Priceline RED BOX price warning

[stevedesign]

Priceline gives the tip box that one is pricing too low with the red box below the bid popping up. "Based on recent data, your price has almost no chance of being accepted".

My question is has anyone done a study as to whether this is actually accurate as far as suggesting an opening bid or is it not? When I have gotten the box and neglected it I usually have not gotten the property. Is this based on some algorithm based on the average of prices accepted in the past? Or is this more "real time" changing frequently? I have found that some lower star ratings have a higher threshold than some higher star ratings (i.e. a 3 star property may have a suggested bid of $70 where a 4 star property might go as low as $40)

Any comments from the board would be appreciated.

[Romelle]

I'm not on the board, but have gotten that message occasionally. When I'm typing slow, and planning to put in something like "65", but just get the "6" typed it gives me that message before I enter the rest of the number.

I imagine one could experiment with it, and just try like 10..20 ... 30, etc. to see when it quits giving one that message.

I generally just ignore any of those messages, including the counter-offers, and proceed with my original plan.

Romelle

[thereuare]

You should ignore that message... we have seen wins reported to the board even when the warning was given before submitting the bid.

If you need help with an upcoming stay please start a NEW TOPIC.

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

[relaxing41]

Funny, they do not have a red sign when you over bid by a whole lot. LOL!I agree that mostly you should ignore it and proceed with your original plan.

Before this board was up I experimented and bid on a property one month prior to arrival near dulles airport for $19 and was accepted by the sheraton where the nightly rate was $139. ALl in with taxes etc was $26.95 or something close. To date this has been the lowest bid at a 3 star hotel Ive gotten accepted via priceline. I had a fantastic time by the way. It felt like I was staying there for free and the staff still went out of there way to be especially nice to me. I believe that this is just another method to scare people into bidding a higher amount.

[stevedesign]

Thanks for the replies. I too have found that these aren't always correct but I find it odd that some locations and star levels are emphatic about the red box warning where other locations don't show one even with a $20 bid. I didn't see anything written about this on the site so I wanted to raise the issue and see what other's thoughts were about it.

I'm hoping to start bidding for 3 different stays in NJ (if the trip is not cancelled) and will as always use the links above and post the wins when I get them. Maybe I will track what the red box states in relation to the winning bid......

Steve