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Hyatt Regency Albuquerque Downtown Albuquerque 330 Tijeras Nw Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 505-842-1234 Amenities: Remote control TV w/ premium channels; Radio Alarm Clock; Business services; Telephone w/ voicemail; Iron and ironing board; Hairdryer; 24 hour front desk; On-site Dining Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $42.00 (71% off Hyatt's lowest rates; 21% off HW's lowest) Subtotal: $42.00 Taxes & Fees: $12.85 Total Charges*: $54.85 Bid history: Was shooting for a 3* in Midtown-Uptown; either Sheraton (first preference) or Radisson (second pref). Failed all bids starting @ $39 in Midtown-Uptown adding free rebids through $45 in $1 increments by stepping through Rio Rancho (not on BB's PL hotel list), Santa Ana Pueblo, ALB North, East, West, Bernalillo (not on hotel list) before finally bidding downwardly to $42 with the expectation of winning the Hyatt downtown, which I did. Comparisons: HW cheapest 3* on this date - $53 (Downtown ALB - Old Town area) Hyatt lowest rate for this night at this location - $143.20 I began my bidding using this site's PRICELINE link. Please begin your own PRICELINE bidding this way too.

Courtyard By Marriott Flagstaff 2650 South Beulah Boulevard Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 928-774-5800 Amenities: Remote control TV w/ premium channels; Radio Alarm Clock; Business services; Telephone w/ voicemail; Iron and ironing board; Hairdryer; 24 hour front desk; On-site Dining Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $42.00 (65% off) Subtotal: $42.00 Taxes & Fees: $11.87 Total Charges*: $53.87 Bid history: Attempted $41 for Flagstaff alone - failed; added Sedona @ $42 - won. Appears you cannot beat bottom end of $42 for a 3* in this region, as illustrated by prior posts. Lowest rate for this hotel on this date according to hotel's own listings: $119 I used this site's PRICELINE link to start my bidding. Please do so too.

As requested by 'thereuare': Amenities: Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-speed Internet Access

Hotel rate per night - Hotwire hot Rate: $106.00 Nights: 2 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $212.00 Tax recovery charges and fees: $38.58 Total price: $250.58 Lowest available price on Hyatt's website for these dates for any room type is $240/nt. I used BetterBidding's HOTWIRE link to make my purchase. Please also use BetterBidding's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start your future purchases too.

This hotel turned out to have been totally overhauled by Sheraton, in the all the best ways possible. I was astounded when I walked into the place and even more so when I saw the room. Sheraton must have spent an absolute fortune on this place! I was extremely impressed by how gorgeous this place is, compared to what I knew was its aging self formerly. This hotel is certainly now earning every bit of its 3* rating; probably deserves higher. Common area/lobby: Free open wi-fi (Wyndam used to make you join a club or something to obtain); four nice, higher end PCs with free Net access and 24" LCDs. Rooms: 4*-grade rooms with 32" LG LCD TV mounted on all new, nice furniture/lamps. Real/faux leather armchair and (faux?)suede ottoman. Self-contained mini-fridge in nice decorative, freestanding rolling cabinet. Bathroom now in marble; table-top style sinks, picture mirror and lighting to match, curved shower rods, Speakman showerheads, new American Standard toilets. Funny part about all this was that I paid $5 less per night than when I last stayed 2 yrs ago! I would highly recommend anyone staying in this area try to get this hotel on Priceline. This was a killer value for the $. I've spent within $4/night of this for a dump of a Travelodge just up I-81 in Daleville. Maybe I got very lucky? The place was packed this Memorial Day weekend with college girls for the "D2 softball finals" going on nearby somewhere.

Sheraton Roanoke Hotel & Conference Center Roanoke North - Airport (ROA) 2801 Hershberger Road Nw Roanoke, Virginia 24017 540-563-9300 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $45.00 Subtotal: $135.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $24.92 Total Charges*: $159.92 Check-In Date: Fri, May 22, 2009 / After 04:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, May 25, 2009 / 12:00 PM ****************************************** This used to the be the Wyndam. I have posted wins on this hotel under that name previously. I paid $50 end of 2006, so perhaps its a bit of the recession playing a factor here. I used Betterbidding's PRICELINE link to start my bidding. Please do the same. I started bidding at $40 for "Roanoke North - Airport" area only; rejected. Added "Tanglewood" area and bid $45; accepted for "Roanoke North - Airport" area. Sheraton's website says $99/night. Orbitz, et al say $95/night plus taxes/fees.

