Priceline Hotel: 3.5* DC (White House-Downtown) Westin

[54m33r]

We are going to DC from Fri, June 4 to Tue, June 8. Our flights are booked so the dates are firm. We are using the weekend to see DC and then meeting with legislators on Monday, June 7. As such, I think Capitol Hill-Convention Center and White House-Downtown would be good areas.

Here's the history of the bids (all have been rejected):

May 21: 4* WH-DT $75

May 25: 4* CC-CH $70

May 27: 4* CC-CH $70

May 28: [2 different bids]

4* CC-CH $65

4* CC-CH and WH-DT $70

Any suggestions on what to do? I'm not averse to going up to $90 or so, but I've seen successful bids posted at $60 so I'm hovering around $65-$75. Also, is it true that it's easier to get a lower rate for the weekend in DC than on a weekday? If so, should I just bid for Fri-Sun and see if I get anything at a lower rate, and then hope for the Priceline offer to extend stay at the same price?

Note that the first 2 bids were directly via PRICELINE. And then I thought of this site and googled until I found it (again). And I've used the PRICELINE links here since.

[thereuare]

Welcome back to BetterBidding... we're glad you (re)found us! :)

If you're not opposed to changing hotels during your stay, i do think that SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID may benefit you for this stay. HOWEVER, i think you should first try 6/4-6/7... then bid the nite of 6/7 separately. This last nite (6/7) is very expensive and you need to be prepared that you will likely spend much more on for this last nite than the previous nites (perhaps 2x or more vs. your nitely cost for the previous nites). Not sure of your plans for Tuesday but if you have no meetings on this day and/or a morning or early afternoon flight out on Tuesday, you may want to consider staying near the airport.

Given the rate for the last nite of your stay i suspect that even if PRICELINE offers to extend the stay, your attempt to do so will be turned down and/or countered with a higher price than your winning bid.

As well, you may want to see if the Dupont Circle zone will work for your needs as well... rates there are often lower than in other nearby DC zones and if you include it in your bidding you may do a little better (if this zone works too i'm not saying to bid it solely, but rather include it with your zones above)

Lastly, if you don't want to change properties, Hotels.com has the 4* rating Omni Shoreham at a Fourth Nite Free promotion which brings your cost for all 4 nites at this property to $134/nite (which isn't bad considering the price of your last nite)

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[54m33r]

thereuare, thanks for the input. That was very helpful. So I did get a hotel when I split the bid: Fri, June 4-Mon, June 7 for $87 at The Westin Washington, DC City Center (it's a 3.5* hotel).

Here's the history of the bids (not including the ones I posted earlier):

[These were all, of course, rejected...except for the very last one]

6/4-6/8: 4* CC-CH $60

6/4-6/7: 4* CC-CH $60

6/4-6/7: 4* CC-CH + WH-DT $60

6/4-6/8: 3.5* CC-CH $60

6/4-6/8: 3.5* CC-CH + WH-DT $60

6/4-6/7: 3.5* CC-CH + WH-DT $65

6/4-6/8: 4* CC-CH + DC Suburbs-Northeast Area $75 (note there are no 3.5 stars or above in DCS-NEA)

6/4-6/8: 4* CC-CH + DC Suburbs-Northeast Area + WH-DD $80

6/4-6/8: 4* CC-CH + DC Suburbs-Northeast Area + WH-DD + Mount Vernon (again no 3.5 stars or above in MV) $90

6/4-6/8: 3.5* CC-CH + WH-DT $87

6/4-6/8: 3.5* CC-CH + WH-DT + MV $97

6/4-6/8: 3.5* CC-CH + WH-DT + MV + DCS-NEA $101

6/4-6/7: 3.5* CC-CH $77 (at this point Priceline came back with a counter asking to up the bid by $18. I opted to add a zone and only up it by 10 bucks...which is the last bid below)

6/4-6/7: 3.5* CC-CH + WH-DT $87 (This was accepted at The Westin Washington, DC City Center)

Does this information help? Maybe it's too much!

One other point: priceline offered an extension to the booking. Since we do need a room for one more night I opted to try and extend our stay by one night, but it wasn't accepted. I find that interesting that it was offered but didn't work. Thoughts on that?

[AaronJB]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad you were able to get a fine deal for the majority of your stay. The "Extend Your Stay" option does not always work - sometimes it requires a higher price and sometimes there is no availability. As noted above, that particular date is quite busy and expensive.

Please open a new thread and we will be happy to help look for options for this particular night.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Enjoy your stay.

[54m33r]

Okay Aaron, thanks.

Man, this site is the bomb! Seriously impressed.