Priceline Hotel: 3* Chattanooga (airport CHA August 27th-29th)

[xcuse2drive]

I wasn't able to get the room at the price I wanted but wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone else.

I did go through the Better Bidding link to PRICELINE. Even though Better Bidding was no longer showing any 3* hotels in the airport area it remained an option on the name your own price page so I gave it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

First bid was for $50.00 for 3 nights in the CHA airport area for a 3*

Second bid was for $54.00 for 3 nights adding the Hixson area (there are no 3* hotels in that area)

Third bid I added South Chattanooga for $56.00 (there are no 3* hotels in that area)

Fourth bid I dropped the Thursday night requesting just the 27th/28th

Hope this helps someone else!

I will research the 2.5 so in case anyone has any advice, please share.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your rejected bid data with the board.

Airport zones are often the least expensive in a given area, but surprisingly downtown Chattanooga hotels are cheaper than the aiport hotel for your dates above... do you want/need the airport zone or would downtown (or another nearby zone) work for your needs??

To give you some perspective i'm guessing you could succeed for a 3* at airport for another $10-$15/nite.

If you would like to continue for a 2.5* in the Airport zone what is your maximum bid?

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

[xcuse2drive]

The airport area really is the area where I was hoping to stay. I did investigate the Downtown area but most of the hotels there add extras for some amenities like parking, internet, breakfast etc and I'm trying to keep my total per night (including any extras) to about $55.00. Plus, I am familiar with the airport area and know my way around reasonably well.

All that said I probably will start a new bid for the 2.5* in the airport hotel area, trying to stay under the $50 amount in case I have to pay added fees for the internet or amenities that some properties offer as complimentary (using the PRICELINE link on the board of course!). From my previous visits I know there are probably over 25 hotels in that area but from what I can tell on Priceline and the BB list of possible hotels there are not many 2.5* options showing. Having internet access in the rooms is important and I worry that fewer of the 2.5*s may offer that, which makes me nervous. I have great appreciation for your perspective so any suggestions or thoughts you have please share! Thanks!

[thereuare]

I could be wrong (just ask my wife, she knows i've been wrong before :) ) but i wouldn't worry too much about internet access at the 2.5* level (in the US at least)... it's an amenity i've come to expect at every hotel. There may be some mom and pop 1* property, or not-well-maintained budget property in a resort/beachfront town that doesn't offer it, but at a major city airport location, where hotels are trying to attract business customers, i would think this would be standard in today's modern technology dependent world. The internet might not be free... but there should be some time of offering, imo.

Let us know if we can be of further help in your pursuit of a hotel, and thanks in advance for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your purchases.

[xcuse2drive]

I made another unsuccessful bid for a hotel in the Chattanooga Airport area, this time focusing on 2.5* properties. Using the Priceline Better Bidding PRICELINE link I tried $57.00. It was not successful but I did get a response back with a free one-time opportunity to raise my bid to $72.00 and try again. Though I won't be using that option I wanted to share this information in case it helps anyone else.

I do appreciate all of the help, it just wasn't in the cards for this trip. I will continue to use Better Bidding, though, for future travels!. Thanks again!

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out for this trip (so far) and thanks for sharing your failed bids history.

Have you decided to cancel this trip or have you made other plans (if the latter, where and how much?)

[xcuse2drive]

The best option at this point is to stay with family in the area. If you knew my family you would understand the hysterical laughter in the background.

I will try again on my next travels using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links here in Better Bidding. Again, and as always, thanks for the help and patience!

[thereuare]

Well, still plenty of time to try again in the next few weeks... maybe you get lucky and there is a drop in opaque rates.

Let us know if any change, and good luck staying with the family; hopefully we don't have to read about any of you in the newspapers :)