baldtomato

Got accepted on first try ... which means I probably overbid :-( Add that to our really weak loonie ... i am really feeling like i'm paying too much (for the first time in ... years). and there I thought I was starting with a low-ball and working my way up as there are, like, six or seven rebid zones!? I thought it would be around $100 to $110. Oh well. At least I like the hotel! (I thought it would either be the Sheraton or the Fairmont Royal York, since this Delta doesn't even show up on hotels.com, priceline express, or hotwire, for the same dates!). The Delta is definitely better though. :-)

Where would you enter an Entertainment Coupon (for Name Your Own Price)? before you put in a bid $ i presume? don't see it...

ummm, interesting. $42 seems to be on the low-priced end for this zone. Congrats on winning this bid! So I guess there doesn't always have to be a counteroffer before an offer is accepted? In the past, i've always gone by the rough 1/3-2/3 rule ... ie if counter-offered $12, I will go up by $4 or $5 and see, but occasionally won't get accepted until I go all the way to 2/3 of the counterbid (e.g. adding $8 or $9 to the counterbid). I've never been accepted straight out after being flatly denied.

when all the PL fees are taken into account ... isn't that costing about the same or even more than directly renting from Avis? Is this only happening with single-day rental, or does PL also work out to be not-so-good-deal when doing one single bid for multi day rental?

thanks - i've eventually changed my itinerary and will be flying out of Vancouver to Hong Kong in December instead - fitting Oasis's route perfectly and yes I did manage to get tickets at $299+tax each way. Quite a steal for super-high-season-December :-) the only down side for Oasis is the luggage restriction - they only allow ONE piece of luggage each Economy ticket (2 pc for Business class) and less than 30 kg, not 32 kg. Gotta be careful with how much to buy in Hong Kong.... hopefully the Oakland route will be coming out soon

um i see... they don't have the "bidding system" for one-way's. Thanks anyways!

um when i was researching for my bid (half a year ago now) i think i'd only seen the Intercontinental as the 5* in this zone, that's why i took the risk to place my two bids to try to hit the same hotel (so that i could ask them to stow my luggage for me while i took a side trip!) i remember reading from this board when i first learned about PL that there are tricks you can try to gauge your "chances" of getting a certain hotel (of course all those reported strategies come with disclaimers that they don't personally guarantee for it to work all the time). I think they are in the General Suggestions forum, you should check it out. Roughly, they talk about how you can check with the hotel checker site or even directly check the official site for the hotel you're eyeing for, to make sure that particular hotel has available rooms (that are still in the lowest rack rate range) for the dates you will be bidding. They won't be available to PL (or at least, less likely to be the top PL choice) if they've only got the 2nd or 3rd step up rooms left, etc etc. so you still haven't got any luck with your bid yet?

does PL (air fare bids) work for one-way tickets? I'm looking for 2 tickets one way from San Francisco to Hong Kong for late September. Never used PL for air tickets before coz I live in Canada and never had a chance to have flights departing from the US thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some advice

very true re the bidding strategies - i think i used all those "rebid" zones myself if you do end up getting a different 5* hotel in Shinagawa, i don't think that could be a bad thing at all. As far as I'm aware, all the 5* in that zone could only be better than the Intercontinental! (would the hotel on Roppongi Hills be in this zone? i think they call that one a 6*, i think that is a Hyatt? - otherwise, i think the Conrad and the Meridien are also other 5* hotels nearby! although i have absolutely no idea whether these three have ever come up in PL for Tokyo at all)

got no luck with Hotwire or PL After viewing lots of hotel websites and candid travel photos of the numerous Honolulu hotels, I had less and less faith in the 3* (or below) hotels... especially in an opaque transaction. Had been trying to get the Hilton Hawaiian Village on PL but no luck even at $182. Gave up. (With PL fees and taxes that would be almost $215 a night, out of our "revised" budget ... willing to pay up to $150 if I can get a 3.5* or above). The HHV seemed to be $189 (plus fees and taxes) on Hotwire! Finally decided to get a room at the ResortQuest Waikiki Circle, with Entertainment Membership. $100+tax per night for an OceanView room across the street from the Waikiki - no more reason for me to waste more time to look further. It's reportedly only 2* but very very good reviews on tripadvisor. Sigh, my first time failing on PL! Honolulu is really not easy!

