Priceline Hotel: Bidding Strategy: Does Accepted Price Change Often

[gotthere]

Is there any way to tell exactly when the 24 hour waiting period is over? I placed some bids last night and it was late and I don't remember the exact time. I am assuming that the 24 hour clock starts at the time that the last bid that was not accepted was submitted. I did get an email from Priceline that said at the top: "As you recently reviewed on priceline.com, your offer for a hotel in Los Angeles - San Fernando Valley, was unsuccessful. Listed below is information pertaining to your offer and tips for successful bidding. Please review these tips and try your offer again." Below that my bid history is shown as well as "Tips for Successful Bidding." This email was sent to me at 11:14 PM. Can I assume that the 24 hour clock starts at that time and that I can rebid at 11:15 PM the next day?

I think that Priceline should place the 24 hour rebid time limit in the bid history email. Today, I sent the following message to Priceline customer service:

Thank you for sending my bid history to me by email for my Name Your Own Price bid that wasn't accepted. Please consider adding a rebid time to that message. It is not clear to me as to the exact time that I submitted my bid yesterday so I don

[gotthere]

As noted above, at the 4* level you have FIVE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 4* Burbank-Universal City-Glendale...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Burbank-Universal City-Glendale and re-bid zone5...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $93, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $98, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $100

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I'm hoping to get a reservation at the Glendale Hilton. Since this is the only 4* in multiple zones, I have several opportunities as thereuare discusses above. After reading successful bid posts, I see that there have been several successful bids for $65 for this property. On 10/4/10 I bid for a stay next week. My first bid was $60 and rejected, I added a zone and bid $65 and was rejected, I added a zone and bid $68 and was rejected, I added a zone and bid $69 and was rejected. I know that you will smile at my bargain hunting when you see that I could have continued to bid but stopped for not wanting to add another few dollars more. :) I know that if I continue to bid higher, I will get this property so that is not my question.

Does the "Accepted Price" using "Name Your Own Price" change on a regular basis on Priceline. If I wait 24 hours and then bid the same amounts as above over multiple days, is there a chance that one of these bids will be accepted over the next week?

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread. To cover your questions/issues above...

Is there any way to tell exactly when the 24 hour waiting period is over?

The time stamp on the email of your last rejected bid is a good start, but you can also try checking in the MY PROFILE>>MY TRIPS link at the top right corner of PRICELINE's home page.. the bid time may be there as well. However, if i recall correctly, the time stamp is the time of your first bid, so if you continued the same session by adding re-bid zones, the time stamp may not reflect your subsequent bids. There's really no need to cut it so close anyway... just wait 30-60 from the time on the email.

Does the "Accepted Price" using "Name Your Own Price" change on a regular basis on Priceline. If I wait 24 hours and then bid the same amounts as above over multiple days, is there a chance that one of these bids will be accepted over the next week?

Hotels change prices all the time based upon changes in occupancy levels for your particular dates, also taking into consideration the amount of time left for them to sell the room. However, keep in mind that occupancy levels for a stay 9 months out may not change that much from one day to the next, so the chances of a rejected bid being accepted the following day are slim... whereas if your stay is a few weeks away the odds would be greater, but still low given the recent rejection. You also need to keep in mind that when time before check-in is short the opposite can play out... while you continue to lowball bid and wait for rates to drop, the hotel can begin to fill their rooms and you can see rates suddenly increase without warning.

What are the dates of your stay?

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

[gotthere]

Thank you for your quick reply. I will be staying from 10/11/10 and checking out on 10/14/10. I appreciate your information about the risks and opportunities while bidding and I'll have to decide on how to adjust my bidding strategy. I'll post my win, once I get it.