oldmanbob

I first researched hotels using this site, then used your PRICELINE link to go to Priceline . Vancouver is a very easy multi-bid city if looking for a 4.5 or 5 star hotel first as it has 14 different bidding zones and only two of them have a 4.5 or 5 star property. I started with selecting a 5 star (likely The Four Seasons Hotel) at 101 a night. No go. My 2nd bid, I added the 4.5 (likely the Pan Pacific Vancouver property) and upped it to 107,NG. , I had to add a new area that had no 4 star properties and bid 116. No go. I added another lower zone and moved bid to 121.00 (My research had showed this property was the likely property that Priceline had for 135 on their express bid, so I wanted to beat that price). Thus I offered 121 and won. This bid of 121, taxes and fees of 27.52 for total cost of 148.52. For this Four Seasons, I think is a decent price . I always use BB when the need for a Priceline deal comes up but have not used it in a while as I had lots of points to burn and have been using points for hotels in the last year or two . But I never forget how this is the best site to help one get a great Priceline bid, so thanks a lot ! The wife should enjoy the Four Seasons. Happy wife = happy life.

Used PRICELINE link from this website. Entered just one bid for a full size car of $16 per day, and it was accepted. The total cost was a combo of 7 days @ $16 per day for , $112.00 plus Taxes and Fees of $49.34 for total bill of $161.34. I already had a hold for a full size through Costco travel for $220.00 thru Alamo. Avis was $237 for same car and timeframe on Costco's travel site. I typically use Costco for car rentals as they always seem to be the absolute best price I can find; even better than most corporate travel codes. However, I decided to try Priceline. I made just one bid that was accepted first time. Saved approx $60.00 give or take a few pennies. Not a bad cost for a full size car through a top tier car rental company. oldmanbob

Summary: $55 per night for three nights = $165, then add in taxes and fees of $33.06, = total cost of $198.06. Most online hotel sites had rates of a minimum of $100 to $168 per night, so my savings was acceptable. One Note: This property DOES have a mandatory parking fee of $13 per day. This raised my overall total cost to $237.06. I was aware of the parking fee from my research prior to bidding and it was an acceptable cost I was willing to incur if I won this hotel. Madison had two zones that were acceptable: Madison downtown and Madison East. I preferred Madison East. My bidding approach took me over mumerous days using the permutation approach. I stuck with my desire to have at least a three star hotel. Having two accepable zones that both had at least a 3 star (or higher) and two other rebid zomes that only had 2 1/2 star or lower, the permutation approach alloted a total of 1 original bid and 11 rebids each evening. This approach took me quite a few days as I did not want to raise my bid. I started with a low bid of $37 and raised by $2 each bid. Using this approach required having to come back to better bidding about 5 times each evening to relaunch Priceline to clear out a previous selected zone. I have learned that re-launching is the only way to get the full 12 bids possible. My bids started at $37 and ended at $59 Yes it took a lot of time, but I had made a spreadsheet that identifed each zone to select for each bid as well as kept track of the bid entered and time entered. many would say (my wife) it is silly to go to such lengths, but it was more a game and an ego trip... I wanted to beat it! I kept rebidding the same amount each day... never rasing my final bid any higher than originally bid on day 1. The 3rd night my bid was accepted by the 3.5 star Hilton in downtown Madison. My successful bid ended up $3 per night lower than my highest bid the previous two nights. I actually find that getting a winning bid is 2nd to the enjoyment in the actual process. It is the thrill of the hunt I enjoy most. The only thing I was a little unhappy about, was two days after winning my bid Priceline had a face book event where liking them gace an extra $7 per evening bonus for hotel bids and it was a few days too late for me. I was able to get 12 bids a day because there were four total zones I could use and two of them were acceptable . Zone A = my first choice zone: Zone D was my second choice zone. Zones B & C were two zones that alloted for free rebidding because they only had 2.5 stars properties. I alos learned to check the star rating on Priceline between each and every bid! One nevre kn ows when the Priceline computers will add or change the start rating ion any of its zones. I would hate for that to happen in the midddle of my boidding process, so I recehceck every zone I am bidding between each rebid. Order of my bidding is as follows: Zone A was mymost preferred zone, Zone D was a 2nd "Ok" zone I could be happy with. Both had at least a 3 start hotel. Zones C & D were justfree rebid zones becaause they only had 2.5 stars. bid 1 A bid 2 AB relaunch of priceline from betterbidding to clear the previous selected zones bid 3 AC bid 4 ABC relaunch of priceline from betterbidding to clear the previous selected zones bid 5 AD bid 6 ABD relaunch of priceline from betterbidding to clear the previous selected zones bid 7 ACD bid 8 ABCD relaunch of priceline from betterbidding to clear the previous selected zones bid 9 D bid 10 DB relaunch of priceline from betterbidding to clear the previous selected zones bid 11 DC bid 12 DBC Thanks, oldmanbob

