second_price Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I am trying to get a 3.5* or 4* hotel in Boston for 2 nights.Dates: September 13 (sun) - September 15 (tue), 2009Budget: $100 (including taxes)Zones: Quincy Market, Copley SquareSo far, I have tried the following strategy, without success.3.5* Copley Square + Quincy Market $67 (rejected)and,4* Copley Square + Quincy Market $81 (rejected)Please suggest a bidding strategy. Link to comment
thereuare Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Welcome to BetterBidding!Are you familair with, and using, your re-bid zones? (Priceline Re-Bidding Explained)What is your maximum bid price? (before taxes and fees)Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
second_price Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I tried the following strategy:3.5* Quincy Market + Copley Square$67 (rejected) added re-bid zone$76 (rejected) added re-bid zone$81 (counter offer to bid +$22)Bidded up in $1 increments till $84... then gave up with great frustration!My max bid is $85.I see wins at under $70 about a week before these dates. Should I wait a few days before continuing? I am having the same experience with NYC.It seems like Priceline has a limited inventory from September 13 - September 27 in Boston and NYC (had luck with DC). Is this true? What should I do? Link to comment
slick_gd Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 It could be that there is a convention going on in the city which expect 2500 attendees, on the exact dates of your stay - The Heart Failure Society of America. When conventions are on the inventory is usually reduced a bit because of all the pre-blocked rooms, and other hotels may compensate for that as well by reducing their inventory on PRICELINE. This can change depending on when the hotels decide to release the inventory.Also, weekday stays are generally more expensive than weekend stays, particularly in the large cities.I'm not sure about the reason for NY, it could be a similar situation. Link to comment
AaronJB Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 While more than you wanted to spend, at least the counter-offer is an indication you're close, and the target price is somewhere between where you've bid and there. I'd try again for slightly higher, if it's within your budget. Link to comment
second_price Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Makes sense! Could the NYC situation be a spill-over from the New York Fashion Week?Planning to wait a few days and see if something new comes up. Is there a way to hold on to the counter-offer, and also try from scratch again in 2-3 days. So, if no cheaper options come up I will bid higher, closer to the counter offer.How long does PL's counter-offer usually remain valid?Thanks! Link to comment
thereuare Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 The counter-offer indicates that there is availablilty at that price at that time... we have seen successful bids made on subsequent days which have beat/met the counter-offer, i have also seen bids fail at a price equal to the counter-offer when made within 5 minutes of the counter-offer (although this is much more the exception tha the rule)Could the NYC situation be a spill-over from the New York Fashion Week?I don't recall the details of what you have already bid or tried for NYC, and to avoid confusion with the Boston leg of your stay, please keep all posts relating to NYC in your PRICELINE NYC thread.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Thanks! Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
second_price Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Finally won! 2009 September 13 - 153.5* Sheraton Boston Hotel in Copley Square - Theater District zone for $86Paid a little more than I am happy with, but relieved to tick this off the checklist!@thereuare: I can start a new thread with this if you want.I had previously received a counter-offer for $22 over my bid of $81. I increased this up to $86 today and was rejected.Immediately started a new session (from your PRICELINE) link.3.5* Copley Square + Quincy Market$76 - rejected; added a re-bid zone$82 - rejected; annded a re-bid zone$86 - accepted!Note that the same bid for the same zones/star rating was rejected about 5 minutes earlier, when I responded to a 2-day old counter offer. Thank you very much for suggesting that I should restart the session.FYIY, I received this offer from PL:Extend Your Stay at the Same Nightly RateHappy with the hotel we've selected for you? For the same great nightly rate, you can stay a little longer and kick back and relax. Hurry, this option is only available for a limited time! Link to comment
AaronJB Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Congratulations on your success!Nice job of getting around the counter offer, and while more than you were looking to spend, this is still certainly an excellent deal/discount.Thank you for sharing your results with the board and using the site's PRICELINE link to start your purchase.Enjoy your stay. Link to comment
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