irobot

This win was on my second bid. The first was $35 for Tucson East, got a counter-offer for $9 more. Added the Airport zone for $36 and won (the Country Inns and Suites).

This is a new hotel for this zone. Not on the list of possibles either here or on TOBB. Their prepay web rate was $65 (heck, their rack rate was $69), so not a huge savings, but it got a couple of decent reviews, its near the airport where I'm flying from, so I'm OK with this. There are certainly advantages to 2.5* hotels, IMO. Room amenities include: -High Speed Wireless Internet -One King Bed or Two Queen Beds -Work Desk and Ergonomic Chair -Reading Chair -Coffeemaker -Complimentary Breakfast -Iron and Ironing Board -Hair Dryer -Microwave and Refrigerator available in several rooms. Please request at check in.

Radisson Old Town Priceline quality level: 3* Priceline zone: Alexandria - Mount Vernon 901 N. Fairfax Street, Alexandria VA (703) 683-6000 http://www.radisson.com/alexandriava Check-In Date: Thurs. July 15, 2005 Check-Out Date: Fri., July 16, 2005 Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $45.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.43 Total Charges: $58.43 Bidding on July 2, 2005 for northern Washington, DC zones: Started with 3* for $40 in Dupont Circle - Woodley Park Area, Went up at $1 a pop through most of the other zones (stopped raising when I got outside the areas that didn't have any marginal 3* properties). I think that Alexandria/Mt. Vernon was next to the last area open. Bid accepted immediately after I added this zone. Not the best deal I ever cut for myself through Priceline, but OK. TripAdvisor reviews seem to show this property being a solid 5 of out 10, which has been my experience with Radissons in general. GA rates for this date seem to be pretty low across the board for many hotels. Best available ("hot Deal") rate through radisson.com was $79. I had also snagged a 4* Hyatt in Fairfax for $50 the night before (when the best available rate was $189), which tempered my joy, as well. Still, a decent deal. Edit: They do seem to charge for parking at the property, but I understand that free parking is available on the street (we'll see how "available" it is). Additionally, I understand that this hotel is not within walking distance of the Metro, but they do offer an "on demand" shuttle - I think every half hour untill 11:00PM. Also, the difference between Washington suburbs and Washington proper in terms of Priceline zones seems kind of arbitrary to me.

Hyatt Fair Lakes Priceline quality level: 4* Priceline zone: Fairfax 12777 Fair Lakes Circle Fairfax, Virginia 22033 703-818-1234 fairlakes.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml Check-In Date: Thurs. July 14, 2005 Check-Out Date: Fri., July 15, 2005 Offer Price: $50.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $50.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.60 Total Charges: $62.60 Bidding on June 17, 2005 for northern Virginia zones: 1) 4* for $42 in Fairfax Bingo! Accepted on first bid. Best available rate on the website was $189 for that date.

I actually totally agree with the quote in the immediately preceding reply. If Priceline fails, it will be because of changes in hotel booking policies and practices, not losing customers like the OP. That type of business travel was never their customer base profile anyway. If you want guarantees and flexibility - hey, go to the hotel websites directly, or places like Travelzoo (as long as you're careful to read the rate details to make sure that THOSE don't have penalties associated with cancellation). Heck, there are a number of instances when booking through those routes proved cheaper (or as cheap) than going through Priceline. As far as the 50% savings goes, if you're talking about 50% less than the GA rate for a hotel - I've done that LOTS of times. How about a few minutes ago when I got a July 14-15 booking at the four star Hyatt in Fairfax, VA for $50 + about $12 in taxes and fees? The "going rate for that night is $189 (I assume before taxes). Seems like at least 50% to me...

It never ceases to amaze me how "upscale" hotels can get away with charging extra for what I would consider the very amenities that make them "upscale." Geez!

