baliktad

Noticed that Hotwire had a "Super savings" rate of $189/night for a 5* hotel in the Mayfair-Soho area. With the amenities listed, I concluded that Hotwire was offering the Intercontinental. Knowing that Hotwire marks up its rates approximately 20-30%, I confirmed that the Intercontinental was listed as a winner for Priceline bids in the same area, and set about to win the Intercon at Priceline. Bidding up in $5 increments from $100, I also applied Priceline bonus cash from a previous offer. This theoretically added $6/night to my bid. $155 +$6 bonus cash = $161 - rejected $160 +$6 bonus cash = $166 - accepted Intercontinental London Park Lane Total cost was $396.94 all-in for 2 nights, a truly amazing rate for this world-class property. Lowest available rate at this hotel is

A fantastic rate for this property right next to Capitol Hill. Published rates range from double to over quadruple(!) this rate. The best discounted rate I could find for Sunday (1 night) alone is over $300, significantly more than I will spend for the entire 3-night stay. Bid history: $60 - Counter-offer +$15 $62 - Rejected $64 - Counter-offer +$15 $66 - Accepted Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill Total for 3 nights including taxes/fees is $234.54.

One thing I forgot to mention above. The Sheraton has a mandatory resort charge of $25 per night ($26.04 with tax) assessed of all guests regardless of booking method. This resort charge covers the "free" parking, wifi, local calls, and a handful of other worthless benefits. It's a rather steep add-on to a PL rate, but of course the PL terms and conditions include a provision covering this:

After seeing the Hotwire 4* rate drop from $224 yesterday to $205 today, I was encouraged to try again on Priceline. $150 - counter-offer +$35 $160 - rejected $170 - counter-offer +$35 $180 - accepted Sheraton Maui, $629.13 a/i Best published rate for this property is $299/night, with AAA as low as $256/night; Hotwire's $205/night comes out to $713.93 a/i so any way you look at it PL comes out ahead. The winning rate may be as low as $171, although I estimate it's approximately $175. While I've not been to this property before, every room seems to offer a private lanai, a refrigerator and free high-speed internet. I'm not expecting anything more than the Garden View room, but the hotel does boast that 83% of their rooms "have beautiful ocean views."

Bid for resort property in Kaanapali area. There are 2 free rebid zones, so a total of 4 bids allowed per 24-hour period. My previous research indicated HOTWIRE had a $209/night 4* room, which corresponds to PRICELINE's resort properties. I estimated that with HOTWIRE's markup, this translated to an available rate of $160/night on PL. Previous reported bids were approximately in this range. However, since yesterday, the HW rate has gone up to $224/night (+$15/night). My new estimate is that $175 is the minimum winning bid on PL. Bid history: $145 - rejected $155 - rejected $160 - rejected $165 - rejected Normally I would have expected a counter-offer at $160 if the winning bid was as close as $175, so now I am not so sure. Since these rates are already at the upper end of my price threshold, I will probably try for a lower star rating.

Needed a hotel tonight to escape the heat. 4* in Bellevue seems to be limited to Hyatt and the Westin. There are tons of rebid zones here, so I bid up from $63 as follows: $63 - rejected $65 - rejected $67 - rejected $69 - rejected $71 - counter-offer +$15 $72 - counter-offer +$15 $73 - rejected $74 - counter-offer +$15 $75 - rejected $76 - counter-offer +$15 $77 - rejected $78 - counter-offer +$15 $79 - rejected $80 - counter-offer +$15 $81 - rejected $82 - counter-offer +$15 $83 - Won Hyatt Regency Bellevue Total with taxes is $102.74. Comparable rates: Rack rate for this property is $249 ($284.86 with taxes) The lowest published discount (excl. senior/govt) rate for this propery is a Costco or AAA rate $211.65 ($242.13 with taxes) Hotwire lists a Bellevue 4* property which is almost certainly the Hyatt for $139 ($164.49 with taxes) Also, here are some maximum "did not win" bids in nearby zones and star levels that I bid today: Bellevue 3.5* - $71 rejected Redmond - Kirkland 4* - $73 rejected Kirkland 2.5* - $50 rejected

Have been using BB for a while and while the calendar is very useful, it's pretty clunky and cumbersome to access. I would very much like to see the suggestion above implemented, so as to allow for only 1 date selection and just show 14 days after that. It's very frustrating when you are trying to see one week before and after a particular date and trying to do the date math and still stay within the 14 day window. Looking forward to some improvements here!

