bigredsfan

yes I do...and all I have been doing is checking the Buffalo-Amherst area...

not sure of how to placed a check mark but here are the zones and highest rating I can find for 10 pages over 2 years of bids: Note that I can also look at 3* Airport Hotels potentially and it looks like the Millenium or Holiday Inn Airport are the only 2 reported wins: Buffalo-Amhest: 3.5* Niagara Falls: 3* Airport: 3* Downtown: 3* Grand Island: 3* Thanks for the help again...

We are looking at trying to get a successful bid for the Marriott for November 24th and have had no luck with bids starting at $60, and now up to $78. This Marriott is the only 3.5 star in the Buffalo-Amherst Zone, but I am not crazy about having to wait 24 hrs to bid again. I have read up a bit on successful rebidding, but confused on how I can rebid for this hotel successfully without risking getting another. It looks like this Hotel is the only 3.5 in Buffalo so can I just try again by using another zone and retry, without the risk? Cheers

you guys can thank me for Canada, LOL. I went through 3 days of this with Rogers Tech Support and for whatever reason inadvertently blocked priceline Canada Wide. Yes, Canada. A few tickets were sent down I spent hours with them wireless and wifi, and finally a day ago or so they called us to let us know the situation is solved. All seems pretty right now, but not perfect. Had a few issues today but refreshed and got in. Now, I just need to win my bid for Buffalo! Good luck to you guys in Canada finally!

I can access hotwire, but not Priceline via your links or theirs direct. Getting Server Cannot be Found ERROR

hmmm..tried this one too, no luck. Buddy of mine no luck, no luck from iphone then it came up. Wonder if its an issue on their end

for the last couple of days I have tried to access Priceline with no luck, some sort of server error. Had the same issues with this website up until now. Anybody else having this issue?

after all the great advice on this thread, I have decided against booking on Priceline for our upcoming cruise. We though we would have a free rental car for the weekend which we now learned would not be available to us free, so we decided the most economical way to travel would be to book a hotel/cruise package. Seeing that neither Hotwire or Priceline can be used for these type of packages we decided to book the Holiday Inn Tampa Rocky Point's Cruise Package for our required date in early December. We are currently bidding on Buffalo-Amherst again, and hope to have a successful bid to post on those boards! Thanks again for all the replies..

I have not yet, no. I am going through the list of the 3 and 3.5* hotels on this list and going through each hotel's website to see their list of amenities. If comfortable with getting any of the hotels I will go ahead with a bid. I know the risk/reward with bidding so I am doing as much homework on my end, and using the advice of yours.. Cheers

thanks for the tip..upon further review I see that the Marriott was added to the TPA West Zone at 3.5*, and I am not crazy about it's amenities. The DoubleTree in West and Hyatt in South would be ideal places but each Zone has at least 2 hotels, so of course no guarantee I will get the one I want. All the fun in bidding via PL I suppose... Cheers

you had led me to the South Zone as there were lots of bids for it, but I did mention in my last bullet point that West or South would work for us. If I look at the list of 3.5* in the West Zone, all that comes up is the Doubletree Guest Suites. If this is the only 3.5* I could assume this would be a safe bet to win a bid on?

comp shuttle and outdoor pool are pretty common, and free parking would be ideal. Understood neither is a guarantee though. Cheers

sorry for the delay again, but we weren't sure if we would rent a car and book on PL or book direct with a hotel. We have a early flight out of Tampa on the Sunday, so any hotel that offers free breakfast would not work for us as we would have to leave to the Airport too early. So it looks now as if we will pay for a rental and have the car for the day to shop/beach, etc. I would like input here if possible with these criteria: - we need a hotel for one night, December 3rd - we would like to spend in the $50/night range, which should be 3.5* which is fine. I would also likely be okay with the Hyatt Place Airport/Westshore at 3*. We are 5 people and I know there is no guarantee of getting 2 double beds, but my guess is we would be fine for that time of year - free parking, outdoor pool, as well as free Airport shuttle - looks like Airport West and South would be fine too, doesn't matter to me also looks like Embassy Suites is listed as 3* in the same Zone, and on the hotel website doesn't look like they have a comp. shuttle Hope this is all the info I need to give you guys, yet again, LOL

didn't see any offering for the West Zone on Hotwire or PRICELINE links directly as most hotels seemed to show up on TPA Westshore. Looks like the 3.5* hotels are fine for us, am I realistic in thinking we can get a room for around $50? Not sure if you need more info from me still..

