Bob24

Update: After 25 plus minutes on the phone going round and round with Hotwire, they finally agreed to refund my money. The call went to a call center in another country and it was like pulling teeth to explain to the guy that, while I understood their no refund policy, I made the booking based on completely false information that THEY had provided.

I got fleeced a bit by this "win". Hotwire showed that they had a 2.5 star property that is regularly $129 marked all the way down to $43 a night. I jumped on it and got burned by getting the Extended Stay America-Overland Park/Leawood on Nall Ave. I don't like ESA's since their mattresses are generally stiff as a board. They can also smell of smoke as well. I immediately got on ESA's own website and it showed me that their advance purchase rate for the property was $62.99...NOT a $129 a night property like Hotwire stated. I wonder if I would have any recourse in getting the reservation canceled since saying I was getting a $129 room for $43 was not true in the least...not even close. Plus, calling an ESA 2.5 stars is way overboard. No daily housekeeping...a complete joke of a breakfast...no amenities really to speak of.

Saw a 2.5 star PRICELINE EXPRESS deal for $51 so I did a name your own price of $44 on PRICELINE. It told me that if I was willing to go up to $54 it would be accepted right away. I back out and entered another zone and upped my bid to $47. That was accepted I have stayed here before and it is so-so. Great area and the price is good so things should be fine.

I was just issued my second refund today from a 3rd party site. This summer I booked 6 nights on Expedia's blind site. I got a generic named property outside of Cleveland and started doing some research. What I found is that it was a former Holiday Inn that had been sold and was being turned into a Doubletree. It could no longer use the HI name and the new owners didn't want to brand it a Doubletree until the renovations were done. So, it went by the temporary name of the "Westlake inn". The Tripadvisor reviews were awful. Construction noise and debris everywhere. Strong smells from the glue and solvents. The on-site restaurant was closed as was the pool. I contacted Expe.dia and told them about the current construction and that I felt that the property was not currently in 3 star condition. They contacted the hotel to confirm the construction and then issued me a full refund. A couple of days ago I got a 3.5 star name of your price hotel in downtown Kansas City off of Priceline. It was the Crown Plaza. I immediately went on Tripadvisor to read the reviews and found out the hotel's ramp was out of service due to construction and that their was a lot of noise during the day. I called Priceline and said that the property was under construction and I didn't want to stay there. I listed my concerns. The initial person I talked to passed it on to a higher up. That person talked to me a bit and then called the hotel to confirm my statements. He then refunded my money. So, while these sites put out there that there are absolutely no refunds...they will make exceptions in certain cases.

I know there are no hard and fast rules on when the best time to bid is due to variables. But, as a general rule, will I save more by bidding many, many months in advance or waiting until the last minute?

This should work depending on the room I get assigned. I am going for baseball games and this place is just across the highway from the stadium. It is walkable and they also have a shuttle. I save $10 a game on parking. I have stayed here a couple of times before with one stay being pretty good and the other being below average. This place also isn't in the greatest neighborhood and the huge open parking lot is a feasting area for thiefs. I will have to make sure that not even a penny is visible when looking into my car when it is parked there.

Yes, it is the one on 110th Street.

26 bucks a night for a hotel room? I guess I had to win it to believe it. I guess if I can get the famous 4 star Pfister in Milwaukee on a busy weekend for $59 anything is possible eh? Surprising enough, this Homestead Suites gets pretty fair reviews on TA and it is in a nice, quiet, coporate area of Overland Park by a lot of stuff. I am a KC Royals partial season ticket holder so I travel to KC from Minnesota a lot. I must say that Overland Park is a bit further out from the stadium than I would consider ideal, but for the savings it provides, it is a no brainer for me when I can't get rock bottom deals at closer properties.

My best advice would be not to dip to a 3 star downtown because that will almost guarantee you the dreaded Millenium Hotel. If you want to get a feel for what a cesspool the Millenium is, check out their reviews on Trip Advisor.

