Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (Millennium Park-Loop-Grant Park) Hilton

[julieg77]

Hi, I am new to priceline but I have done a lot of research on this site prior to posting. I need a Chicago hotel room for Thurs Nov 18th, preferably in the millennium grant park area. All of the 4* hotels are acceptable, however, I prefer not to have the Chicago Hilton Towers but I know I can't control that.

I looked at the handy calendar and saw that someone had gotten the hyatt regency for $62, on my date, which would be ideal. I just bid (using your link :) $64 for four star, millennium park area and got denied. Does that mean that the Hyatt Regency most likely does not have any more available priceline rooms for my date since my price had been accepted already by someone else? Could I place the same bid tomorrow and it get accepted or does it usually mean no more area available? How does that generally work? I saw another hotel in a different area (Intercontinel hotel) for $90 won on the December calendar, would I be better off to try that since that hotel has not been purchased yet on my preferred date?

any tips would be great. thanks in advance!

[Romelle]

Julie,

I'm just a member, not a moderator, but will try to answer your questions so you can keep going.

For starters, the hotels can give/take away rooms to/from Priceline inventory at any time, so things vary a lot. The hotels can also raise or lower the acceptable winning rate. On the Hyatt web site the hotel shows availability for your date. This is a good sign that there can be rooms available on PL. The prior bidder didn't necessarily take the last room possible.

You can place exactly the same bid, a higher bid, or even a lower bid, tomorrow.

You need to expand your education a little though.

Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

for an explanation of "free rebids". Chicago works particularly well for this technique when you are bidding the higher star levels. This technique will let you make several bids all on the same day. For example, you could bid that $62 you someone win with, then if that didn't work you could work on up - $64, $66, ...

After you've read the area you may well have some further questions. Do post back with them. It is an interesting concept and not immediately obvious.

I don't see any point in bidding that $90 when some intermediate number very likely will work.

Romelle

PS - your post really should have been in the Illinois-Priceline area in the Chicago sub-section but I'm sure one of the moderators will find it here and move it to where it belongs. They are remarkably good sports about that sort of thing. And this board stays quite orderly because of their continual tidying.

[julieg77]

Thanks Romelle! I tried to go to the link, but it says an error occured - seems to be a broken link. I wondered about posting on Chicago PRICELINE instead but when I went to that forum, it seems every post was dedicated to a win/fail, so I wasnt sure if discussion was allowed. thanks for the heads up! Let me know if you can find another link that works. thanks!

julie

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Rates are date-specific, so a bid won in December or another, different date does not reflect what may be required for a winning bid for your dates (as rates in a larger market like Chicago can vary substantially from one day to the next.) Additionally, if you are only bidding for 11/18 and someone won a bid for 11/18-21, your required bid may be different, as well.

Rates are not particularly high for these dates (as is usual for the week or so before Thanksgiving), but unfortunately, if $64 was not accepted, then rates for this day in particular are higher at the moment. Rates at this price point may be available at some point between now and your trip, but there is no way to know that for sure, and waiting until the last minute does present some risk (not quite as much as usual during this period, but still some.)

Are you primarily interested in the Millennium Park-Loop-Grant Park area, or would the River North-NMA area also be acceptable? While Chicago is not a big city and it's easy to get around, if you do need to be near a specific destination for an appointment/business or other reason, it is best to try to see if you can win a bid in that area first.

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.

[Romelle]

Julie - I checked that link I sent you earlier and it seems to be working for me? Maybe try it again if you haven't already found something else that works.

Or there is a working link to the rebidding explanation in Post # 11 Virginia-Priceline (3.5* DC (Dulles North-Herndon-Reston) Crowne Plaza Dulles, $45 ... 10/30/10-10/31/10).

You noted how all the titles in the Chicago-Priceline are consistent with bidding results. People initially post with any old title, but when their bid is successful the title of the whole thread is edited by the moderators to a consistent format. It makes it really nice to be able scan for something specific like x* and x-location. Of course you can also use the Quick Search up above (center) for cities, and the more general Search a little lower on the right hand side.

