Priceline Hotel: 4* NMA Millennium Knickerbocker 8-24/8-27 $65

[gleemonex]

hi,

i'm trying out the priceline waters for the first time here.

i'll be making my first visit to chicago arriving 8/24, departing 8/27. since my plans are fixed, i decided to throw out a few bids to see what happens.

i bid $50 for a 4* in Loop/Grant Park - rejected.

added Lincoln Park, upped it to $56 - rejected.

added Evanston, upped it to $59 - rejected.

i'd be willing to go to $70 or $75, but noting that there's been a few people with successful bids at $55 and $56 lately (getting Palmer House Hilton and Chicago Hilton), i didn't want to throw out my max bid this early and decided to wait it out to see if inventory comes along.

any suggestions?

btw, excellent and informative site.

[Welldone Rumproast]

Hi gleemonex,

With Chicago (like Las Vegas) you always have to consider the possibility of conventions taking up a lot of hotel space. I checked the schedule at the Chicago Convention and Tourist bureau (link is below) and there are a few middle-sized meetings around your dates (about 16,000 delegates for the three largest). Since hotels often hold blocks of rooms until the convention enrollment is closed, this may be a factor in PL availability.

http://www.chicago.il.org/smi/calendar.cfm

[thereuare]

Thanks for the compliments on the site and WELCOME!

It seems as if you want the Loop/Grant Park area and therefore have a good understanding of re-bidding :)

I checked direct prices for your dates and there does not seem to be unusual demand for your timeframe, so i believe your bids are within an acceptance range and it's probably just an access to inventory situation (as mentioned above, perhaps the conventions in town aren't enough to raise prices, but the hotels are 'holding back' rooms). Since the only hotels that have accepted bids at the sub-$60 level are Hilton properties, there is a decent chance that the brand hasn't released inventory for the end of August yet and i think you are wise to be patient with this one and NOT bid your maximum amount just yet. (have you reservered a CANCELLABLE Back-up yet?) Of course, there is always a chance that the Hilton brand has raised its rates in this area, but it's a little early to think that this is the case.

It seems like you've done your homework by reading this site and have a good understanding of the 'tricks' to use when using Priceline. The only thing i will add is that if you want to try to save a few extra dollars, you can increase your re-bids by less since you currently aren't using all your re-bid zones. What i mean by this, is that if you don't want to bid more than $59 at this time, there's no reason to jump from $56 to $59 in one shot, you can use add'l re-bid zones and only increase by a $1 or so each time (as i write this, i see a total of 4 free re-bid zones at the 4* level). This is just a minor point that may or may not be worth the effort to you (as it will require a few extra clicks of the mouse and a few extra rejection notifications), but on a 3 nite stay saving $2/nite can add up to cheap lunch.

Keep in mind that you should double check your re-bid zones before each bid! Just because a zone was a re-bid zone today, doesn't mean that it will be 72 hours from now, as hotels can be added at any time.

I'd continue with your current strategy (or perhaps start at $55 and use re-bids to raise by $1 each time as per above, but if you want to start at $50 and then go some variation of $56, ... $59 you're free to do so, absolutely nothing wrong with it)

If you have any additional questions regarding any of the above, feel free to ask, and keep us informed as to your progress.

[gleemonex]

thanks for the feedback.

your points about the conventions and bid increments are well-taken. as i said before, i'm a newbie to this and welcome any pointers.

i chose the loop/grant park zone because it seemed like that's where the best chance of getting a sub-$60 bid accepted and still be in the main downtown area, and anything i could get there would surely be better than my original chicago choice, the cass hotel at $69 per night.

i'll keep you informed of my progress (or lack thereof, maybe...).

thanks for your warm welcome to the board. :)

[thereuare]

i chose the loop/grant park zone because it seemed like that's where the best chance of getting a sub-$60 bid accepted and still be in the main downtown area

It sounds like you'd also be happy with the North Michigan Avenue zone, and might actually prefer it if it wasn't so expensive, and if this is the case, i would use that as a 'sudo' free re-bid.

Your correct that your current bids are probably currently too low for the NMA zone, but if you'd be happy there also (and even prefer it) then i'd add that as my first re-bid zone, then add the other re-bid zones in sub-sequent re-bids.

This accomplishes two things: it gives you an add'l re-bid zone, as well as gives you the chance to get 'lucky' by having a bid accepted in this preferred zone. (i'm assuming, of course, that if the same price, you'd actually prefer the NMA zone... if not, the ignore the above info :) )

[gleemonex]

bid $65 for a 4* in NMA, River North, accepted on the first try.

Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago

North Michigan Ave

163 East Walton Place

[thereuare]

Thanks for following-up and reporting your results.

Glad you were ultimately successful, have a great time in Chicago! (and eat a slice of pizza for me, please)