will do thanks...I will search through HOTWIRE for amenities in the South and West zones. Lots of 3.5* in the South it looks like and just 1 in the West. Pretty good chance of getting that one if we bid West.

yes we are just looking for one night...if I had a good idea of which zone is best, what I have done so far is check out the hotels in those zones and the hotel website itself for it's amenities. Have also checked past wins to see what my best chances are. Seems most offer the same things...

okay trip is finally booked, so here is my update: We are flying out of Tampa on Dec 4th and will need a hotel, preferably close to the airport to that provides a free shuttle. We will have a rental car in all likelihood, so free hotel parking would be a benefit. I don't need any more than a 3.5* as long as it has a nice pool, and shuttle/parking. I would also like to pay around $50 if possible. From all the Airport Zones, any particular zone to recommend? If we do have a car and keep it at the hotel overnight, should I avoid any zones that make it hard to get into Rental Car drop offs at TPA? I seem to remember a post by someone saying to try to focus on one particular zone if driving to the airport. Not sure if it's easier just to drop off our car the night before the flight and take the hotel shuttle to the airport. Cheers

haven't forgotten about this thread..we were going to bypass a Priceline bid and book a Hotel at Rocky Point that shuttles back and forth but it is still quite costly. Just signed up to a Hertz Gold Club card and once active it gives you a free weekend day rental. That being said, once confirmed we will rent a car and book a Hotel near the Airport in Tampa. Come that time, I will ask for advice on where to book in the 3.5* range, etc. Should we keep this thread active till then ?

helps a lot, thanks! Messed up by foot here so haven't been able to firm up our travel plans...pretty sure that all the hotels in the South and West Zones will shuttle to and from the airport which will be easiest. Probably rent a car for the day and drop off to the Airport same day then rely upon the shuttles....so many Florida Airport are confusing to get around!

ah, found it..duh! looks like the Port is a ways away from the Airport and nobody will offer free shuttle back and forth. Probably best to rent a car for the day and look at the Airport bid zones on PL and go from there. My guess is most will offer free shuttles back and forth from Tampa Int'l.

don't see the zones on a map after I do a search for Tampa....input at the top of this board or main page?

will do the search and see what I come up with...we can pay a bit more for a 4* yes as it seems like the winning bids for this level are not much higher than a 3.5*. Would like to spend mid $60's/night which seems okay with winning bids for off peak times. Last year in FLL we narrowed down a bunch of hotels and called each one to make sure they had what we needed

we have firmed up December 3rd for 1 night coming back from our cruise, to stay in Tampa, and leave from the Airport next day. So, we are looking for a hotel that would pick us up from the Port and bring us to the property. Searched on cruise forums, and Hotwire and can't seem to find one that will pick up from Port, most seem to have Airport shuttles. We can rent a car for the day but if we can find this hotel we can save the money having to do so and use the Hotel facilities.. 3.5*-4* hotels on PL seem to be in our budget and it seems that the Airport and Downtown Zones would be the ones to look at? Also curious what the difference in proximity to the Airport there is between the South, West and North Zones

okay, will do. Kind of had to have an idea if staying 1 night in Tampa was doable before we book anything so will see how plans go.

yes it is me again...looks like we are leaning to taking a cruise, and would like to spend 1 night post cruise in Tampa. We are looking at suggestions on Priceline for this night, and wondering the best place to stay...ie, Downtown, or one of the Airport Zones. I see many listed but can't find one. We would like a 4* with Pool, and free shuttle that would pick up at the Port and take us back to the Hotel. Also, a Hotel that would take us to the Airport the next day. Let me know if you need more details, and look forward to any replies. Thanks yet again