Hertz Corporation Kahului Airport 850 West Mokuea Place Kahului - Maui,HI 96732-2307 1-800-654-3011 Pick-Up Date: March 19, 2009 - 4:00 PM Drop-Off Date: March 26, 2009 - 10:00 PM Won on 1st bid. Used betterbidding.com's link to PRICELINE to start bidding.

Hilton Charlotte University Place University Area 8629 J M Keynes Drive Charlotte, North Carolina 28262 704-547-7444 Check-In Date: Sat, Nov 17, 2007 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Nov 18, 2007 / 12:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $42.00 Subtotal: $42.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.74 Total Charges*: $55.74 *Prices are in US dollars. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Check in/out hours are less favorable on the hotel's website than that indicated here by Priceline Note: Hotel website says this is a 100% non-smoking hotel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bid History 3* only for: Charlotte Airport @ $40 +Executive Park Charlotte South @ $40 +Charlotte South Park @ $40 +Downtown Charlotte @ $41 +University Area @ $42 Alleged "retail" rate for these areas for that night for this star category was indicated to be $104 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comps Hilton's website: Lowest rate available for that night is $98.10 for a "NET DIRECT RATES FULL PAYMENT IN ADVANCE. NON REFUNDABLE. ROOM SELECTED AT CHECK-IN." Hotwire: lowest 3* rate in entire Charlotte area is $53 + Hotwire's fees & taxes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I always use the Priceline hotel link at the top of the page @ SavingsBarn. In support of websites like this, please do the same when starting your own Priceline bids.

Hilton San Francisco Union Square West 333 Ofarrell Street San Francisco, California 94102 415-771-1400 Check-In Date: Fri, Sep 14, 2007 / After 02:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sat, Sep 15, 2007 / 12:00 PM Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $85.00 Subtotal: $85.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $19.87 Total Charges*: $104.87 *Prices are in US dollars. Was bidding for this and the next night (15th) but could get anything from $70 up to this date. The 15th was rejected for this same price individually. Tried to Add A Night to extend +1 night and was rejected. Priceline page says rooms in this hotel are from $159+/nt. Tried to check availability via Priceline and it said no availability for that night (maybe that's why my earlier offers were rejected). Saw a Priceline reviewer say that they wish they'd been told in advance that parking is an additional $46/day there. I used the PRICELINE link at savingsbarn.com to begin my booking. Please follow suit in support of websites like this one.

Heritage Marina Hotel 2550 Van Ness Ave San Francisco, California 94109 (415) 776-7500 Lombard St. - Marina District Hotel Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast <amenity names only please... not descriptions> Pool(s) Property offers at least one pool area; hours and dates of operation may be seasonal. Check-in date: Mon, Sep 10, 2007 Check-out date: Wed, Sep 12, 2007 Hotel 1 room(s) @ $60.00 per night x 2 night(s): $120.00 Taxes recovery charges and fees: $ 20.95 Hotel subtotal: $140.95 Total: $140.95 Some hotels may apply additional charges for incidental fees such as parking. Prices are in $USD. Hotwire claims I saved $49 (reg. rate of $109) or 45% Their website says there is no availability for these two nights. Another website said these two nights would be $257 total, including taxes. The reviews on TripAdvisor are horrendous, many/most ranking it a bad 1*: TripAdvisor Reviews of this hotel I used betterbidding.com's HOTWIRE link to begin this purchase. Please also do the same for your Hotwire purchases, in support of betterbidding.com. Thank you.

Lakeside Inn & Casino Hwy 50 @ Kingsbury Grade Stateline, Nevada 89449 (775) 588-7777 South Lake Tahoe Hotel Amenities: Casino Property offers a full-service casino accessible from the lobby. Airport Shuttle <amenity names only please... not descriptions> Pool(s) Property offers at least one pool area; hours and dates of operation may be seasonal. Restaurant(s) Property offers at least one restaurant on the premises; hours and days of operation may vary. Golf Nearby Property is located within walking distance or a short drive of at least one golf course; an extra charge typically applies. Check-in date: Wed, Sep 12, 2007 Check-out date: Thu, Sep 13, 2007 1 room(s) @ $45.00 per night x 1 night(s): $45.00 Taxes recovery charges and fees: $11.63 Hotel subtotal: $56.63 Total: $56.63 Some hotels may apply additional charges for incidental fees such as parking. Prices are in $USD. This hotel is a 2.5* under Priceline. I used the betterbidding.com HOTWIRE link to book this; please do the same for your own stays.