The hotel front desk has a small map with all the nearby transport stations all plotted. It would probably be hard to figure out where the hotel stands if you're just looking at a generic JR map, IMHO. We went in Feb and i think that's "lower" season than now. I think you probably would need to start your bid at at least 115 or 120 and go from there. I think the rack rate was about 240 to 280 when we went, but then our 2nd stretch of days included a local long weekend (nonetheless, our pre-Hokkaido single night stay in the middle of the week was similar in winning bid price to the one that covered the long weekend) If your main interest for this trip is Roppongi, i would also suggest you try a Shibuya hotel, as there are direct shuttles to and from Roppongi Hills and Shibuya train station. Not sure about the PL options there though. But this hotel is close to Yurakucho (and Ginza), and the multi-transfer hub Shimbashi station (one JR away). Lots and lots of cool authentic eats (and a Bic Camera that opens late) around Yurakucho station. You can also take the very-scenic ferries near this hotel to and from the older areas of Asakusa (where the famous temple is, and then Ueno area for traditional products). Definitely different from Ikebukuro. (I too had stayed at Ikebukuro no fewer than 4 times before, and found this a very nice change).

yes the closest JR station is the Hama-matsu-cho station of the Yamanote line. It's about 4 blocks away and at first it felt far, but on our 2nd and 3rd time it became just a nice 10 minute walk. The station itself is one of the smaller stations of the Yamanote, so even though you're walking a bit further above ground, once you get to the station, the platforms are literally just around the corner of the ticket turnstiles (as opposed to the other HUGE yamanote stations like Shinjuku or Ikebukuro where you're walking another 10 minutes INSIDE the station!). I remember you can exit the Hamamatsucho station at either the North or South exit - essentially both will get you to the hotel in equal distance (just two parallel paths on either side of a park) but the North exit route is a bit darker at night. You will pass by the convenience store i mentioned in my Hotel Review if you keep walking after going out the South exit. If you happen to be arriving in Tokyo via the domestic Haneda airport, then you can take the Monorail directly into Hamamatsucho station for less than 500yen. VERY good value considering it's a directly airport express! Don't even need to transfer lines. At first we didn't know which station (of the Yamanote) would be closest to the hotel and tried exiting at the major station of Shimbashi and tried to WALK to the hotel... BIG mistake. It looked really close on our simplified map from Shimbashi to the hotel (as the Shimbashi and Shiodome stations are soooo close in reality) but Shiodome and Hamamatsucho are (as we painfully found out) far apart, ... the problem is not so much the absolute distance but it's difficult to walk in between those two stations because the parts of the route on ground from Shiodome to Hamamatsucho was actually motor expressway had no pedestrian sidewalks, and you have to get in between all the skyscrapers up and down a few ped-bridges and in and out of the terrace level of some of these buildings... BAD mistake (but turned out to be an OK walk for us b/c of the good weather). The Daimon station (of the Metro Oedo line) was also not far from that station, and that takes you to and from places that the Yamanote doesn't directly reach. Lots of good options once we figured out the metro map. best of luck and have fun!

Tokyo Minato-Shinagawa

Tokyo Minato-Shinagawa

wow I didn't know this function exists till now... have been scrolling and scrolling and trying to guess which page number "J" would fit, etc... Thanks for the improvement!

Hi, We need 2 nights in Honolulu April 28th and 29th, and it seems that PL has recently modified the zones / hotel classifications for Honolulu? (or so it reads from the very helpful posts on this board)

... see my previous post (Feb 4 one night) this is the 2nd segment of our trip Feb 10-13 x 3 nights. I am soooo looking forward to soaking in the Odaiba onsen after the looong flight. Intercontinental Tokyo Bay Check-In Date: Saturday, February 10, 2007 Check-Out Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 Minato-Ku - Shinagawa-Ku 1 16 2 Kaigan, Minato Ku Tokyo, Japan 81 3 5404 2222 Your Offer Price: US$139.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: US$417.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$76.70 Total Charges: US$493.70

We are landing in Tokyo layover for one night on Feb 4th and then going to Sapporo before coming back for 3 more nights. I started tonight's bidding sequence with the other (longer) segment of my trip Feb 10-13 as that's a weekend and i'm more anxious to secure that first - see separate post - that one i got for $139 and I wanted the same hotel for the one-night stay prior to Sapporo (so perhaps i can ask them to keep some luggage for me so i won't have to drag them to Sapporo). Started this bid at $130 just for fun. Got counterbid $22 thru my $133 to $137 bids ($1 to $2 increments each). Finally got it at $138. I am quite surprised at the steep taxes and service charges... wow. haven't done priceline for a while, did they jack up their service charges? or is it just heavy japanese tourist tax? I know Tokyo fairly well (5th trip for me) so despite this hotel being slightly "off the beaten track", i'm sure we'll do just fine with transportation. The main advantage that drew me to want to stay in Shinbashi is that it's a cheap cab ride after late-night hot spring in Odaiba ... won't have to be curfewed by last-train schedules! and it's close to the Tsukiji fish market... easy access to Asakusa and Ueno tourist spots, fairly close (cab's ride) back from night clubs in Roppongi etc... which are the focus of this trip for us. Anyway, here's my winning bid: Intercontinental Tokyo Bay Check-In Date: Sunday, February 4, 2007 Check-Out Date: Monday, February 5, 2007 Minato-Ku - Shinagawa-Ku 1 16 2 Kaigan, Minato Ku Tokyo, Japan 81 3 5404 2222 Your Offer Price: US$138.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: US$138.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$29.86 Total Charges: US$167.86

