Priceline Hotel: 9/24-9/27 Millenium Loop/NMA... cannot get accepted

[lam29]

i've been trying for rooms in the millenium mag mile and north mich avenue area and have gone up to $120... 3* and up.

i'm now just getting kicked out for duplicates.

i see on here that people are getting 4* hotels way cheaper than i'm bidding... although not the same weekends... it's still frustrating.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Rates do vary by dates, and these particular dates are unfortunately more expensive. A few thoughts:

1. I'm seeing 4*'s on HOTWIRE for around the same rates as 3*'s. While 3*'s will still likely require a smaller bid than a 4*, I'm not sure if the spread between the likely wins for each category is going to be that vast, based upon the rates I'm seeing.

2. What would be your desired max budget per night?

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

[lam29]

i am trying to stay under 120 a night before tax... for anything 3* or up in those areas.

is this impossible?

priceline says that the average retail prices are 198 and that priceline rates are usually 50% off... i feel like i'm being pretty generous with my bids.. haha

[lam29]

how do i know exactly what time i submitted my last request?

[thereuare]

Few points...

You can check the time of your last bid by going to the MY PROFILE>>MY TRIPS link on the top right corner of PRICELINE's home page (as your accepted and rejected bids will both be listed there).

A $120 bid will be close for this stay, but may fall short by a few dollars (i think $135-$150 may ultimately be what's needed if prices remain the same as where they currently are)

Furthermore, the 'retail' prices often shown by PRICELINE are not that meaningful as they are often not accurate. Even if the price you quote above is accurate, the 50% off is not constant at all price levels. For example, if demand is very high and the hotel has few rooms left, you could see a hotel raise their 'retail' rate to $400... it would not be reasonable to expect a 50% discount from this price (even though the price is much higher and there is more margin in it for the hotel) since they only have a handful of rooms available. In such a situation the hotel may feel they can sell the rooms on their own and not offer any inventory to the opaque suppliers (or what they do offer may not be discounted by much)

Please confirm... you have already bid up to $120 at the 3* level in both the Loop and NMA zones? If you want to continue to try at a $120 maximum bid, are you willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel OR is your goal the least expensive 3* or better (ie- did you want to bid up to your limit at the 4* level, then if rejected try up to your limit at the 3.5* level, and then repeat at the 3* level... or try for a 3* or better from the start)

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

Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.