Tried a 3 star room last night with bids of 42, 44, 46. Tried again today with a bid of $50, and won on first attempt. Taxes and fees of $13.97 brings overall total of $63.97. I am a big fan of Trip Advisor reviews, and the reviews on this facility are not too positive. I sure hope otherwise. I usually try to overlook negative reviews, but there seems to be a much higher percentage of them. But... we are staying for only one night and have a very early flight out. It should be OK. They still have the Heavenly Beds, and 24 hr shuttle. I will bring earplugs for the thin walls and just show up with a positive frame of mind and hopefully be pleasantly surprised. It is all up to one's own frame of mind so I'll try hard not to prejudge. The price is right so who knows? It goes with the territory when one wants to save a few bucks, and the good wins certainly seem to outnumber the less than good wins. I'll be entering my review on Trip Advisor after my visit.. and hopefully I'll have some good things to write about.

Here is a follow-up review of last week

Entered first bid of $ 33 for Asheveille downtown, selecting 2 1/2 stars; first bid rejected. Added Asheville East zone, and raised bid by one dollar to 44. Accepted. Please note: please update your Priceline hotel list for Asheville East. This hotel is currently listed as a 2 star but Priceline evidently now has it as a 2 1/2 star. Kind of a bummer in a way as I am not big fan of Quality Inns, but will certainly give it a try. The other hotels in the Asheveille area that are 2 1/2 stars were perfectly acceptable, and that was my goal. However, with a winning bid $44 one can't be too picky, and it has some decent reviews on Trip Advisor. I of course used PRICELINE link from this forum to enter my bids. Best online price I could find was $82, so win was a decent deal, I just hope it is a decent hotel. Bid 44.00 Taxes/Fees 13.77 (wow 31% taxes & fees) total cost 57.77. Thanks, Oldmanbob

Aaron, I mistakenly posted this in NC forum, it should be in SC forum for Greenville SC. Ifyou could move it, I'd appreciate it. thanks in advance Bob

We were heading to the Asheville area the day before, and we thought it would be nice to also take in some of the sights Greenville SC has to offer before going home this weekend. I really enjoy this area as it has a lot to do. I had read some posts that the Crowne Plaza had been won with some very reasonable bids, and having won a few of the other 3 star hotels in this area , I started with a low bid of $42 and selected 3 star within the Greenville zone that includes downtown. I really did not want to win the 3 1/2 star of higher as I did not want to pay for overnight parking, but if i get one at a good cheap price, I could live with a parking fee. My first bid of $42 was accepted at the Crowne Plaza Greenville. (free parking, too!) I of course then wondered if I started my bid too high, but $42 was darn cheap so I was pleased. I am a member of the hotels priority club membership which is free, (It is like a frequent flyer club). While no reward points are awarded on Priceline bids, it did get me a club level floor room once I arrived. This floor typically does not have families (nothing against kids, I have em

