Hotwire Hotel: 3* Buffalo-Niagara Falls (Buffalo-Amherst) Hotel Indigo

[Shameless]

Bare with me, I'm a newbie... but as I acquire knowledge I hope to pay it forward.

I've stayed at the Indigo before in Amherst and my fiance would really like to go back. I notice there are two 3.5 star hotels in Amherst. People will typically pay $60/night for the Marriott, and I see $72 and $79 for the Indigo.

If I bid too low, will I automatically default to the Marriott? And... priceline or hotwire. Hotwire right?

Thanks so much for your help!!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

There is no way to ensure a particular property with HOTWIRE or PRICELINE. When using PRICELINE, there is no way to know exactly which property may appear when bidding, and bidding more just to get a particular property could very likely result in an overbid for the hotel you would have got had you paid less.

HOTWIRE offers a set of listings for your particular dates, but there is only one listing at each star level for each set of dates; the hotel you are looking for may not be the hotel showing.

What are your date/s of travel?

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

[Shameless]

Ok, so the amenities don't show up ahead of time before i bid... which would let me know which hotel it would be if I understand you correctly.

I'm looking to stay 12/25-->12/27

Thanks again

[AaronJB]

With PRICELINE you bid on a particular star rating in an area (for example, 4* in Midtown East in NYC.) You could possibly get any of the 4*'s in that zone - there's no way to know or increase the odds of a particular property (it's a roll of the dice.)

With HOTWIRE, you are shown a series of listings, each of which shows a set of amenities. However, there is no guarantee that the listing you want may be showing for your dates.

If you search on HOTWIRE for Amherst, NY for 2 adults and 2 children for your dates, there is a listing with shuttle, smoke-free, pool, fitness, internet. While there is always the risk that this may be a different hotel with a new amenity set not yet reported to the board, that was the amenity set last reported with the Indigo, so that would be my guess in this case.

Additionally, this listing only appears when searching for 2 adults/2 children, a different listing shows when only searching for 2.

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

[Shameless]

The rate I got through Hotwire was $72 nightly.

I bid on Priceline for $55 and didn't receive it. Hopefully I got this right: I can continue bidding upwards without changing my search to include Buffalo Airport (Marriott) as long as I wait a day between bids?

That potentially should catch me the Indigo as it's the only 3 (or 3.5?) star hotel in Amherst... I think.

[thereuare]

Hopefully I got this right: I can continue bidding upwards without changing my search to include Buffalo Airport (Marriott) as long as I wait a day between bids?

Let's back up a moment...

You can only make the same exact bid every 24 hours, so if you're willing to wait 24 hours, why would you be adding the Airport zone? The airport zone DOES have 3* rated hotels so if you're bidding at the 3* level i wouldn't add this zone unless you're willing to stay there.

That potentially should catch me the Indigo as it's the only 3 (or 3.5?) star hotel in Amherst... I think.

Again, i'm not following... from the Priceline Hotel List there are other hotels besides the Indigo at the 3* and 3.5* levels (you even mention the Marriott in your first post above) so how do you intend to target the Indigo for your bidding?

The HOTWIRE hotel believed to be the Hotel Indigo is priced at $65/nite... is it worth less than an extra $10/nite to have an increased probability of landing the hotel you're trying to target?

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

[Shameless]

I said without changing my search to add the airport zone. So I'll wait until tomorrow. In regards to HOTWIRE showing it at $65 a night, I only see it offered for $72. Maybe I'm not seeing what you are? I am searching Amherst, NY.

Okay, so my mistake was instead of using the PRICELINE Hotel list, I just tried searching what was frequently coming up in Buffalo and going back several pages.

I think I would be able to target either the Marriott or the Indigo only if I use the 3.5 star level in Amherst. Which makes it 50/50...? Am I wrong? heh, Thank you for your continued help.

[Shameless]

Crap. It looks like PRICELINE regards Indigo as 3 stars, although Expedia says its 3.5 so I won't be able to single it out 3.5 star in Amherst. Oh well, I'll chalk it up to a complication of pleasing the fiance.

[AaronJB]

Prices may vary slightly-to-somewhat from user-to-user on HOTWIRE, but if that listing is showing and is the Indigo, it would be a nice discount over regular rate. With PRICELINE, it's a roll of the dice - there is no way of knowing exact "odds" of a particular property.

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

[thereuare]

If you enter "Buffalo Amherst" (without the quotes) in the QUICK SEARCH box in the blue banner at the top of the page you can see all related posts for this area and you'll see that the Marriott is won much more frequently of late than the Indigo... not necessarily indicative of what you will win for these particular dates, but gives you a sense of the frequency of each.

For a reasonable/decent chance at the Indigo, what would be your maximum budget for this stay?

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

[Shameless]

For a reasonable/decent chance at the Indigo, I'd pay $70. Any more and I may as well stay at the Marriott. I'll bid $65 and see if that works.

[Shameless]

Bam!

Hotel Indigo Buffalo - Amherst 3 Star

Buffalo - Amherst

10 Flint Road

Amherst, New York 14226

716-689-4414

See Hotel Website

View Map and Directions Check-In Date:

Sat, Dec 25, 2010 / After 03:00 PM

Check-Out Date:

Mon, Dec 27, 2010 / 12:00 PM

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $65.00

Subtotal: $130.00

Taxes & Fees: $28.98

Total Charges*: $158.98

[Shameless]

Amazing. So I searched for Amherst, 3 stars and bid $65 and got it.

Aaron and thereuare, thank you both for your help and patience. Is there anywhere else I should post this information to help others?

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received the hotel you were hoping for and at a nice rate for these dates too!

No need to post elsewhere, we've edited the topic title of this thread to reflect your win and now others can follow the events and decisions which led to your eventual win.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.