Jasmine

Thank you seaumom for sharing! I am looking at Nashville for the same weekend and this is helpful. By the way, PL considers the Holiday Inn Express in Antioch to be a 3*, but you're correct that the Hampton Inn is a 2.5*. Just a tip, in my experience with the PRICELINE EXPRESS deals, if they don't show a guest rating, it's because the property has a low rating (below 7/10). The "Was" prices can also help narrow it down. The PRICELINE EXPRESS deal for my dates (Saturday and Sunday night) for what I believe to be Quarters is $79/night while the HIX is $91/night. I wish you luck with PRICELINE. The only time I got a refund was when there was a death in the family and I had to cancel my trip. PL was very understanding (I only had to provide the name of the deceased)

$60 bid was rejected (prompted to raise bid to $74, which is same price of Express Deal they're offering). Instead I added the Rancho Palos Verdes zone (essentially a free rebid zone as I believe the only hotel there is the Terranea Resort which is over $250 as a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal) and increased my bid to $65. I've stayed at this hotel before and while the location isn't the best (not much around in immediate vicinity) it's quite nice as all rooms were renovated a year or two ago.

Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Airport North Phoenix Airport (PHX) 3838 East Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008 Got this on my first attempt. PL has a 3* Express Deal for $57 so I didn't think $40 stood a good chance. Of course now I wish I had started lower! Cheapest rate through hotel is $149 so this is a huge savings! Reviews look decent as well.

I'm a little suspicious about the bonus cash too. I was bidding for a hotel (if and when successful, I will post here) and I tried $48. It was rejected but I was prompted to increase my bid by $21 to $69. At that point I remembered I had some bonus cash ($6 per night) so I started over again and using a rebid zone I bid $48 again ($54 with the bonus cash). I got the same message - that my $48 bid wasn't accepted but if I increase it by $21 to $69, I can try again right away. So it appears the bonus cash isn't factored in at all.

The Sheraton in Forest Park charges for parking (around $15 IIRC) and I believe the Crowne Plaza does as well. You may want to check with the hotels before bidding again if free parking is important to you.

This is a good option for backup reservations. http://www.marriott.com/hotel/save25percent.mi Terms and Conditions *25% discount applies to room rate only. Promotional rates are valid for weekend stays, Thursday through Sunday for reservations booked between September 24

I'm heading to Fenway for the first time this weekend and I've been trying to get a hotel for weeks at a decent price downtown without any luck. Earlier today I unsuccessfully bid $50 for a 3* in Newton-Waltham. As there are no rebid zones, I had to get my friend to bid $65 which was accepted at the Summerfield Suites. The total for 2 nights is $154.54. On Hotwire it's $79/night, and through the hotel directly it's $127/night. Although I wanted to stay right in the city, I'm pretty happy with this. Free parking, free breakfast, only a 6 minute drive to a Green line T stop, and a 20 min drive downtown.

My sister won a night at the Westin for $90. A previous bid of $85 was rejected. The rate through Westin is $350!

My sister got one night at the Radisson for $75. It was on Hotwire for $85 (through the hotel directly = $250). She probably could have got it for less but no rebid zones at the 3* level and it was a last minute bid. Parking at the hotel is $18 a night.

I've stayed in this area a lot and if you want to be near the beach, and especially if you won't have a car, you can't beat the Crowne Plaza on N Harbor Dr. in Redondo Beach. It's right across from the marina, a 5 min walk south to the pier & beach, a 10 min walk north to Hermosa Beach (sand is a bit nicer/cleaner), and a 5 minute walk east to the PCH where you can find a lot of restaurants, a grocery store, a drug store etc. There is also a bus stop right on the corner outside of the hotel if you want to go a bit further, and the hotel itself offers a free shuttle to nearby shopping malls. There are never guarantees with Priceline but I've bid many times for a 3.5* in the MB-RB zone (offering low $40s up to low $60s) and I've always wound up with this property. Currently, you can use Lawndale and Culver City as free rebid zones. The only real risk is getting upgraded to a 4* in Manhattan Beach (although those may be near the beach as well) which is why I never bid much more than $60. The Crowne Plaza also comes up on Hotwire (you can identify it as the 3.5* star with tennis) although HW's rates tend to be higher than PL's. Good luck!

After a successful bid at $44, I decided to see how low I could go for a 3.5* in Redondo (hoping for the CP). I started at $41 and was prompted to increase my bid by $12. Instead, I used Culver City and Lawndale as free rebid zones and went up in dollar increments and I was successful at $43. I've never got this property at such a low price so I'm happy. All bidding was done through the board's PRICELINE link.