Started Bidding on last Wednesday. 1st bid: selected zone 2, Ashville Downtown, and selected 3 stars. I bid $46. Rejected, but I was offered a free rebid if I raised my bid to $63. I declined that offer. 2nd bid: added zone 5, Biltmore Square (no worries as this zone only has up to a 2 1/2 star. Kept my 3 star choice and raised bid to $49. Bid rejected again 3rd bid. lowered star preference to 2 1/2 and raised bid to $52. Only a little gamble here as any 2 1/2 star or better hotel on the Better Bidding Priceline Hotel List is acceptable. My goal was to not win the Asheville Crowne Plaza. It is a very nice hotel and I have won there a few times previously, but breakfast is expensive there, and its location is a little less preferred. However I would also not be upset if I win it at a good price. I am picky, so I wanted to try a different hotel. My 3rd bid of $52 was rejected. 4th bid. Added zone 3 Asheville East and raised bid to $54. Hotels that are 2 1/2 star or better were also acceptable, As I have won the HI east before. Nice hotel as well. I just preferred other locations. Well 4th bid at $54 was rejected, and now I wondered if I should have taken the $63 free rebid I was offered at my first bid. Not one to give up, I entered a 5th bid. 5th bid. I added Zone 1, the Asheville Airport. Again, any 3 star in this zone would also be acceptable to me, plus I was going to a show in Flat Rock that would be close, I just preferred downtown if possible for the next day

Been searching for hotels in the East Madison area for last two weeks. Wanted at least a three star. Unfortunately the WORLD DAIRY EXPO also is going on at the exact same dates we were visiting in Madison. Evidently this is THE expo to attend if you are a dairy farmer. Every hotel that had a room available wanted super high prices, and that was IF the hotel even had any rooms left. We are going to this area to visit inlaws... not the expo. I found some better rated 2 stars a little further up the road in DeForest WI, but numerous bids over several days using several rebid zones were unsuccessful even with bids up to 71 each without success.. even for a Comfort Inn! In desparation, after many nights without success, I relented and tried a bid for this 2.0* Country Inn And Suites Waunakee ... it is only about 7 miles from Madison airport so location is fine... it was just that some trip advisor reviews were not as complimentary. After having four bids rejected in Deforest, I logged immediately back on and tried a new search with Waunakee selected and entered $53, and it was accepted on the first bid. I was surprised it even allowed me to bid as I had used up all free rebids in the DeForest area which also listed Waunakee as one of its zones. I was caught offguard and dissapointed I had not started lower. The hotel web site offered the room on non refundable advance cost of 69 per night so i actually saved a few dollars. None the less, I got a room for two nights . I did use the PRICELINE link from this website before starting every bidding session. Moderator: This city is not listed at all in the Hotel listings by City. It is only 7 miles from Dane Airport in Madison and only 10 miles from downtown Madison. I beleive it is the only hotel used by Priceline in Waunakee. (well actually, town) If possible, please add to list. 2.0* Country Inn And Suites Waunakee Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $53.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $106.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $20.10 (USD) Total Room Cost: $126.10 (USD) Thanks, Oldmanbob

First and foremost I used the PRICELINE link from betterbidding.com to start my bids. Tried a bid at 44 for Chapel Hill zone for a 3 1/2 star, was unsuccessful. Addeed Raleigh Research Triangle, kept 3/12 starts and raise bid to 45.00 . Unsuccessful again. I did not want to lower to a 3 star in the Research Triangle as I did not care for my last stay at the Radisson Research Triangle Park so I had to change zones. Completely closed web page, went back to betterbidding.com, clicked on Price line link again, and I was able to start a whole new bid and did not have to use the zones tried previously. I even was able to lower the bid amount I had entered unsuccessfuly on my first attempts to get 3 1/2 star. I thought I woulkd be obligated to the initial zone and inital bid amount but that was not the case. Thus I started all over like it was my first time bidding this evening. I again used BB.coms PRICELINE link again. Yes, I did have to completely log back into Priceline and enter my credit card info again, but that is a minimal hassel when it resulted in able to change zones completely and start again with a lower bid $$ for a lower star rating. Thus I chose a new zone, Cary North, and submitted a bid of 42.00 that was unsuccessful. Added new zone of Cary South and raised bid by $1.00 to $43.00 Bid accepted for this Courtyard. Total cost with fees: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $43.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $43.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $15.11 (USD) Total Room Cost: $58.11 (USD) Hope this info helps others. I would not think of doing PRICELINE without first using all info and link that is available on this great web site. Thanks! Oldmanbob

sorry, the bid price listed on my header is incorrect. i think I confiused you by mentioning Savannah in my Charleston post. I had first bid unsuccessfully in Savannah, Ga and I mnetioned I had bid to up to 69, but that was for Savannah GA., and was unsuccessful. The winning bid for Aloft in Charleston was a $49 bid. (With taxes and fees, it had a grand total of 63.43). It was not 69. Sorry for putting extra data on Savannah in the same post; I made it confusing. I should have not mentioned anything about the unsuccessful bid in Savannah in my post. thanks, bob

