Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* Paris (Porte dItalie-China Town) Express by Holiday Inn

[sush]

Hi,

Starting a new thread here. I'd like a bidding strategy to get a hotel in Paris. I'd like to know what's the lowest I need to bid in each star category.

I think I'm ok with any zone in the Paris area. I will be flying out of the Orly airport on the 15th Sep afternoon so not sure if it makes sense to stay close to Orly? Not sure how convenient and how much more expensive it will be to travel from there into Central Paris everyday. The dates are 12-15 Sep. How often should I try re-bidding? Should I divide the dates into two groups and book for separate hotels for Sunday and then Mon/Tue? Yesterday my bids upto 85 (incl 10 Entertainment Coupon) failed for even a 2* in the central Paris area - Bastille, OQE, Latin quarter, Eiffel tower, Champs Elysees. I also bid upto 70 for a 3* in the Republique and La Defense area. I'm not sure how safe it is in the La Defense area for a 2* hotel? Don't have an order of stay preference as long as I get a good deal and not far from public transport.

Thanks

Sushmita

[sush]

This is some of the older thread info I received regarding this so information doesn't get repititive.

Aug 14, 04:20 PM

sush - You do want to start your very own post for your stay. When you are in Priceline - Other Countries, before you enter any of the specific posts, click on "New Topic" - right hand side, middle of page, above the solid blue bar.

The rates I looked up were for NoviceTraveller's dates - Nov 26-30. For your September dates, the lowest number I saw was $133 for a Republique Novotel. La Defense was a lot higher.

Thereuare gave NoviceTraveller a nice bidding pattern. When you get your own post started, providing dates, acceptable PRICELINE areas, desired star level and your budget, somebody here will provide you a bidding pattern custom tailored to your needs.

Regarding where to start, maybe spend one bidding session just checking out 50% of the lowest Priceline number you can find. Highly unlikely it will be successful, but then when you work your way on up, you will be confident you aren't overbidding.

Regarding when to bid, definitely don't wait any longer. Just don't run up to your absolute max right away, as you do have a little time.

Romelle

Aug 14, 03:27 PM

Thanks for the wonderful advice Romelle. I am currently using the Entertainment Coupon of 10 off a night. I would also like to know at what point should I try rebidding since it looks like I'll be in Paris in a month's time. Should I try again the 1st of Sep? I will probably take your advice and stay with 3* hotels in the Paris area for now. What do you suggest as the starting bid for the La Defense area for the 3* hotels? I did try 80 (incl $10) coupon for a 4 star hotel in this area and got rejected.

Sush

QUOTE (Romelle @ Aug 14 2010, 03:00 PM)

The lowest La Defense 3* on Priceline retail side is a Mercure at $125 per night for your dates. There weren't any 2 and 2 1/2*s. Mercure is a nice middle value chain in Europe. I think you'd be happy with it, and might get lucky with a 50% bid?

For Republique, there were 2*s. The lowest one was $82, but I am not familiar with the line. The first one I know is a 3* Tryp at $97. Again, with a 50% bid you might land this one.

I'll let someone else chime in on the Republique area, as I'm not familiar with it. You might look at hotel reviews from hotels in that area. Often people also comment on the area.

3* wins reported to this site (nobody has reported a 2* win for these areas):

Republique:

3* Mercure Paris Montmarte

3* Mercure Terminus Est

La Defense:

3* Courtyard

3* Mercure La Defense Esplanade

3* Mercure La Defense Parc REVIEW

3* Novotel La Defense

I stayed in the La Defense area and was fine with it. There isn't night life as it is a business/commercial area, but a metro ride (Line #1) of about 10-15 minutes got us right in the middle of Paris. The area is very quiet, clean and safe feeling. A huge grocery store and shopping center were nearby, as well as a McDonalds (quite upscale and subtly different from US McDs). A fridge in the room also helped with the budget.

