Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (NMA) Sheraton Hotel and Towers

[faron]

I'm new to this site (thanks for setting up and moderating this, even though you appear to be a Wolverine), and planning a trip to Chicago - May 8-10 (2 nts), would like to get a 4* hotel in any of the five zones from Greater Chicago to Lincoln Park, obviously for as low a rate as possible. I would love to impress my wife and friends with my resourcefulness.

I've roamed the site enough to learn about splitting my bid (our stay is Sun and Mon night - are disparate rates likely an issue?), and adding zones incrementally to get free rebids (though in my case I might add sites with more 4* hotels and be willing to take the new zone, does that strategy have a name?).

Though recent posts are winning bids rather than questions, I've read that this sort of post is okay, please let me know if not, or if this is the wrong spot.

I'm preparing to bid on Priceline, after the weekend when we lock down our plans with friends and decide whether or not to bring the kids. I'm willing to go to $100 or a bit more if needed for a great hotel, but a typical 4* for less than that would be delicious, and I'm seeing 75 and 85 dollar successes. Any advice? Are there zones among those five in which there might be lower quality 4* hotel (which I would add only if necessary)? What might be the proper bid point?

One other specific question. We might be travelling with two other couples and I may turn them onto this board or offer to bid for the bunch of us. It's not crucial to me that we are at the same hotel as them, more important to all get best rates - what is the drop off in supply as you go to two rooms or three?

Thanks in advance for any advice or experience (or links to previous posts I've overlooked) on how to save money. I will definitely post about my experience.

A final random thought, then I'll shut up and listen: given that this is Chicago, is there any Hotwire vs. Priceline comparison that is city-specific? Am I right in believing my better rate is likely to be through PL?

Thanks again, forgive the long post, and ... "Stop Blue" !!!

A friendly Spartan

[thereuare]

Welcome to Better Bidding... we welcome everyone here, even those from Mooo-U :)

(actually i know there are quite a few MSU fans here as we've been mentioned on one of their tailgate message boards)

You post is fine and appropriate exactly where it is... we'll keep all discussion for this stay in this post and eventually when you win a hotel we'll adjust the title to reflect the winning hotel, bid amounts, etc.

Inventory does not typically drop off if you select more than one room, the exception being if the hotel only has one room available to Priceline... then obviously you could have won that one with a one room bid, but not with a 2+ room bid, but this is usually more of the exception than the rule. I would recommend that you bid for you and your friend, and then just have them pay you half of the total; but you know your relationship better than i do and it's up to you, i just always think it's nicer to be at the same hotel with your friends as it makes planning and coordination with them a bit easier.

You're correct that you are likely to get a better deal on Priceline than Hotwire. Hotwire gives you a bit more control over the actual property received, but it seems as if you are flexible enough that price is more important.

Getting a 4* hotel for under $100/nite for your dates should not be a problem. As far as any hotels/zones that you should be looking to avoid, best bet is to look at the hotels that have already been reported in each zone of the PRICELINE HOTEL LIST and read the reviews next to each one. Just yesterday there was a negative comment about the HYATT REGENCY (which is a common win in the zone), but don't know if you'd want to necessarily exclude that zone or not as it does represent a good location, and you seem to be very flexible as to where you stay, with price being important.

I'd read the the reviews mentioned above and then let us know exactly which zones you are willing to accept and we'll then provide a step-by-step strategy for you to follow.

[faron]

Thanks, thereuare, for the welcome and information. Another long post, this one reflects my updated thinking for you and the forum to react to. Hopefully someone with recent Chicago experiences can test my assumptions and keep me informed.

Our trip is Sun-Mon May 8-10, and the dates are firm. Soon to be firm are the number of rooms (likely 3), and the max bid (likely $100 but with a target more like $70-75 and hopes of even less). I

[thereuare]

I don't have time to reply in depth right now, but just warning you not to bid this yet as there is at least one mistake in your re-bid zones.

I'll follow-up later when i have some time.

[faron]

Thanks for the warning. I've got time, and wasn't going to bid without getting your sure-to-be helpful thoughts anyway.

