for hotels in the area and figured I'd start with the exact zone I wanted (Needham-Dedham-Norwood), 3.5* (highest star rating in zone), and $50, since I'd seen some winning bids in that range on this site. Bid accepted on first try! Total price $63.37 including tax & fees Based on reviews, this may not be the most awesome Hilton ever, but we needed a cheap place to crash, and for 3.5 stars under $65, I am not going to complain. :) Thanks, Better Bidding!

I needed to book a last minute room for my husband. Here's what I did: PRICELINE (yes, I used your link :)) 1. Portsmouth, NH - Kittery, ME Zone 1 Dover-Durham (my preferred zone) Bid $45, 2.5* (highest star level in Dover) Rejected 2. Added Zone 2 Portsmouth Increased bid to $51, added 3* Rejected 3. Kept Zone 1 & Zone 2 Increased bid to $55, added 2* Accepted! Price Per Room, Per Night: $55.00 Taxes & Fees: $12.79 Total Charges*: $67.79 Thurs 5/27-Fri 5/28/10 Comfort Inn & Suites 2* Dover - Durham 10 Hotel Dr. (Route 9 & 108) Dover, New Hampshire 03820 Thanks, Better Bidding! I felt like I was doing this blind because I didn't see many hotels listed in my zone on this website, but I used the bidding strategies I learned here and got a great deal. For what it's worth, I believe this hotel was the same one I saw this morning on Hotwire for $67 ($80 total.) It was going to be my backup if Priceline didn't work, so I'm happy to say I got the #1 hotel in Dover (according to TripAdvisor) for even less than the price I was willing to pay for it.

OK, I followed the bid strategy except that I increased the bid amounts slightly. I ended up getting the Boston Park Plaza for $95. Not my first choice, but it is what it is. :) The location is superb--we will be able to walk everywhere we need to go, so no T fees or cab fares. I have read the reviews & am prepared to ask for a better/bigger room if we are given one of the really small, shabby ones. It seems some PL users do end up with bigger rooms from the start, so we shall see. And even if we do end up in the low-end rooms, so be it. As for parking: I think we will park at the Boston Common underground garage, unless I find an equally close better deal. Enter after 6 AM Saturday and exit by 8 AM on Monday is $22--that works! It is $11 if you leave by 8am Sunday, but I don't think we'll be in the mood to get up and move the car that early. :) Thanks so much for all your help! I will definitely use this forum again and again. Summary: started w/BB PRICELINE link Bid $70 3* in Copley rejected, added Fenway, rebid $75 rejected, added N. Cambridge, rebid $80 reopened PL from BB link again Bid $90 3* in Copley rejected, added Fenway, rebid $95 Bid accepted, upgraded to 3.5*, Boston Park Plaza for $95

Thanks again for your response. Sorry for my delay in returning to this thread--it's been a crazy week. I have been poking around online a lot doing research but still haven't made any bids anywhere. I've decided that I really want to stay in the Copley Square - Theatre District (Priceline zone 5.) That way, we could walk to our show and the restaurant we've chosen. 2nd choice is Quincy Market - Faneuil Hall - Financial (PL zone 9.) My #1 hotel choice is the Radisson, 3* on PL. I've stayed there before & I love that they have balconies on all rooms. Unfortunately it looks like their prices have gone up this week so perhaps availability is going to be a problem. I have been looking at Hotwire too but based on amenities it doesn't look like the Radisson is coming up. My max bid is $105 at this point. I think I would like to bid to my limit in my first choice zone before trying again...and if I'm to go beyond my first/second choice zones I would lower my max bid significantly. Thanks! Oh, and Jimmy, thanks for the parking info! I don't want to feed meters or move the car much so if I have to bite the bullet and pay the full $35-40, so be it. *sigh* :)

Thanks for your response! I'm aware of the parking likely adding at least $30+ to the cost, after having learned that lesson the hard way on previous Priceline stays in other cities. I only mentioned it because I'm trying to factor it in upfront. There are a few hotels w/parking included but they may entail a pricier cab ride so all else being equal I'd just as soon suck it up on parking & hope for a nicer place. As for taxes etc--I'd like to call it $150 inclusive but am flexible. I'm also open to staying somewhere dirt cheap but so often it seems that if you go for the cheapie room, by the time you add everything in you aren't that far off what you could get by taking a chance bidding low for a really nice room. Also, do you know much about Boston? I was thinking we might like to stay in Cambridge--better restos/bars than theatre dist (IMO) and only a $9 cab ride...but some if the hotels could be way down at the distant end of the zone... Thanks for any insight!

Date of trip: 11/7/09 (Saturday, 1 night) Preferred area: Theatre district, or within short cab ride of theatre district (Priceline area in order of preference: 5, 9, 1, 6, 4) Budget: would be thrilled to stay somewhere really nice (4*?) under $150 including parking We're going to see a comedy show and want to either walk to the theatre, or take a cheap cab ride. We are open to a hotel a little further (like Cambridge) if the lower cost offsets a slightly more expensive cab ride. What strategy should I use for Priceline? It's just my husband and myself, so we don't need 2 beds or anything. Should I start trying now, or is the pricing going to be better if I wait? Thanks!