belgo

Very well, we'll stick with 4* for the other zones, then if it doesn't work out, go with 3* for all four of the zones.

In order of preference: (6) Opera East/Les Halles, (3) Champs Elysees, (7) St. Germain, (4) Eiffel Tower. Yes, I'll try 4* up to $130, then switch to 3* if unsuccessful.

I would be willing to pay up to $130 for a 4*, or $100 for a 3*. Any zone except Batignoles-Montmartre-Republique, La Defense, and probably Bastille, would be OK. Priceline lists Champs-Elysees as the best deal, so that seems nice, but other zones would be OK. :)

I think that's only good etiquette! I did my best, but sometimes there are busy times when PRICELINE doesn't work too well because of low availability, and that's when I use my precious points! :)

I went up to $130 for a 3* in either conv. ctr/cap. hill or downtown/white house and couldn't get anything, so I booked the room at the Hampton Inn Crystal City, which is what I ended up doing the last time I came to DC. I know I used up 60,000 HHonors points, but at least I'm only some $430 out of pocket, and I'm getting credit at my preferred chain, and I know I'm staying at a place within walking distance of a metro line which goes to where I'm going (and has a shuttle to the airport where I'll be dropping off my rental car on the way in, and to the airport where I'm leaving from on the way out). I'll try using PRICELINE again for my rental car... :)

Well, I value the points at about $300 total. These points are somewhat better for me to use now because I will be traveling alone, and when I use points with friends, I don't feel right about charging them. I guess I am willing to spend about $650. Although using the points does have a cost, the stay will help me keep Gold status with Hilton HHonors, especially since if I used points for half of my stay, it actually counts as two stays. And since I will be gaining points as well, I don't look at it as much as $440+$300. As for the zones, the important thing for me is EASY metro access to the conference at the Renaissance Hotel, which, I believe, is the Chinatown stop. It's a straight shot on the Yellow line from the Hampton in Crystal City, although admittedly somewhat of a shlep. So I just want to make sure that whatever zone I pick, I don't get stuck with a hotel which is far from a metro stop (such as Georgetown), especially since I was planning to take the metro back to the airport (although if the savings are significant, I could find an alternate way to DCA).

Well, as an update, in the three days it took me to get my but together (busy since I was about to leave for a trip and am now in the Caymans), the Hampton lost its availability for June 2 & 3. Those two days seem to be a problem. I bid on PRICELINE up to $135 without success, using your link of course. I'm perfectly fine with a 3*, but am not sure what to bid. I looked at HOTWIRE, and they don't seem to have much. They have a 3* in the Kennedy Center area for $180, which seems to match the GWU Inn. It's going for $189 retail on Expedia and Hotels.com, so I wouldn't use hotwire, but it's for reference. They also have what seems to be the Hotel Rouge for $199. This hotel is available at hotelclub.com for $156/night for a total of $624, which would be marginally OK (I was hoping to keep the price near $500 total). The alternative would be to get 2 nights at the Hampton Inn Crystal City, and get the other two nights with points. The rooms are going for about $215. I've stayed there before, and it's a good 3 block shlep to the Crystal City metro station, but it certainly was an OK hotel. At least it's an easy shuttle to the National Airport from where I'm leaving on the morning of the 6th. Any idea what I should be bidding for a 3* in the Convention Center area? I wished I had jumped on the other Hampton offer while I had the chance. I guess it's difficult for me to learn to take a deal I find acceptable when I find it. Hopefully I'll live and learn. :)

I didn't think I had much of a chance, although since Priceline says this is the best deal area, and 4* is the best deal level, I thought I might as well give it a try. I'm going to a little conference at the Renaissance. They're charging $489/night for that time, and the Grand Hyatt similarly at $450. The Hampton Inn--Convention Center has $200/night deal (government employee), and I have enough points for two nights, so it seems like I'll be able to stay for 4 nights in the $400 range. I really like Hamptons--except for their seemingly always-slow elevators. :) I did use the PRICELINE link from this site, of course.

In that case, you will get credit, because I did click on your PRICELINE link, then opened my email and clicked on theirs. :)

We're extending our stay in Amsterdam after our Baltic Cruise on the Celebrity Century. I had a special link from Priceline for $10 bonus money due to a prior reservation in which I paid more than the going rate through Priceline (see prior Newark NJ entry last month). $110 (+10) was unsuccessful and met with a counteroffer to add $23. I added the free rebid area of Amsterdam North plus $10. The cheapest rate I could find was 115 Euros/night here. This hotel suits us well since it's near the port. Due to the special link provided by Priceline, I was unable to use this site's link, but I thought I would share the win. So $120 + $38.64 in taxes & fees, for a total of $398.64 for the three nights.

Does this mean we don't have to book through savingsbarn anymore for Priceline? Just FYI, that hotel does have a $102 government rate for those dates in case you qualify....

