ElPal

Oh, one more thing. You might like to change the drop down bar in reporting a win for when you select zone as it still only has City Centre rather than the many current zones used by Priceline for Melbourne, Australia.

Using your link, I tried zone 1, 5* and $126 and was unsuccessful. Got the same $148 counter-offer. Went out, used your link and rebid $127- same thing. Went out and back in using your link and my bid of $128 was accepted. After expecting that I would be most likely to get the Stamford Plaza if my bid were accepted (as it is the lowest priced 5* hotel that Priceline has in its retail part for this zone), I was very surprised to get the Marriott. Summary of Charges Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $128.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $256.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $38.18 (USD) Priceline Hotel Coupon: -$12.80 (USD) Total Charged to Card: $281.38 (USD) This was quite a saving compared with the retail rate for the Marriott on Priceline: Summary of Charges Room Cost: (details) avg. per room, per night: $219.85 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $439.70 Taxes & Fees : $43.98 Total Charges: $483.68 A saving of $202.30 total or $101.15 per night being 41% off Priceline's retail rate is something I am quite happy with. Also, if the $138 express deal is the same property as we expect it might be then this is a saving of $10/nt before fees and charges on that rate too. As always, I use your links for research and for purchases. Thank you for your help.

Using your links and closing out and going back in via your link each time, I have continued bidding and continued getting the same counter offer. Bid $1 increments up to $125 and still got the same $148 counter offer. I will wait and rebid using your links as always over the next few days now and report back

Thanks. I again using your links each time have placed a few more bids on zone 1 again today in the hope of getting the Stamford Plaza Melbourne. $110 - rejected $115 - closed out and went back in using free rebid zone 5, rejected $117 - closed out and went back in using free rebid zone 8 - counter offer of $148 made by Priceline - I accidentally closed the window before I could do anything with it. $118 - closed out and went back in using free rebid zone 9 - got the same counter offer of $148 from Priceline $119 - closed out and went back in using free rebid zone 10 - same counter offer of $148 $120 - closed out and went back in using free rebid zone 11 - same counter offer of $148 At the moment the total price I would be paying if the $120/nt were accepted is a 20% reduction on the best available rate that I have found for the Stamford Plaza which seems to be the most likely hotel for this zone (cheapest and won before). Now that I know that I am close, I will continue to bid in $1 increments on a daily basis but using a few rebid zones each day and of course using your links. I will let you know how I go.

The express deal is back(found after viewing the express deals tab after bidding on NYOP using your link)! Downtown East Collins - Federation Square Area for $138/night Star Rating: 5 Star Guest Score: Rated 8/10 Guaranteed Amenities: Indoor or Outdoor Pool Restaurant Business Center Fitness Center Can you please tell me which hotel you think this is.

Thanks I will. I haven't seen it reappear yet. Using your links as always, today I bid as follows: Zone 1, 5*, $95 - rejected. Closed out, went back in via your link, zone 1 and zone 3, 5*, $100 rejected. Closed out, went back in via your link, zone 1 and zone 4, 5*, $105 rejected. It's about 6 weeks away from our intended stay so I will keep an eye out for the express deals and will also continue to bid periodically and report back (using your links of course).

No, it has disappeared (again - it was there a few days ago and then went for a few days and then came back). Based on what it says, are you able to let me know what you think it might be so that I can potentially buy it when it comes back up (as I suspect it will). I always use your PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links for searching and purchasing. Thanks

Any idea what the express deal for these same dates might be? 5 Star Hotel in Downtown East Collins - Federation Square Area for $140/night Guest Score: 8.0 Guaranteed Amenities: Indoor or Outdoor Pool Restaurant Business Center Fitness Center

$100 for 5* in zone 1 was also rejected.

Thanks for that. I always forget about MAPS and HOTELS.com but I must have been very tired when I was looking at this the other night as I had thought it was in the other zone when I looked at the PRICELINE zone map and the hotel address! Thanks so much. I will now focus my bidding on zone 1 and may actually have more luck! Using your link, I just bid for a 5* in zone 1 at $95 and was rejected. I will bid a bit closer to the date of stay using your links and keep you updated.

Using your PRICELINE link and selecting 5* each time, I have tried bidding a few more bids: Zones 2 and 8 as rebid zone: $96 REJECTED Closed out and went in again - zones 2 and 9 as rebid zone: $97 REJECTED Closed out and went in again - zones 2 and 10 as rebid zone: $99 REJECTED I think I will now wait until a bit closer to the stay and weigh up options.

