belgo

The Days Inn goes for $76.40 (plus tax, totoal $86.11) and the Super 8 for $62.10 (plus tax, total $69.20). Either one would be OK by me. It's vexing that none of the motels in town seem willing to offer even modest discounts...

$40 didn't work either. I'm really scratching my head here. Interestingly, the places AAA ranks most highly are the Days Inn (also ranked #1 by tripadvisor), and the Comfort Inn (ranked quite low by tripadvisor, but given 3 diamonds by AAA). I understand Priceline usually rates these 1*, and, in fact, the Days Inn is listed as a 1* on Priceline.com. Part of me wants to bid 1*, but there is another place in town called the Stagecoach Inn and I'm worried about getting stuck there... Or I could spend an additional night in Roswell and just wake up earlier. I don't suppose anyone has any guesses as to what would come up for 1*?? :)

$35 didn't do it either. I'm tempted at a 1* bid... :)

I don't think I'll be going over $45... Interestingly, the 1*'s (Days Inn and Super 8) seem to have at least as good a reputation on tripadvisor as any of the 2*'s. I've never bid on a 1* on Priceline before, but I'm sorely tempted. Another possibility is to bid on a 2 1/2* in Roswell for two nights (I was tentatively planning on being there the previous night, and may just extend it).... :)

According to tripadvisor, most of the motels there are pretty dumpy, but for one night, we'll be OK. Hotwire doesn't seem to list any accommodations there. There are two Best Westerns who want to charge $93 :) (I don't qualify for the Seniority Rate :) and I don't suppose I qualify for the business traveler rate either, and they don't have a AAA discount :) ). There's also a Comfort Inn for $81, Ocotillo Inn for $61, and Executive Suites for $71. I really don't want to pay retail for these dumps. If I can't get a decent rate on Priceline, I think I'll go for the HIX in Artesia. I used the savingsbarn link, of course. :o

$18 was rejected for a full-sized car. Interestingly, when I had my hotel win, I received offers of $27 for a full-sized car and $28 for a Standard car. I guess that with rental cars, as opposed to hotels, you can rebid while naming a higher quality category. Both times I bid, I received a response saying "You offer is so far below market rates, it is unlikely to be accepted." I feel like such a cheapskate! :) And, yes, I used the savingsbarn link to make my bid.

I got it on my first try. $55 + $14.37 = $69.37. The cheapest nonrefundable rate online is $116 plus tax, or $129 for a cancellable rate. Hotwire seemed to have the same hotel (3* with Shuttle, fitness, pool, restaurant, business, and internet) for $69. I used the Savingsbarn link, of course. :)

I went up to $52, when I got an offer to increase my bid by $15, and then I bid $54, which was turned down. I then tried 2.5* for $45, and that was turned down as well. I used the Savingsbarn link. I have a $10 off coupon from the Entertainment Book, so I just went for the 2.5* on Hotwire, which was, indeed, the LaQuinta Inn, which is a well-reviewed property. So I ended up getting the La Quinta for $59 + $13.20 - $10 = $62.20. The retail price is listed, depending on the website, $68 (Expedia) or $85 (Orbitz), plus tax, of course. The amenities listed were, as said previously, Shuttle, Breakfast, Pool, and Internet. I was unable to use the direct HOTWIRE link because of my coupon, but, hey, I'm allowed once a year, aren't I? :)

No takers for $50 for the night. Hotwire has a 2.5 * for $59 (Shuttle, Bkfst, pool, internet), a 2* for $39 only (Internet only--I wonder what that might be??), or a 3* for $69 (shuttle pool). I'm scratching my head as to whether to go for a 2.5*. I'm not sure what Priceline would come up with. From this site, it seems as if Hotwire's deal is probably LaQuinta Inn, which seems fine. It's just for the night, so I don't need anything fancy--just clean and comfortable.

That's definitely more than I wanted to spend. I got the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza (3*) for $55 + $15.57 in fees for a total of $70.57. A significant savings over retail and hotwire. I used the savingsbarn link of course. I think the retail price for the H.I. was $119. :)

Do you mean $85?

You were right... $80 wasn't enough :) Any suggestions in bidding for a 3*? It is marked "Best value" if that makes any difference... We were just looking for a place to stay the night after taking a cab from a wedding, so it's not like we really needed a 4*--but it would have been nice to get one for $80 or less...

I'm willing to go up to $80. There seem to be a lot of free rebid zones--Business, Folsom, Roseville, University, and So. Natomas. The two 4*'s seem to have plenty of availability--many room categories, with minimum prices of $129 each. If $80 doesn't cut it, I'd be willing to go up to $65 for 3*. Hotwire has a 3* which seems to be the Holiday Inn for $73, but their 4* price seems a silly $120. (Strangely, the Holiday Inn also seems to go for about $119 retail). I don't understand why someone would book through Hotwire to save $9 (or less). Anyways, since the Sheraton and Hyatt seem to need to sell their rooms, I'm hoping for a better deal through Priceline... :)

Any idea what the 3* could be with Fitness, Pool, restaurant, business, and internet? Probably a little steep at $73 unless it's the Sheraton or Hyatt? :)

No, I was definitely using the bidding site, because I entered a $44 bid, and it came back and said that there are no 4*'s in the south lake tahoe area, and asked if I wanted to bid in the north Lake Tahoe area (I'm not sure what's 4* up there except maybe the Hilton resort). Maybe Priceline has re-classified Harvey's as a 3* (Hotwire lists it as 3 1/2*). Although the Lake Tower rooms are definitely 4* quality (having once stayed there on a business expense account), my understanding is that the Mountain Tower rooms are more fairly described as 3*.

