BEAV

Too funny. I was just getting ready to send you a PM to alert you to this sale. Although 5/22 - 5/24 doesn't work, 5/23 - 5/25 does work in case you're able to alter your plans. But there's also many dates throughout the summer available as well. Today I booked the Tower Suite in June ($869 rack rate for $261) to "celebrate" my big 50th. :) BTW, I noticed your Le Meridien post too late to take advantage of that one. Since that was also an Expedia 24-hour sale, and also on a Tuesday, I'm starting to see a pattern here. Note to self: Log onto Expedia every Tuesday!

A little more concrete info on this special 24-hour sale..... 1. Sale appears to be over at 11:59pm in whatever time zone you're in. 2. Sale is 50% off between now and May 22. 3. Sale is 70% off between May 23 and August 31. 4. Minimum stay is two nights. Can be purchased from either Expedia or Hotels.com.

This morning I stumbled across a 24-hour 70% off sale at the Fairmont Hotel San Francisco on Expedia. My original search dates were July 2-July 6, 2008 when I noticed the 70% sale. I plugged in various dates in May, June and July and many dates are also offering 70% off. I'm not sure when the 24 hour began w/ Expedia (which time zone, etc), so grab this discount while you can. Examples of prices for July 2-6 timeframe: Fairmont Room -- Regular Price $399 for $120 Exterior Room -- $429 for $129 Deluxe View - $469 for $141 Signature Bay View - $519 for $156 Main Bldg Suite - $669 for $201 Tower Suite - $869 for $261

You're probably right about the Inn at the Opera speculation. I see it's under new ownership, which is the same company (Shell Vacations Hospitality) that owns the Vino Bello Resort in Napa (a fairly new Priceline/Hotwire entrant as well).

Both Priceline and Hotwire are very good about canceling/refunding nonrefundable hotel purchases. I've received hotel refunds on two different occasions when weather-related airline cancellations were the culprit. So while I'm glad your situation worked out to your benefit, it's pretty much standard policy. It's just too bad more people don't know that although rules are rules, so are there exceptions to rules. And weather-related travel conditions are a very different animal in the world of non-refundable purchases, as you experienced.

A Hotwire vacation package search 3/19-3/21 reveals the Doubletree SF Airport South/Burlingame has been upgraded 3 stars to 3.5 stars. Amenities are now: Shuttle Fitness Restaurant Business Hi-Speed Internet (new)

Regarding Priceline, I've always thought the cut off was 11:00pm Eastern Time. It's currently 9:20pm Pacific time (12:20am Eastern) and Priceline won't process a bid for today's date. Hotwire, on the other hand, will still allow a booking for tonite.

Priceline no longer offers 4 star bidding in the Palo Alto-Mountain View, CA (San Jose) zone. (I would tend to believe the Westin Palo Alto no longer participates w/Priceline as opposed to it's being downgraded to 3 stars, however that's only an opinion.) This change adds a free rebid when bidding 4 stars in Cupertino/Campbell, Newark/Fremont, San Jose and Sunnyvale/Cupertino zones.

First bid of $75 produced counteroffer to add $22. Rebid $80 and accepted. Hilton London Olympia Kensington - Earls Court - Knightsbridge 380 Kensington High Street London, United Kingdom Check-In Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2008 Check-Out Date: Fri, Apr 11, 2008 Offer Price Per Room: US$80.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$21.82 Total Charges: US$101.82

San Francisco Hotwire search May 1-4, 2008 reveals the Palace Hotel - Luxury Collection (Starwood) has been downgraded 4.5 to 4 stars. Amenities remain unchanged. Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access Spa Services

I assisted a friend who made this purchase. Palace Hotel - Luxury Collection (Starwood) 2 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, California 94105 Thursday, May 1 to Sunday, May 4, 2008 $109 per night. Amenities are unchanged from those on the hotel list, however the hotel has been downgraded 4.5 to 4 stars. Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access Spa Services

Thank You!

I'm sure many have noticed the addition of the 'smoke-free rooms' icon displaying on a number of Hotwire hotels. Does anyone know if this means the entire property is smoke-free? Or does it mean the hotel simply offers smoke free rooms? And finally, does purchasing a hotel with this amenity listed guarantee you a smoke-free room in the event the property has both smoking and non-smoking rooms?