Good to know about the resort fee not being charged (maybe). I have actually read something similar from another Westin visitor before. But to answer thereuare's previous comment - I agree that its hard to believe, given what their rates are, but 11% is what the stated added resort fee is. Plus an additional daily fee for self park. Plus pricey and (from the reviews) poor quality food at the onsite restaraunts. Actually, this place get some of the better reviews on the island, though. Problems usually center around service issues (maybe its a cultural issue) and poor beaches. FWIW, the Westin supposedly has one of the better beaches in PR (excluding Vieques). And, by the way, based on my experience bidding this, I think that $79 is about the bottom of the acceptable bid range for this hotel. (They are actually running a Travelzoo special right now for $109, if anyone's interested. Not bad for a non-Priceline cost.)

I had a few minutes, so I thought that I'd check this out for you. You're right in that Hotwire doesn't show anything for those dates in St. John, USVI, so they probably don't have any inventory right now. Anyway, $249 doesn't seem like any big bargain, since the Westin's own rate is $289. You're also right that Expedia seems to have weekend nights X'd out. However, you can still book the $289 rooms through the hotel's website (via starwood), and through Orbitz, so it doesn't look like they're completely sold out.

My pleasure, Rosie. I thought that it was an excellent price, as well. I'm going to try and contribute to this board whenever possible, since I'd like to see it succeed. The best way to insure that that (I hate when I have to use two "thats" in a row - in looks weird) happens is for us to contribute information regarding our wins (and failed attempts) on this board. That's what will bring in new traffic here, and hopefully more new posters, as well.

I wanted to add some additional information to my previous post, but I don't see the edit button any more :) (it also looks like some of my verbiage has changed, but maybe that's my imagination). Anyway, I decided to add an additonal day onto my stay at this hotel, since my flight gets in at 8:30PM, I felt like we wouldn't even have time to see or do anything before hitting the sack. I know that there's no guarantee of getting the same hotel, but given the relatively low rate and the number of free rebid zones, I felt pretty safe. (By the way, that reminds me - Anybody know how the drive to this place is from the airport at night? I've done Costa Rica, and that can be pretty hairy after dark.) This time I started at $77 for a Resort in Humaco, was rejected with a couteroffer of $22. I declined, added a Dorado for $78 - refused, then added Mayaguez-Isabela for $79 and sure enough, got the Westin Rio Mar again. I'll call the hotel sometime in the next few months to consolidate the two reservations.

I didn't see this hotel listed in the available list, although it was at TOBB(??) - Oh, I get it. This site won't let you type the actual letters of the other evil bidding site. Cute! But you guys shouldn't worry. They're practically your best recruiters, but info is still pretty thin around here. Started out at $70, increasing at $1 and $2 increments from Resort level to Boutique. Finally added Humaco and was accepted at $79. Rates for that time are around $259, so it seems like a pretty good deal. Reviews at TripAdvisor seem a little dicey (although it is listed at #9 on their list of the hotels in Puerto Rico - go figure), but TOBB reviews seem pretty good. I $79 is about the minimum bid, because I placed a second series of bids for the 28th (the day we're flying out) and got up to $78 without acceptance. Ran out of bids at that point - Oh, well. Plenty of time. Hope this helps someone.

Kinda screwed up on this :) I started at $30 for the Coquitlam - Burnaby zone, adding $1 increments for Delta and Langley. Was at $34 when I added the airport and was accepted. Might have been able to get it for a few bucks less (maybe), but more importantly the Tripadvisor reviews of this property make it seem like a bit of a bow-wow. We'll have a car, so location isn't a major issue. Current rates for that night (that we could qualify for) is 109CDN befor tax, so $44.85US all in is decent. Any personal observations on this property out there?

New member, my first post (Sheryl sent me). Initially bid $31. Refused with an offer to rebid $8 more. I declined, then used a safe (I considered) rebid by including the Lake zone to bid $32. Accepted. I'm happy with this choice. It's near the airport and has free parking. Cheapest rate through their website (100% upfront, no cancellation was $111).