Aaronjb or another moderator can give you a very specific bidding plan if you respond to his queries.

Hope things work out well for you.

Romelle

[julieg77]

Thanks Romelle, I was able to find the info about rebidding by doing a search, but to be honest, it was way too confusing and I dont want to take a chance on getting the wrong star hotel, wrong area, etc., so I'm afraid I'll stick to the 24 hour wait. :)

Thanks Aaronjb for the helpful info, I did not take into consideration that the other bids on my date were for multiple days, that makes sense now. I really was hoping to get the hyatt because my husbands work parking garage is around the corner so we could park for free. That is the tricky part. I am 9 minutes away from being able to bid again! I will of course, use the links from this site to get to PRICELINE and will let you know how it goes!!! Thanks again!

[julieg77]

Okay...update...FAILED. I tried $66 and it failed. I'm trying for the Hyatt but I'll obviously take any of the 4* hotels in the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant park area but the only one I'm praying I dont get is the Hilton Towers because it is way too far off the beaten path.

I'm ready to "beat the system" and rebid if anyone has the patience to try and explain it to me. I've read a ton of posts on it, but I dont get the whole zone thing. Anyone feeling generous and patient? :)

PS... As far as budget, I'd like to get the Hyatt if I can do so economically. If not, as I mentioned earlier, I saw someone got the Intercontintal (different zone) for $90.. would love that, but would hate to get a different hotel. What happened to being able to cheat the system and "identify" the hotels before hand or is that hotwire? Thanks in advance

[thereuare]

Julie - I checked that link I sent you earlier and it seems to be working for me? Maybe try it again if you haven't already found something else that works.

It wasn't working yesterday but i edited/fixed it :)

I'm ready to "beat the system" and rebid if anyone has the patience to try and explain it to me. Anyone feeling generous and patient? :)

I'm game...

Start with the following:

1) Use the PRICELINE search box on the upper right of this page, enter Chicago and your dates, and click "GO".

2) List each zone that is offered in this region.

3) Next to each zone list the highest star rating offered in the zone. The way to determine the highest tar rating offered n the zone is by selecting the first zone i the list, then scrolling down to see the highest star rating selectable (ie- not greyed out). NEXT UNcheck the selected zone, place a checkmark in the next zone, and repeat the process for each zone in the region. Each time you take note of the highest star rating in the zone, make sure that only ONE zone is selected above.

4) post your findings and we'll take it from there

Thanks for using the PRICELINE links on the board for your bidding.

[Romelle]

Very funny. Thereuare was apparently typing as I was, but he types faster (probably thinks faster too). I found his post after I finished typing mine. In any case, you now have two explanations!!

Julie,

Below is "Free-Rebidding 101" for just Chicago:

Get into Priceline as if you were about to bid for a Chicago hotel. Check any one of the following areas and see what happens to the star level area below.

Franklin Park Area

Hyde Park

Lincoln Park

Midway Airport Area (MDW)

Skokie - Niles - Evanston

You will see some of the little circles go white, and some stay gray. The while ones mean that area has hotels available for bidding at that star level. (As an example, Hyde Park only has bidding available at the 1* and 2* levels.) Hit the check mark to un-check the area you checked, and check another one. You will find that NONE of the above areas have 4* OR HIGHER bidding available.

This means all of the above areas are currently available as "free rebids" for 4* Chicago hotels. If your first bid is not successful today, you can just add one of the above areas, increase your bid by maybe only $1, and bid again. No more waiting the 24 hours. And then if that doesn't work, you can add another of the free rebid areas, and so on .....

For the record, LOTS of people find the whole free-rebidding topic intimidating at first.

Romelle

There is of course Free-Rebidding 102, 103, .... but this will get your feet wet, and you will be ready to go deeper after you've had some experience at this level.