Could you give some specifics on your experience? Was the hotel missing amenities Hotwire listed it had?

First bid of $39 accepted. Four Points Sheraton 5115 Hopyard Rd Pleasanton, California 94588 Check-in: Feb 4 2008 Check-out: Feb 5 2008 Offer Price $39.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $11.70 Total Charges: $50.70 Bid placed through SavingsBarn.com link to PRICELINE.

In many cities, if you happened to be familiar with key characteristics of some of the hotels, the customer favorite comments were often helpful in identifying a particular hotel. In San Francisco, for example, both the Omni and Hyatt Regency Embarcadero have identical Hotwire star rating and amenities, and both are designated as customer favorites. Only the customer favorite comments could distinguish which hotel Hotwire was selling. The Hyatt Regency is a contemporary hotel, while the Omni more traditional and old world. There would often be customer favorite comments to this effect, with people calling the Omni "ornate". The Hyatt has balconies whereas the Omni doesn't, so if you read a comment about balconies, you knew they were referring to the Hyatt. I'm sure this scenario played out in many cities, I'm just using San Francisco as an example. If this is a permenant change by HOTWIRE no longer publishing customer favorite comments, then we have lost an effective tool in identifying many of their hotels they sell.

Today I've run across two "customer favorite" hotels on Hotwire, however the link to click to read the customer comments is missing. Has anyone else noticed this? Temporary glitch or is it a new policy to no longer show the customer comments, which often aided in identifying some hotels?

I can't even remember the circumstances now, but a few years ago the only way I got anywhere with Priceline on a dispute was by correcponding with their executive offices via the investor's part of their website. It seems you have to get to that level before you find anyone with half a brain to stop and figure things out. I agree with dahammer you should share your December experience with your new-found contact within Priceline. Refunds aside, they need to know what's going on (or in this case, not going on) at the lower customer service levels. Excellent follow-through, Colfax! "Colfax vs Priceline" would have made for great material for an episode on William Shatner's "Boston Legal". What a spin to have Priceline as the defendant on Shatner's show!

Good job nailing the Priceline rate down to the penny... 11:00am breakfast buffet .. perfect for those night owls! :)

Napa-Sonoma Hotwire changes per vacation package search 1/14-1/16/08: Napa-Sonoma (Sonoma) 4* MacArthur PLace (back to 4 stars again up from 3.5 stars) Complimentary Breakfast Fitness Center Pool Restaurant Business Hi-Speed Internet (new) Spa Napa-Sonoma (Santa Rosa-Rohnert Park-Petaluma) 4* Doubletree Fitness Pool Restaurant Business Hi-Speed Internet (new) Golf (new)

Have no idea about Princess, but QM2 is in town for the Winter! :)

Needed a one night pre-cruise hotel before sailing from Brooklyn Terminal. Flying into JFK, but did not want to stay at an airport-area hotel. Had a cancellable back-up booked in Brooklyn, but really didn't want to stay there, either (yes, we're picky). Have tried off and on with NYC hotels for the past two or three months, knowing it would be tough (and expensive) during high season. Knew if I was going to get anything, it would be at the last minute (which turned out to be the case). Initial bids in Downtown/SOHO and MTE zones were all rejected up to $350. Started bidding MTW at $250 and immediately received counter offer of $275. Next bid of $255 rejected. Accepted at $260. Rack rate at Hilton.com is $549. Hilton Times Square - MTW 234 West 42nd Street New York, New York 10036 Check-in: Thursday, Nov 29, 2007 Check-out: Friday, Nov 30, 2007 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $260.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $55.05 Total Charges*: $315.05 Bid placed via Savings Barn link to PRICELINE.

Looks like a new star rating as well as different amenities for the Algonquin Hotel in NYC Midtown Central per a vacation package search Nov29-Dec 1. 3.5* Algonquin (formerly 4 stars) Fitness Restaurant Hi-Speed Internet

Note to thereuare: Please edit the dates in the title from 1/26/07-2/2/08 to 1/26/08-2/2/08. This thread is displaying when you do a search for NY Priceline wins for December 2007 (or any search between now and Feb 08). Thanks! :)

First a 3 star hotel in Concord/Lafayette zone, now a 4 star in SF. What IS this world coming to...??? Enjoy your stay as well as Halloween in the big city....