NOTE: The Aloft Charleston Airport & Convention Center is NOT on better Bidding's hotel list of 3 star hotels in the Charleston Airport zone and should be added. These bids were attempted and one was successful last Thursday. I bid on 3-17-11 for a one night stay for Friday 3/18/2011. Sorry for the delay in posting. I tried numerous bids for 3-18 in Savannah, GA. Tried 4 bids going up to 69 for 3 start or better, and was unsuccessful. We decided to instead stay in Charleston. Historic Charleston bids noted on this site seemed more than I wished to pay for just a night sleep as we needed no other amenities. For grins, I entered a bid of 47 for a 3.5 star or better for downtown Charleston and was unsuccessful. Most hotels listed in the airport zone on betterbiddings.com were decent so I was happy to bid there. So, not wanting to waste time, I added the airport zone, lowered my preference to 3 star and rebid same amount. Still unsuccessful. I upped my bid by $2 to $49 and was successful for the Aloft Charleston Airport & Convention Center. The only down side to this winning bid is that it did not qualify for the free continental breakfast they offered other hotel guests. Having used Priceline many times in the past, I have always been allowed to partake of the free breakfast offered other guests. This was the first time I won a Priceline bid in a hotel that offers a free continental breakfast but excluded Priceline winning bids. They offered it for an extra $5 per person. We checked out the breakfast offerings in the morning and declined, instead going to the shopping center next door and patronizing iHop. The continental breakfast at Aloft was very limited. The hotel itself was a pleasant surprise. Their web site when I made my last minute bid the evening before had a non refundable Internet rate of $119 plus taxes and fees. I feel I received a very good value. The room was very clean and comfortable. My request to have a room away from the elevator was accommodated. I had read on trip advisor that rooms near the elevator hear the elevator noise. All in all, an enjoyable evening's sleep in a clean and comfortable hotel. Would I pay $119 to stay there ??? no, but $49 plus fees .. absolutely! I also used the PRICELINE link from better bidding in order to place my bid. thanks for all that bb.com does. I use your information evry time !!!!! Your Price Was Accepted Congratulations, your price of $49 was accepted by Aloft Charleston Airport & Convention Center. Your Priceline Hotel Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $49.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $49.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $14.43 (USD) Total Room Cost: $63.43 (USD) Aloft Charleston Airport & Convention Center *** (3 star) North Charleston - Airport - Coliseum (CHS) 4875 Tanger Outlet Boulevard North Charleston, South Carolina 29405 843-566-7300 View Map and Directions Check-In Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2011 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2011 / 12:00 PM Amenities: NOTE: The Aloft Hotel is NOT on better Bidding's hotel list of 3 star hotels in the Charleston Airport zone and should be added.

Hotel dates 3-09-11 to 3-10-11 Used PRICELINE link from Betterbidding. Researched "feeler rates" from previous betterbidding.com prior posts. Then checked out hotel ratings and comments on tripadvisor, then went bidding. First bid of $40 for a 3 star was rejected, but I was offerred a one time only option to get a confirmed room if I raised bid by $15 to $55. :) I declined that option. I instead added a 2nd zone (Yulee) that does not have any 3 star or higher hotels in that zone. This allows my rebid to the 3 star at the airport zone I was targeting. I rebid at $42, and got declined again, but with that decline notice, I did NOT get the offer of the $15 guarantee I was offerred on my first rejected bid. :) So I went and added a 3rd zone (Jax west) that also does not have any 3 star or higher hotels. I thought long and hard and raised my bid by two more dollars to $44. (many others on betterbidding had their $43 offer accepted, but I splurged the extra buck and bid $44. :o Offer was accepted and with $13.10 in taxes and fees, my total cost was $57.10. Hyatt Place is rated # 4 out of 133 hotels in the JAX area by Tripadvisor. The Hyatt web site had a non refundable cost of $109 plus Taxes and fees, or a refundable cost of $129 plus tax and fees. Thus my total cost of 57.10 all inclusive was a great price. As usual, thanks to betterbidding.com and its users for supplying info that makes it easy to make smart bids for great properties! :) Oldmanbob