I really got run through the ringer on this bidding process. I bid for KCMO many times a year and have noticed a lot of trends. However, none of those trends held true this time. Something must be going on in town because I bid a fair amount more than usual for 3 and 4 star properties and even was willing to stay on the Kansas side well outside the city. I dipped down to a 2 star property which I rarely do since with the star inflation that you often get from Priceline, you may just end up in some flop house. Well, lo and behold, I actually did really well for myself. It looks as though all the rooms at this Homestead have been remodeled recently and the reviews on Trip Advisor are very favorable (especially as of late) Location, location, location is what I will say about this property. The plaza or power and light are THE places to be in KCMO for the most part. I have done better in my KC bidding in the past, but overall I am pleased.

I was happy to get this well reviewed propterty for such a good rate. In a perfect world I would stay a little closer in , but I can't argue with the deep savings of staying out aways.

The amenity set did not quite match either of the two listed 4.5 star offerings for downtown that are currently listed on Better Bidding (the Meridian and Hotel Ivy) so I was taking a bit of a gamble. I ended up with the Graves 601, currently listed as a 4 star. I am happy. I am going to a concert that night at the Target Center and this hotel is literally right across the street from the venue. It is highly reviewed on TripAdvisor and many of my friends have stayed there and raved about it.

I can almost completely assure the OP that the hotel is indeed the Holiday Inn Express Westport. I have won this property before, but my stay is not scheduled until this summer for the All Star Game in KC. I was happy with the price for such a busy time, but not really the area. Westport is an 8 dollar cab ride to/from the CC Plaza. I have driven past this hotel several times and from the looks of it, and the reviews on Trip Advisor it is not a true 3 star. I have told some friends in KC that I would be staying at this place and they categorized it as a big party spot just down the street from the bars of Westport. I didn't like the bar scene in Westport. Much grittier than the bar scene on the plaza.

This hotel is right by my house and is very nice. For $40, you should be very pleased.

Place is a dump. A guy just got killed there last night. Bring the lysol and bulletproof vest.

I scored the booby prize on this win. I have never read so many negative reviews on a property on TripAdvisor. Calling this dump a 3 star seems shameful. A full third of the over 600 reviews rate this property as "terrible"! The one good point is that it is walking distance to Busch Stadium and we are going for a ball game. The hotel is also right by the arch. I can only hope that the rooms are good enough for our one night stay. At $41 I am not expecting the Ritz, but it better be better than moldy with bed bugs as some have mentioned.

I have been getting the Residence Inn in Independence a lot recently for my trips to KC and that is what I was hoping for this time as well. But I got the Clarion instead. I believe it is rated a bit high at 3 stars as I have been inside the property before but have not stayed there. The reviews are certainly mixed on TripAdvisor. A good point about this win is that this hotel is literally right across the street from the baseball stadium and that is what we are going for. So, we will save $10 on parking.

I have won this property several times lately at either $45 or $46 a night. This time I got it for $45. Considering the best price on Mariott's website is $126 a night prepaid, this is a great deal. When you factor in the free parking, big rooms, and free breakfast, this is a steal. It is also in a good area.

I have won this property at both $45 and $46 in the past. A steal for what amounts to having your own little apartment. While Independence isn't necessarily the hub of activity, it is in a nice area and is close enough to the things I want to do not to be a bother.

Happy with this win. The property seems to have been recently remodeled and gets decent reviews. Should be very suitable for a one night stay over after the Lady Antebellum concert.

My wins at $59 are all for dates pretty far in the future. More last minute type bids are different it seems.

This was a stay I just completed. I generally book far in advance, but this trip was more last minute.

$47 seems to be the floor. Nice deal for this full service property. Heck, the free breakfasts and parking saves me $30 a day over staying DT or on the plaza. This is close enough to the action that I can suffer the indignity of a little driving for such deep savings. This property is not yet listed on the board.

Nice deal for this full service property. Heck, the free breakfasts and parking saves me $30 a day over staying DT or on the plaza. This is close enough to the action that I can suffer the indignity of a little driving for such deep savings.

Bid for a 2.5 in the Independence/Sports Complex area and got bumped up to a 3 star. $41 was the floor for this property. Bid $40 and got rejected prior to bidding $41 and getting accepted. Property is kind of iffy, but for $41 a night I can't complain too much.