McLurvin

Used the link and won on my first bid. Given my previous experience of renting a car for Memorial Day weekend, I thought $45 was a good jumping off point but would certainly be rejected. That said I'm thrilled to cancel my back-up reservation that was almost twice the cost. Total rental cost including taxes and fees is $127.45.

Used the PRICELINE link and did re-bids at $2 increments. Bid was $91 + $10 bonus money from the PRICELINE link in the Priceline Bonus Money Opportunities forum. The average of the rack rate for my stay is $143/night, so I feel like I got a pretty fair deal.

I was looking for a hotel in downtown Rochester for Memorial Day weekend, so I first tried bidding for a 4* hotel (Hyatt Regency). Using the 4 free zones available I bid from $55 to $70 in $1 increments twice, and $60 to $75 twice, to no avail. The Hyatt looked nice but too rich for my blood. Next I attempted to get the Rochester Plaza (the 3.5* option), which was hosting the event i was attending. With 3 free zones I bid from $43 to $55 in $2 increments, no luck there. Changed my bids to $53 to $65 and still didn't get it. Altered my bids again ($54-$66, $57-$69) but kept striking out. I already had a backup res for $109/night so I thought better of bidding higher. Moved on to a 3* and started at $39. I got the "one-time option" to re-bid at $50 but passed to bid at $42, which failed. Tried again at $43, then bumped up to $45 and got the Radisson. It's right across the Geneese River from the Rochester Plaza, has a better rating from TripAdvisor, and also has free Wi-Fi. All-in for $110.86. Not too shabby for the biggest weekend of the summer! And of course I used the PRICELINE link for my win :)

Saw the Adams Mark on Hotwire for $45/night so I started bidding at $34. First bid was accepted by Priceline. Perhaps I could have started lower? Maybe, but I'm happy paying less than a third of the standard rate :) Used the PRICELINE link from the board for my purchase.