I hope you explore getting that Entertainment $10 a night coupon. That will help your bidding. Also, before bidding, it is a good idea to regularly check your Rewards area. Sometimes when a person is not successful for a number of bids, one of those bonuses magically appears in the Rewards area.

Also, don't get in too much of a hurry to get to the top of your budget (or drop to those 2*s). Sometimes hotels don't give rooms to Priceline until the last minute.

Romelle

Aug 14, 1:41pm

Bid till $95 for a 2 star including Bastille and still no luck for 12th to 15th Sep 2010. I would like your recommendations on the other areas in Paris - Republique and La Defence - Neuille specificaly the 2* and 3* hotels via Priceline. Is it worth bidding in these areas?

Sush

[sush]

I have bid for all the zones for 3 star hotels till 88 with no luck. Don't think I'd like to go beyond that. I'm going to try again later in the week if maybe more hotels are willing to take up the bid offer at that stage. I would like a strategy on what ppl have done in the past and how close to the date do the deals get better?

[Romelle]

www.toandfromtheairport.com has a lot of information about transportation to and from airports. I'm not familiar with the situation for Orly.

Romelle

[progressive]

I am also looking at Paris for late September and I have also bidded till $82 for 3* and above but with no luck! Maybe it's too early?

[sush]

Bid upto 100 for a 3*(All Paris Zones) and 96 for a 2* (st germain eiffel tower champs elysees) and gave up. I think I'm going to go with the hotwire option of

Porte d'Italie - China Town area hotel - The Holiday Inn Express for 94 a night which includes breakfast and has good reviews. Don't think Priceline currently has enough hotels for those dates.

[Romelle]

Bid upto 100 for a 3*(All Paris Zones) and 96 for a 2* (st germain eiffel tower champs elysees) and gave up. I think I'm going to go with the hotwire option of

Porte d'Italie - China Town area hotel - The Holiday Inn Express for 94 a night which includes breakfast and has good reviews. Don't think Priceline currently has enough hotels for those dates.

Have you actually accepted the HI EX Hotwire deal yet? If you haven't, do be aware you could end up with a different hotel than the one reported here. The guesses are pretty good, but not 100%. I speak from experience. Thought we knew for sure on one near Chicago, but got an entirely different one.

If you have accepted and got the HI Ex, it sounds like a very good find at a good price for Paris. I'm happy you located something workable. If you enlarge the Hotwire map, you can see the various Metro stops and RER train stops in the area. Looks like pretty good coverage.

Be sure to confirm here so your win can go on the Calendar of Wins. Also, this post then gets appropriately retitled and moved over to the Hotwire area.

Romelle

[sush]

No I haven't picked up the 2.5 star hotel yet so yes I'll be taking a chance. But it looks like the best price out there for a decent rating hotel in Paris. The only other option is to book an etaphotel for 79 and I don't think that's worth it. I did check that the HI Express is right next to a metro station which will make it easier for us to deal with our luggage also.

Also the 2.5* hotel in hotwire already went up 2 dollars today so looks like I need to act fast on it.

[sush]

Won 2.5* HOTWIRE Hotel

Express By Holiday Inn PARIS-PORTE D'ITALIE

for 12-15 Sep 2010. Just wanted to confirm that I did make the booking and it was the same hotel in the Hotwire list on this forum. Thanks a lot. I paid 96 a night (Total 318.85 incl taxes and fees).

[sush]

I won the Holiday Inn Express in Port d'Italie in Paris for 96 a night for 12-15 Sep. Really excited about my trip now and wanted to thank the forum for listing the hotels reported till to date. It really helped me to make a calculate call on whether to keep bidding on Priceline or pick up this hotwire property before it goes. The prices on the hotwire hotel seemed to be increasing everyday so I decided to just book it today.

[Romelle]

sush,

Congratulations!!

I'm glad something worked out for you. It sometimes is a struggle, but well worth it, IMO.

On the HI web site I see complimentary breakfast, and about a 10 minute walk to the nearest subway station (PORTE D'ITALIE).

I just checked, and your success is posted on the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins too!

Romelle