Priceline Hotel: London 7/14-7/17 - Going Rates?

[chachisnips]

New poster here. Wife and I are taking a trip and I've used these PRICELINE links to get Paris and Barcelona hotels but I'm having a hard time with London. I've followed bidding strategies on other posts for London with no success. I'm really just looking for a decent deal at a reasonable hotel. Most recenty I went through a series of bids/rebids for Mayfair/Soho, Westminster, Notting Hill/Bayswater, and Bloomsbury. Searched 4*'s at $145, $153, $160 (had searched at lower prices over the last few days). Only thing I got was an offer at my $150 bid for Bloomsbury to raise it by $40 (to $190). Also searched same areas for 3*'s up to $150 with nothing. Are there just not many rooms left possibly or anyone know going rates? Any other thoughts/tips?

Thanks for any help.

[thereuare]

Wife and I are taking a trip and I've used these PRICELINE links to get Paris and Barcelona hotels...

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please share your wins with the board so that the information can help others, just as you have been helped by those who posted before you... then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at your stay above.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board for your bidding.

[chachisnips]

Should have posted those other ones first. They're up there now.

For London, we're just looking for a decent place in a convenient area with private bathrooms. Lots of the cheaper stuff we've found have shared baths or are further out. Since we don't have a lot of time we just don't want to waste more than necessary travelling. I've been there before and understand the Underground so that will be fine but the closer we are to the main attractions the better. Thanks for any help.

[thereuare]

Thanks for sharing your previous wins with the board.

At some properties the first nite of your stay is more expensive then the weekend nites, not sure if it will help, but is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option?

Only thing I got was an offer at my $150 bid for Bloomsbury to raise it by $40 (to $190).

Was this at the 4* level? PRICELINE's counter-offer suggests the 'right' price for a hotel in this zone(s) you included on this bid is somewhere between $151-$190 (no telling if it will take just $1 more or the full $40 PRICELINE is asking). If you're willing to bid a bit higher then you had previously we can suggest a strategy for you to follow in order to gradually reach PRICELINE's rate (or whatever amount you decide is your maximum bid) and hopefully you'll be successful before then.

Let us know your thoughts on the above two ideas and we'll take it from there.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[Romelle]

I've been there before and understand the Underground so that will be fine but the closer we are to the main attractions the better. Thanks for any help.

If you select the "detail map" of a single zone on the main London PRICELINE page, and then zoom down into it, you can see the little Underground symbols (red circle with blue horizontal bar). You might find a few more zones acceptable if you check out the Underground coverage and see if it is satisfactory for you?

Rates seem to be a lot higher in lots of areas this year. Hope you find something that works for you.

If you enter something like "london bloomsbury" in the Quick Search box up at the top of the page, you can see lots of bidding results for that zone.

And of course there is the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins (center of page) - where you can select Other Countries - Priceline and then enter your dates to see bidding results for your particular dates.

Romelle

[chachisnips]

The Priceline offer to increase by $40 was on a 4* in Bloomsbury. I continued to bid up to $160 with no luck. I then went through and bid 3*'s up to $150 in those 4 areas. Really don't want to go much higher than those numbers since I wanted to keep total cost after taxes/etc. about under $200/night. I think I will add the Kensington/Earl's Court and the City/London Bridge areas and try again.

[chachisnips]

Added City/London Bridge and Kensington/Earl's Court areas and rebid. On my $155 offer for 4* got an offer to raise by $40. Continued to bid up to $165 with no success. Went and bid all the mentioned areas at 3* up to $155 again with no luck. I'll keep trying.

[thereuare]

Keep us updated 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 for your bidding.

[kenderina]

I'm having the very same problem with exactly the same dates :) Doing some research , I've found prices are incredibly expensive for the 14th (I've found a hotel not in PRICELINE with a normal price of around 100 euros that wants 700 for that day !). I've made a backup booking at the Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt for 69 pounds a single room for the 15th and 16 th...maybe that would be suitable for you too (a double is a bit more, but not that much). Probably with PRICELINE splitting the bid is the only way to go....

[chachisnips]

How did you make that booking? Contact them directly or through somewhere else? When I look at there rates for just those 2 days it comes up as 119 pounds/night. We're also considering apartments and other possibilites.

[kenderina]

Through their website , but as I said it is a single room, I didn't think the price was so much higher for the double, sorry ! Anyway...I'm not seeing cheaper rates for hotels that range or even 3 stars, it is getting tough !!!