Priceline Hotel: Bidding help: Singapore hotel 9/10-9/11

[Alfrie]

Brand new member and first time poster would deeply appreciate any advice on my bidding effort. I will arrive in SIN at 11:30pm on Sept 10 and fly out at 5:50pm the next day. Crowne Plaza Changi seems like a convenient choice for this long layover. I guess it should be included in Zone 3 (East coast), but this zone isn't shown on map. Is CP Changi available for bidding on priceline.com (US site)? I searched in this forum and found no report of winning a hotel bid in that zone, let alone that particular hotel.

I am also open to staying in the center city area, like river side/City Hall/Orchard Rd. With a budget of $100-$150, do I have a good chance of landing a 5* hotel on 9/10 in these zones? Thanks in advance.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Difficult to say what the boundaries of the East Coast zone would be given that it's not shown on the map (nor is the name of a town). It would be logical to assume it would be covered by the East Coast zone, but can't say just how far away from the airport this zone may extend.

With hotel direct rates at the Crowne Plaza selling for about $200/nite, your maximum bid seems reasonable, but with little/no bidding history (and it doesn't appear to be too much competition in the area) hard to see how of a discount can be expected.

If you want to try bidding, did you want to only bid the East Coast zone at first up to a certain amount, or include all acceptable zones looking for the least expensive hotel at the minimum star rating you select in any of the zones?

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

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

[Alfrie]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate tons of good info here.

Changi airport is indeed covered in zone 3, which is a largely extended area. I am sure there are many more hotels in that zone too. Given the lack of reported bidding history of that area and my worry of ending up in a hotel with neither easy access to SIN nor much fun around, I probably should look at the center city area and completely ignore east coast.

The logic is based on the assumption that zone 3 is cheaper than other prime zones. Including all of them in one bid would likely land me in zone 3. If it was not CP, that would be an unpleasant outcome. Is my assumption reasonable?

[thereuare]

The logic is based on the assumption that zone 3 is cheaper than other prime zones. Including all of them in one bid would likely land me in zone 3. If it was not CP, that would be an unpleasant outcome.

You could bid for just the East Coast zone without the other zones at a lower price, then if rejected, include only the other zones at a higher price. So the real question is whether there is a price where bidding just the East Coast zone is worthwhile should you not receive the hotel you're hoping for.

Let us know your thoughts as to whether you want to try some lowball bids in just the East Coast zone OR which centrally located zones you're willing to accept, desired star rating and maximum bid price, and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[Alfrie]

Just wanting to report back: about three weeks ago I did try a low-ball bid ($108) for 4* in the orchard/Financial area and failed. My friend then offered to book a night for me at CP Changi with his reward points, so I didn't proceed with priceline bidding.

Thanks for all the information here. I will come back for future travel planning.

[thereuare]

Thanks for closing this thread with your decision for this stay and for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links for your future travel purchases.