rynodaddyo Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 I will be staying in the DC area checking in on July 17th through July 22, 2006. In checking the site I believe that we would like to stay in either of these 3 zones- Whitehouse-Downtown, Dupont Circle-Woodley Park, or Convention Center-Capitol Hill. Is any of these areas better for safety, convienance to the sights, or to public transportation?I would like to keep the room under $100 (before fees and taxes) if at all possible. I will start bidding on a 4*, but will settle with a 3* and hopefully nothing less. If I read it right there are 4 zones with 4* hotels in them and the possibility of 4 rebids with zones that do not have 4* hotels available.I would also be open to the Arlington zone if a 4* is not attainable for under $100. In my research the DC area has a very good subway system.What would your strategy be on the 3 zones that were previously listed? Thank you in advance. Link to comment
blindman Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Washington Metro pass detailsHow are you getting to DC? as this may affect where you need your Hotel to be. Link to comment
GM Mike Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 If you guys are leaving Baltimore during the day, I'd vote for MARC train. That'll deliver you to Union Station in DC for $7.50, as I recall.The three zones you picked out are the ones that seem to be popular for the tourists here, tho I've never really planned a DC visit so I can't be more helpful.(And I think you did just fine for your Baltimore stay. You came to us prepared to pay $90 to stay outside the city and commute in, then decided the Wyndham off hotwire would be fine for $77, then ended up getting that same hotel for only $50. You basically got 1/2 off what you planned to pay and now you're staying downtown and not having to commute. Ain't nothing wrong with that!) Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 We will be checking out of the Wyndham on the morning of July 17th. (Mon). In the research that I have done DC has a great subway system. If we stay in the 3 areas previously posted we can get by for an extended period of time. As in all the cities I can always rent a car (use my Entertainment Book) if need be.I had planned on taking the train from Baltimore to DC. Every city we will go has sent me a schedule for trains, light rail, buses, subways, water taxis, etc. Probably take a taxi if need be to the train station in Baltimore. The station is in downtown DC, and depending where I stay I can take a subway or taxi to the hotel. I have been doing the information hunting for a couple of months and get brochures in the mail almost everyday. I still need to map everything out once I get the hotels, airfare, etc.Before I was fortunate enough to find this website I planned on staying in Arlington at the Days Inn Pentagon. Like all the other cities I found if you do not stay in the city you save money. The room was to run $75 a night. It was 6 blocks from the subway, and access to most everything we wanted to see.After looking at the website here I found that you could get 4* hotels in the 3 zones mentioned before for between $75 and $90. It usually came up with the Westin or Capital Hilton. When taking either of the 3 zones it looks like I would have 4 rebids. Any suggestions? Should I be concerned about 5 nights in a row? I realize I can split my bid and have a better chance, but would hate to haul luggage around for the 4 hours between hotels.Need to check out the 3* hotels in that area. Like I mentioned before I planned on paying $75 a night in Arlington so what do I have to lose?I appreciate all the help, and apologize for my ignorance in how things work, and how things are done. I appreciate everyone's patience. Link to comment
GM Mike Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 At this point, I would go ahead and bid for all five nights at once. Go for the 4*. Know your limits. The usual. Then you have time to decide if you want to try to wait it out or split your bid.Do you have a strategy you'd like to verify with us? Are you ready to bid? Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Have not checked into 3* hotels yet.....As for the 4* hotels in looking at this site and trip advisor I would have no problem with any of the 4* hotels that have winning bids on priceline.The Westin seems to be the 4* hotel that has winning bids in the Dupont Circle Zone. The Capitol Hilton seems to be what is offered most in the White House zone. Both have winning bids that mostly fall in the $75-$85 range. None of them seem to be staying the 5 days that we will be. The Renaissance Mayflower was the winning bid for a 4 night stay from 3-16/3-20 for $84I do not have a strategy, but I see that I would have 4 rebids for any of the zones with 4* hotels. As a tourist I have no problem with White House, Dupont Circle, or Convention Center. All have a better access to the public transportation than the Georgetown zone does, and are closer to the tourist activities.With the money I save in Baltimore I can go higher in my bidding, but I may need to save it for NYC. I have found that I can save $$$ by staying in New Jersey than NYC and transportation is very good. I think it puts me in the administrator's backyard area and yeild to their expertise when I get to NYC.Is there a formula in setting up your bids? Do you pick your maximum bid, figure in the rebid opportunities, and back the maximum bid back in equal increments? If there is a basic formula I could figure it out on my own, and yield to your experience after I come up with a strategy.As always any help is much appreciated. Thank you in advance. Link to comment