Using your PRICELINE link and selecting 5* each time, I have tried bidding again today: Zone 2: Downtown West Collins - Southbank: $91 REJECTED Closed out and went in again - zones 2 and 3 as rebid zone: $92 REJECTED Closed out and went in again - zones 2 and 4 as rebid zone: $93 REJECTED Closed out and went in again - zones 2 and 5 as rebid zone: $94 REJECTED Closed out and went in again - zones 2 and 6 as rebid zone: $95 REJECTED I then went back to look at the Priceline 5* properties and noted that now it appears that the Stamford only has a guest rating of 8.9, which would mean that it would actually no longer be within the guidelines given for a 5* in zone 2, which include a guest rating of 9 and above. It appears that only the Westin would fit within that zone now (unless of course Priceline has a NYOP hotel which is not within its retail part). The Westin has a rate of $232 per night on the retail part of Priceline. Again, the stay is still over 6 weeks away so there is plenty of time for me to reassess and decide whether to continue bidding or take anothe option. I will of course keep you posted and use your links.

Hi, It appears that Priceline has changed Melbourne, Australia zones so that there are now 14. There are only 3 zones that have 5* properties: 1. Downtown East Collins - Federation Square; 2. Downtown West Collins - Southbank; and 12. South Yarra - Toorak - Prahran. I decided that I would prefer a hotel in zone 2 and based on the map, the 5* properties that Priceline has on its retail part plus the 9+ rating that is detailed as an amenitiy for a NYOP 5* in that zone, I determined the most likely properties are Westin and the Stamford. Using your links, I first up decided to bid at $72 per night knowing that this would be unlikely to be accepted but also noting that it is at the starting point I like to use being 60% off of the retail price for the lowest price hotel on the retail part of the site for that category - in this case the Stamford is $165 or $181 including fees and taxes. Not surprisingly this was rejected. I then closed out, used your link again and this time added zone 3 as a free rebid zone and bid $75. Again rejected. Closed out again, again used your link, bid $78 per night selecting zone 2 and zone 4 as a free rebid- again rejected. Closed out again, again used your link, bid $81 per night selecting zone 2 and zone 5 as a free rebid - again rejected. Closed out again, again used your link, bid $84 per night selecting zone 2 and zone 6 as a free rebid - again rejected. Closed out again, again used your link, bid $87 per night selecting zone 2 and zone 8 as a free rebid - again rejected. Closed out again, again used your link, bid $90 per night selecting zone 2 and zone 9 as a free rebid - again rejected. Given that the stay is still some time away I will wait a week or so before trying to bid around the same price range again. I note that the Stamford is also the Wotif mystery hotel for Melbourne given that the description matches the description given for the Stamford on that site - I did a google search of the description and up came the Stamford as the only result. The rate for that hotel for those two nights as the mystery deal is US$197 for Sat 31/8 and $135 for Sun 1/9 being an average price per night of $166.

Hi, It appears that Priceline has changed Melbourne, Australia zones so that there are now 14. There are only 3 zones that have 5* properties: 1. Downtown East Collins - Federation Square; 2. Downtown West Collins - Southbank; and 12. South Yarra - Toorak - Prahran. I decided that I would prefer a hotel in zone 2 and based on the map, the 5* properties that Priceline has on its retail part plus the 9+ rating that is detailed as an amenitiy for a NYOP 5* in that zone, I determined the most likely properties are Westin and the Stamford. Using your links, I first up decided to bid at $72 per night knowing that this would be unlikely to be accepted but also noting that it is at the starting point I like to use being 60% off of the retail price for the lowest price hotel on the retail part of the site for that category - in this case the Stamford is $165 or $181 including fees and taxes. Not surprisingly this was rejected. I then closed out, used your link again and this time added zone 3 as a free rebid zone and bid $75. Again rejected. Closed out again, again used your link, bid $78 per night - again rejected. Closed out again, again used

I used your links and continued to methodically work my way through the rebid zones by closing out and reusing your links to go back in each time. After getting the suggested $119 to have the room now counter-bid from Priceline, I knew that that was the sort of price that they were looking for and just kept going. I bid as follows: Choose more than one area in Milan, Italy to improve your chances. 1. Northeast Milan 5* $80 - REJECTED, closed out and went back in via your link 2. Assago Forum + Northeast Milan 5* $85 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link 3. Linate airport + Northeast Milan 5* $87 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link 4. Milan Malpensa + Northeast 5* $90 $87 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link. 5. Milano Due + Northeast 5* $95 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link 6. Northwest Milan + Northeast 5* $97 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link 7. Sesto + Northeast 5* and $100 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link 8. Southwest Milan + Northeast 5* $102 REJECTED, COUNTER-BID $119, closed out and went back in via your link 9. Duomo + Northeast 5* (I had forgotten there was no 5* in Duomo on Priceline) $105 - ACCEPTED!!! I am glad that I managed to: 1) get a bid accepted at less than their counter-bid of $119 2) get a bid accepted at less than their express deal which was also $119 3) able to get a room in the same hotel as my hotwire booking which I made months ago and for not that much more per night. Thanks again for your forums. I hope that my use of your links helps in some way! SUMMARY OF BOOKING DETAILS: Offer Price: avg. per room, per night US$105.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: US$105.00 Taxes & Fees: US$19.55 Total Charged to Card: US$124.55

Hi, I already have a booking which I made through your links and reported to the board last year for this coming 5-7 April which ended up being the Westin Palace in Milan. I am looking to add an extra night to the stay and have looked but the hot deal has different amenities although I suspect it is probably still the correct hotel. These are the amenities: Pet friendly Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Spa Services Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel What do you think? Ideally I'd like to end up in the same hotel as the rest of our stay.