Single-night, on-the-dollar wins like this make it easy to reveal Priceline's cut if you know the hotel tax rate: Room Charge: $41 (as reported above) Taxes: $5.44 Total remitted to Hyatt: $46.44 Since PL was paid $53.86, that means PL's take on this stay was $7.42. Percentage-wise this is high, but PL has a fixed markup per stay, regardless of the number of nights. An interesting insight into Priceline's business model.

Plenty of free rebids here for 3.5... started at $40: $40: rejected $41: accepted for Hyatt Regency Phoenix one night total: $53.86 a/i Have stayed at this property before on a PL win, and received a top floor room with a view. The hotel is a quick light rail ride from the airport, although it has a pathetically undersized pool for a desert property. With the summer heat setting in, it seems even PL rates have dropped, so this one was an easy snag at $41. Best published rate I could find for this property was $89.59 after taxes, so I'm happy to save over $35.

Can the subtitle of this post be amended to reflect the correct winning bid of $110? The calendar of wins shows the incorrect $119, which is a little misleading if people don't take the time to investigate individual winning posts.

Saw lots of wins in the $40-$50 range so I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately it looks like rates are a bit higher for this Saturday night stay. Since there are lots of free rebids here, I bid up slowly in $1 increments. Bids $40 and under will be rejected to PL's fixed-rate service. $41 - rejected ... $54 - rejected $55 - countered +$10 $56 - countered +$12 $57 - countered +$12 $58 - countered +$12 $59 - countered +$12 $60 - countered +$12 $61 - countered +$12 At this point I gave up as I was within a few dollars of an available rate at the Hyatt Regency and I would rather have the freedom of a cancellable reservation. However, due to the $10 counter-offer at $55, I believe the lowest winning bid is no more than $65, and more likely $62 or $63. Sorry I can't provide a winning bid amount or property.

The below report is from bidding activity which occurred 28 Mar 2010. Priceline seems to have removed its "only has a small chance of being accepted" warning. I started as low as $25 (just enough to make the red "no chance" warning go away) since every zone is a free rebid zone in Austin 4*! I knew it was unrealistic, but here's what I gleaned: - Bids below $40 will not tell you accepted/declined. You will instead get redirected to Priceline's Fixed Price hotel site, where evidently they want to give you a lesson in what "realistic" hotel rates are. It's a little disconcerting actually because it hardly even tells you your bid was denied, just a small notice on a page plastered with ads. Annoying. - No bid $60 or below will be accepted in this zone for these dates. I bid in dollar increments from $40 all the way up to $60 and didn't get a counter-offer once. This leads me to believe that the lowest winning rate is still at least $5-$10 away. - Hotwire had a $99/night rate for a 4* property here (lowest now seems to be $134). Since Hotwire contractually obligates its vendor hotels to offer rates at least as attractive as other opaque services (ie, Priceline), I estimate the lowest PL rate was about $75/night and may be around $100/night now. I'm not sure what I will end up booking for this stay, but if I generate further PL bids, I will update this thread.

Always easy to bid for 4* properties in this zone since there are so many free rebids. Started low: $55 - rejected $56 - rejected $57 - rejected $58 - rejected $59 - counteroffer +$17 $60 - rejected $61 - counteroffer +$17 $62 - rejected $63 - counteroffer +$17 $64 - rejected $65 - rejected $66 - rejected $67 - counteroffer +$17 $68 - accepted Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, $162.30 all-in I've not stayed at this property before but the location is prime - right on the waterfront with spectacular views of the harbor, within walking distance of Gaslamp area, and less than a 5 minute drive from the airport. The lowest I could find for this property is a mind-boggling $215.20 per night nonrefundable rate ($484.62 after taxes and fees), so I'm happy to save over $320!

Wow, this is a fantastic price for such an upscale property. Congrats on the win! It's also great to know Andaz is filling rooms at PRICELINE rates. I stay in SD frequently and hope that this comes up in my search.

Bid up from $60; there are basically unlimited rebids for 4* hotels in this area: $60 ... counteroffer +$17 $61 ... declined $62 ... counteroffer +$17 $63 ... declined $64 ... counteroffer +$17 $65 ... accepted Marriott San Diego Hotel & Marina, $155.36 a/i The best rate I could find online for this property on the same dates is AAA for $169/night, for a grand total of $380.71. I'm happy to save over $225 on Priceline!

