Priceline Hotel: Need help to book 4* London hotel 14-16 Sep

[angelababy]

Hi guys,

I used the bidding strategy suggested and still couldn't get anything 4 star bidding up to USD$180 for 14-16 Sep in London Mayfair-Soho area.

Since Mayfair-Soho is out of the question, Can anyone suggest other nice and convenient areas for me to bid for?

My highest bid limit is USD$180. Should I lower my highest bid for the other areas I will be bidding since they are not as popular as Mayfair-Soho? Please help me with the bidding strategy also as I am still new to this.

Thank you very much!! This website has been so helpful! :)

[thereuare]

Others are more familiar with points of interest then i am and hopefully they will chime in as well, but the more frequently bid zones include:

Bloomsbury-Marble Arch

Mayfair - Soho (can still be included in your bidding as a pseudo re-bid zone)

Chelsea-Knightsbridge

Kensington - Earls Courth (usually a value play)

Notting Hill-Bayswater

If you look at the PRICELINE map Bloomsbury-Marble Arch is very close to Mayfair-Soho, so if you're looking to stay in the same general vicinity, perhaps try that zone first (along with Mayfair-Soho)... then if that is rejected you can add the other three zones to the mix.

You may also want to consider applying the $15/nite below your budget for the weekend nites towards your budget for these midweek nites, bringing your maximum bid up to $195/nite.

Let us know your thoughts regarding zone and maximum bid and we'll take it from there.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[angelababy]

My preference would be Westminster & Bloomsbury-Marble Arch

I have tried to bid the 4* in these 2 areas with the re-bid zone, Westminster up to $180, Bloomsbury-Marble Arch up to $182, both failed :) Seems there's not much inventory on these 2 weekdays!

It looks like I may have to go down to 3* in my desired locations... Are 3 stars in London good hotels? What price you think I should bid at for 3*?

Thanks again.

[Romelle]

Kensington often runs a little less expensive than the others. I think I'd take the 4* there before a 3* in other areas. The more common win in that zone is the Copthorne. You can check the reviews of it, but I found it entirely comfortable and functional. Close to a tube station, with an excellent Thai restaurant and a great muffin place on the way. A nearby Marks and Sparks.

Romelle

[angelababy]

I should bid in the Kensington-Earl's Ct area for the Kensington area? Between Kensington-Earl's Ct and Notting Hill-Bayswater, which area would you recommend in terms of convenience (usual popular won hotel distance to tube station) and have more restaurants or stores?

Can you also recommend a starting price for the area as I haven't research much on these 2 areas.

Thanks so much!

[Romelle]

Yes, Kensington-Earl's Ct. for bidding. I was too lazy to type it all out.

If you key "kensington" into the Quick Search box up above, you can see lots of winning bids for the area. When I did it, I saw a 4* NH Kensington hotel was also a pretty common win. I'm not familiar with that one for London. I've stayed at one in Brussels - very contemporary, and quite nice. They have been the "new kid on the block" as far as winning bids go for the last couple of years in various areas.

While I was doing this, I noticed the Copthorne is now a 3* hotel. Things change.

As I recall, $95 was the low winning bid so that would not be a bad place to start (or a little lower just to be sure). Rates are of course very date specific, but when casting about for a reasonable start, the lowest recent win is one possibly useful bit of information. Since you have until September, you've enough time to check the lower bids.

It has been years since I stayed in the Notting Hill-Bayswater area, and it was not Priceline. In fact Priceline didn't exist then. You could do a similar search - key "notting hill" in the Quick Search box and see what people have been getting lately. Then click the Hotel Reviews tab and hope some of them have been kind enough to do reviews.

You also can take the list of winning hotels to www.tripadvisor.com and see how they are reviewed there.

Tubes are pretty much dotted all over London, as are food places. If you zoom on in for a particular zone in London, you can see the little underground symbols - a circle with a bar though it - red and blue. Try that on the two zones you are considering, and see which one seems to have better coverage.

And while I'm at it, the guide book I found most useful in London was Lonely Planet (just for London). Great maps, great detail. Small enough to carry with you on the trip.