Doubletree Hotel Sacramento Business I-80 Corridor - Arden 2001 Point West Way Sacramento, California 95815 916-929-8855 Check-In Date: Thu, Sep 13, 2007 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, Sep 14, 2007 / 12:00 PM Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $41.00 Subtotal: $41.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.26 Total Charges*: $54.26 *Prices are in US dollars. Biz 80 Corridor-Arden: 3* highest category & "best value" w/ $175 "retail"; no chance/small chance border = $24/$25; small chance/normal chance border = $37/$38 Roseville-Rockland: 2.5* highest, 2* "best value", no "retail" price given; nc/sc border = $18/$19; sc/norm border = $45/$46 Downtown: 4* high & best value w/ $264 "retail"; nc/sc border = $39/$40; sc/norm border = $45/$46 S. Natomas: 2.5* high, 2* best value, w/ $179 "retail"; nc/sc border = $18/$19; sc/norm border = $45/$46 University: 2.5* high & best value w/ no "retail" given; nc/sc border = $18/$19; sc/norm border = $45/$46 I am suspicious of the above $ ranges; they may be from a larger (entire US?) hotel population than just the local Sacramento participants. Bid History: Shooting for 3* in Biz 80 Corridor - 1) 3* Biz 80 @ $24 (testing the upper limit of the "no chance" range) 2) +Roseville-Rockland @ $25 (testing the lower limit of the "small chance" range) 3) +S. Natomas @ $37 (testing the upper limit of the "small chance" range) 4) +University @ $38 (testing the lower limit fo the "normal" range) 5) +Downtown @ $41 (running out of rebids and needing to land a room in the desired category; saw lowest 3* running at this price a year ago) for win; apparently Doubletree is keeping this winning Priceline price available in spite of inflation; unavailability noted for this night when crosschecked against their own website (see below) Comps: Hotwire - 3* @ $68 all Sacramento areas ($133 for Downtown though) Doubletree Hotels website: No availability for this date and most of Sept and much of early Oct; cheapest date on their availability calendar is Oct 12 @ $99/nt under their "Net Direct Rate" I used the www.savingsbarn.com link to access Priceline. Please do the same.

Sorry for the confusion, folks. I was shooting for "4* San Francisco (USW) Hilton, $75" but apparently misread another user's post which stated they added a re-bid in Fisherman's Wharf and then won this hotel (which is obviously USW, not FW). Bottom line is that I wanted a 4* downtown hotel around this price. I'm glad to hear of the $10MM renovation, thereuare, so I'll update when I get back.

San Mateo Marriott SFO Airport 1770 South Amphlett Boulevard San Mateo, California 94402 650-653-6000 Check-In Date: Sun, Sep 9, 2007 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Sep 10, 2007 / 12:00 PM Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $75.00 Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $18.27 Total Charges*: $93.27 *Prices are in US dollars. ********************************************* I was shooting for the Hilton on Fisherman's wharf, didn't want an "airport" 4*, and specifically avoided the SFO zone, so I was a bit disappointed when I "won" this at $75, especially since I was not expecting to "win" an airport hotel in the 'San Mateo' zone. Also, I see that this hotel was going for $65 a year ago this same time and even down around $40 before that. We'll see how it goes. I accessed Priceline via the link at savingsbarn.com. Please do the same prior to bidding when using Priceline.

Avis Rent a Car SAN FRAN APO CA P.o.box 8021 Int'l Airport San Francisco,CA 94128 1-800-230-4898 Category: Mid Size / Intermediate (Unlimited Mileage) Your Offer Price: $15.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 7 days (6 days and 14 1/2 hours) Subtotal: $105.00 Taxes and Fees: $54.20 Total Charges: $159.20 Lowest Published Price: $345.99 Total Savings:* $186.79 (You saved 54%) Please Note: Prices are in US dollars * This is your savings on the total cost of your rental car when compared to the lowest published rental car rate available at time of booking for the itinerary and rental car company shown. ************************************************ I almost got an SUV for the low $20s from this location: Good chance: $21, Great chance: $23 Priceline comps: Fox Rent A Car @ $17.15/day; Avis @ $34.29/day HOTWIRE comp for this category/location/date range: $18 I accessed Priceline via the link at savingsbarn.com. Please support sites like this by doing the same before placing your bids.

