Priceline Hotel: 3.5* New Orleans (French Quarter) Astor Crowne Plaza

[Craig D]

I am organizing a bachelor party and need to book 5 rooms for the three nights. Ideally, it would be a nicer hotel so I figured I'd choose only 4*. I'd like to keep it under $100/night/room if possible.

A few questions/thoughts:

- Does the number of rooms help or hurt me in the bidding process? Should I get a better deal than normal?

- I wouldn't mind downtown location as long as they are close to the French Quarter. It looks like all of the 4* Downtown locations are close except for Maison Perrier Bed & Breakfast. I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

- I read the bidding strategy guide and since the French Quarter and Downtown are the only locations with 4*, I'm pretty sure I can keep adding new areas without the risk of being in a bad location. Is this true? Is it OK to use the Priceline search or are there more hotels that are in the "Name Your Bid" section?

What is the best strategy to ensure that I have a decent hotel in a good location?

Thanks in advance!

[thereuare]

Welome to BetterBidding!

Does the number of rooms help or hurt me in the bidding process? Should I get a better deal than normal?

Most of the time it's a non-factor, but if it bidding for multiple rooms does have an effect, it's to the downside.

I wouldn't mind downtown location as long as they are close to the French Quarter. It looks like all of the 4* Downtown locations are close except for Maison Perrier Bed & Breakfast. I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

If there is a section of the zone you don't want to bid in... then don't bid that zone!!! As well, the 'retail' section of PRICELINE and the 'name your own price' section each use a different universe of hotels as well as different names/boundaries for the zones, so you can't use the retail listings to determine what you will get when bidding.

I read the bidding strategy guide and since the French Quarter and Downtown are the only locations with 4*, I'm pretty sure I can keep adding new areas without the risk of being in a bad location. Is this true? Is it OK to use the Priceline search or are there more hotels that are in the "Name Your Bid" section?

There are other zones which contain 4* hotels besides the French Quarter and Downtown. The correct, and only, way to determine your re-bid zones is outlined in this thread: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

Let's start with the re-bidding, please read the previous thread and confirm your re-bid zones with the board, or if you're confused post back and we'll break it down further for you. From there we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[Craig D]

My bad. I read the rebidding thread but really didn't "get it" until I read it again. Sorry to waste your time.

After looking again, I see that the zones with 4* are:

- French Quarter

- Convention Center and Warehouse - Arts District

- Downtown New Orleans

This leaves 5 other zones that do not have 4*

Using one of your bidding strategies posted before, I will do the following:

Select 4* French Quarter...

Bid $, if rejected add re-bid zone that does not have a 4* in it, such as Metarie

Bid +$5, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid +$5, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid +$5, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid +$5, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Now, the question is what to bid? I'll probably start at $80 to see what happens. Is this too high?

[Craig D]

I just did the rebidding trick and went all the way up to $125/night and I still got rejected

I really don't want to pay much more than $135 or so, so I was thinking that I would try the downtown section and start over. The prices in Downtown seem to be less, so I can start lower again.

Any thoughts?

[Craig D]

Ok. I just included Downtown and bid all the way up to $105 with no luck.

This doesn't make sense...no major events that weekend, it's a Saints bye week, etc. Not sure what is going on.

I'll probably add 3.5* places and see if I have luck.

[thereuare]

I think you have a decent chance if you're willing to go up to $125-$130 in the downtown zone.

... or you can lower your star rating if you choose to do so. (but remember that if you lower your star rating you now only have THREE re-bid zones... not the FOUR you previously used)

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

[Craig D]

Finally got a bid accepted!

I went all the way up to $150/night for 4* in both downtown and french quarter, with no success.

Started Rebidding for 3.5* in French Quarter and got accepted for $125/night from 11/11/10-11/14/10

Astor Crowne Plaza

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Sorry you weren't able to get the 4* you were originally seeking, but glad you were able to get a 3.5* hotel in your preferred French Quarter zone.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.