Had been casually checking on hotels near Disneyland for family traveling in the area. I needed to guarantee sleeping accommodations for 4, so using Hotwire instead of Priceline. Started with the HOTWIRE QUICKQUOTE on Better Bidding...
Had the amenities that are listed on the Better Bidding hotel list - 3.5* - Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business Center
Knew that was either the ES in Brea or Anaheim, so was happy to get those accommodations with the great free breakfast they offer. The Hyatt, Hilton, and Sheraton in Anaheim/Garden Grove were all in the $90's as well on Hotwire, but with additional parking charges and no breakfast. Online the ES Brea is showing $170/night AAA rate for these dates.
Started with the PRICELINE link on betterbidding.com!
Had already tried for a 3* in the Berkeley area using the 3 re-bid zones available there with no luck. Booking this the night before, so moved on to look in the Concord/Walnut Creek area.
Bid $49 and was presented with an offer to raise my bid to $64 to be accepted.
Passed on that and bid $51, which was rejected.
Bid $53 adding another of the 9 re-bid zones available at the 3.5* level and it was accepted.
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $53.00
Subtotal: $106.00
Taxes & Fees: $21.68
Total Charges*: $127.68
Hilton Concord
Walnut - Creek - Concord - Lafayette
1970 Diamond Boulevard
Concord, California 94520
925-827-2000
Pretty pleased with this win. The lowest rate on their website was a $99 AAA rate.
Started with the HOTWIRE link on BetterBidding.com.
Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Pool, Internet were the listed amenities which matched up with the Hyatt Place, so very happy with this result. $71/night on the Hyatt website with AAA member discount for the same dates.
We've stayed here before and this is a great price for nicely appointed rooms with flat screens, modern decor, and a nice living area separate from the sleeping area. The hotel is away from urban areas, so it'll take a few minutes drive to get to dining options and about 20 minutes to get to downtown SJ.
Started with the PRICELINE link on Better Bidding...
Bid $65 for SF USE - rejected and was offered a re-bid if I raised my bid $17,
added free re-bid zone instead (there are 5 in the SF area if bidding a 4*) and bid $67.
This continued in small increases until my bid of $75 was accepted which is just fine. Online, the lowest avail rate is $119-127/night for these dates, so about a $160 savings for the 3 days with taxes/fees included.
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $75.00
Subtotal: $225.00
Taxes & Fees: $44.76
Total Charges: $269.76
This also appears to be in line with previous wins in this zone...
Started with the PRICELINE link on Better Bidding....
$37 - rejected & given option to raise bid to $47 with free rebid
$39 - accepted
Room Subtotal: $117.00 (USD)
Taxes and Fees: $23.04 (USD)
Total Room Cost: $140.04 (USD)
This is for a family member, but I stayed here in Nov and was pleased. $12/day resort fee includes wi-fi, parking, and shuttle to DL.
I guess I have too much info in the topic causing the hotel name to be cut off. I can't seem to edit the topic, so if anyone can fill me in or if an administrator can do so for me that would be appreciated.
It's the Hyatt Valencia.
Started with PRICELINE link on Better Bidding...
Needed a couple of nights in Santa Clarita. Appeared that at the 3.5* level, the Hyatt was likely.
Started bid at $42, rejected.
Bid $46 with free rebid, accepted.
Offer: $46
1 room
2 nigths
Subtotal: $92
Taxes: $18.82
Total: $110.82
Free parking, but no free internet.
The hotel was very nice, clean, flat screens (I think it's <5 years old). Large indoor/outdoor mall right across the street and a Borders with free wi-fi if you don't want to pay $10/day at the hotel.
Started with PRICELINE link on Better Bidding...
Selected this area instead of Disneyland-Anaheim with a couple of hotels in mind because of parking/resort fees. It looked like $39 was the low end, so that's where I started my bidding thinking I would go into the mid-40's with rebids if necessary because I wanted 5 nights Thanksgiving week. However, my first bid of $39 was accepted.
The Crowne Plaza has a $12/day resort fee that covers self parking, shuttle to Disneyland, and internet access, so not a bad deal. Some area hotels charge $15/day just for parking and internet access was something we really wanted.