Buyer Alert: If you want to park at this hotel, they charge daily @ $33/self or $35/valet. Buyer Tip: If you can find a spot, there is a street directly behind the hotel/attached garage that has "open" parking (most around downtown Boston is "Resident Only" parking by permit) that's free. I parked there for the sole night I stayed at this hotel and everything went fine (i.e. no ticket, tow, or other hassle), on top of possibly being closer to the hotel entrance than many spaces in the pay garage. Extended tip: For easy hotel entrance access from that parking area, come in through the walk-in rear entrance gate to the garage that's found at the end of the service entrance alley alongside the garage and you can walk into the hotel lobby from that lower floor, which all the upper garage decks must also do anyway. This would have saved me ~$200 if I'd stayed at this hotel my entire visit.

Thanks. I hope it helps someone. It was my shot at trying to thoroughly "scrape the bottom" of Priceline from every angle. Update: I tried to 'Add A Night' last night and found they now needed $183/nt. I can only wonder if I'd have gotten it for the same $63 if I'd done it immediately after winning last week. I spent about an hour and 1/2 or so last night trying to finish out the remainder of my stay in the area and had no luck hitting my desired price targets until I moved out to the "perimeter" of Boston Metro zones. Your post of your winning bid for the Sheraton Framingham was likewise very helpful with my own win at that same hotel for 7-27 to 7-31. Everyone: Please remember to use the PRICELINE link found at Savingsbarn.com to reach Priceline prior to bidding. Thank you.

Sheraton Framingham Hotel 1657 Worcester Road Framingham, Massachusetts 01701 508-879-7200 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $46.00 (52.4% less than Sheraton's lowest published rate) Subtotal: $184.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $28.64 Total Charges: $212.64 Sheraton website quoting: $96.75 to $184 Hotwire comps running $89+ for 3* downtown Boston area; $71+ for this same zone I won this 3* on my "first" try outside the inner Boston area, thanks to recent posted wins in this zone and explantory notes for such, after 42 bids in the downtown area failed for 4* up to $90 and 3* hotels up to $70 and 2.5* hotels up to $50 in all zones excluding Logan Airport - Revere and across most all dates and date range combinations for 7-27 through 7-31. I used the PRICELINE link found at SavingsBarn.com. Thank you.

Holiday Inn Charlotte University Place University Area 8520 University Exec Park Drive Charlotte, North Carolina 28262 704-547-0999 Amenities: Remote Control TV with Premium Channels Telephone with Voicemail Radio Alarm Clock Iron and Ironing Board Hairdryer Business Services 24 Hour Front Desk Restaurant Room Service Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $50.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $14.91 Total Charges: $64.91 Holiday Inn website shows this hotel's prices ranging $149-$174. I'm informed by their staff that the property has no king beds; only single queens or 2x doubles as seems to be the case on their website. Hotwire comp for this night: best deal = 3* in UNC Charlotte Area (might be same Holiday Inn) @ $61 I won this 3* bid after: 1) Executive Park - Charlotte South @ $40 2) +Charlotte Airport (CLT) @ $41 3) +Downtown Charlotte @ $45 4) +Charlotte - South Park @ $50 5) +University Area @ $50 I may have overbid though, since I see someone got this same hotel one other time, two years ago on 3-11-05, for $35. I was trying to put together my own Stay & Fly package (aka Park & Fly) in lieu of the $89-$189 quotes I'm getting for such at 2* and 3* hotels near the airport. This Holiday Inn is 14 miles from the airport but its mostly I-85 driving in between. I bid through the Pricelink link at Savingsbarn.com; please support Savingsbarn by placing your Priceline bids through that same link.

Lowest price for this timeframe and car category at any website I checked was $35/day. Since Priceline says up to 30% less than the lowest published rates, I calc'd $24.50 and thus bid $25 for my first try, which won: Economy(unlimited mileage) Bos Logan Apo Ma Avis Rent a Car Logan Apo East Boston, MA 2128 Pick-Up Date and Time: Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 1:00 PM Drop-Off Date and Time: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 1:00 PM Your Offer Price: $25.00 Total Rental Days: 5 Subtotal: $125.00 Taxes & Fees: $40.43 Total Charges: $165.43 Lowest Published Price: $436.26 <-- this number is not to be believed; Avis own website has this listed for a total of $342, without any effort at discounting Total Savings: $270.83 (you saved 62%) I perhaps could have done better, as I've since checked this site and found much higher catergory cars going for much less in prior years. But I still see that Hotwire, as of today, has only a slightly better $34/day for this date range & category.

