Priceline Hotel: Help for hotel in Boston 29/7 - 1/8

[Rasmus]

Hi betterbidding.com from Denmark

Me and my girlfriend would like to stay in Boston from 29/7-1/8, 2011. Is it possible to get a hotel using Priceline with such short notice, and can you maybe help us making a bid that makes sence?

our wishes:

City:

Boston

Zones, prioritized:

Copley Square - Theatre District - Area 5

Boston Harbor Front - Aquarium - Area 1

Quincy Market - Faneuil Hall - Financial - Area 9

Boston Waterfront - Convention Center - Area 2

1 room (for 2 people)

starlevel: 3*

I'm in much doubt what amount we should bid...

We've thought about max 90 dollars pr. day, and 40 dollars pr. day as our start bid.

Well, we're beginners, can anyone help?

Kind regards from Rasmus

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by clicking this PRICELINE link and reply to this thread, we'll then have a look at your stay above.

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

Thanks.

[Rasmus]

Thank you very much!

[thereuare]

With just over a month before your stay it's certainly not last minute, but the issue is more with your budget, i'm doubtful that $80 will be enough for a 3* or better hotel in these zones. If you want to give it a try:

At the 3* level you have TWO re-bid zones. 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* Copley and Harbor Front...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Quincy Market and Waterfront...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Quincy Market and Harbor Front...

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Copley and Waterfront...

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Waterfront and Harbor Front...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Quincy Market and Copley...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Copley and Harbor Front and Quincy Market...

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Copley and Harbor Front and Waterfront...

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Copley and Harbor Front and Quincy Market and Waterfront...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80

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.

[Rasmus]

Hi theruare!

Thank you very much for the strategy, that was very helpful, and we've tried it out at priceline.

Unfortunately we didn't have succes in getting a room BUT:

As you wrote, maybe the budget should be raised a bit.

Do you think we would have a chance if we raised the max bar to 90 maybe 100 dollars pr night?

And is it possible to follow the same strategy 24 hours after our last bid?

Kind regards and thank you for the help so far from Denmark!

[thereuare]

You can try, but i think $100 may still fall a little short... for a 3* hotel in the zones you're bidding you're probably looking closer to $120 or so. Let us know your thoughts and we'll suggest a strategy for whatever bidding limit you choose.

Another option is that HOTWIRE has a 4* Cambridge hotel for what looks to be the Hotel Marlowe for $119/nite. This isn't in one of the zones you're bidding above, but assuming we're correct on this ID, the hotel is close to a T Stop to get you into 'downtown Boston proper'.

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[Rasmus]

Hi again, thank you for the fast reply!

I'm not as familiar with hotwire as priceline, but I've read some question/answer links on their homepage and assume it's the same princip as Priceline.

I think your propesition regarding the assumed Hotel Marlow sounds interesting, is it to late to make an attempt on that? Can you tell me the steps?

I'm also concidering to make another attempt at the Boston strategy you gave me before, just with a higher max level, maybe not as high as 120$.

Once again, thanx for the help! You guys(/girls) are cool and I will surely recomment this site and try to benefit this page with our experiences (and clicking those links!)

[AaronJB]

HOTWIRE is a discount service, as well, but instead of bidding, you are presented with a set of listings that offer price, star rating, zone, amenities. You are told the result after purchase and it is non-refundable.

When searching on HOTWIRE, are there any listings of interest for these dates?

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

[thereuare]

Be sure to read AaronJB's reply above but to expand upon that info...

This thread explains many of the similarities and differences between PRICELINE and HOTWIRE: I've Never Used Priceline or Hotwire

If you search HOTWIRE for your dates there is currently a 4* hotel in the Cambridge zone for $119/nite (your price may differ by a few dollars) with the following amenities: Boutique, Fitness, Restaurant, Business, Internet

This matches the Hotel Marlowe so that would be our best guess for this offering. Even if it's not the Marlowe (although i think it is), HOTWIRE shows a 4.5/5.0 Tripadvisor rating for this offer, so you know at the very least it's a quality property which gets good reviews from previous guests.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or how we can be of further help.

PS- thanks for the compliments on the site :)

[Rasmus]

Hi thereyouare and Aaronjb, thanks for the help so far.

I've tried to get a 3* hotel a couple of times now, but unfortunately with out any luck so far.

If I was to go for the same areas, and only change the star level to 2*, do you maybe have a strategy for this?

(same erea prioritize as before.)