Offer: $39
1 room
5 nights
Subtotal: $195
Taxes: $33.85
Total: $228.85
Total with resort fee: $288.85
Advertised rate on hotel website was around $89/night plus resort fee.
Since we've completed this trip, I'll add that the accommodations were very good for this price. Self parking is not very convenient as noted on some review websites (shared with neighboring hotels in the back....bit of a walk), but if you're taking the shuttle to Disney then not a big deal at all.
Started w betterbidding links to PRICELINE and HOTWIRE as we were doing research...
Family member is traveling in OC area and decided to stay an extra night.
Hotwire showed the following amenities which told us that it should be the Double Tree or Hilton - both near the airport.
Airport Shuttle
Fitness Center
Pool(s)
Restaurant(s)
Business Center
High-speed Internet Access
Sorry for not including this info...
The amenities shown were an exact match with what is listed here on Better Bidding...
Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-speed Internet Access, Spa Services
Started with the HOTWIRE link here on Better Bidding...
As noted on the PRICELINE posts above, I tried several bid strategies (including re-bid zones and splitting the dates) of between $65 - 85 for a 4* in Dupont Circle since HOTWIRE was advertising what looked like the Omni for $92 - 94. No luck on Priceline (about 20 bids worth).
The Omni has good reviews and the tip to join their loyalty program in order to enjoy free wi-fi makes the deal that much better.
Started via the PRICELINE link here on Better Bidding...
Tried several bid strategies up to $85 to get a 4* in Dupont Circle, including splitting the bid a couple of different ways. No luck, so we went with the Hotwire listing and got the Omni for $94/night. I'll post on the Hotwire side of things...
Looking for a 4* in Dupont Circle 4/6 - 4/13. Hotwire had a rate of $92/night that looks like the Omni Shoreham. Their advertised rate online was $179/night ($153 for 21 day advance purchase and $162 AAA rate).
Tried bids on Priceline (via the Better Bidding link) of $65 - 85/night with free rebid zones.
I'm comfortable with Priceline, but have never stayed in the DC area and have never used Hotwire. I wouldn't mind paying the Hotwire rate, but with several weeks until our stay I wasn't in a hurry to jump at it.
I wouldn't mind splitting the bid, but I'm not sure that it's necessary when looking at the hotel rates in the area.
Just looking for any advice that I may not have considered before moving forward.
Thanks
Started with PRICELINE link on Better Bidding...
Bid $49 ... rejected & offered a free re-bid if bid was raised $14
Added free re-bid zone and bid $54 ... accepted
Started with the PRICELINE link on betterbidding.com
Bid $50 - was rejected & offered a chance to rebid by raising bid $14
Bid $55 by adding free rebid zone - rejected
Bid $59 by adding free rebid zone - accepted
Pleased with another good deal...good reviews of this hotel on tripadvisor & lowest standard price on their website is $169 for this night.
Started with the PRICELINE link on betterbidding.com
Bid $42 - was rejected, but given option to increase bid $12
Bid $45 by adding free rebid zone - accepted
$210 w taxes/fees for a four night stay. Not that I would pay it, but the best price on their website is $128/night (AAA rate).
Will have to factor in the $11/day parking fee, but still an overall good price for a hotel getting above average reviews.
Based on reviews, I was hoping for this hotel.
Started by using the PRICELINE link on betterbidding.com.
$45 bid - was offerred to raise bid $13
$49 bid - added free rebid zone but rejected
$53 bid - added free rebid zone & accepted
$128 total w taxes/fees. The cheapest price on their website it about $121/night, so pleased with this result.
We were hoping to stay under $100, so with all the re-bids available started at $65 via the PRICELINE link on Better Bidding. Added re-bid zones while upping the bid in increments of $5. The strategy is described in a post by thereuare here ...
Priceline San Francisco Bidding
Finally, on the last possible re-bid under my Priceline login, the $100 per night was accepted. Funny how that works, huh!?
Looks like the lowest price on the Marriott website is around $159/night, so still a decent savings. We're getting 2 rooms, so a total savings of almost $300.
