mzjones34

Bid $65 + FQ + 4* --> PL offered to let me rebid immediately for $17 more, I declined. Free rebid: Added Garden District $70 --> PL denied. Free rebid: Added Metairie $75 --> PL accepted. Your Offer Price: $75.00 Number of Rooms: 2 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $600.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $110.02 Total Charges: $710.02 I hope the hotel is nice... pictures look so-so. I will check reviews next.

PS. I did do some research on the going rates. I've checked the respective hotel web sites to find... $229 Fontainbleau Hilton $299 Renaissance Eden Roc $309 Sheraton Bal Harbor Also, Hotwire is also offering a (boutique?) 4* hotel for $103. These are price quotes for the dates starting Sunday thru Thursday. Hope that helps!

I haven't booked with PL or Hotwire in over a year, so I'm rusty in strategy. I would appreciate any guidance you have to share on the following scenario... Dates: 4 nights is the goal 04/02 (Sat) thru 04/06 (Wed) somewhat flexible w/dates; can start vacation on friday, sunday or monday-- just needs to happen some time that week. Location: Miami Beach or South Beach Stayed at the Hilton Fountainbleu a year ago (~$90/nite), and that was fine. Rating: Resort preferred; though a 4* in SoBe is fine. Price: Looking in the range of $100/nite. Is this realistic for the dates? Questions to the experts :) - Are there any 4* hotels in Miami Beach? - Is the Resort Renaissance the Eden Roc hotel? - Is it better to begin the travel on Sunday? I appreciate any insight you can provide! Thanks, in advance!

A friend of mine just called to tell me about her priceline win... and I wanted to share w/the board. She only placed one bid (based on what she was seeing on Hotwire's site). She got the 4* Manchester Hyatt for $96 nite, 3 nights beginning 07/02/04.

... one more question... Is it common for hotels to release rooms to PL the day of? I wonder if I should wait in order to try and get the Hyatt tomorrow before trying for DT or others.

Thank you so much for the helpful info! I just noticed also, the Newark Airport area... and the Hilton Gateway listed on your hotel list. I definitely wouldn't mind that result as well. Any guesses on how much the bid would need to be?

My friend lives in W.Orange, NJ. It works out easiest if I can leave my bags at a hotel, daytrip to NYC, and then return for dinner and views!

My back-up plan is maybe to crash at a friend's house... BUT it would be much better if I could get something. Yes, it is just the one night. Unless, perhaps I can get two nights at the Hyatt for the $35... which I would be willing to do. Do you think that would give me a better result?

I tried a bid @ $35 and then had traveling partner try @ $40. No luck. Any idea on what the acceptable bid might be? I'd really like the Hyatt -- and may be willing to go higher for that.

Still no luck... this is so frustrating... South Beach Resort, $115, rejected rebid - $120, rejected rebid - $125, rejected rebid - $128, rejected rebid - $130, rejected Added 4* - $70, rejected rebid - $85, rejected :) I haven't wanted to split the bid... but that may be my only choice. Thanks.

Thanks for the input. I think I may go ahead and try the 4*s. Here are my latest attempts at a resort... to no avail... re-bid (added zone) $100, rejected re-bid (added zone) $110, rejected re-bid (added zone) $120, rejected I need to reassess my preferences... and I'll try again later... Thanks again! jj

Thanks so much for the feedback! Two quick questions... 1. How did you determine which were the "trouble" nites? It seemed when I was looking at prices, each hotel's rate variations were different and not consistently around the same days. 2. I would really prefer staying at a Resort. Any estimation on how high I'd need to go for a Resort? Thanks.

Aiming for a Resort @ $100 or 4* @ $80 in South Beach. Started w/Resort $100, rejected Rebid (added zone) $105, rejected Rebid (added zone) $110, rejected Rebid (added 4*) $70, rejected Rebid (added zone) $75, rejected Rebid (added zone) $79, rejected All zoned out... perhaps I should try on another day??? Not sure that the hotels have released inventory to pl right now. :) Any recommendations on time of day to do this? Other strategies? Perhaps I'm being too idealistic in terms of prices and high season? In doing some research, I noticed that the hotels that fall into these categories have the following ratings... - Loews $279 (Resort) - National - no rooms listed on Expedia for saturday, sunday (Resort) - Clinton $149/$169/$209 (varies each day) (4*) - Marriott - no rooms listed on Expedia (4*) - Holiday Inn $130/$159 (rate varies) (3*) - Hotel Chelsea $127 (3*) Advice is welcome!!!

Great question... and I hate to answer it because I want the best of everything! :) But... in deciding, I guess I'd have to say... 1. price 2. star rating 3. zone Because we'll have a car, I could care less about zone -- that is, only if we exclude the coconut grove option!