They said they'll submit a credit to my credit card in a couple of weeks. They verified the prices while I was on hold for some 10-15 minutes. Interesting that one can get a hotel without Priceline for $64.50 in Newark. I've been kind of avoiding travel to NYC because of the high hotel prices. I wonder if this is a reasonable alternative? In addition to a refund for the difference, they also sent me a $10 credit towards future travel. I guess what surprised me most from this situation is that Priceline could even undercut Expedia or Hotels.com by $4.50! Yeah, I know about free rebids (and checking other websites before submitting bids). I wouldn't have made either mistake if I hadn't been rushed, but I felt as if I had to get something within a few minutes. One should never be in a rush when availing oneself of Priceline...

:) Oopsy! Well, not entirely my fault. My Mom called me in a panic saying she was about to leave town and needed a hotel by the Newark Airport on the 20th. I bid $60 and was offered a room for $77 which I took, since she was about to leave and I wanted to give her an answer. Then I looked up the hotel and found out the rooms were selling for $64.50 on both Expedia and Hotels.com. I would have never made this mistake if I hadn't been rushed. Oh, well. $20 lost isn't the end of the world. At least the place seems reasonably nice. I did use the savingsbarn link. Next time, I'll suggest she not wait until she has one foot out the door before asking my assistance. :) I don't know if Priceline will refund the difference... The funny thing is that they list the 3* EWR area as a best buy, yet weren't willing to accept a bid of $4.50 below retail!! I guess I shouldn't have been so trusting...

$75 didn't do it either. :)

$70 didn't cut it either. I did lock in a $119 state government rate for the Hampton Inn. Given that I'd much rather stay at the Hampton Inn than the Best Western, I think I might just make one more attempt to $75. I might possibly go to $80 in consultation with the friend I'm going with, but, given all of the benefits I would get from the Hampton as a gold HHonors member, I can't see going up to $85 and risk getting stuck with the Best Western.

The possible hotels seem to be Courtyard $149, Hampton Inn $154, Holiday Inn Express $180, La Quinta $160, or Best Western Colony $129. The latter would definitely be the one I'd least like to get.

I got a Standard for $36/d with Hertz (Logan). $36 was insufficient for a Full-sized car, but it must have been close, because Priceline allowed me to rebid without changing anything when I bid $34 (I'm not sure what an appropriate amount to raise is when given such an offer). So it was $108 + $46.58 taxes and fees = $154.58. Priceline says that the lowest published price would have been $255, or 39% savings. The cheapest I found was $180 with Enterprise rent-a-car. I was getting around $225 with Avis, Hertz, Budget, and Dollar with discount codes/Entertainment coupons. So an OK deal, not my best success with Priceline. I must say that I don't seem to be getting the deals I used to get with Priceline, either with cars or hotels. I don't know if this is a trend, or if I just travel at overly popular times. I used the savingsbarn link, of course. :)

I guess I bid a little too low... It looks like midsizes are going for about $43 on Hotwire. :)

Well, although I didn't find anything on Priceline, at least I ordered another Go Boston card for my partner through the link on this site! :)

$165 didn't do it, for an area including BOS, Convention Center, and downtown. I don't mind trying again, but it looks like I'll end up with the Hampton Inn. Thanks for the hotwire suggestion, but an airport shuttle is essential, since the Silver Line to my convention goes from the airport. I must also confess that Hampton Inn is probably my favorite chain anyways, with dependable free speedy internet, breakfast, and so on. I doubt it's my conference which is that big, but something's keeping all of the hotels in the Boston area booked.

It's at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, which apparently is at the Silver Line "World Trade Center" stop. The Silver Line basically just goes from the Airport to the South (train) Station, via the WTC/Convention Center. I can connect with the Red Line at South Station (or simply walk from there).

Help, help, help! :) I tried up to $160 for the Boston Logan area, using various permutations, but didn't get anything. I've never seen this area go so high. The Hilton is asking for $400/night. The Hyatt wants $374. I guess I wanted the airport area because the conference I'm going to at the convention center apparently has easy access from the airport (Silver Line), and because I want to fly directly home after the Sunday morning session. Are the downtown hotels convenient to accessing the convention center? Priceline reports this as the "best buy" area. (The other problem is that I'll be coming in by rental car, so the airport would be more convenient for that, but not insurmountable). My backup is the Hampton Inn (Airport) for $188, so I will not bid above $160. Is the downtown area a good alternative, and if so may I have a bidding strategy? Thanks! :)

$130 didn't cut it. I'll wait

$100 didn't cut it either. I guess I'm willing to go to $130.

You're right. I could not get a 2* for $100. I'm actually doing this for a friend. I have a feeling that she may just forgo the trip. I wonder how much tourism NYC loses due to its hotel rates? I know I would go more often if it weren't so expensive...