lane99 Posted June 28, 2011 Report Posted June 28, 2011 Hello. New to online travel bidding. So I'm very pleased to have found betterbidding.com. Question about bidding for hotel rooms:If I bid $100 today, and it's rejected, is there any chance of getting a $100 bid accepted, for example, the next day, or a couple days later?I notice most people seem to be suggesting they start from a low bid, then increase it incrementally day to day. But I wonder if anyone has had success simply rebidding the same price, over a period of several days (or more)?Also, there's no rule which states you *must* increase the bid price (assuming you wait 24 hours to rebid) for the same itinerary, is there?
thereuare Posted June 29, 2011 Report Posted June 29, 2011 Welcome to BetterBidding... we're glad you found us too! :)You can certainly leave your bid amount the same, or lower it if you choose to do so, but to be successful a hotel will have needed to lower the threshold they're willing to accept for your given dates, which is not a very high probability. However, most strategies you see are actually slowly increasing their all in the same day, by using re-bid zones, which is discussed in further detail here: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained.Do you have current travel plans in mind? If so, where are heading, what are your travel dates, desired star rating, and nightly budget?Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Posted June 29, 2011 Thanks, thereuare. Yes, I can see that a hotel would have to lower their threshold. I was hoping, though, that this might be something they do on an ongoing basis, perhaps as their inventory changes from day to day? Or maybe their minimum thresholds don't flucuate regularly? No idea.I"ll be travelling a lot in the next few months. Through Asia, and then a bit in Europe. I'm flexible on the dates, but for now I'm looking for a hotel in Hong Kong (my first destination) for:-Jul 25-30 (or even two hotels, for three days each). -4 stars (but would accept 3 stars if the deal was extraordinary). -Budget for direct booking (say through Hotels.com) is $105/night. Budget for non-changeable/non-cancelable reservation: not sure. But less than $105.-West or East HK Island, or Tsim Sha Tsui are fine (Central Kowloon, if it's the deal of a lifetime).And, yes, I will surely get to Priceline through your links when I bid. Least I can do.
thereuare Posted June 29, 2011 Report Posted June 29, 2011 -Jul 25-30 (or even two hotels, for three days each). -4 stars (but would accept 3 stars if the deal was extraordinary). -Budget for non-changeable/non-cancelable reservation: not sure.-(Central Kowloon, if it's the deal of a lifetime).There are a lot of "ifs" above, many of which are not known until you try bidding.Once you're ready to move forward, let us know the maximum bid you decide upon and what you want to try first... should we include Central Kowloon in bidding or not? Did you want to try for a 4* up to your limit for a 4* hotel first OR look for an extraordinary deal at the 3* level?Thanks in advance for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.Just continue this thread once you're ready to commit to a non-refundable purchase and we'll have a closer look at rates at that time. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Posted June 29, 2011 Once I know what you need the info for, certainly I can give you clearcut answers. Actually, I put so many "ifs" in there because I supposed it might facilitate whatever it was you were going to do with the info. But seems that I was wrong. Sorry bout that.In fact, I didn't know why you were asking for that info. And am still not sure. Are you saying you somehow are going to bid on my behalf, or something like that?
thereuare Posted June 29, 2011 Report Posted June 29, 2011 We would need the information to suggest a bidding strategy for you to follow... currently we don't know how high you'd like to bid for a 4* before considering a 3*... or if you prefer to seek out an 'extraordinary' deal for a 3* before trying for a 4* at a more reasonable price. Also, it's not known at what point you would want to consider and add Central Kowloon to your bidding.Knowing your preferences and the information above we can provide a suggested bidding strategy for you to follow.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Posted June 29, 2011 Thanks a lot. Let's go with this for now:-Check in: Jul 25-Check out: Jul 31-4* hotel in either (in order of preferece): 1) Tsim Sha Tui, 2) West HK Is, 3) East HK Is-max bid: $75 (though it wasn't necessarily at end/July, I noticed some people got Courtyard Hotel for $60-80).
thereuare Posted June 30, 2011 Report Posted June 30, 2011 -4* hotel in either (in order of preferece): 1) Tsim Sha Tui, 2) West HK Is, 3) East HK IsAre you willing to pay more for a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui vs. West HK vs. East HK... OR is your goal the least expensive 4* or better in any of these three zones? (ie- did you want to bid up to your $80 in Tsim Sha Tsui before trying for West HK... or if a West HK property is available cheaper than TST you'd prever the cheaper property?)Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 4, 2011 Author Report Posted July 4, 2011 ...is your goal the least expensive 4* or better in any of these three zones?...Right.
thereuare Posted July 4, 2011 Report Posted July 4, 2011 At the 4* 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 4* TST...Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $55, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* WHK...Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $55, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* EHK...Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $55, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* TST and WHK...Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* TST and EHK...Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* TST and WHK and EHK...Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75Any 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. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 5, 2011 Author Report Posted July 5, 2011 Wow, you really did have a master plan in mind, didn't you. That's great.So, I need to try to absorb this, and give it a try. Never done this before (as I mentioned).Will let you know what happens....Thanks a lot!
thereuare Posted July 5, 2011 Report Posted July 5, 2011 As you're knew to PRICELINE bidding the most important thing with the above is to make sure you know how to determine your re-bid zones (only one in this instance)... feel free to ask any questions you have on this subject and/or confirm your re-bid zone with the board.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Good luck. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Report Posted July 6, 2011 Hmm. A few minutes after I sent post #11, I sent (i THOUGHT) another post. Asking some questions about what the "re-bid zone" was.Don't know why that post hasn't shown up here. But probably my fault, somehow.I have read the REBID STRATEGIES thread. And thought I was following it, at least vaguely."Re-bid zone" is when I simaltaneously lower the star rating (to 3*), AND add an additional geographic area that does NOT have any 3* star hotels.Is that right? If so, and you could tell me which geographic area has no 3* hotels, I'd appreciate it.Because, according to what I saw, it seemed all the sub-areas in Hong Kong had at least some 3* hotels.
