Priceline Hotel: 4* DC (White House-Downtown) REJECTED. HELP !

[jhopm]

4* DC (White House-Downtown) REJECTED

$90 - $120 ... 10/11/10-10/15/10

Also tried 3.5* at $90 and also rejected.

Most people seem to get a 4* room in the area for arround $85 - $110.

What do you thing is going on?

Am I booking too long in advance?

Or is it that for those dates standard rates seem to be between $280.00 and $500.00, and I am bidding way below that?

I also checked for same dates in 2009, and my offer seems to be reasonable.

Could it be Columbus day, on Oct 11?

Shoul I raise my offer tomorrow, or should I wait until travel dates are closer?

Thanks in advance !

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Rates vary (often substantially in major cities) from day-to-day; given the very high regular rates for these dates (something going on?), unfortunately ithese dates will require a higher - and possibly quite a bit higher - bid.

What would be your desired budget per night for hotel?

PLease use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[44disney]

If it helps, we are looking at roughly the same time- a bit later- in northern virginia and have not had luck yet in a similar price range. I've bid up to 125 for 4* in Arlington (adding various zones along the way). Priceline indicates rooms in the area are $225, down a bit from a week ago. Hotwire has the Westin Alexandria at something like $135 so that may be an option for you. It seems a bit early to worry IMO but you never know. Good luck.

[mgtravel]

I'm also having a hard time getting a winning bid. I am looking to stay in the DC area (preferably Crystal City)between sept 21 thru sept 28. Have tried with bids starting in the $90 range and have recently bid at $130 with no winnng bid. Please keep us posted on your bidding.

[thereuare]

Please update your Priceline Washington DC thread with your failed bid history as it could help others who are trying for these same or similar dates.

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

Thaknks.

[jhopm]

Please update your Priceline Washington DC thread with your failed bid history as it could help others who are trying for these same or similar dates.

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

Thaknks.

I have raised my offer with no luck.

Tried up to 160 for a 4 Starbucks and up to 130 for a 3.5 atar, in the Downtown - White hojas

[jhopm]

I cant believe it !

I just raised my bid up to $180.00 for a 3.5* in the Downtown - White House area, and still got rejected.

I am close to reaching standard rates. Do not know how to proceed anymore.

One more thing: I seem to be able to make new bids (not free bids) on the same hotel area and star rating without waiting the 24 hour period. Anyone got a clue why?

[thereuare]

What about the Dupont Circle and/or Capitol Hill zones? This zones flank the White House zone on each side and with the metro being fairly convenient in Washington DC (shuts down late nite though :) ) could you make either of these nearby zones work for your needs?

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

[jhopm]

What about the Dupont Circle and/or Capitol Hill zones? This zones flank the White House zone on each side and with the metro being fairly convenient in Washington DC (shuts down late nite though :) ) could you make either of these nearby zones work for your needs?

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

What I did in the end is I booked a 4* hotel I liked for $269.00, by calling directly the front desk (they gave me a 20% discount off their lowes raate). This is the 4th time I try using Priceline, and I have only had a positive outcome once:

1) Got a $280.00 hotel for $93.00 (excelent deal)

2) Got a 190.00 hotel for $ $180.00 (yes, I know, I should have done more research)

3) Raised my bids close to standard rates with no succes, and ended up booking directly.

4) This time. Same aoutcome as number 3)

I guess it does not always work. Sometimes I feel like it is too much work doing all the research and trying so hard just to end up booking directly.

Anyway, thank you very much for your help !

[44disney]

Perhaps better to now move to a different thread but fyi, I have continued to put in bids for Arlington 4* up to $130 for 10/15 to 10/19 (two rooms, which could impact). No luck. The PRICELINE "average" has continued to trail down to $205. The Arlington Hyatt has been added as a 4* (I thought it was still 3.5*) and has trailed down to just over $200. The Westin is on HOTWIRE for 172.

Westin in Alexandria is $139 on HOTWIRE.

Personally, I'd much rather Arlington or Dupont Circle over White House area but that's just me.

All of this makes me think waiting likely brings a rate somewhere between 110 and 170... just a guess. I'll continue to post here or somewhere else as it develops.

[austin_res]

What I did in the end is I booked a 4* hotel I liked for $269.00, by calling directly the front desk (they gave me a 20% discount off their lowes raate).

If your reservation can be canceled without penalty, you may continue bidding on priceline up to the cancel deadline, to see if you could get a cheaper rate.

[thereuare]

3) Raised my bids close to standard rates with no succes, and ended up booking directly.

4) This time. Same aoutcome as number 3)

There is still a fairly wide gap between $269 (your current reservation) and $180 (where you stopped your bidding)... perhaps you're not giving yourself enough of a chance to be successful.

What hotel did you end up booking direct?

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

[jhopm]

There is still a fairly wide gap between $269 (your current reservation) and $180 (where you stopped your bidding)... perhaps you're not giving yourself enough of a chance to be successful.

What hotel did you end up booking direct?

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

I ended up booking the Donovan House for $269. This is a 4* hotel I like, which I think is better than to keep trying for a 3.5* above $180, and risk getting a hotel I dont like so much for almost the same .

Anyway, I will try again soon since my reservation can be canceled 24 hrs in advance.

Will let you know what happened.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the follow-up and for keeping us updated. The Donovan House is $249 via Expedia; please use the site's Expedia.com link if you decide to book via that service (although I would read the fine print regarding cancellation policy on Expedia for that particular property.)

[jhopm]

Thank you for the follow-up and for keeping us updated. The Donovan House is $249 via Expedia; please use the site's Expedia.com link if you decide to book via that service (although I would read the fine print regarding cancellation policy on Expedia for that particular property.)

I just checked on Expedia for Oct/11 - Oct/15 and Donovan House is $374, not $249.

Tried Priceline again today, $90 to $120 for a 3.5* and got rejected. I read on this post that someone that had been trying for months just succeeded, at very low rates, for symilar dates, so I thought it might work for me, evet at lower rates than I tried before. No luck. I Plan to try again tomorrow and bid a bit higher.

[GPS]

I just wanted to let you know that I just tried bidding 3.5* in this area for 10/12-10/15 and I went up to $155 with no success. The Expedia prices for these dates are around $290 so I was disappointed but not surprised.

[thereuare]

Are you only bidding the White House zone? At the moment i think you may be successful if you bid up towards ~$185 (if you try for a 4* first and then a 3.5*) You may also find success in the Dupont Circle zone at the 3.5* level for about the same bid amounts.

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

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.