Flying Buccaneer

I had been bidding up to $78 for a 2.5* for the past few weeks with no success. Today I decided to try a 4* in the Downtown zone, starting at $80. After that was rejected, I used all of the free rebid zones (did not include SD Coastal and Coronado zones), adding one at a time, and bid $82, $84, $86, $88, $90, $91, $92, $93, $94, $95, and $96. The last bid was accepted. The best published rate for this hotel on that night is $239.

I had tried to get a Union Square-East hotel and bid up to $85 using my free rebids with no success. I started over planning to do the same with Union Square-West. However, my first bid was accepted at $72. Considering that their lowest rate on this date is $152 (AAA), I'm pleased.

Started at $100 for a 5* in Prague East. PL counteroffered $122. I refused, raised the bid to $105, and added Prague Southeast (free rebid), and it was accepted. For 4 nights, the total was $459. Considering that the best available rate for the 4 nights at marriott.com comes to 740 Euros, I am pleased!

I've been bidding for this weekend for a month now, going up to $75 with no luck. I decided to start $2 higher and had my bid accepted. I started with a $70 bid for USE, added Cathedral Hill and raised the bid to $73, then added Civic Center and raised the bid to $75. When I added South San Francisco and raised the bid to $77, it was accepted. I recently stayed at the Omni on a priceline stay (within the past week, to be exact), and I am happy to get it again.

I decided to test the SFO Airport zone for another stay in the Bay Area to see how low it would go, now that the Hyatt and Sheraton are both 4* on Priceline. Previous bids going to $42 had been unsuccessful. This time, I started with SFO at $40 and was rejected. A rebid of $43 adding Cathedral Hill was accepted.

Bad news, everyone. There's one fewer free rebid zone in San Francisco. Once again, I found out the hard way. I started with $65 in USE/Embarcadero. Added Cathedral Hill and raised bid to $68. Added Civic Center and raised bid to $70. Added SFO and raised bid to $72. Got the Hyatt. I had just re-checked the zones on Saturday for another bid, but I guess it goes to show that these things can change daily. The regular room rate is currently $169, so $72 is definitely a discount, though I'm sure it can be had for less.

I found out I needed an extra night in SF, so I bid for the evening of 11/19. I had a bid accepted at the Hyatt Embarcadero for the 20th - 22nd a little over a month ago. I started with a bid of $65 for USE and received a counteroffer of $82. I refused that, and added Cathedral Hill and raised my bid to $68. It was rejected, so I raised my bid to $70 and added Civic Center, then raised my bid to $72 and added SFO, and finally was successful when I raised my bid to $74 and added South San Francisco.

First bid was accepted for Saturday morning pickup with Sunday afternoon drop-off. Total for the two-day rental was $71.26 ($44.00 plus $27.26). Maybe I could have gotten it for less, but I didn't have time to play around. I saved $50 off the cheapest total price (Budget) and over $100 off the cost of booking with Avis, so I'm not complaining! :)

After weeks of trying for this hotel and bidding as much as $90 without success, my first bid of $75 was accepted. Perhaps a lower bid would have been accepted, but I was prepared to go higher. Looks like I will be there the same night as Latitudes.

I started with a $35 bid for a 3* in the LAX zone. Added BH/WH and raised bid to $38. Added Redondo and raised bid to $41. Added Santa Monica and raised bid to $44, which was accepted. I was hoping for the Embassy Suites North, but I have stayed at the Radisson a few times with no problems. At least it's the closest hotel to LAX, and the easiest walk to the In-'N-Out on Sepulveda!

Started with a $60 bid for a 4* in USE, received a counteroffer of $77. I rejected the counteroffer, added Cathdral Hill and upped the bid to $65 which was rejected. I added Civic Cener and raised the bid to $68. I am always happy to get this hotel.

I tried for the same zone/same day yesterday and was not successful. I bid $56/$61/$66.