Romelle

[thereuare]

In Europe i would sooner go with a 4* in less central (but still convenient) zone vs. a 3* in a more central zone. You'll likely be taking the tube to most other areas of the city, and star ratings are a bit more 'generous' in Europe then they are in in the US/North America.... a 3* in London may be more like a 2.5* in the States.

As well, if you decide to add the Kensington-EC and/or Notting Hill zones, you can use your previously rejected zones as pseudo-re-bid zones... you were just rejected hours or a day earlier at higher prices, but they're still acceptable, so you use these to your advantage.

Once you decide between zone or star rating preference, if the former, let us know all zones which are acceptable (and confirm which zones you have already bid as high as $180) and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[angelababy]

I have tried Mayfair-Soho, Westminster, Bloomsbury-Marble Arch, and the 2 no 4 star rebid zone (Webley, Hammersmith) up to $180-182 for 4* all rejected last night. So I guess I have 5 rebid zones now for 4* in Kensington-Earl's Ct area now :)

I think I saw won price for Kensington-Earl's Ct area between $90-165, usually on the low 100s. Maybe $90 to start to bid? Please comment and help me with the strategy. Thanks thanks!!!

[Romelle]

I have tried Mayfair-Soho, Westminster, Bloomsbury-Marble Arch, and the 2 no 4 star rebid zone (Webley, Hammersmith) up to $180-182 for 4* all rejected last night. So I guess I have 5 rebid zones now for 4* in Kensington-Earl's Ct area now :)

I think I saw won price for Kensington-Earl's Ct area between $90-165, usually on the low 100s. Maybe $90 to start to bid? Please comment and help me with the strategy. Thanks thanks!!!

If you start with $90, it is highly improbable it will be successful - BUT - when it fails, you will know for sure you didn't overbid. I purely hate a bid that goes through right away, as I then am almost sure I wasted some money.

My experience with London is I can get pretty much anywhere I want with a short ride, a tube ride (or two) and a short walk. The rides are cheap, it is interesting, and the walk is good for me. There are buses, but they are a little trickier to sort out. Unless one wants to party late every night in the same area, the hotel location doesn't make much difference. The usual tourist sights are spread out and one ends up traveling to several different zones anyway.

If you end up with something in Kensington-Earl's CT or Nottingham-Bayswater in the "low 100s", you've saved enough money over the 180s in the other areas that you can buy some rides in those cool big black cabs too.

FYI - I'm just a member (although I've done quite a bit of bidding). Thereuare and a few others are official. You can see the distinction on the left side under the name.

I know you'd like to get this tied down, but you've got lots of time still. You can ease into it.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Your previous priceline win came easy... now they're showing you that sometimes you have to work for it a little :)

I think you're going to have to go close to your previous bid amounts, and possibly a touch higher, but let's start low and work our way towards there...

Using your TWO re-bid zones:

Select 4* Kensington-EC...

Bid $90, if rejected add Mayfair-Soho...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Kensington-EC and Westminster...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Kensington-EC and Bloomsbury...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $150, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Kensington-EC and Mayfair-Soho and Westminster...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $165, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Kensington-EC and Mayfair-Soho and Bloomsbury...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $180, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Kensington-EC and Mayfair-Soho and Bloomsbury and Westminster...

Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $195

Any questions feel free to ask. To be thorough I went up to $195, but of course you're free to stop at whatever amount you're comfortable with.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[angelababy]

These 2 days are definitely giving me a run for my money! I bid up to $184 and got rejected at Kensington area!!!! :) I wonder are there some popular events happening those couple days??

So I guess there's only Notting Hill area I can bid on now. I read some won a hotel on the outer edge of Notting Hill, it seem kindda far away if that's the case. does anyone know how long it will take by tube to get to say British Museum area from there?

If I will bid on Notting Hill, what would be a good starting price? Please advice.