[faron]

Did a little more hunting and reread my own post, realize my strategy omitted both Midway as a rebid and the ninth zone, Evanston, so I've got more options than I realized. There may be other errors, great or small.

Now I'm thinking:

1) RNA 4* (no longer want to drop to 3* but still curious about the add stars drop stars question in theory)

2) + Lincoln Park

3) + Evanston

4 + Midway

5) + Skokie

6) + Loop/Grant Park?

7) + NMA?

8) start new bid with RNA +

But then I found this topic from last March which lays out how rich in 4* rebids Chicago appears to be.

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?act...ST&f=87&t=3747&

If that will work, I might have the same 16 bidding options, right? I'm encouraged that even though the RNA seems a pricey zone we'll do well there.

BTW, I dipped into TOBB (observing and checking out hotel lists) out of curiousity, and I must say it feels like a totalitarian state compared to this board! Geez. Thanks for getting this up and running (Happy Birthday BB!) before I got into the game.

When I get to that stage please let me know how to place my bid so it helps this forum.

Thanks and good night!

[thereuare]

You seem to have a change of heart, your first post indicated

...would like to get a 4* hotel in any of the five zones from Greater Chicago to Lincoln Park, obviously for as low a rate as possible

to

... this hotel is fine, but this one isn't... 3 star here, 4 star there, etc... <paraphrased>

I think that you're making this much more complicated than it needs to be.

If price is most important, than pick zones in which your comfortable with all the 4* hotels (or all the 3* and 4* hotels... but not 'yes' on the 3* but 'no' in the 4* as you can't bid that way... the star level you choose is the minimum that you are willing to accept, and priceline will always try to book you in the highest star rating first)

If hotel location, amenities, etc is more important, then what appears to be the Hotel Allegro is available thru HOTWIRE for $80/nite and the reviews appear to be very good (please use the previous link if you choose to book this)

Going back to the re-bidding, you seem to have used the hotel lists to determine re-bid zones, and at the top of every hotel list reads:

This list is NOT a complete list of all hotels that Priceline offers in this area, it is ONLY a compilation of hotels that have already been reported on this forum. Hotels are added/removed by Priceline all the time, and star ratings can change at ANY time. As well, the geographic boundaries of an area are subject to change, so it is always a good idea to look at the Priceline map before purchasing.

[faron]

Yes, I've am having a partial change of heart, and yes, I've made this more complicated than it needs to be (a character flaw my wife will confirm). Thanks for sticking with me.

About the rebid lists, I did go through the PL site once to confirm the star levels as of my posting, and I understand that each rebid zone will need to be reconfirmed at the time of bidding. I also understand that there may be hotels in the mix in a given zone at my desired level that the site hasn't got a record of (or that hotels might have different * ratings now than in past). Am I missing something else?

I began without fully realizing how likely it is to get a 4* hotel well under $100 in 'downtown' Chicago, without having to be totally 'blind.' As it became clear how much information there is out there, I started looking at the hotels recently accepted in the various zones, and figured I could balance cost against the likelihood of winning a property we might like less.

So of course I'm trying to have it both ways. Price is not the only bottom line (as long as we feel like we're getting a deal I'd rather pay ten or twenty bucks more for some zones than others) but I'm willing to give up ultimate control over which property in hopes of a super deal.

So that leaves me (changed of heart) targeting River North as the zone with the most solid list of properties for my tastes at 4*, and considering the 15 rebid strategy you laid out for NMA 4* in the post I pointed to earlier. When you talk about new bids as "'closing out the current failed bid browser and going back to the main PL page..." do I need to clear my cache or use a different ID, etc., or is this a legit PL approach to bidding since I've changed the zones?

If I take the original target through all 15 bids, then I could start yet another cycle of 15 with RNA + Loop/Grant Park, starting back at a middle-low bid, right? (and then another cycle adding NMA?)

With all those rebids, I could bid 50-65 by fives, then up the bid by 3$ each time and still get to $98 bidding only in the target area. SInce I can get good rooms for even less than that (such as your Allegro tip or other recent PL wins in NMA and Loop) I guess I've got to decide at what price point would I be more happy to add the Loop or NMA. Now it's become an experiment in using PL in a rebid-rich environment. Say I want to go as high as $90 in River North only, up to 80 in RN+Loop, and up to 70 in RN+Loop+NMA. Am I understanding the system?