I am interested in visiting Miami from jan 29 thur feb 1, 2004. Unfortunately, what I'm finding for hotels seems exceptionally high (of course it is high season). Please feel free to offer advice. Here are my specs: preferences... 4/5*/resort max $80 3* max $50 area... 1. south beach 2. miami beach 3. downtown ... in desperation ... 4. coconut grove Am I being unreasonable? Please feel free to comment w/realistic prices. Also, I'm willing to go thru hotwire. Thanks for any help you can provide! jj

Well, I tried and tried and couldn't get anything that I wanted. I was hoping for a 4* for $100 or less. I had several rounds of bidding that went something to the effect of... (although I can't remember every bid exactly): Start $75, 4* Lower manhattan = rejected Rebid $80, 4* added MTE = rejected Rebid $85, 4* added MTW = rejected Rebid $90, 4* added MTS = rejected ... changed logon and continued... Start $100, 4* Lower manhattan = rejected Rebid $103, 4* added MTE = rejected Rebid $105, 4* added MTW = rejected Rebid $107, 4* added MTS = rejected Nothing. Disappointed, I started bidding for a 3*. ... changed logon and continued... Start $75, 3*, Lower manhattan = rejected Rebid $80, 3*, added MTE = rejected Thoroughly frustrated at this point, but continued... Rebid $90, 3*, added MTW and MTS = ACCEPTED! Hotel: Jolly Hotel Madison Towers (http://www.jollymadison.com) Dates: 10/02-10/05 Bid price: $90 per night Subtotal: $270 Taxes: $47.20 Total: $317.20 It's for a friend. I'll let you know how the hotel is when she returns.

I am doing a little research for a friend on her first visit to NYC. Her instructions to me were - 3* or higher - $100 or less - check in 10/02, check out 10/05 - location: she wants to stay in "Manhattan"--> which I translate to mean midtown (west, south, east, or upper-mid central park south) I would love some advice/strategy for bidding a 4* and 3*? From what I've seen, it looks like she'd be able to get a 4* for about $100. On the other hand, hotwire's hotels seem a bit more pricey... so I'm wondering if I am off? I'll be doing the bidding for her, and just wanted some advice before I dived right in. :) I appreciate any help you boarders provide! Thanks.

Addendum... Amenities for the Sheraton 4.5* hotel were restaurant, pool, fitness center, business center

okay... i'm trying to plan a trip to miami. i would be flying from sfo to miami and would prefer to stay in a 4* or resort in south beach. i'm looking for the (infamous) weekend of 8/28-9/1. for hotel i'd like to keep the rates to $90 as i've seen from other postings -- but i realize that might be a dream considering it is a holiday weekend. on the other hand, the weekend is 3 weeks away and the hotels are not booked. maybe a good sign? my questions... 1) am i likely to get a better price if i book as a "vacation" versus buying hotel and air separately? 2) can you recommend a strategy for both: a) booking as a vacation and :) booking the hotel separately? currently, i see flights for about $278 to FLL, $436 to MIA (the latter is preferred). thanks -- once again!

Unfortunately, I have to say no to Targhee... Jackson Hole only. If my prices are unreasonable... perhaps you could also suggest what my best chance at getting the best price would be? I really appreciate your help!

Good points... To answer your question... Yes, I was thinking $100/nite... $200 total. Bottom line is, I'm trying to get the cheapest price for a 4*/resort... and if all else fails, we'll shack it in a 3*. As for the rooms, I think you're absolutely right; 2 rooms it is. Although, maybe it would be worthwhile to book one and then book the other? Any experience with that strategy?

Here we go again... :) Here's what I'm looking for... Prefer 4* or resort, 2 nights (07/23-07/25) for less than $100... might eventually settle for a 3* if it were considerably lower -- like $50. Jackson prices seem varied from site-to-site; I don't know where to begin. I think Hotwire's picks are pretty pricey, but I've seen some (I think) decent places on www.placestostay.com for $99 and thereabouts. Last question... We have 4 adults going... one person suggested bunking together in one room (we're a family). I'm afraid the room might be very small, and only able to accomodate 2 or 3. Is this a legitimate fear? Would you recommend going for 2 rooms? Any advice on this one?

I'm new to car rental bidding. Any strategy advice would be of great help. I'm looking for a mid-full size car, 2 days, 07/11 and 07/12. I've already reserved Hertz at a total price (including fees/taxes) of $89... the daily price is $36. (Using the AAA code) Any advice trying to get a better price on priceline. Hertz has already outbid Hertz on this one. Thanks! jj

Ah ha! Point taken. Thank you! I didn't realize that you could lower your bid price, or even keep it the same... if you lower the zones. Another lesson learned. Thanks again for all your help!

My thinking process... My goal was to get a good 3* or higher for $59 or less. First, I looked at Hotwire and found a 3.5* Downtown Miami for $51 (likely the Sheraton B.Bay), and 3.5* Miami Airport for $48. So, I proceeded on priceline to see if I could beat that deal... (I noticed that in another posting, a bidder received the Hyatt downtown for $27, so that's where I started). 1st bid, miami downtown 3*, $25 = rejected !!! WARNING !!! Tried to re-bid using a 4*... then realized that you can't go up in rankings during a re-bid :( important lesson! So, I (cheated and) moved to another computer, used a different email and credit card and continued something like this... 1st bid, miami downtown 4*, $30 = rejected re-bid, added 3*, $31 = rejected re-bid, added miami airport, $35 = accepted! Hyatt Total Charges: $45.31 (includes tax)