Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Dallas (Downtown) Sheraton Dallas Hotel

[Memphis_Guy]

Attending a conference at the Dallas Crowne Plaza Downtown. I can get a room at the conference rate of $89 a night, but thought I could do better on Priceline. Nope.

Day 1, I bid $49 for 3* in Downtown, and then rebid 4 times, adding Dallas West Pinnacle (no hotels above 2.5*), Garland (no hotels above 2.5*), Carrollton (no hotels above 2.5*), and Grand Prairie South (no hotels above 2.5*). Each time I increased my bid by $2. Stopped at $57.

Day 2, I bid $59, and then rebid 4 more times, each time increasing my bid by $2. Stopped at $67.

Day 3, I bid $69, and then rebid 4 more times, each time increasing my bid by $2. Stopped at $77.

I give up. Tomorrow I'll call the hotel and ask for the conference rate.

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear your bids were not accepted... what is the conference rate?

You may want to book the conference rate and re-try PRICELINE in the future as it is still nearly 2 months before your stay. Is the conference at this specific hotel? Is it a large conference?

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

[Memphis_Guy]

Sorry for being slow to reply. The conference rate was about $90/night + tax. I can't be sure how big the conference is since I've never been to this conference before, but this is the hotel where the conference meetings are being held.

[thereuare]

Given the bids you had already made and were turned away, i think you're better off with the conference rate since the few dollars you could save by bidding higher wouldn't be worth the risk of winning a different property.

Thanks for closing this thread with your decision... enjoy your stay.

[Memphis_Guy]

Attending a conference at the Dallas Crowne Plaza Downtown. Priceline has it as a 3-star hotel. It's the only 3-star hotel that anyone on this board (to the best of my knowledge) has won, and I think I remember that several people have gotten it in the $50 range. I thought if I bid for 3-stars in Downtown Dallas it would be the only hotel I would get, and that's good because it's where the conference is. Well, maybe they usually have rooms set aside for Priceline, but evidently they don't for the dates I wanted. Probably because of the conference I'm attending.

As per above I previously tried for this hotel and stopped at $77/night with no win. I was reminded that I was more than 2 months out so I might think about trying again closer to the dates of my travel. So today I tried.

1. $59 for 3* in Downtown --> Priceline counter-offer of $79. I rejected it.

2. $65 for 3* in Dallas West Pinnacle (no hotels above 2.5*) --> FAIL

3. $69 for 3* in Carrollton (no hotels above 2.5* --> FAIL

4. $72 for 3* in Garland (no hotels above 2.5*) --> WIN

BUT...It's not the Crowne Plaza. It's the Sheraton, which is a 3.5* property. It's a 15 minute walk to the Conference. Oh well. I saved a few bucks, and my body-fat isn't going anywhere unless I walk more, so maybe it's a good thing.

Offer Price: $72.00

Rooms: 1

Nights: 3

Room Subtotal: $216.00

Taxes & Fees: $39.87

Total Charged to Card: $255.87

Used the PRICELINE link.

[Memphis_Guy]

I figured you were probably right about waiting until closer to the conference to rebid. So I tried this morning. Didn't get the Crowne Plaza, which is the conference hotel. I got the Sheraton, which is only a 15 minute walk to the CP. Used the PRICELINE link.

[thereuare]

Sorry to see you didn't get the Crowne Plaza, but it seems like the Sheraton won't work out too bad for you.

As you're now aware, when you bid on PRICELINE the star rating is the minimum you're willing to accept, and PRICELINE will always upgrade you (if possible) to a higher rated hotel.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay... and the conference.