I have so many rejected offers so now I have 6 rebid zones already! lol

Thanks again folks.... or should I get used to say "mate"? :)

[angelababy]

forgot to say that when I was bidding for Kensington, at $160 they asked me to add $40 to $200 for a better chance. And at $180, the message show again to ask me to add $40 again to go up to $220. I ignored it both times and continue with my bidding strategy. So it looks like the "right" price is between $184-220? It seems high for the area!

[Romelle]

It is only about 4 miles across that central core of London where the bulk of the Priceline zones are. Via tube it is hard to be more than 1/2 hour from anything. Maybe 45 minutes worst case.

I'd think you could just use the pattern thereuare gave you for Kensington? Using Notting Hill + Kensington every time you previously used just Kensington.

You aren't going to win at the $90, but it is a safe starting point. There $85 4* Notting Hill wins for other dates but we already know your dates are going to be more expensive.

Assuming you haven't used Notting Hill yet, you don't have to wait the 24 hours since that constitutes a new bid.

You did well to ignore that $40 counter offer. The "right" price is between the first bid where you got the counter and the sum of that bid and the counter - $160 to $200. Since you bid on up to $184, you've narrowed it down to between $184 and $200. PL use of the same counter at a higher bid doesn't mean anything.

Romelle

[thereuare]

If I will bid on Notting Hill, what would be a good starting price? Please advice.

I'd think you could just use the pattern thereuare gave you for Kensington? Using Notting Hill + Kensington every time you previously used just Kensington.

As Romelle suggested you can just add Notting Hill to each of the previous bids. Hopefully that's easy enough, but if you need us to re-type let us know.

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

Good luck with your next round of bidding.

[angelababy]

I started to bid for Notting hill from $100, increasing $5 each time up to $170, all rejected!! I am not feeling it this time, I dunno what's up with these 2 days! Other than trying again tomorrow, I dunno if there's anything else I can do at PL anymore. My friend could not increase the upper limit so we are top at $180. :)

[Romelle]

I started to bid for Notting hill from $100, increasing $5 each time up to $170, all rejected!! I am not feeling it this time, I dunno what's up with these 2 days! Other than trying again tomorrow, I dunno if there's anything else I can do at PL anymore. My friend could not increase the upper limit so we are top at $180. :)

I've had that happen to me in other cities. Nothing to be found within my budget (not very flexible) and standards (fairly flexible). Sometimes Priceline isn't the answer.

You've still got a couple months, and you do have part of your stay figured.

Options include:

Keep bidding, since it really is pretty early.

Look further out in the other zones. Even the airport, although I'd check transportation first as that and time would be a factor (I seem to remember Heathrow train to the city is about 5#s.

Book conventionally. There are a lot of links from this site under the Support/Travel tab. Also, www.venere.com, www.booking.com, and others. In fact, this would be a good thing to do anyway, as a cancelable back-up.

Those 3*s.

Go really further out and visit Stratford-Upon-Avon or any of the smaller cities within an easy distance from London.

I even resorted to a youth hostel in London once, although I'm now far from the "youth" category.

Hang in there.

Romelle

[thereuare]

At the moment i don't think you're too far off, but as Romelle points out, be patient, as it is still quite early. If you continue to be unsuccessful, i'd re-visit the earlier suggestion about upping your bid a few extra dollars... the original budget was $180/nite, and now that you've won a 5* for the least two nites of your stay at $165, a case can be made that a $195/nite room for the first two nites is still within your budget :)

However, i would suggest trying to find a suitable back-up plan just to protect yourself from rates rising from there. As well, you'll find the whole bidding process as a lot less anxious if you know you have a fully refundable back-up reserved.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board for your purchases.

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help down the road.

[angelababy]

I tried again last nite with Notting Hill and Kensington up to $180, and got rejected (not surprising to me at this pt now :)). I am going to book a backup hotel now and maybe try PL again couple weeks later. I'll report back on my progress later. Thanks thereuare and Romelle for your help!

[Romelle]

Maybe you could try once a week, or even every 5 or 6 days? Deals come, but they could get snapped up by other PRICELINE bidders.

I'm glad you are doing the backup hotel though. Always a good idea.

Romelle