Priceline Hotel: 3* Anchorage Hilton

[travelRN]

I bid on Priceline for a one night stay in Anchorage with a check-in on June 3rd. The first time I bid $80 for a 3 * and was denied. I bid again, $90 and lowering to a 2 1/2 star. My offer was accepted, and I was upgraded to a 3 star! We will be staying at the Hilton Downtown.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

This worked out well for you since you were upgraded to the 3*, but it's usually recommended to LOWER YOUR BID IF YOU LOWER YOUR STAR RATING.

Any questions regarding the above feel free to ask.

Thanks again for posting and enjoy your stay.

[travelRN]

I wanted to raise my bid for a 3 star, but I didn't have the patience to wait. I decided to raise my bid anyway, with the hopes that I would score a 3 star at that rate. It was risky, I know, but it worked!

[b8tzm]

I have never had an upgrade did you ask? If not when were you informed etc Curious. Thx

[travelRN]

Actually, I think I have been upgraded every time I've used Priceline. I'm not sure why or how it works; maybe someone else here has the answer. In this case, for example, I bid on a 2 1/2 star hotel. Whenever the screen appeared that said something to the effect of, "Congratulations, your bid has been accepted." It also said, "You have been automatically upgraded to a 3 star." This has happened nearly, if not all, of the times I have bid. I usually get a hotel at the next star level. I'm assuming this is common, since my friends that use Priceline have this happen to them often, too.

[thereuare]

I think two different types of upgrades are being discussed in this thread:

b8tzm: upgrades at the hotel (concierge level, high floor, view, etc) are done at check-in and are at the discretion of the hotel

travelRN: upgrades thru priceline are done according to a hierarchy system. If you (for example) bid $40 for a 2* hotel, Priceline will begin at the top and check for a 5* hotel at that price, then check for a 4* hotel at that price, then a 3*, then a 2.5*, then a 2*... if they find a 3* hotel for that price, the system just stops checking and you get the 3* hotel (ie- it never needs to look for a 2.5* or a 2* since it already met success for your reqeust for a minimum 2* level hotel)

Hope that clears things up a bit.