Priceline Hotel: Pls Help - 3* Marriott Airport and Convention Center (Burbank)

[caramia]

07/08/2011-07/09/2011 (1 night only, 1 room, 2 adults)

Advice on best chance to get this hotel? Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

You can't bid on a specific hotel when using PRICELINE, you have to be able to accept any hotel in the zone at the star level (or higher) that you choose. With HOTWIRE you can often take an educated guess as to what is being offered based upon the amenities associated with the property, but it's still a 'best guess' and no guarantees you will receive the hotel you're hoping for. As well, HOTWIRE only shows one hotel at each star level per zone, so there is a chance the hotel you're hoping for isn't the one which is offered for your particular dates.

Please read your messages and click these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links, then reply to this thread indicating how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[caramia]

I've been researching about Priceline and Hotwire and reading this forum for a while now. I know that I can't bid on any specific hotel but I have seen you guys give advice to people who wanted certain hotels and they ended up getting them. I was hoping you could do the same for me. I guess I am just a bit nervous (and excited too) because it will be my first time to try this. Anyway, I think I will just go ahead and give it a shot. Will update if successful or not. :) I will definitely be using this site's links. Thanks.

[thereuare]

Let us know how the bidding goes/went, or if you'd like help with a specific bidding strategy, let us know your maximum bid for this stay and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[caramia]

I've been trying for the last few days (I use the PRICELINE link here every time) but no luck so far. Started at $45 and went up to $55. From previous reports I know 3* hotels in this area have been booked for as low as $45. :/ I'll keep trying. Any advice would really help and would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!

[AaronJB]

Rates do vary by dates and unfortunately, if there's something going on in the area, rates will be higher and will require a higher bid. What would be your desired budget per night?

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

[Colfax]

Priceline usually beats Hotwire on rate, but Hotwire is a good barometer of what you might have to pay on Priceline.

Hotwire has these in Glendale-Burbank-Universal:

4* $128

3* $98

2.5* $74

Based on those HW rates $55 for 3* may be too low. $60 or $65 might work.

With almost two months before your trip you've got time if you want to keep trying lowball $45/$55 PRICELINE bids for a few more weeks, then start bidding higher. If you want to secure something now you'll probably have to reach a little higher.

[caramia]

AaronJB and Colfax, thank u for replying. Seeing as my stay will be on a weekend in summer, do you guys think it is a good idea to try to secure a room now (will try $60 range as suggested)? I'm worried the prices might only get higher or hotels might get fully booked as it is peak tourist season there in July, right?

[caramia]

2.5* Los Angeles (North Hollywood) ?, $79 ... 7/8/11-7/9/11

Please help ID this 2.5* hotel in North Hollywood, LA.

Amenities - Smoke-Free Rooms, Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, High-Speed Internet Access.

TripAdvisor Rating - 4.0

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

The HOTWIRE property above has not yet been reported to the board, but my guess would be the Best Western Burbank Airport.... Colfax knows this area well and perhaps he might have some additional insight/thoughts.

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

[caramia]

Noted. I thought that the Hotwire and Priceline posts needed to be separate since there are two separate boards for them. Sorry and thanks.

[thereuare]

All posts for the same stay go in the same thread (so that we can see what others options have already been considered and what else has been tried)... if/when a hotel is won/purchased it is then moved to the correct section of the board if necessary.

Hope that explains it better.

[Colfax]

I agree that Best Western Burbank Airport looks most likely. (And despite having Burbank in its name the BW is in Hotwire's North Hollywood zone, not the Burbank-Universal-Glendale zone.)

What are you looking for in this hotel stay, caramia? Is a location near Burbank most important? Or is low price more important, even if that means winning a hotel in Glendale or Universal?

You've only bid to $55 for a 3* on PRICELINE but you're looking at a HOTWIRE 2.5* for $79. I think it's likely you can win a 3* on Priceline for less than $79, but that 3* may not be in Burbank and it may not have free breakfast and free parking like the Best Western.

Seeing as my stay will be on a weekend in summer, do you guys think it is a good idea to try to secure a room now (will try $60 range as suggested)? I'm worried the prices might only get higher or hotels might get fully booked as it is peak tourist season there in July, right?

I can't say if prices will go up or down between now and July but if you choose to wait it out in hopes that $45-$55 bids will be accepted closer to your trip then you should book a cancellable backup someplace now.

[caramia]

What are you looking for in this hotel stay, caramia? Is a location near Burbank most important? Or is low price more important, even if that means winning a hotel in Glendale or Universal? You've only bid to $55 for a 3* on PRICELINE but you're looking at a HOTWIRE 2.5* for $79. I think it's likely you can win a 3* on Priceline for less than $79, but that 3* may not be in Burbank and it may not have free breakfast and free parking like the Best Western.

Colfax, sorry if I'm confusing you. :) The only reason I checked Hotwire is so I have a basis for bidding on Priceline. That hotel caught my eye and I wanted to know what the hotel was so that I could check if it's included in Priceline's hotel list. What's important to me is getting a reasonably low price since we will only be sleeping there for 1 night and proximity to Burbank Airport as we have a flight out of BUR on the 9th. When I say proximity though, I don't mean 3 steps away. Google maps says N. Hollywood is 10 mins. away from BUR and I thought that wasn't so bad. A friend who lives in Burbank promised to pick us up and drive us to the airport. I'm sure she wouldn't mind picking us up from Glendale/N. Hollywood/Universal or any other nearby areas so I'm considering hotels in those areas as well. Parking is not an issue as we won't be renting a car and breakfast is a nice plus but not really necessary since we usually don't wake up early enough anyway. :)

thereuare, thanks for the clarification. I'm sorry for being such a noob and making your life harder. LOL. Thanks for all your great work on this forum, it's really helped me out a lot!

[Colfax]

Thanks for explaining the situation, caramia.

I don't think the Best Western Burbank Airport participates in Priceline because the hotel's address on Lankershim isn't inside any Priceline zone. Priceline has a North Hollywood-Studio City zone, which is also close to Burbank airport, but the BW is outside that zone's boundaries--even though it has a North Hollywood address.

What do you think you want to do?

1) Bid higher than $55 for 3* in Burbank-Universal-Glendale?

2) Keep trying to $55 for 3* for a few weeks in hopes that rates will come down?

3) Bid for a 2.5* in B-U-G and/or North Hollywood/Studio City? I think you might have success at 2.5* for less than $55. I don't know what would come up because the only reported 2.5* in B-U-G zone---the Best Western Eagle Rock---has been donwgraded to 2*.

4) Something else?