alfbo

What has worked for me in the past, in addition to the bidding strategy suggested on here about adding zones that don't have the star level you're trying to get, is to look at the hotel list and find the price for the hotel you want in the "no name no bidding" section of Priceline. I'll try a "name your own" price that is about $20 less a night that the no bidding. Usually when I get close to $10 less, my name your own price bid is accepted.

I am looking for a hotel in Salinas, CA (near Monterey) for 8/21 - 8/22. Hotwire has one rated 2.5*, original price was $102, but they sent me an email saying the price dropped to $74. The amenities are complimentary continental breakfast and hi speed internet. The only hotel listed for Salinas in the pinned Hotwire list is Good Nite Inn, and it's indicated as a 2* with 4 amenities, including pool, so I don't think this hotel is Good Nite. Any ideas about what it could be? Thanks!

Going to a concert in Stockton, needed a room. The regular price on Priceline was $129 (saw it for less on other transparent travel sites, as low as $110). Bid $65 (50% of Priceline price); it was accepted. With the taxes and fees of $14.05, total comes to 79.05. I forgot about seeing it for $110 on other sites, I might have gotten it with a $55 bid, but I'm still happy with only paying $79.05.

Cheapest regular fare listed at Priceline is 342 on Airtrans (I can actually beat that @ 335 through the Airtrans website). What do you think I could reasonably get for this in a bid at Priceline?

I can't use Priceline because my bids were rejected (I put in a price that was 40% lower than the lowest price) and I can't change the date. Any suggestions on how to get the lowest fare?

My car was the victim of a "partial theft", so I've been renting a car for over a month now. What I've been doing is getting the best deal I can online for one week, and if my car's not ready, I do another deal. This last time, I wan a bid for an economy car on Priceline for $14 a day for one week. The company that accepted the bid was Budget. I picked up my car from the Burbank airport at 6 pm. I guess Budget was all out of economy cars, because they gave me a Mustang! Their regual "economy" rental is 199/week, so I'm sure a Mustang would be even more. Getting the Mustang I'm sure is just the luck of the draw, but I'm happy with the result anyway.

I would place a bid through EasyclickTravel.com (use the link in the list of affiliate links in the SUPPORT FORUM) and reservations can be cancelled if at least 3 days prior.

This might be helpful: I did some checking around on the Con Expo convention, and 2/11 is the deadline to reserve a hotel through their website. So there may be rooms released after 2/11 that were part of hotel blocks being held for attendees...

The Palms offer is through travelworm.com. Become a member (it's a free) to get additional discounts. The reservation for Imperial Palace online did not go through. I called Easy Click and found out 2 of the nights were sold out. I ended up doing 3/17 & 3/18 at The Orleans for 129, and 3/19 at Circus Circus (ugh) for $143. Imperial had 3/19 available but it has a 2 night minimum requirement. The good thing is Easy Click has a 3 day cancellation policy, so I can still shop around and try to find a better deal. I'm not thrilled about paying $143 for Circus Circus, but it beats the $500 being offered through the other "discount" travel sites for the same hotel.

Argh! So far the best deals (for places that I'm not afraid to stay) are Imperial Palace for 99/night and Orleans for 129/night, both through Easy Click (which I found through this site, thanks). I'm tempted to do the Palms for $269 (through Travelworm). I'm planning on doing a ladies only poker tournament at the Rio on Saturday, which is my main reason for going, and the Palms is across the street from the Rio. But I might just save some bucks and book a room at the Orleans and use their free shuttle to the Gold Coast instead.

A lot of hotels during this time period are sold out, and the ones that are traditionally less expensive (Sahara, Gold Coast, etc.) are going for $500 a night! Is it the NCAA Tournament that's driving up prices during this time period? So far the only reasonable places I can find are Stardust (through Travelworm, $125 a night) and Arizona Charlie's Decature (average $60 a night).