GM Mike Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 You've got the basic form. I won't venture a strategy here since thereuare is the undisputed leader in that field.However, you understand the general form of a strategy. Maximum bid of the strategy is your maximum bid. Back off that bid by some number of units to fit into how many rebids you have. There are other considerations:1) You've got some time, so your first round might not be up to your maximum bid, but some other lower amount, to allow a smaller differential between bids.2) You'll probably want to make sure there are some fairly lowball bids on the low end of your strategy, just in case.3) thereuare tends to track some particular price points that hit more frequently, so those factors can adjust the strategy a few $ either way at certain points.Since you have three zones you'll accept and four rebid zones, your strategy will have the general form of:Target 1Target 1 + Rebid 1T1 + R1 + R2T1 + R1 + R2 + R3T1 + R1 + R2 + R3 + R4Target 2T2 + R1...T2 + R1 + R2 + R3 + R4Same with Target 3Then...T1 + T2T1 + T2 + R1T1 + T2 + R1 + R2...T1 + T2 + R1 + R2 + R3 + R4See how many bids you can get out of the combinations?You need to decide one more question before a strategy can be suggested. Do you want the lowest possible price overall across all three of your target zones OR do you want to explore up to your maximum bid in each target zone before moving on to another, in order of your preferred target zones. It changes the amounts you bid in each of your bids.Do you want to put together an explicit bid strategy with dollar amounts and then we can verify it for you? Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Since I do not have a preference in the 3 zones... all things being equal to sights, transportation, etc. I would like to get the lowest price available in either of the 3 zones. If I drop to a 3* than I would add the Arlington zone as well because in my research if I was to pay retail I was going to pay $75 a night for the Days Inn-Pentigon.That being said would I bid as Follows?4* bidding only....Whitehouse zone $65Add Convention Center $68Add Dupont Circle $72Add Alexandria $75Add Crystal City $78Add Arlington $82Add Springfield $85If these were refused then I would have to decide if I wanted to go higher for a 4*, bid on a 3*, or consider splitting my bid. I really don't want to change hotels. Is it realistic in staying in the same hotel for 5 days and saving money? Any help or suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment
Blueskies Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 RynodaddyoDo you mean Whitehouse then WH + Convention Center then close browser then Start WH + Dupont Circle and so on or were you just going to keep adding zones to the original one. If the latter then you would allow yourself more chances by restarting the process adding single zones before you add others and of course remember to enter via Savingsbarn.com Good Luck Blueskies Link to comment
GM Mike Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 rynodaddyo, as Blueskies noted, your strategy is fine, but there are other ways to combine your zones to get you more bids. If you're happy with how many bids your strategy allows, then go for it. If you'd like to be able to make more bids, over a greater range or with less $ between bids, you could put together a more complicated strategy. Let us know if you need more help to put that together. If you're fine with the range/differentials you listed, then go for it!My gut says you'll have success on this one by the middle of your bidding range. Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Decided to give it a try so I brought up SavingsBarn, linked over to priceline hotels and bid. This is what I did...4* HotelWhite House zone...$65...rejected...rebidConvention Center..$68..rejected...rebidDupont Circle.........$72...rejected...rebidAlexandria.............$75...rejected...rebidCrystal City............$78...rejected...rebidArlington................$82...rejected...rebidSpringfield.............$85...rejected...rebidGeorgetown...........$86...rejectedI added $1 for the Georgetown zone because past history has shown that a 4* hotel in the Georgetown zone never wins the bid, so I wanted to see if the $1 would win me the bid in the zone I wanted.Where do I go from here? I have reached the maximum I want to spend for a night ($100 after taxes and fees). I know that I can split my bid. Is it better to split 2/3 or 3/2? How can someone figure out how many 4* hotels are in each zone that wins priceline bids? Hotwire lists 1 per zone for 4* hotels listed for $217 (Dupont) and $218 (Whitehouse). Tripadvisor has several 4* hotels in each zone, but the bids seem to go to the Westin Embassy (Dupont) and Capitol Hilton (Whitehouse).Any ideas before I move to 3* hotels where I will really need help? Thanks in advance. Link to comment