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $100.00
Subtotal: $400.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $68.50
Total Charges*: $468.50
Bid $52 - rejected (so much for thinking I could get less than $55 ... see my earlier post)
Added Lawndale (no 3*'s) for rebid
Congratulations, you got your price of $55 for a 3-star hotel room.
Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport 3-star
Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
5985 W Century Blvd
Los Angeles, California 90045
310-642-7500
Check-In Date:
Sun, Mar 30, 2008 / After 03:00 PM
Check-Out Date:
Mon, Mar 31, 2008 / 12:00 PM
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $55.00 (2 rooms)
Subtotal: $110.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $23.58
Total Charges*: $133.58
Got this on the first bid, so may have been able to go lower. Anyone else bidding around this time may start a little lower since there is one free rebid on the 3* LAX area.
Congratulations, you got your price of $55 for a 3-star hotel room.
Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport 3-star
Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
5985 W Century Blvd
Los Angeles, California 90045
310-642-7500
Check-In Date:
Fri, Mar 21, 2008 / After 03:00 PM
Check-Out Date:
Sat, Mar 22, 2008 / 12:00 PM
Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $55.00 (2 rooms)
Subtotal: $110.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $23.58
Total Charges*: $133.58
Used the link to PRICELINE at savingsbarn.com
All bids were for 3* Disneyland - $40 & $46 were rejected. A third re-bid zone was added and accepted.
Congratulations, you got your price of $51 for a 3-star hotel room.
Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort
1915 South Manchester Avenue
Anaheim, California 92802
714-748-7777
Check-In Date: Tue, Jun 5, 2007
Check-Out Date: Wed, Jun 6, 2007
Your Offer Price: $51.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $51.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $13.32
Total Charges: $64.32
Used SavingsBarn.com link
This took 7 bids. I started with $42 for a 3* in Disneyland area. I went up to $49 with re-bid zones with no luck. I threw in a bid of $40 for a 2.5* in Fullerton/Brea for a one time shot at the Holiday Inn Express in Placentia (free breakfast there), but no luck.
So, I switched to a 4* in Costa Mesa for $53. I was offerred to re-bid at $15 higher, but added a free re-bid zone instead and bid $57 which was accepted. Looks like bidders have gotten this hotel betw $55-60 in the past, so no surprises here.
Congratulations, you got your price of $57 for a 4-star hotel room.
The Westin South Coast Plaza
686 Anton Blvd
Costa Mesa, California 92626-1988
714-540-2500
Check-In Date: Fri, Dec 1, 2006
Check-Out Date: Sun, Dec 3, 2006
Your Offer Price: $57.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 2
Subtotal: $114.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $22.23
Total Charges: $136.23
Used savingsbarn.com link
We're heading out on a Carnival cruise on Sunday, but in town on Friday...
First bid of $59 rejected.
Added Long Beach Airport (no 4 *'s) and bid $64 - rejected.
Added Long Beach San Pedro (no 4 *'s) and bid $69 - ACCEPTED.
Congratulations, you got your price of $69 for a 4-star hotel room.
Hyatt Regency Long Beach
Long Beach
200 South Pine Avenue
Long Beach, California 90802-4553
562-491-1234
Check-In Date: Fri, Nov 10, 2006
Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM
Check-Out Date: Sun, Nov 12, 2006
Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM
Your Offer Price: $69.00
Number of Rooms: 2
Number of Nights: 2
Subtotal: $276.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $57.92
Total Charges: $333.92
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I did access Priceline via savingsbarn.com on my first night of trying. For my additional tries, I clicked on the link that was in my email from Priceline.
Is it best to go back to savingsbarn.com when trying to bid after the 24 hr waiting period or do they not count hits from the same IP address within a certain amount of time?
3* Redding Holiday Inn Redding
in Priceline Hotels - California (all other cities)
Posted
Started with the PRICELINE link on Better Bidding.
Did some research on Priceline and Hotwire to see what the offers were since I was bidding for a room later that evening for a family member traveling through Redding. Prices were $63 and up for a 2.5 or 3 star hotel in the area, so $55 seemed like it would be accepted. There's not availability for free rebids in Redding since
Online, the Holiday Inn had a AAA pre-tax rate of $105, so very happy with this result. The total was $69 with taxes and fees.