Oh yeah, one simple question about how PL works: with a multiple room request, can you use the same name for all three rooms (three different couples will occupy them) or do they need accurate occupant names up front? I'll be paying for all three on my CC and getting reimbursed from the friends.

Again, thanks for the great site, your time and patience this weekend, and the education.

[thereuare]

If you bid first for River North and go thru all your re-bids and fail (not including other 4* zones like the Loop), after you close the browser, you would only want to bid the Loop and then start adding your re-bid zones again... you'd be bidding below your previous rejections for the River North, so what would be the point of including River North along with the Looop? By not bidding the River North and Loop combination, you can use it later on for even more re-bids :)

The strategy, as discussed in the prior thread, is indeed a valid strategy and conforms with priceline's terms and conditions (we would discuss it here if it didn't).

You can put all the rooms in one name, but the person whose name you put the room in must be there at check-in... if you're friends arrive before you they won't be able to check-in. You do have an option of putting in the names of who will check-in to each room if you'd like, the choice is yours.

[faron]

Thanks! I believe I know what I need to know to check in with my group and prepare to bid. Watch this space (it may be a few days) and they I can check in with thereuare about editing the title/thread. :)

[faron]

Well, it's done ( I hope all my obsessing was worth it).

4*, Chicago (NMA), Sharaton Chicago Hotel Tower

5/8-5/10/2005 (2 nights), 3 rooms @ $66 per night, plus total taxes of 70.62, for grand total of $466.62, or $77.77 per night per room after taxes.

Decided in the end to balance price and zones. Started bidding for the River North area, rejected up to $80. Switched to the Loop, rejected up to $70. Was on my way to $69 in North Michigan, intending to stop there for the night and go back to bid up earlier targets; began getting +$17 counteroffers from $60 on, but kept using alternative configurations, and was eventually accepted at $66.

Thanks to thereuare for all your assistance (in this thread and throughout the site). I found a lot of useful information from lots of people to help me with this, my first priceline bid. Got to priceline through savingsbarn.

Feel free to edit the title of thread, move this message to the top, or whatever works for the forum. (Be advised that I made some errors in my prior posts, most notably that Evanston and Skokie are the same area, reducing the possible rebids on primary target). I made 8 attempts at primary target, 9 at the secondary, and it was my 15th bid in NMA-land before it was over. I feel like the Old Man and the Sheraton.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your first priceline win!

Looks like your got a great deal and a you're happy with the results too! Are your friends amazed at the deal you were able to get for them too?

Do you happen to remember the amount of the bid that was rejected immediately before this acceptance at $66?

You'll soon find it difficult to book without the opaque services.... some of us even take trips simply because we know the loding will be so affordable (i've stayed 2 miles from my house just to 'get away' because it was a great deal)

Enjoy the time in Chicago with your friends and family.

Thank you for placing your bid thru the links at SavingsBarn.com :)

[faron]

Thanks! Yes, my friends are indeed duly impressed, and we're all excited because these lodgings are the cherry on top an already surefire good-time trip (3 couples, sans kids, to the Windy City for a U2 concert).

I have a paper record of my bid pattern and would be glad to post any or all of it. I had plenty of headroom so I was proceeding by ones when I hit - my previous bid had been 65$.

I found it interesting that when I began my bidding ridiculously low ($40 for 4*), priceline would interrupt me to suggest I might be insulting the hoteliers, reminding me of the avg. price, and offering me a chance to reconsider (which would have been welcome had I not been so well informed by this site!).

Also, I don't know if there are general lessons to be drawn, but I began getting the 'counter-offers' messages near the end, at a $60 bid (and thereafter), each I believe bumping by $17 (will correct if my notes contradict me). Any experience with this? 10% below the ultimate accepting price? counteroffering with about a 1/3 increase?

I'll post hotel reviews in May.

[faron]

correction to my previous post: my last rejected bid (before acceptance at 66) had been $64, not 65, so I might have wasted a whole pile of dimes! :)