Priceline Hotel: Chicago - Michigan Ave. help

[kcgriff]

Greetings all. I truly appreciate your assistance on a very short term bidding request. I'm taking my wife to Chicago next weekend and she wants to stay on Mich Ave (Magnificent Mile). Something like the Omni (we stayed there a few years back) or the Intercontinental. I believe PriceLine has these as 4 stars. I would take any 4 stars in that immediate area and would appreciate and bidding strategy. Is it possible to get either of these properties for under $100.00/night. We looking to check in on 7-8-11 and check out 7-12-11.

I would certainly access the Priceline site via the link from this site.

Thanks in advance for any assistance or ideas.

Greg

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Something like the Omni... or the Intercontinental. I would take any 4 stars in that immediate area... Is it possible to get either of these properties for under $100.00/night.

You mention you're willing to accept any 4* hotel in the zone, for which you do have a chance for a win at $100 or less, but we can't say if it will be at either of the these two properties, or some other 4* hotel in the zone. Assuming you are indeed OK with any 4* hotel in the zone i would bid as follows:

At the 4* level you have SIX 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 4* NMA-River North...

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

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $98, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100

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.

[kcgriff]

Thanks for your response. You're extremely helpful on how to do this. I picked 4 star because my wife is kind of picky and I've heard that the Intercontinental and Omni are pretty decent properties. I'm not sure how to determine other 4 star properties in the NMA zone...my guess is that the others would include The Conrad; Westin Michigan Ave and the Marriott. Basically, I'm just worried about getting stuck on a property outside a short walk from the shopping on Michigan Ave. If any of you could confirm that I'm on target with these potential properties...or if there are others, please let me know.

Also, I clicked the PRICELINE link via your site to get an idea of the hotels in different zones in Chicago. Here is what I found:

The zones with NO 4* or greater included Franklin Park, Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, Both Midway Airport zones and Skokie. After reading the Priceline bidding intructions link, I would assume that I use only these listed zones in my bids..please confirm if I'm on the right track here.

Thanks again...you and your contributors are terrific.

Greg

[kcgriff]

Also wanted to clarify it the North Michigan Ave zone is equivalent to the Magnificent Mile...Thanks again for your help & suggestions.

[AaronJB]

On HOTWIRE the NMA area is split into Mag Mile/Streeterville (the South half of the NMA area and the River North neighborhood, as well as the Navy Pier area, which is Streeterville) - this area also covers a little patch on the other side of the river. The NMA-Water Tower-Gold Coast is the top half of the NMA area as well as the Gold Coast area, which is a few minutes walk North of the North tip of the NMA area. On PRICELINE these areas are combined.

I like the Intercontinental, but it does get some mixed reviews; it is a "uniquely Chicago" property, with a pretty fascinating history and (I think) both a good location and a nice mix of historic/modern. The Omni shows up on either service infrequently, and the Conrad has not been seen on HOTWIRE or PRICELINE in quite a while.

I think the concern in this situation is that the lowest 4* on HOTWIRE is $114 and may be one of the properties on the patch to the South of the river or a little bit of a walk - some properties are not far from Michigan Ave (3-10 min), but not too many are right on Michigan Ave (Omni, Westin MA, Allerton, Intercontinental, Drake) In terms of getting under $100, PRICELINE would appear to be the only option, as unfortunately these dates are on the more expensive side.

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

[kcgriff]

Aaron,

Thanks for your help on this. I'm preparing to start the bidding this evening using the PRICELINE link on Better Bidding. Just want to make sure I correctly identified the available re-bid zones for a 4 star on Michigan Ave. Also, just wanted to confirm the likleyhood of landing on Michigan Ave using the 4 star bid on Priceline. I'd just hate to win a bid and then up needing to take a cab everywhere.

Thanks again for all your help.

[Romelle]

Also wanted to clarify it the North Michigan Ave zone is equivalent to the Magnificent Mile...Thanks again for your help & suggestions.

Before you bid, you might take a good look at the Priceline map for North Michigan Ave. You can zoom in on this map to see more street names and detail. You can get a hotel anywhere within the shaded area of the zone.

Romelle

[kcgriff]

I'm having a hard time understanding the map to verify the Michigan Ave. zone. When I look at it, it seems all areas are shaded....I'm probably looking at it incorrectly. Any advice or help would be appreciated.