I had read the recent winning bid for the Hyatt Greenville so I was encouraged; but then I read recent trip advisor feedback. I decided not to try for the Hyatt. Worse, self parking is $6 per night extra at the Hyatt I changed strategy and went for the Greenville Airport zone as the only 3 1/2 hotel is the Hilton and it had had great reviews. Initial bid of $43 rejected. Added a 2nd area (Duncan) This was not a threat as it only has a two star in it effectively allowing me a free rebid. But, alas, my 2nd bid of $51 was also rejected. Changed strategy a little and lowered star level to a 3 star. This only opened up one hotel based on the listed hotels on BB's Priceline hotel list, (I know the list is a good basis of info, but also realize it is subject to Priceline changing star levels and adding hotels that may not yet be on the list). Thus I downgraded my bid from a 3 1/2 star to 3 star but also lowered my bid to $44. This winning bid was accepted. The confirm even offerred additional nights at same price, possibly inferring I may have successful at even a lower bid. However, a $44 cost plus fees is more than acceptable for this property, which is well rated on Trip Advisor. I am determined to see the fall colors this year and last weekends trip to Asheville was much more expensive but also unproductive as the recent wind and rains had stripped most trees bare of leaves. Courtyard By Marriott Greenville-Spartanburg Airport *** Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $44.00 Subtotal: $44.00 Taxes & Fees: $12.28 Total Charges*: $56.28

Re: Raleigh NC vicinity After work Friday 10/15/10, we decided to take a spur of the moment trip to the State Fair in Raleigh. So I jumped on better bidding dot com and used the PRICELINE link. After a initial failed bid of $38 for a 3 star in the Raleigh-Durham (Airport RDU) zone, I upped the bid to $41 and added the Raleigh-Durham (Research Triangle Park) zone. My bid was accepted Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $41.00 Radisson Research Triangle Park I-40 Exit 280 At Davis Drive Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Subtotal: $41.00 Taxes & Fees: $13.07 Total Charges*: $54.07 Overall this is a very nice hotel. The hotel lobby and room were very acceptable and super clean. However, they use sleep number beds. My wife

I too had thought about the same concern and thought about notifying them but I have to balance that against the fact that other hotels in that area may be more expesiove given it s the prime weekend of fall colors in the area and all hotels will likely have no vacancy. On another entirely different issue, Priceline alos has a different Holiday Inn in Ashville West. Better Bidding has it listed in the pinned list as a 2 1/2 star. When one checks Pricelines list, that exact hotel and address on ( 435 Smokey Park Highway in Asheville, NC 28806) is listed as a 3 start on Priceline but a 2 1/2 star on the pinned up list. The pinned up list needs to be updated for this property as well. thanks for all your help, and I will check other properties to see if I should raise a concern about winning a property that is located almost a mile outside of their detail map zone. Oldmanbob

thereuare... your map interpretation is right on target. I went back to Priceline maps and they "place" (the hotel pin icon) this hotel 9/10 of a mile closer to the Blue Ridge Parkway than Google maps does... To verify further, google maps also have street view which verify that the google map placement is correct and exact... Priclines is incorrect and the map circle for Asheville East does not extend to the actual location of this hotel.. more correctly, Google maps place this hotel a full 5/10 of a mile outside of and east of the Priceline Ashville East detail map circle. My guess is that it is a new property they have added and have yet to update thier map detail for Asheville East. I previously trusted Priceline maps to be accurate... I guess I learned a lesson not tobe so trusting.

here is a copy of the confirm page. If I understand your description, then it is Asheville East Your Hotel Information Happy with your hotel Click here to extend your stay. Holiday Inn Biltmore East (There were also three star symbols immediately after the Hotel name, but the stars did not copy to this post) Asheville East 1450 Tunnel Road Asheville, North Carolina 28805