I will be around the Rutland/Killington area the evening of 8/8, so I decided to give PL a whirl as the rates I found on Expedia.com were pretty high. I started in the Rutland/Killington zone at $45 for a 3* and was rejected. So I added the 2.5* level and was rejected again. I added Okemo-Ascutney and raised the bid to $50 and got the Clarion. Looking back, I probably should have added Okemo before going down to 2.5* as that would have given me a free rebid in Rutland/Killington. Or maybe I should have left the bid at $45 after adding Okemo. This zone doesn't have much of a documented PL history, so I was winging it. Nevertheless, this rate is a little more than half the lowest available rate ($89.10/night) at Clarion's site, so PL served its purpose. Based on the list of amenities, it seems like a nice place. Maybe this will help anyone bidding in this zone in the future... if anyone ever does!

Started with a $25 bid for a 2.5* hotel in the South-Airport zone, and received a counteroffer for $31. Added Sparks and raised bid to $28, which was rejected. Then I was taken to PL's site for the shop and compare hotel service (very annoying because there doesn't appear to go back to your "name your own price" bid to add zones/change star levels). So I started over and added Reno and raised the bid to $30. It was accepted and I was upgraded to a 3* hotel.

Warning...there's a 4* Hotel in the Fisherman's Wharf zone. The Sheraton has been upgraded. I have been using the same bidding pattern for about a month now, trying to get a 4* hotel in the USE-Embarcadero zone for a one-night stay December 22. I started with a $65 bid in that zone and increased the bid to $68 - $70 - $71 - $72 - $73, exhausting my free rebids. This time, I discovered that the FW zone is no longer a free rebid for 4* hotels when my $71 bid was accepted at the Sheraton. That was the bid when I added FW. It's a nice hotel, but I am sure it could have been had for less. If you have been in the habit of using this zone as a free rebid for 4* hotels, beware!

I was able to take advantage of the $2 airfares to Lebanon, NH, so instead of staying in LEB on the 6/4 trip, my partner and I are driving to Burlington for the night. Looks like we got another great deal, and I got it on the first bid.

I started with a $35 bid, received a $44 counteroffer. I refused the counteroffer, added Beverly Hills/West Hollywood and raised bid to $39. I added Santa Monica and raised bid to $40, and finally got my hotel when I added Redondo and raised bid to $41. I stayed at this hotel a couple of weeks ago, and I am happy to get it again. We have an afternoon and evening at LAX on our way to Australia, and decided that spending a few hours relaxing at a hotel was preferable to the airport lounge.

Bid $70 for USE-Embarcadero. Received a counteroffer of $92. Rejected counteroffer, added Cathedral Hill, and raised bid to $75. Rejected. Added Civic Center, and raised bid to $78. Accepted. This is the fourth time I have received this hotel in 2005, and I am always happy to get it.

Started with a $45 bid that was rejected. Added Northeast Denver (a free-rebid, because priceline doesn't show a 3* hotel in this zone) and raised bid to $50, which was accepted. This was the hotel I wanted, due to an early flight from DEN on 7/6.

I googled the phone number of the hotel, and this used to be a Hilton.

Started with a $28 bid for a 3* at the Denver Tech Center. Received a counteroffer for $35, so I added Northeast Denver (free rebid) and raised the bid to $31. I got the Hotel Denver Tech Center, which I don't think anyone else has reported getting. Does anyone know anything about this hotel?

Started this bidding on 1/24. Tried 3/3 - 3/4 first, starting at $35 and increasing bid $2 each time, adding BH/WH, Santa Monica, and Redondo until I reached $41 with no success. Then tried 3/6 - 3/7, starting at $37. Received counteroffer of $47. Raised bid to $41 added BH/WH and rejected again. Added Santa Monica and raised bid to $43 which was accepted. Tried 3/3 - 3/4 again this evening, starting at $35 and raising bid in $2 increments (adding BH/WH, Santa Monica, Redondo, and Culver City) until $43 was accepted. Taxes and fees are $13.41 on the 3/6 night stay, $13.42 on the 3/3 night stay. Last time I stayed at this hotel was the evening of 9/11/2001, but I remember the room was nice and the hotel is as close as a hotel can get to LAX.

Checked Expedia for these dates and lowest rate was $75/day for compact. Bid $25/day on Priceline and was accepted on first try. With taxes and fees came to $68 total, over $100 less than the best deal I was able to find with my AAA discount.