[julieg77]

Wow, guys, thanks! Ok... I think I understand. So, since I am bidding on a 4* hotel, i can safely check Hyde Park, Franklin Park and Lincoln park, Midway and Skokie because those zones do not offer 4* hotels, am i understanding that right? So i could check additionally Hyde park, bid a dollar more, and if rejected, check Franklin Park, and so on, down the line, right? It makes me nervous but I understand the logic now! Please confirm this is right? :)

[julieg77]

Okay guys... I did it! :) I added all safe zones one by one and kept increasing my bid but it still failed! My last bid was for $73 so I am guessing Hyatt is not an option or I think it would've accepted. The ones I've seen in the past are in the $60's. UGH. I will keep bidding tomorrow but I hope I dont get the hilton towers, its so far from off the beaten path. I tried to look at past calendar dates to see if anyone has gotten that hotel and if so, for how much so I can stay away from it and I can't find anything. Can anyone shed some light on the Hilton Towers/Priceline? I'd also take The Wit, which is showing as a 3.5 star hotel, but its really nice (4* in my opinion) but again, there are some 3.5* stars I wouldnt be very happy with. Maybe PRICELINE is not for me?

[AaronJB]

The issue with bidding 3.5* in the Millennium Loop Grant Park area is that you could get the Wit, but you could also get the Hotel Blake or Allegro, which would be - especially the Blake - pretty far away from where you need to be. If you bid 4* in the NMA-River North area, you could get the Intercontinental, but you could also get something at the far North end of the zone (the Drake or Knickerbocker.)

There is a 4* on HOTWIRE for $119 in the Mag Mile/Steeterville area w/fitness, business, restaurant and internet. That amenity set has been reported with the Hyatt, Westin RN, Hard Rock, Swiss and Sheraton. Any of those possibilities would be a very reasonable distance from the Hyatt. You could likely bid on the NMA-River North area or MP-Loop-GP areas for a 4* and get something at least moderately cheaper than that, but you risk winding up further from your destination than you would like.

Personally, I'd rather recommend the NMA-River North zone, as if you wind up further from the Hyatt than you would like, at least that area has a wider variety of restaurants and more is going on into the night, whereas the Loop can be very quiet at night, especially the South Loop.

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

[julieg77]

thanks AaronJB, i agree with everything you said and it was very helpful. My only question is you mention an "Amenity set" - what does that mean? I thought with PRICELINE you used to be able to pick your hotel based on amenties, so you could kind of figure out which one it was or wasn't - but that doesnt seem to be the case now. Did they change it? Is there any other way to pick a hotel based on its amenties? Perhaps that could help me figure out which one to bid on? TIA

[AaronJB]

The amenity set is the set of amenity icons showing with a HOTWIRE listing, such as the one mentioned. One can use the amenity icons to try to make an educated guess as to which listing is what on HOTWIRE; there is no way to try to ensure or increase the odds of a particular hotel on PRICELINE.

HOTWIRE is generally moderately more expensive than PRICELINE, but you can make an educated guess as to what's showing, whereas you cannot on the less expensive PRICELINE. It becomes a matter of what the risk is worth by using PRICELINE versus having a better (if not guaranteed) idea of the possibilities on HOTWIRE.

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

[julieg77]

Got it!!! Thanks for the clairification. I will try again tomorrow and let you guys know what I end up with.

[Romelle]

Julie,

Even if it didn't work, very nice job on stepping into that "free rebidding"!

Did you get any "counter-offer" along the way? A response to the effect that "....if you raise your bid right now by x$ ....". When you get these, always a better idea to stay with your original strategy. All they mean is that somewhere between where you are and the counter-offer is a winning bid. Sometimes just moving up $1 will do the job. Usually no more than 1/2 way there. But even with no counter-offer, the next bid could be the successful one.

If you opt to move on to the 3.5* PL bidding, you have to re-investigate which area is a free rebid, because I think some of the areas that didn't have 4*s, did have 3.5*s. In fact, it is not a bad idea to double check each day, since things can indeed change.