I think I will go for 70 dollar max bid.

Thanks again for the help!!

Hope to share some good experience soon when my hotel is booked. :)

[thereuare]

I've tried to get a 3* hotel a couple of times now, but unfortunately with out any luck so far.

How high have you bid?

If I was to go for the same areas, and only change the star level to 2*, do you maybe have a strategy for this?

We can offer a strategy for whatever star rating you choose, but i'd think twice of the lower rated hotels. While there may be some 2* hotel which suit your needs just fine, there may be some which do not, and with PRICELINE / HOTWIRE you can't choose which type you will get :) (or use HOTWIRE for the lower rated properties, it will cost you a little more than PRICELINE, but at least you can minimize the chance of disappointment by choosing a hotel which shows a high Tripadvisor rating and/or a high HOTWIRE user recommendation). Ultimately it's your stay, trip and budget, but often the value is at the higher rated properties.

I think the 4* Cambridge property is an excellent value relative to the other offerings, if you're able to stretch your budget a bit further (or first try the equivalent amount on PRICELINE for a higher rated hotel in 'downtown proper').

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[Rasmus]

Ok. Sounds right about checking 2* hotel through hotwire, where you at least can se the ratings.

I must admit that so far, our highest bid is a bit under 100 dollar.

I can feel though, that our hotel luck rising for success soon. :)

Thanks again for the advise, it's really helpfull. We're concidering through all the propositions from you guys.

[thereuare]

Keep us updated and let us know how we can be of further help.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board for your bidding, searches and travel purchases.

Good luck.

[Rasmus]

Hi again!

This is actually a question for hotwire, but I guess it's better to continue this threat?

I've found a hotel at hotwire fitting 29/7-1/8, in cambridge area:

including: Fitness, pool, restaurant, buisines center, high speed internet, nearby tennis.

Location: Cambridge

Star rating: 4-star

Check-in date: Fri, Jul 29

Check-out date: Mon, Aug 1

Amenities: See all amenities

Price summary

Hotel

Rate per night: $109.00

Nights: 3

Rooms: 1

Tax recovery

charges & fees: $60.72

Subtotal: $387.72

Trip total: $387.72

I've read and compared your list for Hotwire used hotels in cambridge and concluded that this hotel might be Hyatt Regency Cambridge, but is this very unsure?

Kind regards from Rasmus

[thereuare]

The above is a match for the Hyatt so that would be my best guess for this one as well.

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[Rasmus]

Hi again Betterbidding fans and admins!

We've found a place in Boston and therefore I'll like to close this thread.

I'm not totally sure how to benefit with my expiriences but here it goes:

Actually my girlfriend and I haven't found any hotel with either Hotwire or Priceline,!

We will stay at the 3 1/2* Boston Park Plaza - Hotel and Towers.

We found a offer for a small room, 115 $ pr night. This hotel is downtown, wich were a top priority for us.

Before we made this choice I've used thereyouare's (excellent!) bidding stradigy at Priceline for Boston downtown area, and we bid up to 110 $. But we had no luck. Maybe if we've waited a bit longer we've had succes.

At Hotwire I found 2 relevant hotels in our price-range, both hotels were listed in the cambridge area: 4* hotel at 109 $ pr. night (Fitness, pool, restaurant, buisines center, high speed internet, nearby tennis) and 4* hotel at 120 $ pr. night (Boutique, Fitness, Restaurant, Business, Internet - actually Thereyouare found this! :). These, I've found most likely to be Hyatt Hotel and Hotel Marlowe by checking hotel list on this site, but of course I couldn't be 100 % sure.

THEN...

...we found Hotel Boston Park Plaza 115 $ pr. night which we knew for sure was downtown. Besides not knowing for sure if we would get Hyatt or Marlowe we were sure to live spot downtown at 3 1/2* Plaza, in comparison to the cambridge hotel area (even though Hyatt and Marlowe are close to center Boston), for nearly the same amount. So we've preferred not to use Priceline or Hotwire this time.

This doesn't mean that I wont try Hotwire or Priceline again, I think it's very possible to make a great deal for a good hotel. :)

Last but not least I would like to thank Thereuare (and AaronJB :o for excellent advice!!

I will most certently recomment this site for any travellers looking for some advice regardin Hotwire and Priceline!

I hope this was useful for you Boston travellers!

Kind regards from Rasmus, Denmark

[thereuare]

Thank you for closing this thread with your decision.

Enjoy your stay and time in Boston.