Priceline Hotel: 5* Sydney (City Centre) Marriott

[gbs]

I have successfully bid $95 for a 5* in Sydney on May 5. Now I have been trying for several days to book same from May 10 -14, going up to $108 on both Priceline us and Priceline hk. D oes anyone have any advice for me? thank you

[Logo]

Which hotel did you get for May 5? Was $95 your first bid or did you have to increase to that level. Re your subsequent bids, what increments did you use to get to $108? How do you bid on the priceline uk site? We'll be in Sydney in October and would love help with bidding. Thanks!

[gbs]

I got the Sydney Harbor Marriott. There is only one 5* to bid on, so $95 was my first and only bid on the US site. The other bids were on the Hong Kong site, where I went up to $900 hk. There you can keep bidding as long as it is $50 hk over your previous bid. This time I am not having any luck with any site. The $108 is about $900 hk.

[thereuare]

Please post the details of your previous win as a NEW TOPIC so that other can see it by scanning the board and it won't be "burried" in this thread which will ultimately have a different title once a hotel is reported.

Thanks.

[Logo]

Thanks for the info, gbs. One more query: If you bid on the priceline Hong Kong site, do you get billed in Hong Kong dollars & then pay an additional conversion fee on your credit card? Good luck on your additional bidding!

[Chris26WI]

Yeah, bids on PL HK site are charged in HK$, on SG site in SG$ and on TW site in NT$. Depending on your card issuer, you will be charged a fee for that.

[gbs]

I have kept trying to book through Priceline, going up to 105 on US sites. Any advice from anyone?

[thereuare]

Rates are not any higher than your other accepted bids... have you tried splitting this bid?

[gbs]

I've never split a bid before. What is the best way to go about this? I am also having trouble getting a room for just 1 night on the 15th. Is this a really busy time there?

[thereuare]

As per your first post in this thread, I thought this stay was for 5/10-5/14?

[gbs]

Yes, it is for the 10th-14, but I also have been trying to get a room on the 15th additionally.

[thereuare]

Please keep separate threads for your different dates as you can see the confusion that results.

So do you not have a hotel yet for 5/10-5/16?

[gbs]

No, I do not have a room for the 10th-14th, nor for the 15th. We do not need one for the night of the 14th, just the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th, and again for the 15th.

[thereuare]

So let's keep this thread going for 5/10-5/14 and please start a NEW THREAD for the nite of 5/15.

For the 5/10-5/14 i had asked if you considered splitting the bid which you had never done before, it is explained in more detail in this post: SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID. Please give it a read and then ask any questions that you may have.

[gbs]

OK, read it. At what point do you think I should split my bid. And how much do you think I should be bidding given that the usual rates I have been seeing for 5* in Sydney range from about $95 to $105, yet I've bid slightly higher with no luck.

[thereuare]

It depends how opposed you are to changing hotels during your stay... some will do it to save $5 while others would never split thei stay regardless of the savings involved (although the porpose of you trying would be to be getting partial success of your stay). I noticed that rates are not particularly high for your dates, so i suggested splitting the bid in case their is one day out of the four which (for whatever reason) don't have 'opaque' rates loaded into the system.

Once inside of two weeks (or if you're that opposed to changing hotels during your stay you can try on your next attempt) i would follow the same bids you have been making, using the follow dates in this order:

5/10-5/14

5/10-5/13

5/11-5/14

5/10-5/12

5/12-5/14

If you have success with any of the above dates stop and report back.

[gbs]

Got Sydney Marriott for $105 for 5-10 - 5-14. Paid more for this than Sydney Harbor, but it turned out to be perfect since our daughter and friend stayed with us 2 nights. Had 2 queen beds, a refrigerator and microwave. The location was great for walking to many different areas.