Bid up in $2 increments from $76: $76 - declined $78 - declined ... $88 - counteroffer +$22 $90 - declined $92 - counteroffer +$22 $94 - declined $96 - counteroffer +$22 $98 - accepted Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort This rate is about on par for this property; PL rates seem to hover in the $100-$105 range. I've stayed here on a previous visit and have enjoyed the proximity to the beach and beachfront shops. The two towers are shaped like octagons, so most rooms have a chance of at least some view of the beach. Rooms are relatively spacious (for Hawaii!), have private balconies and are equipped with mini-fridges to store leftovers. The bathrooms are a little small, particularly the toilet/shower area, but are stocked with generous amounts of Portico spa amenities. Best Internet rate for this property is AAA at $161/night, for a total of $545.60 after taxes. The Priceline total is $344.49, so I'm very pleased with a savings of over $200.

To clarify a request sent to me directly, this property is located at 2777 Zuni St. There are evidently 2 Residence Inn properties in downtown Denver. This one is not exactly in the heart of downtown, but they do offer an hourly shuttle that will take you to the city center. Accommodations here are great, btw. The property is built like condos/apartments, with several individual buildings that have just a few units each. The rooms are large, with full size fridge, dishwasher, and range, complete with dishes and cookware. A single tube TV was the only slight disappointment. A free full hot breakfast buffet is included for all guests, as well as wireless Internet. Overall, it's a good sample of the Residence Inn brand: comfortable living-style quarters, impeccable cleanliness and high quality, without a hint of luxury.

Was expecting the Doubletree as that's what most folks seemed to get for 3* in this area. Bid up from $52: $52 ... rejected, declined counteroffer of +$15 $54 ... rejected $55 ... rejected, declined counteroffer of +$15 $56 ... rejected At this point I had used all my free rebids, so I had to wait 24 hours. $57 ... accepted by Radisson Hotel Boston. Property seems to be in a great location with nice pool and free Internet. Priceline was also hawking rental cars for $1/day (~$18 including taxes/fees), but the $34 overnight parking charge at this hotel kills the deal. Overall I am satisfied with this win. BAR rate for this property is $149+taxes, or $134+taxes for AAA, so I'm happy to save over $80.

Have seen successful bids in this 3.5* downtown zone range from $52 on up, so I started bidding at $50. Rebid in $1 increments before getting accepted at $61 for the Doubletree Hotel San Diego Downtown, so you can be guaranteed there is no lower price for these dates. With so many free rebid zones in SD, finding the lowest possible price is rather easy. While this hotel isn't quite in the heart of the gaslamp district like most of the 4* hotels in this zone, it's still within a short ride or a several minute walk. An airport shuttle and free wifi make this property an excellent value.

First bid rejected at $40, accepted using a free rebid @ $43. Also tried bidding on 4* in the downtown zone but gave up after bidding all the way up to $63.

Needed to extend this stay one night (=checkin 23Jan, checkout 25Jan). Used the Priceline "Extend Your Stay" feature to try the same $52 bid for the extra night. Rejected, but was informed that PL had found a rate of $81 ($100.43 a/i) instead. I declined this and decided to take my chances with a completely new bid, increasing in $2 increments since I'm a little pressed for time: $52 - rejected $54 - rejected ... $62 - rejected, free rebid offered +$17 (declined) $64 - rejected $66 - rejected, free rebid offered +$17 (declined) $68 - rejected $70 - rejected $72 - won Hyatt Regency, $90.01 all-in Lesson: Pretty much any price that Priceline offers can be beat by strategic bidding - don't accept the bait! My winning bid of $72 saved me over $10 off the price that PL "found" for me, and I still ended up at the same hotel.

Plenty of free rebids here for 3.5... started at $40: $40: rejected $41: rejected $42: rejected $43: rejected $44: rejected, free rebid +$12 $45: rejected $46: rejected, free rebid +$13 $47: rejected $48: rejected, free rebid +$14 $49: rejected $50: rejected, free rebid +$14 $51: rejected $52: accepted for Hyatt Regency Phoenix one night total: $66.02 a/i

Plenty of free rebids for a 4* here, so started at $40. $40 - rejected $41 - rejected ... $47 - rejected $48 - rejected, free rebid offered +$14 (declined) $49 - rejected $50 - rejected, free rebid offered +$14 (declined) $51 - rejected $52 - won Hyatt Regency, $66.77 all-in

Bid for 3* Bid $40, rejected, offered free rebid for $12 more (declined) Bid $42, accepted for 3.5 Crowne Plaza, $55.21 all-in

$50 - offered free rebid for $14 more (declined) $51 - rejected $52 - offered free rebid for $15 more (declined) $53 - rejected $54 - offered free rebid for $15 more (declined) $55 - rejected $56 - accepted. Total $71.09 all-in with taxes and fees. Lesson learned, when PL starts offering free rebids for $xx more, you're very close to a winning bid, but you don't need to increase your offer by nearly as much as they want you to.