Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Los Angeles (Burbank-Universal City-Glendale) Best Western E.R.

[Roythe13th]

So for the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to get a winning bid on PRICELINE for the central LA area. I've been using Priceline for hotels for about 5 years now and my track record has been great on getting a good deal for a hotel in various major cities across the country (including good deals in LA before). Usually a 3* with about 50%-65% off the going rack rate. I've always supported Pric.eline because it has made it possible for me to travel much more than I ever thought I could.

Recently I was given an Entertainment Book with the PRICELINE 10 dollars off coupon. I was pretty excited because I was planning for my upcoming LA trip and thought I could get an even better deal than normal. I will be in LA area almost 2 weeks but wanted to use the discount for my 10/5 - 10/10/2010 leg of my trip. I was bidding up to $80 ($70 plus the $10 ent. rate coupon) and being denied a win for a 3* and up hotel in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills/W Hollywood, Brentwood/Westwood & Hollywood almost everyday for most of September. Since I was going to be spending a lot of time in Burbank/Griffith Park area/Universal City, I started bidding on hotels in this area this week thinking I would get the Glendale Hilton for that rate. No dice. Dropped down to a 3* in the area and bid $65 + $10 ent. rate and no win. I couldn't believe it! So in a regrettable move of desperation, I dropped to 2.5* and only dropped down to $62 (plus $10 coupon) and won the Best Western Eagle Rock Inn for the winning bid of $72.

So winning bid of $72 but paying $62. $62.00 x 5 = $310.00 plus $57.00 taxes = $367.00 total paid. The rack rate for this property is $97 for this stay and sites like hotel.com and even PRICELINE itself offer the property for $83. Not exactly an amazing deal but I will admit I should have started lower at this star rating.

But I've been reading this board for LA PRICELINE wins for weeks now. It seems the majority of people are getting the best deals at almost literally the last minute. I'm leaving in one week and wanted to have everything settled before leaving but even less than 2 weeks before my dates still wasn't close enough for a good deal. Winning bids for late September/early October for the same property can vary greatly according to posts here. So is the game changing for PRICELINE, at least in LA? I've got great deals in LA 2 months in advance before, even for this same time period. Is there any events going on making this time period difficult this year? Is the $10 off Entertainment Book coupon causing the problem for some reason? Or maybe 5 days is too long for a good deal in LA right now?

I'm just brainstorming here. I've never had such a hard time getting a winning bid on PRICELINE before. And since I come to LA once or twice a year, I'm just wanting to understand the dynamics more. The hotel I won doesn't seem so bad. Reviews mostly seem to indicate the property is somewhat outdated but clean and free parking and fridge help a lot. Also paying ten bucks less a night than the winning bid helps too but still stings compared to my past PRICELINE successes.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

As far as when to bid see the related 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

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

NOTE: you can still use our PRICELINE link along with your bonus money as follows:

1) click our link to PRICELINE and let the page fully load

2) at the top of the page go to MY PROFILE >> MY REWARDS

3) use the bonus money link found in the MY REWARDS section of your profile (and not the link in any emails sent to you)

Enjoy your stay.