[AaronJB]

When you select area 8 and click on "detail map", it will show the entire PRICELINE NMA-River North zone. When bidding on PRICELINE, you have to be willing to accept a hotel anywhere within the zone boundaries as shown on the detail map. I don't find Chicago to be a particularly vast city and I don't think there's a hotel terribly far from Michigan Ave, but to use an example, the W Lakeshore is a possible 4* - that's about a 12-15 minute walk to Michigan Ave - but a nice walk through the city. Would that (12-15 minutes), be too far from Michigan Ave? (to use an example.) Additionally, some hotels may be at the far ends of the Michigan Ave area (the Drake at the North end and the Intercontinental at the South end.) One has a better chance of snagging a particular location with HOTWIRE, but that is more expensive.

Additionally, for more reasonable shopping, there is a Nordstrom Rack on Chicago Ave just off Michigan Ave. Michigan Ave. is expensive, but there are some places that offer (relatively) good deals, such as Nordstrom Rack and Filene's. There are more boutique/boutique thrift stores in the Lincoln Park area, but those are definitely spread out.

This thread offers a detailed discussion on re-bidding: Priceline re-bidding.

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

[thereuare]

If you post to the board what you believe to be your re-bid zones we can confirm that you have it correct.

Also, if you enter 'west chicago ave and north michigan ave, chicago' into the search box at MAPSandHOTELS.com you cna see the center of PRICELINE's NMA zone and how the hotels are plotted. I'll also add that if you look at the scale on the PRICELINE map, this zone is only about 1 mile across at it's widest point, with Michigan Ave almost running down the center... so while i don't think you should expect to end up directly on Michigan Ave, i do think you'll end up being very close, and won't need to be taking cabs everywhere.

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

[kcgriff]

Okay...update:

I started bidding 4* North Michigan Ave for the period 7-8-11 w/checkout date 7-12-11 with an initial bid of $80.00

No go.

I did re-bids in $5.00 increments, adding the available re-bid zones of Franklin Park; Hyde Park; Lincoln Park; Midway Airport (MDW); Midway Airport North and Skokie up to $110.00.

No go.

Any advice to proceed on this? Do I start up again after 24 hours at $115.00?

One thing of note that I'm not sure if it impacted me winning a bid or not: I did not close the browser after each failed bid, I just added a check-mark to the next available re-bid zone. Does that have a negative impact?

As always, I really appreciate your help (and I initiated my bidding via the PRICELINE link on BB)

Greg

[thereuare]

Not closing the browser doesn't impact whether or not your bid is accepted, but do so helps you get additional bidding opportunities.

However HOTWIRE is currently offering a 4* hotel for $114/nite, just over the $110 PRICELINE bid you have already made. The amenities are common (Fitness, Restaurant, Business, Internet) and matches multiple properties, but the reviews from previous HOTWIRE guests are good with 4.0 and 4.5 across the board for all the criteria HOTWIRE asks about.

I'm also seeing what might be the Wyndham Chicago for $115/nite, should this be of interest.

Let us know your thoughts on the above HOTWIRE offers or if you prefer to try PRICELINE again (and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow)

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

[kcgriff]

I'm definitely interested....do you know by chance what are the most likely hotels for the $114.00 price...I know with common ammenities, it makes it tough to determine. Your thoughts? I may pull the trigger on this when I get home tonight.

Thanks again,

Greg

[AaronJB]

The Hyatt, Sheraton, Westin River North and Hard Rock would be possibilities.

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

[thereuare]

If you change your search to 2adults/1children a 'new' 4* hotel appears with:

Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business

This might be the Wyndham and that would be my best guess... there is also a chance it's the Sheraton with a 'missing' Smoke Free icon, but i have reason to doubt it, but still a possibility. The above also may be the same property as this one, but with the above 'hiding' a Pool icon.

Sorry for so much uncertainty, but if you care for a Pool for this stay you'd be better off purchasing as 2adults/1child, and at the very least at least purchasing this way indicates a 4.0/5.0 Tripadvisor rating, which is pretty good.

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 if we can be of further help.

[kcgriff]

Aaron & Thereuare...sent you both a PM.

Thanks,

Greg

[thereuare]

What is the problem you're having... are you not able to see these deal(s) on your own HOTWIRE searches?

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

[kcgriff]

Sorry for the delay in reporting my end result. As I not getting too far with the Priceline bidding and was running out of time, I used our company's corporate discount and booked at the Intercontinental. I obviously did not get near as good a rate as I could have under Priceline or Hotwire, but I obviously need more practice and due further reading on your site when it comes to Priceline bidding strategies. I want to thank everyone who provided input and assistance for me. In my reading since this bidding, I feel I'm more confortable going the Hotwire route in the future.

[thereuare]

Thanks for closing this thread with your decision.

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.

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