Priceline Hotel: hotel help needed for boston

[chen]

I am trying to help a friend get a hotel in boston for july 27th-july 29th. He will be taking the bar exam at:

World Trade Center Boston,

200 Seaport Boulevard

Boston, MA 02210

He would like to find a hotel within walking distance (15-20 mins walk is okay). Location is very important! I think that the financial district area should be okay but I'm not sure and would like to try to pin down a hotel/bidding strategy for him.

Location is more important than price!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Since location is more important than price, i would show him Priceline's map of the Financial District zone and see if anything within that area is acceptable to him.

If it is, report back and i'll post a strategy.

[Welldone Rumproast]

Hi Chen,

With all that your friend will have on his mind as he prepares for the bar exams, the ability to stay so close to the testing site may justify foregoing PL savings (but just this once, of course) :)

There is a hotel that is located at the WTC. The full name of the hotel is the Seaport Hotel World Trade Center. While the rack rates are quite high, they seem to offer a number of promotional rates that could lower the costs.

LINK TO HOTEL HOMEPAGE (WITH LINK TO ONLINE RESERVATIONS)

I looked at your dates in the online booking page and saw a AAA rate of $159. In addition, there are some packages with even lower rates that seem to imply that they are valid all seven days of the week (during the summer months). I wasn't able to view these in the online booking page, so you may need to call the hotel direct to check availability (keeping in mind that package rates may be capacity-controlled):

LINK TO SEAPORT HOTEL PROMOTIONS PAGE

Whichever way you go in regards to the hotel, here's wishing the best of luck to your friend the future attorney!!! :)

[chen]

I got the dates wrong. Oops! The dates should be July 29 thru 31, 2003.

I think that the Seaport is full for those dates.

By the way, I noticed that priceline has a "World Trade Center" zone, which would obviously be perfect.

Does anyone have any info on bidding in this zone?

[chen]

Okay, the Seaport is not full but the cheapest is $159.00 a night.

Those bar review courses cost $2000 and the exam itself is a couple hundred.

More that $300 on top of that for hotels and it startes getting ridiculous. That said, a good night's sleep can make the difference between pass or fail. Although a brisk 15 minute am walk from the financial district could help too.

I would like to get him something for under $100 a night, hopefully in the "world trade center" zone.

[mch710]

The Seaport is rated as a 4* property with Priceline and is the only hotel in that zone I've ever heard reported. However, rates are consistently above $100.

[thereuare]

Given the rate you posted thru conventional means and Hotwire showing a 4* for $95 (Waterfront/Quincy Mkt zone) i would proceed as follows:

There are four re-bid zones when bidding 4* World Trade Center zone (there is a 5th if a 4* can not be upgraded to a boutique, which i don't think it can, but i would avoid that zone just to be certain)....

Select 4* World Trade Center

bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

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

bid $80.

If rejected with the above, you can repeat the same procedure selecting 3* hotels (which also has 4 re-bid zones) but starting at $50 and increasing $5 each bid OR wait 72 hours and i'll re-post a new strategy for 4* with updated prices. If a counter-offer is made at anytime, i would turn it down, add a re-bid zone and cut the counter-offer in half.

Please have your friend start his bid at SavingsBarn.com

Let us know how it goes.