GM Mike Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 If you go to the Westin and Hilton websites, and make a reservation price request for each night of your stay at the Westin Embassy and Capitol Hilton, what nightly rates does it show? Can you list them out for us? Based on the pricing pattern, we might see which nights are the difficulty and split according to that.There's no real way to "know" how many hotels in a zone participate in priceline. For hotwire, it will only show you one hotel at each star level in each zone. There may be other participants, but only one at a time will get visibility.(My gut has been wrong before.) Link to comment
Blueskies Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 rynodaddyo,Can you clarify for me if you bid Whitehouse and each zone individually or just kept adding zones to the ones you had already bid? It does make a difference and could mean that you also have still some bids to play with.Thanks Link to comment
blindman Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Where do I go from here? I have reached the maximum I want to spend for a night ($100 after taxes and fees). I know that I can split my bid. Is it better to split 2/3 or 3/2? How can someone figure out how many 4* hotels are in each zone that wins priceline bids? Hotwire lists 1 per zone for 4* hotels listed for $217 (Dupont) and $218 (Whitehouse). Tripadvisor has several 4* hotels in each zone, but the bids seem to go to the Westin Embassy (Dupont) and Capitol Hilton (Whitehouse).Any ideas before I move to 3* hotels where I will really need help? Thanks in advance.First of all, at this early stage, there is NO reason to PANIC.As GM Mike says there may be one\two nights that the rates are high which is stopping you winning.Also PL may not have any inventory for these 4* hotels yet.Where do you go from here?Use the Hotel Checker link on this site to get the rates for your * level hotels for your dates to determine if there's a 'problem' with some days.Or use TravelAxe to get the data.If you see some problems then decide (don't DO it yet!) if splitting the bid is an option you want to consider.Keep to your limit at this * level, you have PLENTY of time.How many 4* hotels are in each zone that wins priceline bidsOnly PL knows this but from historical data we can see the list as posted below(If this is not allowed, the delete the list :) )IMHO your next move is to :1 Look at the likely 2.5\3* hotels so see if any would be OK and have those 'on hold' as an alternative strategy.2 Look at booking a conventional CANCELLABLE backup hotel so you will at least have a room!3 DON'T PANIC4 Bid again in 72 hrs but stick to you limits. Link to comment
blindman Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 (Convention Center - Capitol Hill)4* Grand Hyatt Washington 4* Henley Park Hotel4* Renaissance Washington (previously 3*)3* Holiday Inn on the Hill3* Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill 3* L'enfant Plaza Hotel3* Marriott Metro Center3* Phoenix Park Hotel 3* Washington Court2.5* Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center(Dupont Circle - Woodley Park)4* Omni Shoreham 4* Westin Embassy Row 3* The Churchill3* Hilton Washington (formerly 'and Towers')3* Marriott Wardman Park3* Hilton Embassy Row (White House - Downtown)4* Hilton Capitol Hill 4* JW Marriott 4* Renaissance Mayflower 4* The Madison4* Sofitel Lafayette Square4* The Willard3* Holiday Inn Washington Central 3* State Plaza Hotel 3* Washington Plaza Hotel3* Wyndham Washington3* Doubletree Guest Suites3* Hilton Garden Inn3* Hotel Helix Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks for the replies. To answer a couple of questions, I bid for a 4* hotel using the White House zone as my first bid. Then I added Convention Center next and Dupoint Circle third. I just went 1 zone than added another until the last zone was Georgetown. I did not want Georgetown, but found in past history that there was no winning bids ever for Georgetown for the price I was bidding. I realize that I could pick the 1 zone I wanted and gone through the rebids, but since I had no preference I did it that way. I will try it the other way in a couple of days when I can rebid.I went to the support page and linked up to the Westin and Hilton websites. I checked out individual prices for the dates I wanted. Here is the breakdown. Date Hilton Westin Priceline Direct Non refund Basic rate Basic Rate 7-17 $259 $313 $379 $420 7-18 $259 $313 $379 $420 7-19 $259 $313 $379 $420 7-20 $259 $296 $329 $420 7-21 $259 $135 $159 $149These prices are taken from the lowest cost available from their webistes regardless of bed selections with 2 adults. Westin did not have a non refundable internet special that I could find. The priceline cost if I took the hotel and bought it through priceline without bidding. The Westin did not show up on Priceline's list of hotels that you could book directly from their site.Thanks for the list of hotels with their star ratings. In my research I did conclude that the Westin Embassy Row and the Capitol Hilton won the majority of the 4* bids between $75 and $85.I will bid again on a 4* hotel. This time I will take 1 of the 3 zones I want and do all of my rebidding in that zone only. Thanks for any suggestions you might have. Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Wow.....sorry I should have previewed my post first. It looked so nice when I typed it.For the Hilton the 1st price is booking directly with priceline. The 2nd price is an internet non refundable price for the Hilton. The third is the basic rate for the Hilton. The 4th price is the basic rate for the Westin. Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted February 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 Since I was not able to get a 4* hotel for under $86 in the zones I wanted (Whitehoue, Convention Center, and Dupont Circle) I have decided to try for a 3* hotel to keep it under my $100 a night budget (after fees and taxes). I would consider the Atlington zone at the 3* level but would prefer not to.This is how I bid on Priceline using the savingsbarn link for a 3* hotel-Whitehouse-Downtown.....................$68................................rejectedAdd Springfield...................................$73................................rejectedThen I tried-Con. Center-Capitol Hill.....................$68.................................rejectedAdd Springfield..................................$73.................................rejectedThen I tried-Dupont Circle....................................$68..................................rejectedAdd Springfield.................................$73..................................rejectedThen I tried-Arlington..........................................$60..................................rejectedAdd Springfield.................................$65..................................rejectedI realize that the length of stay might be a problem, but for the time being I do not want to split my bid. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted March 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 This is what I got on Priceline using the savingsbarn.com link-Hyatt Regency Washington D.C. On Capitol Hill 3* Check-In Date: Monday, July 17, 2006 Check-Out Date: Saturday, July 22, 2006 Convention Ctr - Capitol Hill Area400 New Jersey Avenue Nw Washington, District Of Columbia 20001 202-737-1234Your Offer Price: $87.00 Extend Your Stay Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 5 Subtotal: $435.00 Taxes & Service Fees:$72.45 Total Charges: $507.45 I probably spent more because I did not want to split my bid but that is okay. I wanted the 4 zones I bid on and felt that a 4* was out of my price range, but I bid on them anyway. Here is how I bid.4* HotelConvention Center- Capitol Hillbid and rebid up to $80......rejectedbid and rebid up to $90......rejectedbid and rebid up to $95......rejectedWhitehouse-Downtownbid and rebid up to $80......rejectedbid and rebid up to $90......rejectedbid and rebid up to $95......rejectedDupont Circle-Woodley Parkbid and rebid up to $80......rejectedbid and rebid up to $90......rejectedbid and rebid up to $95......rejected3* HotelConvention Center-Capitol Hillbid and rebid up to $73......rejectedbid and rebid up to $78......rejectedbid and rebid up to $83......rejectedbid and rebid up to $87......acceptedWhitehouse-Downtownbid and rebid up to $73......rejectedbid and rebid up to $78......rejectedbid and rebid up to $83......rejectedDupont Circle-Woodley Parkbid and rebid up to $73......rejectedbid and rebid up to $78......rejectedbid and rebid up to $83......rejectedArlingtonbid and rebid up to $65......rejectedbid and rebid up to $70......rejectedI felt like I made a great score here. The average nightly rate that is showing for the 5 days I am staying is $273 a night!!!Thanks Link to comment
GM Mike Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 GREAT WORK! Congrats!Just to clarify, you issued three bids in each zone at 3*, then went back and made the winning bid as your last bid? Link to comment
rynodaddyo Posted March 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 yes.....since I did not care which of the 3 zones I stayed in I would bid one zone, and rebid with the Springfield zone. If rejected I went to the next zone. I would go up in $2 or $3 increments while bidding on 3* hotels. Since the bid of $83 was rejected in the Convention Center-Capitol Hill zone my last round of bidding, the next round I bid $85 and it was rejected. I rebid the Springfield zone at $87 and it was accepted. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Looks like everything is starting to take shape... a good 3+ months before your trip!The above looks like a great deal!As always, thanks for using the links at SavingsBarn.com Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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