I have been playing the PRICELINE game 3 days consecutively now and finally have a room after great pateince and analysis. I had selected the Ashville East, West, Downtown and Biltmore areas . I always first try to get the Comfort Suites Biltmore, but have ended up getting similar properties. Of Note: the property I ended up with is NOT included on the Pinned up list of Hotels in the Asheville Area, so the moderators should consider adding it as a listed property. The property I bid (using the PRICELINE link from this forum) and "won" on is : Holiday Inn Biltmore East 1450 Tunnel Road Asheville, NC 28805 With a bid of $91, and with fees ect., the overall total was $112.50 It was a bit further East than I had hoped and does not include breakfast, but the bid price was $30 less per night than the current non refundable rate available on PRICELINE or other online hotel websites. Given that the date I chose is smack dab prime leaf viewing seson in this immediate area, thus the price is certainly fair. The leaves are a little slow this year due to extended warn season, and we ought to have high prime colors on the last weekend of October. For the past three days, I had tried to get two consecutive nights reservations without success but had only bid $92 at my highest point, all without success. I changed it to one night and still had no success until today. Overall pretty Ok bid... not great, but not bad.

Successful bid was $61 for Doubletree Biltmore Estate/Downtown Asheville for Friday, 9/3, for one night. I first tried a bid of $47 and selected the zone for Asheville Biltmore West. I believe it only has only one 2

Just got back from my stay at Crown Plaza in Ashville, NC Stayed there one night 8/7/10. Hotel was actually very nice, and I scored a very nice room with a great view overlooking the fairway. Hotel room was as clean as I've seen. Bathroom and shower area were immaculate. Warning on noise heard from hallway is valid. I requested and received a room at end of hall that minimized this concern. Slept like a baby until the fire alarm went of at 1:15 am. Then they announced every ten minutes it was nothing and to stay in rooms. As I was only on 4th floor, and stairwell was 30 feet away, I was not concerned. Never even used my earplugs, but the hotel has free sleep ameneties in every room.. eyecovers and ear plugs. Breakfast in the dining room was great but a little pricey. two adults with tip = 29.00 omelets cooked to order, all beverages , and waffle bar. I was stuffed! Warning: I spoke with the desk clerk in the late evening after checkin and mentioned I had Pricelined the room He told me the hotel was over booked and that Priceline just keeps on reserving rooms many times even if they have no rooms available. Use caution when reserving and then call the hotel directly next day after reserving on priceline like I did, to verify the reservation is in place and a room will in fact be available. Very nice hotel. Wil try to get it again my next visit to Asheville. It is about 10 minutes from downtown however, but driving to downtown is easy finding a prking space is a pain.

First... thanks for the tips. I read them before entering my bids Secondly, I used the PRICELINE link posted within this board to connect to Priceline before placing my bid. I then tried for a 2.5 star in the Biltmore Square zone of Ashville NC. There seems to only be one 2.5 star hotel (Comfort Suites) in that zone and I would have been happy to get it. I actually enjoy the Comfort Suites... they typically have great waffles! My first bid of $60 was not accepted. I couldn't play many games trying numerous bids due to time, as the date I wanted to reserve for was for the very next day. Thus I upped my bid to $71.00 and also selected the downtown zone. This zone provided for a safe immediate second bid as it only had one 2 star which I was not worried about but could have accepted, but I set my selection at 2.5 stars to try for the Comfort suites again, and the downtown zonehad a few 3 stars that would have been equally acceptable. My bid of $71 was accepted for the 3.5 star Crown Plaza in Asheville. Taxes and fees pushed my overall total to $87.48. However, having stayed in this area numerous times, thats a decent price for the Ashville area this time of year with families still on vacation before the start of school in a week or two. Reviews on this hotel on Tripadvisor are mixed; reviews on Priceline are a little most positive and the Intercontinental website itself, of course, touts the place up wonderfully. I will post my feedback on myhotel experience on trip advisor once we return after this weekend. I wil bring a set of earplugs just in case it is noisy as that seems to be the very common complaint I read in reviews, but I am happy with the price and pleased with the feedback here that hepled me get it. Thanks! OMB