I was specifically targeting the Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach and got it for $44 on my first bid today. Two days ago I went as high as $48 with no luck. All bidding was done through the board's PRICELINE link.

My first bid was at $50 (I was prompted to increase by $15) and my last unsuccesful bid was at $58. Since this is a last minute trip, I'm happy to have landed something at a good price. The cheapest rate through Marriott is $116 (AAA). All bidding was done through the board's PRICELINE link.

I'm in the same boat. A lot of the hotels outside of the downtown core are completely booked for Saturday night (I've never seen anything like it before!). The big hotels downtown do have some capacity but it seems like they pulled the Priceline inventory. Booking direct will be about $200 a night. At this point I'm considering going elsewhere for the weekend.

I've been trying this one for a week now (always using the PRICELINE link). Today I started at $17 for a compact and got a message saying if I increased my bid to $20, it would be accepted. Instead, I upgraded the car type and increased my bid by a dollar. $18 per day for 5 days (4 days and 6 hours) = $127.90 with taxes. My backup reservation was $185.

Got the Redondo Crowne Plaza for $52 on my first try today. Over the weekend I had unsuccessfully bid up to $55. Came to $66.66 with taxes and fees for 1 night. The cheapest rate through the hotel is $135. I used the PRICELINE link.

A great hotel is the Ayres in Manhattan Beach. Free parking, free wifi AND free breakfast. Right now, you can book any weekend in June for only $79 a night through the hotel's website (select 21-day advanced rate from drop down menu). This is a fantastic rate for this property which never comes up on PRICELINE / HOTWIRE as far as I know.

I've stayed at this hotel many times and usually I'm pleased. There is free parking on the streets running behind and next to the hotel (certain sides are restricted for a couple hours on Thursday and Friday mornings for street sweeping). I've never received a room on the executive level but I find I get rooms with better views when I show my card. They also give members a package on check-in which includes a voucher for one free day of internet. Members can also use the business center for free. As for the lack of a free breakfast, I don't mind that much since there are fridges in the room so it's easy to keep fruit, milk, yogurt etc. handy (there's a Whole Foods just up the street).

I agree that it is too early to be bidding and that you need to book a back-up reservation. I need a car from LAX for 8 days at the end of May and the rates are astronomical. I've never seen them so high across the board (so high in fact that minivans and convertibles are coming up cheaper than economy...at $500+). I currently have a reservation with Thrifty at $213 (direct through their site - no coupons used). I'm going to try bidding on PL a week before my trip and see if I can do any better.

I started bidding at $45 a few days ago for this zone (hoping for the Staybridge or Courtyard). Each day my bid failed and I was prompted to raise my bid by $14. Tonight a bid of $54 finally got accepted at the Holiday Inn. I've noticed some hotels in nearby zones are booked up so I'm happy I got something, even if it is a bit out of the way. Holiday Inn Torrance Torrance - Carson 19800 S Vermont Torrance, California 90502 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $54.00 Subtotal: $54.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.11 Total Charges*: $69.11 The cheapest rate through the hotel is $144 (AAA). All bidding was started through the PRICELINE link.

Got this on my first try. Yesterday I bid up to $65 without any luck. Cheapest rate through hotel directly is $144/night. Used the PRICELINE link at the top of the page to start all my bids.

No - I was only searching for 1 room for 2 adults. A few hours after I posted my question, I decided I wanted to go ahead and book the room. Unfortunately it was no longer coming up. I ended up bidding on Priceline (through the PRICELINE link above) for the nights separately. My wins have been posted.

Using the PRICELINE link above, I started with a bid of $43 for a 3* in Forest Park-Clayton. When that was rejected, I used Hazelwood as a free rebid zone and increased my bid to $46. The room I got was very nice, albeit very small (no tub in the bathroom - only a narrow shower). The only real downside was the $14 overnight parking charge but given the cost of the room, it was still a great deal.

This was a same day bid. Using the PRICELINE link above, I started at $32 then went up to $35 and $40 (used Hazelwood and Saint Charles-Saint Peters as rebid zones). The hotel itself was a bit difficult to get to and the air conditioner in the room was quite noisy but other than that it was fine.

This is sort of last minute but I am looking for a room in the Forest Park-Clayton zone for 2 nights beginning July 19. Only one option comes up in that zone for those nights - a 3* with Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Business, Laundry, Internet & Tennis with a Trip Advisor rating of 3/5 out of 40+ reviews. By all accounts, this must be the Sheraton Clayton Plaza. However when I go through Starwood directly, it says there are no rooms available for those dates. Is it possible that HOTWIRE holds rooms even when a property is otherwise sold-out?