If you get into the Hotwire offerings, I'm sure you've noticed the HOTWIRE link in the upper left corner? Just making sure. When people link through this site AND have a successful bid, a tiny bit of revenue accrues to keep things in operation here. Along those lines, there are some other similar links under the "Support/Travel Links" tab.

And finally, hotels can give rooms to PRICELINE at the very last minute. One recommended technique is to make a cancelable reservation and then keep bidding up until the last minute, just in case you can score a better deal.

Romelle

[julieg77]

Thanks Romelle, I'm glad you gave me a heads up about the counter offer - that would have freaked me out! I'm going to stick with 4* and just keep bidding $1 more until someone accepts my offer. I'm not in a huge hurry and its not a huge deal, i just thought this would be a good opportunity to try priceline since we are a bit flexible. I do like your idea of securing something that I can cancel and then trying last minute but I think I'm too hooked now... I can't wait until tomorrow at 10am when I can try again, especially with my new rebid strategy thanks to the board! I will of course, use the link from the site, gotta support it. thanks again!

[julieg77]

Update... I rebid today, using the entire rebid technique... got up to $86... FAIL. I guess there is always tomorrow :)

[Romelle]

Julie,

Sorry it didn't work today.

Hotels can add rooms to the PL inventory at any point, and at any price level.

You might consider a slightly different technique tomorrow. Rather than increments of $1, use increments of $2. Start back at one of your lower numbers. You get to count on your fingers and figure this out exactly, but something like 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, and finally 87. This explores a higher level, but first checks for new additions at a lower level. Obviously, tons of variations on this, but I just wanted to get you thinking a tiny bit "out of the box". $3 increments covers more ground. ??

You still have plenty of time.

Romelle

[julieg77]

I love that idea!!! thanks so much! Will keep you posted!!!

[AaronJB]

Given the rates I'm seeing, I think I'd definitely recommend taking it fairly slow, as there are deals not too far overhead of where you've bid (HOTWIRE showing 4*'s at $119.) I have to imagine you're quite close to a win (probably in the $90-100 neighborhood) although sorry to hear that your bids today were not accepted.

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

[CMCWAG]

Hi Julie,

I am a Newbie too and this post has been REALLY helpful. I did the while rebid too the last couple of days. I am trying to book something similar 4* Millinum Park and I am hoping for the Hilton or Hyatt. Nov 2nd-5th. I have a reservation on hold $259! and that is the conference rate at the Hilton!

I have gone all the way to $125 and still nothing. I may try for that $119 on HOTWIRE they talked about and of course I will use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links!! :)

I am looking forward to how it all works out for you, I will post mine here as well.

Good Luck~

Colleen

[julieg77]

Good luck Colleen, I wonder if there is a conference going on during your dates?

An update... I'm up to $90 with no luck. I am surprised, my date is on a Thursday in November?? I did check and there is a conference with an estimated attendance of 27K... is that considered a big one? Also, question... is it true that if your offer is accepted, it will be accepted immediately and you won't have the long pause that you get when you are denied?

[Romelle]

Julie - Lots of theories on the response time. My personal one is that if you are somewhere close, PL bothers to check your credit card info and that causes the slower response time. It has seemed to me that things slow down before I actually get something.

On the other hand, the response time probably also has something to do with how many other people are trying things with PL at the same time, and maybe even with how many are trying a particular city.

I haven't seen a win come back really quickly. However, I'm not sure my experience is extensive enough to be statistically significant.

Romelle

[AaronJB]

I've seen response time vary, but I have noted the message "Please wait while we finalize your purchase" towards the end of the process of the service searching on the last few purchases.

A convention of 27K in Chicago is enough to give a bump up to prices if it is otherwise a busy period (holiday shopping), but it is usually not enough to really cause severe price rises. There are a few events/conventions in Chicago during the year where you if you search on Expedia there is absolutely nothing at all available downtown during those periods.

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