Correction - my dates of stay (winning bid) are actually August 18 - 21, 2006. Sorry for the mistake. I just noticed.

ah, yes, it would actually be closer to Causeway Bay station then. That area has a lot of hidden "after dinner hangouts" that locals frequent. A lot of exquisite bars and lounges that offer more character and cosiness than the meat-markets of Lan Gwai Fong. For the non-alcholics, there is a well known dessert house within walking distance that serves lots of exciting, authentic and/or fusion hot and cold portions for a very good price (no more than USD 4-5 each). You might have to (plan a couple of evenings ahead and) ask the hotel front desk for directions and cross your fingers that they are "true locals" (as opposed to people who take 1 hour bus ride to go there to work)!! En route to Times Square (where the closest MTR stn is), although those few blocks can seem superficially somewhat lifeless after dark (due to prominent occupation by blocks of car dealers and business-based malls), you'll also find many small eateries that are locally well known if you ask the right people :-) Alternatively, if you don't want to walk those few dimmer blocks, you can ask for directions to take a 15 min walk to (or take a USD 2-3 cab ride to) Lockhart Road where there is also a street entrance to MTR station. Ask to be dropped off near Sogo department store (Japanese style multi level dept store that closes past 10 pm). It's crazily busy / crowded during daytime with abundant supply of chain stores and unique boutiques alike (usually run about mid to low-mid price range), and the after-Sogo-hours' commercial scene is very happening as well and definitely affordable. You will find good-yet-cheap places there to eat too! You can walk from there back to Times Square if you want - Times Square shops are comparatively more upper scale. That will be a much happier round-trip route.

15 square meters is about 160 square feet.... which is probably one-third or even half the size of the dwellings of many 4-membered families in Hong Kong. I wouldn't exactly call that small considering that everything is relative. People don't bid Priceline Hong Kong for a spacious room with 2 Queen beds with two outdoor pools, or a private balcony overlooking the whole harbour for that matter. Looking at the photo you posted on the hotel reviews thread, the "city" view is actually not bad. You can't really get zero noise in Hong Kong if you want to be within any walking distance to an MTR station. Let's just hope that all the fun and around-the-clock shopping will get you physically tired enough that you'll appreciate any cool shower and private space offered by your modest hotel room. to hclee, I think you'll enjoy your stay at this hotel - cabs in Hong Kong are so much cheaper than in North America, the money you saved by going thru PL to get this hotel will save you more than enough money to take a cab to and from the closest MTR stations (which I think might be WanChai? I might be wrong - but that's between Causeway Bay station and Admiralty.) It looks like this hotel is situated in a subdivided area called Happy Valley, so-named because there's a large horse-racing track in the area named so, that still runs races 1-2x a week during non-summer months.

Had some time to go at that pride-saving Memphis bid of mine again. Finally got it at $45 (phew.... good that i didn't have to go to $46 which was the highest posted bid for 3* in this zone). I'm quite relieved that they accepted $45 after offering the same $12 counterbid all thru my bids of $42, $43, $44 just like last round - but I ignored them all and just went with my own algorithm. We now can be more confident that the data from this thread seems to be quite up to date still regarding ballpark price! ... especially when these dates are relatively close to the Elvis Festival there. Holiday Inn Select Memphis East Memphis East 5795 Poplar Avenue Memphis, Tennessee 38119 Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $135.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $30.36 Total Charges: $165.36

Finally decided to book the Aladdin via EasyClickTravel "Off the Record"= Aladdin Resort & Casino - $71 2 nights - Aug 21 - 23, 2006 "Deluxe room" (whatever that means) for 2 adults average price after fees and taxes = $77.91 each night When will the Aladdin officially become (and look like) a Planet Hollywood establishment... actually?

Thanks a lot! $77 for the Luxor is actually a really good price! too bad my mom is in the travel party and won't be happy with that. I might just book the Aladdin with EasyClickTravel then... I'll certainly update here when I find my best option.

um, arithmetic is not my strength.... need some more help here. so the PL fee for the first bid above ($44 x 3 nights = $132) is $8.72, but for the second bid ($36 x 6 nights = $288) is only $10. $288 is more than twice $132 (sorry i'm sounding like a grade school kid...) yet the fees are way less than double. So that means the PL fee is still more or less counted "per bid" rather than being proportional to final total $? :)