weekender

Apologies for never updating the thread. It's been 4 years, but as I remember....it came out a lose as I wasn't able to find a flight in my price range at the time.

Didn't feel like bidding for a room and went with a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal. Amenities listed matched the BetterBidding listing for Hyatt Place Sterling / Dulles Airport - North, so thought I would be likely getting that property. Oh well, this is only 10 more minutes further away from my destination for Friday morning and it's a good price for the night. What really surprised me is that Aloft didn't come up in the listing of available hotels when I completed a search of hotels under the "List View" using the map to focus in on the area marked under Express Deals and using the Express Deals amenities listed to narrow the "List View" results. Please update the PRICELINE EXPRESS Hotel List with Aloft now that we know it too can pop up under the 3 star category. And by the way, thanks for adding in all of the Express properties to the hotel list--I've referenced it several times over the last couple of weeks when comparing properties through Priceline to their own website.

Thanks for your suggestions, Thereuare! If I am successful, I'll update the thread with my "win". :)

A friend of mine is getting married in Oregon on 4/25 and so I am trying to get back home sometime the week before and leaving a few days after the wedding (also gives me time to visit family and friends). When I looked at fares almost five weeks ago they were around $230-$250 roundtrip. Now the lowest fares I have found are listed below: 4/21-4/28 $290 with 1 stop frontier airlines on Travelocity base price $248 (iad 344 total 296 base travelc) 4/21-4/27 $290 with 1 stop frontier airlines on Travelocity base price $248 (iad 344 total 296 base travel) 4/20-4/27 $290 with one stop frontier airlines on Travelocity base price $248 (iad 346 total 296 base travel) 4/22-4/27 $290 with one stop midwest airlines on Travelocity base price $248 (iad 346 total 296 base travel) I'm trying to find a ticket for around $150-$175 roundtrip otherwise I'll be unable to attend. I have never used Priceline for flights before and am not sure if there's even a chance in reality that I might be able to get a ticket in my budget. I wanted to get some feedback from those of you who are more experienced with bidding on airfare. Do you think I have a decent chance?

Friend is coming to DC for the weekend for the Sox/Nats game and needed to book a room. He used Priceline's promo "Big Deal Days" link where it showed recent bids that won. He opted to try and bid for the same hotel that someone won for $77 a night. It was accepted! We're both totally stoked to check out the hotel--it looks kinda swanky but still with a "modern" vibe. Not sure how long PRICELINE will keep up the promo links like this as a tactic to get more people traveling but I'm definitely a fan! I think he used the links to PRICELINE from the Better Bidding site but can't be totally sure...but he knows about the goodness of this site, so it's likely. :)

Oh we always use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links from Better Bidding whenever we're doing any bidding. We're happy to have you guys around to help us get the best deal possible so we're happy to help you out by using the links. :)

We originally were going for a 4 star and tried up to $95/night but didn't want to go higher (we saw the winning bids of $102 & $105 on the calendar of wins). We decided we'd chance getting the Courtyard by moving down to the 3 star level (we prefer the Doubletree, though the balcony and free wifi at the Courtyard are nice). He bid $85 and was rejected. I went back to my old winning Priceline confirmations to see the last bid that got us the Doubletree back in January. I bid $86 and it was accepted. Woo! Looking forward to the couch and second tv (and of course those warm chocolate chip cookies at check-in!!). :-)

Used the PRICELINE link from the forum to get to PL's page. Used the "rebid" tips to try and secure a four star room for several days. Yesterday the site told me that my bid of $80 was too low but that if I raised it by $22 they would let me place the exact same bid twice. I didn't bite. Today when my bid of $95 was not accepted the site again prompted me that if I raised by $22 they would let me place the exact same bid again. I didn't bite this time either. The 4* in Jersey City are the Westin, the W or the Hyatt Regency on the Hudson (my favorite). The Hyatt is completely booked so that only left it between the W in Hoboken (which is away from everything I know in Jersey City) or the Westin (haven't stayed but haven't been inclined to shell out the extra $$ for it after seeing it in person and reading some reviews). My friend and I stayed at the Doubletree in Jersey City the last time I was in the NYC area (during that big snowstorm before Christmas) and we LOVED it! Super friendly staff, great location and very sizeable rooms (and some with a really good view) so I knew going in that by bidding for 3.5 it was really for an upgrade to the 4* and I wasn't interested in paying more for something new when I could pay less and still get the great service I've received at the Doubletree. Though I will say, bidding 3* in Jersey City is always a bit of a risk as the Courtyard Marriott is also at that level (great staff but HORRIBLE rooms and beds). So instead of going with my usual $70-80, I decided to bump it up a bit in hopes of getting that room at the Doubletree and as luck would have it, we did! Room cost is $258 + Fees of $50.43 for a Total cost of $308.43