Another happy customer! I booked two rooms (through www.savingsbarn.com of course) for these two weeknights for $50 a night per room. Total for both rooms for two nights including taxes and fees was $224.62. I once stayed in one of their Lake Tower rooms and it ended up being one of my favorite hotel stays in my life. I realize that as Hotwire customers, we'll be in the Mountain Tower, though. It'll be interesting to contrast the two rooms, since I've never stayed in the Mountain Tower. The amenities listed were Resort, near beach, casino, fitness, pool, restaurant, business center, and golf nearby. Interestingly, I tried Priceline, which, according to this site, lists Harvey's as a 4*, but when I entered 4*, it stated no availability of 4*'s in the So. Lake Tahoe area. It looks like it's getting harder to figure out free rebid zones, too. I've very pleased with this, though. I love Harvey's (dislike the old Caesar's the most--there's a new name for that dump with the cheap walls/no insulation). :)

An update and success :o ! I added Westwood and $58, and got an offer to increase my bid by $17. Instead, I added Beverly Hills/West Hollywood and increased my bid to $60. To my surprise, I was upgraded to a 4*!! :) So we got the Sheraton Gateway for $60 a night for a total of $284.38 with taxes and fees. What a pleasant surprise. Traditionally, the cheapest rate would be $152 a night, or $173 per night when taxes would be included. No way did I forget to use the savingsbarn link... :)

No success at $50 or $55. I added Santa Monica (basically a free rebid area as far as I'm concerned because there's no chance one would come up there at $55--and it would be fine by me if it did).

I'm looking for a 3* in the LAX area for 10/13-17. Hotwire has a 3* that looks like the Holiday Inn for $65. The Crowne Plaza goes for $144, 4 Points for $125, and the Hilton for $125 (NR). Is it reasonable to feel one might win a $55 bid on Priceline? There don't seem to be any free rebid areas...

Having just come back from Boston myself, may I highly recommend expanding your bidding area to the Logan Airport region. I got the Hilton, a true 4*, for $65 a night. There are almost continuous shuttles taking you to the subway stop, which is 3 subway stops from downtown. No airplane noise whatsoever. It was a very convenient and comfortable hotel.

The rental car business seems to be based on hanky-panky business practices. They quote one rate then add all kinds of bogus charges ("franchise fees" and so forth) to jack up the bill. CDW's are a good example since most people have coverage at least through their own auto insurance, or through their credit card. In our upcoming trip, for example, we will have coverage through our auto insurance, through the credit card I charge with, and through our travel insurance. There is no reason to charge extra for an additional driver since, after all, only one person can drive the car at any given time (if anything, trading off driving duties would lessen driver fatigue and therefore reduce the chances of an accident). I'll check the wording on our travel insurance policy, but I don't plan on listing my travel partner as an additional driver and I do plan to alternate driving duties. Since we independently have our own auto insurance policies purchased elsewhere, I don't see any risk in refusing to pay the rental co. fee (the only danger I could see is if the car broke down with only the alternate driver present, and one needed to call the rental company directly). :)

I've heard the suggestion of parking in the airport's long-term parking lot.

My first offer of $19 a day was rejected, but I was given the opportunity to rebid. After the bid, I was offered a Fullsize for $23/day, but there being just two of us, that was more than I needed. If the car had been booked on hertz.com, the cost would have been $316.99 without taxes, or $356.05 total. As it is, my charge was $126 + $44.19 taxes and fees, for a total of $170.19. I used the Savingsbarn link of course. So far Priceline has saved me $500 or so on my little New England trip. :) Thanks, betterbidding! Time for me to buy my trip cancellation insurance, now! :)

Oh, happy day!! :o :) I got all three nights for $65/night ($60 a night was unsuccessful), plus $34.22 fees and taxes for a total of $229.22. My prior reservation was for $536.39 for the three nights (at the same hotel), for a savings of $307.17, or 57.3%. I got excited after $60 was rejected, but after I bid $65 it said my security code wouldn't go through for some reason (it was the correct security code, but I just used another credit card). After all that, you better believe I used the savingsbarn link :) Another major lesson is that it looks as if this hotel waits until exactly 30 days (as opposed to one month) to release inventory to Priceline. I would advise anyone bidding for a 4* in the Logan Airport zone not to bother until 30 days before your planned checkout. Is this one of the longest strings ever or what? :) For the GoBoston card link, should I click on the "travel links to support better bidding" area?

Even wierder, if you reserve just the 27th at the Hilton, it's $190, but if you reserve the 27th and 28th together, it's $170 for both nights. So the 27th alone is $190, the 28th alone is $210, but the 27th and 28th together are $170 per night. It seems to be a system designed to discourage adding on nights.