Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Ventura (Thousand Oaks) Palm Garden Hotel

[iwannaroom]

$40 + $30 Bonus Cash

Total charges $55.67.

Base price on hotel web site: $109.

I failed on a higher (by $4) bid for 3*,

but this place offers a free buffet breakfast, so should work out ok!

On Tripadvisor, the manager has responded to every review,

both positive (most of them) and negative (a few of them).

I used the forum link to get to PRICELINE.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

With the discount looks like an excellent deal. Glad to see you're happy with the results and this works well for your plans.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[iwannaroom]

I would not have bid $70 for 2.5*,

so I think it is misleading to describe this as a $70 bid.

Time on this reservation was short, and there weren't any zones

to play around with, so I didn't have much available for rebids.

Otherwise, I would have started much lower.

The "Bonus Cash" is a gimmick, being virtual, not real, money, and

I'm sure Priceline is not forking over any extra $30 to the hotel,

probably more like $10 or $15, if that, making this, in reality, (maybe) a $50 or $55 bid.

On a few occasions I have seen the actual hotel charges,

and sometimes they are substantially less than my bid.

In such a case, Priceline pockets the difference, in addition to their stated fees,

so you can be sure you are not realizing the full "value" of your Bonus Cash.