This is a new property to be added to the Hotwires Hotel List. There were no amenities listed. I had my fingers crossed that it was going to the be the Grand Hotel Chancellor based on the tripadvisor rating and number of tripadvisor reviews but alas it was not. Hopefully it is still a nice enough hotel. The best price I am able to find for it elsewhere is about $10 more per night so it's not a fantastic deal but it's better than nothing.

Success! They did have inventory! Had $10 bonus cash so bid using your PRICELINE link at $135 + $10 and was successful. Not a huge saving on Priceline's retail rate for this one but happy to get some discount!

Being persistent, I thought I'd try again but having failed up to US$135/nt I am guessing that the inventory has not been made available to PRICELINE yet - particularly when the reported (and also cheapest) 5* hotel for the Jumeirah Beach area is $182.50/nt on the retail part of the site : Moevenpick Ibn Battuta Gate. Recent bid history set out below - always selecting 5*: Jumeirah Beach - Dubai Marina 117 per night = 287.40 total with taxes and fees - rejected Jumeirah Beach - Dubai Marina + Dubai - Sharjah 122 per night = 298 total with taxes and fees - rejected Jumeirah Beach - Dubai Marina + Al Barsha - Mall of Emirates 127 per night = 311.38 total with taxes and fees - rejected Jumeirah Beach - Dubai Marina + Al Barsha - Mall of Emirates + Dubai - Sharjah 135 per night = 330.56 total with taxes and fees - rejected Will keep you updated.

See that's the thing, I thought that I had bid $209 (of my own money) + $7 bonus cash so a bid of $216 per night - that's what the "your hotel deal is in the bag" page said. However, the receipt shows the breakdown like this: Bonus Cash US$7.00 Offer Price US$216.00 Rooms 1 Nights 7 Room subtotal US$1512.00 Taxes & Fees US$162.96 Total charged US$1674.96 The total charged is the room subtotal + taxes and fees. The room subtotal is in fact $216 (the offer price) multiplied by the 7 nights. The fact that additional nights are to be added at $216 merely confirms my suspicion that the total rate including the bonus cash was $216 per night - it seems that the room subtotal should be $49 less than it is because of the bonus cash of $7 per night multiplied by 7 nights for the stay.

To close this thread, we have booked the Hotel Bristol for 482 euros which includes breakfast through www.olotels.com, which was much cheaper than through other hotel sites or even the hotel direct. We have also submitted a Best Rate Guarantee claim through Starwood Preferred Guest which will give us 10% off the 482 euros if accepted (the other booking only has a 10euro cancellation fee). Thanks again for your help.

These amenities match those previously reported for the Holiday Inn St. Germain. Please ensure that you use the Board's links for HOTWIRE and PRICELINE to do your research and when making your purchases. Also, please keep all posts for the same stay in one thread and let us know what you end up doing.

If you click "see all amenities" below the amenities you have listed above do you also see the following (in addition to those you have already listed)? High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower If so, then my guess is that it is the Intercontinental Paris Avenue Marceau which has already been reported to the board with these amenities (except the accessibility ones). OR, it could possibly be Starhotels Castille.

It says the winning bid was $216 per night which is also the price if I want to add extra nights - so strange that my receipt shows the existance of the $7 bonus cash but I still appear to have paid the full amount. I might have to contact PRICELINE.

Thanks, also thought I would mention that yesterday I was looking at the "Express Deals" part of PRICELINE using your link for our dates and worked out that the Express Deal for the Opera areas and Tuileries is also the Hotel Westminster Paris and guess what - it is actually overall once fees etc are paid a few dollars cheaper than our total price paid with the successful bid. We bid $216 per night (which included $7 bonus cash) and paid a total of $1674.96 The express deal for 4* OQW - Tuileries is $215 per night which is a total of $1663.34. The stated amenities are: pets allowed, restaurant, business centre, fitness centre and a rating of 7/10. I find it a little odd that even with the $7 bonus cash which was therefore a saving of $49 for the 7 night stay that we still ended up paying $11.62 more by bidding $1 per night more than the express deal price. Also, looking at the trip receipt, it would appear that we did in fact pay for the $216 and perhaps the $7 bonus cash was on top of that (whereas I am certain we had bid $209 + $7 bonus cash). Is there anyway that I can actually see what the bid was as now I am confused?