Tino

Going for 5 days during spring break. The New Orleans Marriott is asking $259 a night, and is identified on PRICELINE EXPRESS for $166 a night (8+ rating, 3200 reviews). Bids of $75 and $80 failed. Accepted at $85 a night. This is a good zone to aggressively bid a 4*, because the quality is quite high across all 18 or so qualifying properties. You won't get a mis-rated dump.

Offered via PRICELINE EXPRESS at $55. I started bidding at $45 and increased by $1 until they took it at $50.

This rate is ridiculous because it is during the Great American Beer Fest in October 2017. 4 star properties are all over $300 a night, so I don't know why the Magnolia was offering PRICELINE bidding inventory.

The cheapest week of the year to get a hotel room in St. Louis. 4* Hyatt and Westin were both asking $109 and were $56 on PRICELINE EXPRESS Started bidding at $45, added $1 with every free bid. $51 accepted.

Bid for a second room for a relative on different dates. $51 on the first bid scored the room.

PRICELINE EXPRESS with Pets Allowed, Free Internet, Business Center, Fitness Center

Started 4* bidding at $100, went up in increments of $8 with free bids. Got the Westin for $124. Best PRICELINE EXPRESS price for the property for the past week was $131, and retail rates are running $207-259 depending on the source.

The former Howard Johnson

PRICELINE EXPRESS, $67. Not much more to say. It's the former Best Western, recently updated. Great bargain for a parade night.

ERROR IN HOTWIRE FOR HOTEL CONRAD The amenities matched the Trump, but I ended up with the Hilton Conrad. The confirmation page for the winning 5* bid even noted that it is a 4.5* hotel. 5* Magnificent Mile Area - River North Free Internet Fitness Center Self-Service Laundry Pet Friendly Restaurant(s) Internet Access Smoke Free Rooms Business Center I called Hotwire and they admitted that the rooms were submitted at the wrong star level and offered a refund. In the meantime, they told me not to rebid for a 5* Chicago hotel for a week while they fix the coding.

First bid accepted. Note: betterbidding has this listed in the Waikiki Beach region. I bid City Center because I was expecting the Hilton.

Bid up to $120 on Price.line for 4.5* with no luck. Offered on PRICELINE EXPRESS for $130, plus $20 resort fee. I paid $300+ for this hotel in the past, so I am a very, very happy shopper.

I thought I was getting the Sheraton Riverwalk, but I received the (rather poorly reviewed) Floridan Palace. I paid $108.

Started bidding at $13/day for full and standard size. Countered every time with a $25/day offer (lowest retail price was $29/day through Alamo). Increased bids by a dollar until $18/day for a full-size was accepted.

It was a 4* property.

I was expecting the Swisshotel (specifically, the "tennis" amenity noted), but I got the Fairmont next door. Add it to the list. Amenities: Pet friendly Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Tennis Nearby Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Accessible bathroom Roll-in shower

I am bidding (4* NMA) for this Saturday and my PRICELINE bids are approaching within a few dollars of the PRICELINE EXPRESS prices ($149) and HOTWIRE prices ($138) with no success. My refundable backup is the Aloft at $161 (still cheaper than these options after fees), so I can wait until the last minute to see if prices drop.

I already had a refundable reservation at another property for much, much more since it is during the Great American Beer Fest. $225/nt on the Courtyard's website. Other downtown properties (the ones that are not already sold out) are $300-500 a night during the event. Bids that failed: 4.5* up to $135 4* up to $130 3.5* up to $125 3* up to $85

I guess I'll answer my own question... looks like it may be Hotel Teatro.

I'm bidding on a stay in October and it popped up as an option. Any idea on what it might be?

The hotel is literally on the St Petersburg/Clearwater border. It is unfortunate for St Petersburg bidders that a hotel that is 12 miles from downtown St Petersburg is grouped with the other downtown hotels. It probably keeps many people from using Priceline at all, since no one who seeks a downtown property wants to be stuck with a $60-70 roundtrip cab fare to get there.

As I posted in the other topic, I just had a bid accepted for 9/28 at the 4* Hyatt Regency for $85. Good luck!

SUCCESS! As I expected, rooms are opening up for Friday night. Numerous hotels are now showing availability. On my first try, I bid $85 for a 4* for 9/28 and received the Hyatt Regency at The Arch. They declined the option to extend the stay at the same rate.

I've bid STL dozens of times, and I've never seen it this difficult. 17 of the 20 hotels downtown are showing "sold out", including the Millennium, and the Hyatt is now at $334 a night on Orbitz. This may be a last-minute kind of bid, since there appears to be almost no availability. On the plus side, the two Blues games that weekend have been cancelled, so there will be some rooms opening up.

I have been trying for those exact dates for months. I started my bidding really low and have gone up to $74 for a 4* and $72 for a 3.5*. (I am holding off on a 3* bid due to the possibility of getting the dreadful Millennium property). That weekend, there are three Cardinals home games, a Rams home game and two (probably cancelled) Blues home games, so any cheap rooms will be released at the last minute. The hockey teams stay at the Westin, so there will be a last minute cancellation of a huge block of rooms there if the lockout continues. I am using points as a backup plan, as several properties were still offering awards for that timeframe. Don't be tempted to take the HOTWIRE 3* at $117. You WILL get the Millennium, and they WILL put you in an old, dirty room in the basement. I've had several people at the front desk tell me outright that Hotwire/Priceline bids get the same block of terrible basement rooms. Since then, I give a huge tip to the desk clerk at check-in and they always "just happen to find me a room in the new tower".