Priceline Hotel: 3* Boston Metro-South (Needham-Dedham) Holiday Inn

[heinous]

Hi! I wanted to bid in the Newton-Needham zone, but it looks like they've changed the zones? Now it's Newton-Waltham or Needham-Dedham. I wanted a place either in Newton or Needham, but not in Waltham or Dedham. The Sheraton Needham is actually right next to where my meeting is. What to do?

My hotel night is 3/8/05, looking for a 2.5* or higher. Any strategy you can offer?

Thanks! :)

[thereuare]

If you can't accept a hotel anywhere in the zone, than i don't think you should be using Priceline.

Have you tried identifying any of the offers on HOTWIRE to see if they'll work for your needs?

[heinous]

Yes, you're right, thereuare. I learned my lesson with the Cleveland hotel. I'm going to wait on this one anyway - the weather may be prohibitive.

I checked Hotwire - they use the same zones as Priceline, so I don't know if that's safe either.

Thanks!

[heinous]

OK, so I did some more research, and it turned out that I could do the Needham/Dedham area. So I bid up to $60 for a 2.5*, but got rejected. I bid for a 3* starting at $50 and went up in $5 increments to $75. Here's what I got:

Holiday Inn Boston - Dedham

Your Offer Price: $75.00

Number of Rooms: 2

Number of Nights: 1

Subtotal: $150.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $24.58

Total Charges: $174.58

So this wasn't a great Priceline deal - they had a rate of $99 on their site. I was really going for the Sheraton Needham, but this is ok. Free parking and internet, and I still saved $50! That's what it's all about, right?