Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Bloomsbury-Marble Arch) Marriott Marble Arch

[dice123]

I was reading a lot of posts and i think i got most of it figured out, but i just need someone to confirm it.

Anyway, i need 4 rooms, for 3 nights (september 13-16), 4* hotel and the only zone that works for me is Bloomsbury - Marble Arch. I m willing to pay up to $130/night/room.

So i was thinking that i should choose Bloomsbury - Marble Arch, 4*, and bid.

If i get rejected i add zone Hammersmith and bid again.

If i get rejected i add zone Wembley and bid again.

Is this the right strategy to be sure to get in Bloomsbury - Marble Arch zone a 4* hotel ???

[ladybugsea]

$130 is very low for this zone, but you could get lucky. The taxes and fees will add another roughly $30/night. I am bidding 9/16-9/23 and have not been successful at $125 for a bunch of zones (but got an offer yesterday to raise bid, declined). You have the right idea about the free rebids. You can also get yourself an extra free rebid by bidding it this way instead:

NEW bid: Bloomsbury - Marble Arch

if rejected, on rebid screen: add Hammersmith

if rejected, close browser, click this PRICELINE link again and start over

NEW bid: Bloomsbury - Marble Arch and Wembley

if rejected, on rebid screen: add Hammersmith

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I can't add much to the above, but wanted to say "Welcome" :)

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

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

Good luck!

[dice123]

Just an update after a week of using this strategy.

So i have bid up to $180 (had to adjust my budget), but got rejected and didnt get any counter offer.

So any ideas? Do i have to be patient and wait for begining of september or try something else. The only other acceptable zone is Mayfair-Soho (also 4* or 5*) so could use some strategy help.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the update.

To put things in perspective, what is the best available rate you're able to find for these nites thru traditional booking channels?

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

[dice123]

I have found out:

4* B-MA

- Novotel London St Pancras $331/night

- Melia White House $396/night

- The Hotel Russell $364/night

4* Mayfair

- Holiday Inn London Mayfair $412/night

- Kingsway Hall Hotel $415/night

So do you have any advice?

[thereuare]

So other then the Novotel your bids are less than half of prevailing rates. While we do see some wins which are at half price (or more), this is typically during times of low demand. The rates above are indicative of high demand, and while there is more margin for a hotel when rates go higher, they are actually less likely to discount deeply since they have higher occupancy levels (and lower vacancy levels) and would rather hold onto the fewer rooms they have in hopes of selling them at full price.

So while you can try the following to bid on both zones, i doubt that you'll be successful at $180 or less, and will need to focus your maximum budget based upon what options you have for this stay (which may involve lowering your minimum star rating) rather than what you want to pay.

Using your TWO re-bid zones you can try:

Select 4* Mayfair-Soho...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $165, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury-Marble Arch...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $165, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Mayfair-Soho and Boomsbury-Marble Arch...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $180

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Romelle]

You've rethought your budget, and rethought your acceptible zones once. Any chance some of those other London zones look OK if the price is right? London is one of the more easy/inexpensive cities in terms of getting around via public transportation. And it is compact enough that cab fare isn't bad either.....

Romelle

[dice123]

I m getting a bit worried because i have bid up to $220 (and that is MAX!!!) using the above strategy for B-MA and Mayfair-Soho zones and never got any counteroffer. Since it is still 4 weeks before i leave do you think i should just be patient or things wont change and i just wont be able to get a room on Priceline in these zones for those dates?

Btw i was checking Hotwire and they dont even offer for september 13-16 any 4* or 5* hotels in these 2 zones?!

[nkyoung]

There is something about this week in London that is not allowing Priceline to be an option for any hotel/price. I've bid all the way up to the actual going rates of the hotel rooms and am getting nothing! I would book a backup hotel room at the Hilton London Metropole (cheapest good quality hotel) and keep trying between now and then. The hotels aren't booked up, they just aren't on PRICELINE Name Your Own Price.

[thereuare]

I m getting a bit worried because i have bid up to $220 (and that is MAX!!!) using the above strategy for B-MA and Mayfair-Soho zones and never got any counteroffer.

The lack of a counter-offer is not meaningful that you're not close... we have seen counter-offers when bids were substantially lower then the suggested bid price, as well as no counter-offers when the bid was only $1 away from a win.

There is no telling if rates will come down, or continue higher, between now and your stay. HOWEVER, assuming the retail rates you previously posted are still valid, you're still at least $100+ less then retail rates, and if this is a busy period hotels may not be willing to discount too deeply in hopes of selling any available rooms on their own at full price.

Are any other zones acceptable (or lowering your star rating, although personally i'm not much of a fan of European hotels rated less than 4 stars). What is your game plan if not successful with your current bidding parameters? In addition to the Hilton mentioned above, is the Novotel an option and still priced at $331?

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

[dice123]

I just got London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch for $200 so very happy about that. Used the PRICELINE link!

I was bidding for $170 and got counter offer for $263 so knew that somethig was different from all those bids in the last 3 weeks.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Nice to see that rates dropped for you and that you were successful well under the counter-offer price! A nice deal and glad to see you're pleased with the results (except for that fact that they made you sweat it out a bit :) )

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.