Priceline Hotel: 3.5* DC (Bethesda) Doubletree

[aagmbh]

I am planning to visit D.C. from May 31 - June 9, paying no more than 120/night.

The areas which I am considering are:

• Crystal City
  
• Arlington
  
• White House/ Capitol Hill
  
• Georgetown/ Foggy Bottom
  

What would be a reasonable starting bid, and is there any difference in bid acceptance between Priceline and Hotwire?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help,

A first time bidder and betterbidding.com user.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

There is no bidding on HOTWIRE, their service shows the price and amenities, but not the hotel name. However, you can often take a guess as to the property offered based upon the amenities shown before your purchase (or you can avoid a hotel you're hoping not to receive... if a hotel you don't want to stay at doesn't have a pool, you can 'safely' purchase any HOTWIRE offer which shows a Pool icon and know that it's not the hotel you're trying to avoid). With PRICELINE you place a bid but can't guess/target any hotel, you have to be willing to accept any hotel in the zone that you choose. For more info on the similarities and differences between each service see this thread: I've Never Used Priceline or Hotwire.

For your stay above, what is your desired star rating? Not sure of the purpose of this trip, but if this is as a 'tourist trip' are you sure that Crystal City and Arlington will provide easy enough access to the Metro for you?

Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.

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

[aagmbh]

I am looking at 3 - 4 star hotels, however I am mainly concerned with the sanitation of the room, not it's amenities.

The "main" purpose of the trip is to attend a relatives graduation, and do some educational sightseeing (Smithsonian, Mt. Vernon, White House, etc...).

Crystal City and Arlington were only suggested based on their close proximity to the National Mall, however I am open to suggestions to any other areas not listed above. Also being that this will be my first trip to DC, I am thankful that I found this forum.

Thanks again for your response! :)

[thereuare]

I am mainly concerned with the sanitation of the room, not it's amenities.

In theory all rooms should be sanitary, but you are buying an opaque product, so it's often thought to reach for the highest star rating you can to improve your chances of not receiving something less than satisfactory, but disappointments can happen at any star level.

If you want a bit more control over the hotel you receive you may want to consider HOTWIRE where you can often take an educated guess as to the property you may receive based upon upon the amenities shown before your purchase. As well, for many properties HOTWIRE will also show a breakdown of how previous guests rated the property (one aspect is 'Room cleanliness') as well as a Tripadvisor rating... these aren't the "end all be all" but they can add some insight as to whether most users are typically satisfied with the property or not.

The trade-off is that HOTWIRE is usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, so it's up to you as far as what is most important to you for this stay.

HOTWIRE does have a 4.5* hotel for just $136/nite which i'm guessing is the Madison Loews in the Dupont Circle zone... although a touch over your budget, would this be a property you're interested in? (this is a bit of an 'outlier' in the sense that it's priced less than many lower star rated properties). Tripadvisor reviews are a bit mixed, but you also have to consider that many may be paying full price and expect more... HOTWIRE customers seem pretty happy with the hotel so perhaps it provides a good value but not up to the expectations of those paying full price.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

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

[aagmbh]

$136/night is a great price, however my budget is limited to strictly $120/night max. After doing some research, and reading a few other posts, I would like to go with PRICELINE.

Considering this, are there any suggested methods/tricks on bidding with PRICELINE, or do I just start with a low price and high star rating, and work my way down from there?

Finally, what are Priceline's policies regarding decreasing/extending the length of a trip, and does the Metro operate on a per-ride fee, or day-pass?

Thanks

[thereuare]

Considering this, are there any suggested methods/tricks on bidding with PRICELINE, or do I just start with a low price and high star rating, and work my way down from there?

Please confirm the zone(s) you're willing to accept and also let us know if you're willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel OR if your goal is the least expensive 3* or better for this stay... we'll then suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Finally, what are Priceline's policies regarding decreasing/extending the length of a trip...

The ability to extend your stay may be given after you win a hotel room, but you can only extend the stay for up to the same number of nites as your original purchase. Therefore you can't for instance purchase one nite and then try to extend the stay for an additional 8 nites. Also, even when offered, there are no guarantees that you'll be able to extend the stay... PRICELINE may come back and let you know that no inventory is available for the additional nite(s) and/or that a room is available but only at a higher rate then your previous purchase (at which point you'll be given the opportunity to accept or reject the higher rate)

Are your dates currently firm?

..and does the Metro operate on a per-ride fee, or day-pass?

Unless a new unlimited fare card has been introduced, it's per ride and the fare is based upon the length of the trip.

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

[aagmbh]

Please confirm the zone(s) you're willing to accept and also let us know if you're willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel OR if your goal is the least expensive 3* or better for this stay... we'll then suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Are your dates currently firm?

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

The zones which I am willing to accept are:

• Convention Center
  
• Dupont Circle
  
• Georgetown Foggy Bottom
  
• Georgetown North
  
• White House
  

Also the goal is the least expensive 3* or better hotel (a dollar saved is a dollar earned :) ).

Yes the travel dates are firm, the question was just for future reference.

[thereuare]

So to confirm a 3* or better hotel with a maximum bid of $120 in any of the following zones:

* Convention Center

* Dupont Circle

* Georgetown Foggy Bottom

* Georgetown North

* White House

Assuming we have that correct you can bid as follows:

At the 3* level you have ONE re-bid zone. 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.

Select 3* Convention Center and Dupont Circle and GT-Foggy Bottom...

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

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* GT-North and White House...

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

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* GT-North and Dupont Circle and GT-Foggy Bottom...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Convention Center and White House...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* White House and Dupont Circle and GT-Foggy Bottom...

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

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* GT-North and Convention Center...

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

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Convention Center and Dupont Circle and GT-Foggy Bottom and White House...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Convention Center and Dupont Circle and GT-Foggy Bottom and GT-North

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Convention Center and Dupont Circle and GT-Foggy Bottom and White House and GT-North...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120

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.

[aagmbh]

So to confirm a 3* or better hotel with a maximum bid of $120 in any of the following zones:

* Convention Center

* Dupont Circle

* Georgetown Foggy Bottom

* Georgetown North

* White House

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

After much [rejected] bidding within my price range, I was able to score the 3.5* Double Tree in Bethesda, for only $77/night through Expedia.

Unfortunately the hotel is a little farther out than I had wanted, but at least there is a Metro. :)

Thanks again for all of your help!

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Very nice deal for this Doubletree property. Definitely be sure to grab Doubletree cookies at check-in.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.