curtis_palmer

First bid $46 with only the Roswell zone at 3* ... was given a "one time offer" to increase offer by $13 and retry without additional zones. Accepted on $59 bid. Add $15.34 taxes/fees. Travelocity showed $139 for the same night.

I'm a local in Birmingham... I tried tonight to get a 3 star hotel in the Inverness area (Marriott, I suppose). Made the following bids... Inverness 31 Irondale 35 Oxmoor 39 Pelham 45 Hoover 51 BHM Airport 55 Can't add downtown, or I'll end up there (which isn't bad... just need a room near the house).

Henrik... that's not the way I read it at the time. Now that I've re-read it (cut/pasted below) I see your observation. I guess I was just blinded by the remaining cancellation fee and feeling giddy over the accomodating customer service rep. I've also included the response received this afternoon giving me confirmation of the cancellation fee refund (well, all but $25). Hopefully I won't have to go down this path again, but hopefully this clarification will help someone else should it happen to them. curtis --------------- Dear priceline Customer, We understand you inadvertently entered the incorrect information when submitting your recent Hotel Request. As a result, priceline has granted you an exception to our policy by canceling your current request. We have issued you a refund in the amount of $XXX.XX, which represents the total cost of your reservation less a cancellation fee of $150.00. You must place a new Name Your Own Price

Bids via savingsbarn.com over 3 days were rejected as follows for 3* WDW (avoiding downtown, maitland, MCO, and Universal): - 1/23: 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47 - 1/24: 45, 51, 55, 57, 61, 65 - 1/25: 57, 67, 71, 75... ... and then "Congratulations, you got your price of $81 for a 3-star hotel room" Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration (Disney World Vicinity) 2900 Parkway Boulevard Kissimmee, Florida 34747 Check-In Date: Sat, Mar 17, 2007 Check-In Time: After 04:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, Mar 23, 2007 Check-Out Time: 11:00 AM Your Offer Price: $81.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 6 Subtotal: $486.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $76.99 Total Charges: $562.99 ==>> Before anyone pipes in and tells me that I could've ended up at a resort for the same price if I'd only have waited until late February, please know that I needed to use up a $150 penalty from Priceline within 7 days for an earlier mistake (user error) on 1/21. I was also land-locked on these dates because this is our kids' spring break week. Also, a good number of the 3*'s are already fully booked for the week. All in all, I'm happy with the results, even after factoring the $11/day "resort fee" (which seems all too typical in resorts and bigger hotels adjacent to WDW).

thanks for the reply... I guess I'm going on the fact that (1) there are no 4* locations in the WDW area, and (2) that Bidding specifically on the Resort-WDW was not successful a few days ago in the 86-122 range when I [wrongly] thought that the Omni was a good option for us (now, I know better per my wife). If I avoid the other 3* zones (like Universal, MCO, and Altamonte) then I am going with the assumption that I can successfully target the 3*'s in the WDW immediate area... keeping in mind your past comments about using HotWire to determine availability. IF, for some reason, I get put at the Omni for less than $100/nt then I'm sure I could bribe my wife with a spa treatment to take the sting off. <LOL> Thanks for a great service. I'll be sure to use the 'savingsbarn.com' url to start the bidding next time too. :) Tick... tock... waiting for my 72 hours cooling-down period to pass.

Have been trying to get an Orlando, FL resort room from Priceline using several full cycles of bidding for our spring break in mid-March. Topped out at $122 for Resort-WDW_Vicinity, $101 for 4*-Universal_SeaWorld, and $116 for Resort-Universal_SeaWorld using the techniques described on this board. I was looking at 3/17 (or 18) to 3/23 (or 22). I'd be happy with a 3* in the WDW immediate area *IF* I didn't end up getting upgraded to the Omni. Mind you, the Championsgate is a FABULOUS facility and my kids loved it 2 years ago, but my wife specifically wants to stay closer this time. Is it right to assume that if I hold to 3*'s in the WDW zone and start under the acceptable bid that I'll avoid the Omni altogether?

Hmm... the Omni website states service from the airport for Taxi Service - approximately $58 one way. Even the shuttle bus is $29 each way. Renting a car for $25 or so per day sure seems the way to go. Now I just need to find a rental company that would allow me to pickup at the airport and return the car close to the resort since my wife will be arriving with our car by the time the conference is over on Friday. :) Thanks for the suggestion!

First, let me say that I never intended on booking a hotel SO far south in Orlando. I'm actually going to be in town for a conference at the Orange County Convention Center from Wednesday to Friday and then stay over Memorial Day weekend. My family will be driving down to join me and make a getaway weekend of it. I researched all the primo places to stay but couldn't stomach the $200/night rates for many of them. The most important feature for my two pre-teen daughters was the pool, so this ruled out many of the 2-3* hotels without being able to specify specific properties (obviously not possible with Priceline/Hotwire). Based on the material on this board I figured I'd take a stab at Priceline and stick with the "Resort" request level. It seemed like a sure bet I'd end up at the Wyndham Palace on WDW Lake Buena Vista area... but it was not to be. :) I followed the (re)bid process outlined and had the following experience: $51 for WDW vicinity only and ONLY a "Resort" classification $67 adding Winter Park $71 adding West Disney $76 adding Kissimmee $81 adding Florida Mall $86 adding Maitland $90 adding Orlando East $101 adding Orlando Airport ... with the bid accepted for Omni Orlando Resort ChampionsGate. OmniHotels.com is showing rooms at this property starting at $193/nt and going up quickly, Travelocity"]Travelocity shows only a $199/nt rate, and Expedia is offering $133/nt. on a "3 or more" special. It looks like I got quite a deal. :) Yet, I'm experiencing a bit of buyer's remorse, knowing that the Grosvenor in Lake Buena Vista is offering $99/nt without penalty - even though there can be no comparison with the Omni. I've never had a bad experience with Omni hotels, so I am just hoping that the extra taxi charges back and forth to the conference center won't negate the savings of buying via Priceline <sigh!>.