thereuare Posted July 6, 2011 Report Posted July 6, 2011 "Re-bid zone" is when I simaltaneously lower the star rating (to 3*), AND add an additional geographic area that does NOT have any 3* star hotels.No, re-bidding is when you keep your star level the same, and add a zone which only contains star levels lower than the star level you're bidding.So in your situation above, if you're bidding 4* and your first bid is rejected, you would then KEEP YOUR STAR RATING AT 4*, and add a zone which ONLY HAS HOTELS RATED LESS THAN 4*.Does this make sense and put you on the right track or would you like us to break it down further?Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Posted July 8, 2011 No, re-bidding is when you keep your star level the same, and add a zone which only contains star levels lower than the star level you're bidding...Ok, in fact, that is what I thought. However, because I couldn't FIND any zone which only contained 3* or less, I thought I might be missing something.The zones are:1 East Hong Kong Island 2 West Hong Kong Island 3 Central Kowloon 4 Tsim Sha Tsui 5 Tsuen Wan (Not Shown on Map) 6 Silvermine Bay, Lantau Island (Not Shown on Map)....Which could be my re-bid zone? Seems to me all of these have 3* hotel available. So doesn't that rule them out as a re-bid zone? I think I'm missing one final piece of the puzzle here.
thereuare Posted July 8, 2011 Report Posted July 8, 2011 Reply to this thread with each zone and the highest star rating available in each zone, using the following method from Priceline Re-Bidding Explained:The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is as follows:1) Use the PRICELINE search box on the upper right of this page, enter {your city} and your dates, and click "GO".2) List each zone that is offered in this region. 3) Next to each zone list the highest star rating offered in the zone. The way to determine the highest star rating offered in the zone is by selecting the first zone in the list, then scrolling down to see the highest star rating selectable (ie- not greyed out). NEXT UNcheck the selected zone, place a checkmark in the next zone, and repeat the process for each zone in the region. Each time take note of the highest star rating in the zone, make sure that only ONE zone is selected above.We'll then see what you're doing wrong and advise how to correct.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Posted July 8, 2011 ....Which could be my re-bid zone? Seems to me all of these have 3* hotel available. So doesn't that rule them out as a re-bid zone? I think I'm missing one final piece of the puzzle here.I meant to say "seems they all have 4* hotel available". Since that is what I thought I saw yesterday....We'll then see what you're doing wrong and advise how to correct...However, when I look today, there is one zone in Hong Kong which seems to have only 3* and 2* available (1,4,5 star choice is greyed out).That zone is "Silvermine Bay, Lantau Island". All the other zones have 4* or higher available on the page where you can select which zones you'd like to bid on.So..."Silvermine Bay, Lantau Island" is my re-bid zone. Right?
thereuare Posted July 9, 2011 Report Posted July 9, 2011 Yes, you have your re-bid zone correct... but always double check just before bidding to make sure that nothing has changed.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Posted July 17, 2011 Today bid for Tsim Sha Tsui and East Hong Kong Island.....Check in: July 29Check out: July 31Bid $50....increased to $55.Bids Rejected.I will try rebiding (at higher rate) next time.
thereuare Posted July 17, 2011 Report Posted July 17, 2011 Since you don't have too much time, you can get bid more strategically to get more bids, such as:Select 4* Tsim Sha Tsui...Bid $60, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* East Hong Kong Island...Bid $60, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* Tsim Sha Tsui and re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* East Hong Kong Island and re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* Tsim Sha Tsui and Hong Kong Island ...Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75Is West Hong Kong Island (or any other zones) no longer an option... if others are still acceptable you can get even more bids.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 the next round of bidding goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Posted July 17, 2011 Hi, thanks for the tips. My trip is postponed by 10 days, so I have a bit more time. Also: indeed, I am no longer interested in West HK Is. (I see the "Courtyard" hotel is the one which seems to often represent West HK Is. I know where that is, and wouldn't want to stay there. In the past, I've found there's not too much interesting to do in that area).Musings: Wonder if, in general, hotels would accept lower bids if it is for an reservation just a couple days hence? Or, whether it makes no difference at all, or whether the hotel may actually be *less* likely to accept a lower bid in such case.
thereuare Posted July 18, 2011 Report Posted July 18, 2011 Musings: Wonder if, in general, hotels would accept lower bids if it is for an reservation just a couple days henceSee the related 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
lane99 Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Posted July 25, 2011 See the related 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ...Thanks so much. Very helpful.Meanwhile, probably I will use reservation I made at Hotels.com for my imminent HK stay (Cosmopolitan hotel, about $100/night). But I will visit HK again in September. As such, just now I made a series of bids (using the pattern you taught me upthread) summarized as follows:-Check in: Sept 8-Check out: Sept 10-TST, East HK, Central Kowloon: bid up to $55-TST, East HK: bid up to $65>>All bids were rejected. I will try again with higher bids in the next week or so
thereuare Posted July 25, 2011 Report Posted July 25, 2011 Thanks for the update... keep us updated on your future progress and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your bidding (or our Hotels.com and other support page links for your non-opaque purchases)Good luck. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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