Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (NMA-River North)

[nyc321]

I am looking for a 4* hotel in the North Michigan Ave - River North Area through your PRICELINE link.

I would like to pay around $70 per night.

Is this a reasonable goal? How am I looking on time in terms of when to book?

[thereuare]

Do you recall what you ended up doing for your Hotwire Philadelphia stay... please conclude that thread and then reply to this post and we'll comment on your question(s) above.

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

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.

[nyc321]

Do you recall what you ended up doing for your Hotwire Philadelphia stay... please conclude that thread and then reply to this post and we'll comment on your question(s) above.

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

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.

Sorry about the lack of follow-up on the Philly post -- it's been updated, thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Rates are not high for these dates, but $70 for a 4* hotel in the NMA-River North zone would likely only happen during times of very low occupancy... we'll suggest a strategy for you to try, but is $70 your maximum bid? We'll certainly start low(er) but a bid price of ~$100 would greatly increase your chances, imo.

Let us know your thoughts and/or maximum bid and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[nyc321]

I could go as high as $100 -- I suppose with $70 I was hoping to get an AMAZING deal, but if it's not possible, then I guess I must go higher.

I originally based my bid on the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins where I saw this priceline win for $80.

In terms of timing, since I'm a month out from occupancy date, would it be worthwhile to lowball ($50-$70) now and then can always go higher in the coming weeks?

Those are just my thoughts, you guys are the experts, so I'm interested to hear your opinion! Thanks!

[thereuare]

Nobody can say if rates will go down, or up, between now and your stay, but it's summer in Chicago... i'd be pretty content with anything under $100. Should you be successful, i would think there is more risk to rates moving higher than lower.

I would bid as follows...

At the 4* level you have FIVE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* NMA...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[nyc321]

Excellent - thanks for the advice. I had one more question -- what do you think of adding the Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park zone? Obviously with any additional option I have a greater chance of getting my bid accepted -- but do you think the 4* in this area specifically would be more likely to accept a very low bid than the NMA area?

Thanks!

[vatraveler]

With NMA 4*, you have 32 bidding opportunities (AKA permutations) per 24 hours, so you can bid to your heart's content up until your date of stay.

[nyc321]

32 bidding opportunities? I apologize in advance if I'm missing something, but I was under the impression I had 6 bidding opportunities per 24 hours (as per instructions from "thereuare" above)?

[vatraveler]

Must bid in order and start fresh, where appropriate.

NMA

NMA + Franklin Park

NMA + Hyde Park

NMA + Lincoln Park

NMA + Midway

NMA + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park

NMA + Hyde Park + Midway

NMA + Hyde Park + Skokie

NMA + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park

NMA + Franklin Park + Skokie

NMA + Lincoln Park + Midway

NMA + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Lincoln Park

NMA + Franklin Park + Midway

NMA + Lincoln Park + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Lincoln Park + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Midway

NMA + Hyde Park + Lincoln Park + Midway

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Skokie

NMA + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park + Skokie

NMA + Franklin Park + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Lincoln Park + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park

NMA + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park + Midway

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park + Midway

NMA + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Lincoln Park + Midway + Skokie

NMA + Hyde Park + Franklin Park + Lincoln Park + Midway + Skokie

[thereuare]

...what do you think of adding the Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park zone? Obviously with any additional option I have a greater chance of getting my bid accepted -- but do you think the 4* in this area specifically would be more likely to accept a very low bid than the NMA area?

It depends upon your needs for this stay... if you're looking to go out at nite and be nearer to bars, restaurants, and nightlife then i would stick with the NMA zone, as the Loop zone can get a bit quiet at nite. If you're unsuccessful at $100 then you can consider adding the Loop area, which is usually a little cheaper than the NMA zone, but not always the case.

If budget is more important location, or you don't have any need to be in a more 'lively' area, then as you point out, including the Loop zone would increase your chances simply because it gives more hotels the opportunity to accept your bid.

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

[nyc321]

VATRAVELER and THEREUARE -- thank you very much for the advice -- I am going to work on this over the next few days and will let you know the outcome.

Thanks.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, while the Millennium Park-Loop-Grant Park area does have some very nice 4*'s and is - at times - less expensive than the River North-NMA area, there are some hotels in the Loop area where the area will likely be particularly quiet at night (The Allegro, the Hilton Towers, The W, Renaissance Blackstone.)

The Loop area is generally very quiet at night, but the West and South Loop can be particularly quiet (the area around the W City Center and Allegro really have next-to-nothing going on at night.). If the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park area is cheaper, but you want to be out at night in more lively areas, you may need to take a cab to busier areas, and instead of spending a bit more on cabs, that could be put towards staying in the River North-NMA area and not needing transit to get around after dark.

Thank you for keeping us updated and for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.