Hyatt Regency Cambridge 575 Memorial Drive Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 617-492-1234 Amenities: Remote Control TV with Premium Channels Telephone with Voicemail Radio Alarm Clock Iron and Ironing Board Hairdryer Business Services 24 Hour Front Desk Restaurant Room Service Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $63.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.62 Total Charges: $78.62 *********************************************************** Bid line "cutoffs" for this date: 4* = $319 median, $39/$40 no chance, $46/47 small chance, median shift down to $269 low on re-bid pages 3* = $249 median, $24/$25 no chance, $46/47 small chance, median shift down to $220 low on re-bid pages Bid history: 1) 4* Downtown Boston only @ $39 (no chance border test) 2) + Medford-Somerville @ $40 (low end small chance test) 3) + South Boston @ $46 (high end small chance test) 4) + Copley @ $47 (low end normal test) 5) + Boston Waterfront @ $53 6) + Cambridge @ $58 7) + Brighton-Brookline @ $63 8) 4* + 3* Downtown Boston only @ 24 (no chance border test) 9) + Copley @ 25 (low end small chance test) 10) + Boston Waterfront @ $46 (high end small chance test) 11) + Cambridge @ $47 (low end normal test) 12) + Medford-Somerville @ $53 13) + Brighton-Brookline @ $58 14) + South Boston @ $63 best Hotwire comps for this date: 4* $195 @ Cambridge 3.5* $106 @ Cambridge 3* $83 @ Brookline - Newton - Harvard Area

This hotel turned out fine and was one of the better ones in the area (we walked into several nearby resorts, evaluating their qualities and visually inspecting the food of the buffets), even though one of the several enormous pools was closed and the rooms, in my opinion, weren't US-standard 4* (about 1* to 2*), although they might be for Dominican standards (with all due respect). The main restaurant and its buffet food was very good quality and tremendous selection, which I felt was a key highlight for the resort and my stay. Ditto for the beach cafe which had about the same quality.

23 Ocean Lane Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 29928 843-842-8000 or 1 (800) 845-8001 Failed on $50 first attempt; rebid successfully for $60. Looks like Hotwire has this one for $69 this wknd as their only 4* offering. Hotel's website says min rate = $139, even if a AAA account # is added.

I gave Priceline a survey/review in which I said that this hotel was probably more upscale in its former days; it is definitely showing its age. It is fairly large and was likely a "centerpiece" around the airport and general north end of Roanoke. Has a tower style for the majority of rooms, 8 floors. Has indoor & outdoor pool(s), plus hot tub and sauna; extremely strong chlorine about knocks you out and permeates the adjacent hotel halls & elevator area. The restaurant has always "looked decent" although I've never eaten there. Hotel has an open-beam, cozy "lodge-like" atmosphere on the ground level. See pics & other info at the link included below. Certain aspects of the hotel are 3*: foyer and sitting areas; amenities; room's bed linens; hotel personnel A number of the hotel's details are 2* or less though: hall rugs on ground floor are extremely worn/threadbare; fixtures showing definite age; rooms in general As of late Dec 2006, no apparent renovations have occurred (despite the post above), from what I could tell since my last stay in mid 2004. Interesting amenities: free high speed Net access, domestic US local and long distance, and some food if you sign up for free customer membership. Wnydham's own "webrates" (lowest) typically appear to be ~$80/nt. Range for this Fri night is currently $80-$104.

Roanoke North - Airport 2801 Hershberger Road Nw Roanoke, Virginia 24017 540-563-9300 Amenities: Remote control TV w/ premium channels, Radio Alarm Clock, Business services, Telephone w/ voicemail, Iron and ironing board, Hairdryer, 24 hour front desk, Restaurant, Room service Check-In Date: Friday, December 22, 2006 Check-Out Date: Saturday, December 23, 2006 Subtotal: $50.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.72 Total Charges: $63.72 Note: Won this on first bid; I am somewhat disappointed in myself b/c I didn't review this board first that Fri night & I see lower prices than mine; I was in a hurry and took my Mac to the downtown area on the "nice" side of 581, found an open Wi-Fi connection, and bid on Priceline ~9pm after finding nothing satisfactory on Hotwire; there were no 4* hotels showing available on Priceline (or Hotwire) that evening and Priceline was quoting a $94 avg for 3* in Roanoke.