Priceline Hotel: 4* Boston (Quincy Market-Faneuil Hall-Financial) Holiday Inn at Beacon

[KdoubleT]

Hi everyone! I recently booked a room on priceline at 4* Back Bay Hotel in Boston (Copley Square) for $165. However, I forgot to book my second room. :)

I'm looking to book another room at 3.5*-4* in Copley Square or Quincy Market from 08/30/11 to 09/02/11. I'd like to book this room around $165 also, but anything below $180 would be doable too. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Failed bids so far:

- 3.5*. Copley Square - Theatre District, Quincy Market - Faneuil Hall - Financial. $165.

- 4*. Copley Square - Theatre District. $170.

[thereuare]

At this point not sure if you prefer the 4* for a few dollars extra or if you'd prefer a slightly cheaper 3.5*, but there are some ideas:

HOTWIRE currently has a 4.5* in the Quincy Market zone for $179/nite with Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa. Best guess is that this is either the Inter-Continental or the Langham, but with either one, this is likely a 'nice' property as all the information HOTWIRE asks for from previous guests is 4.5 or 5.0 across the board and it has a 95% recommendation from previous guests. You may just want to take this given the good reviews. If budget is more of a concern...

At both the 3.5* and 4* levels in Boston you have FIVE 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* Copley Square and Quincy Market...

Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $169, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $172, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $174, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $176, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $179

If the above is rejected you can take the HOTWIRE offer or close the browser, use our link to re-access PRICELINE, and repeat at the 3.5* level. If you prefer a less expensive 3.5* vs. a 4*, you can simply use the strategy above but start with 3.5* instead of 4*. Hope you followed all of that, if not, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

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

Good luck! Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[KdoubleT]

Thank you for the quick response.

I just read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained, and I think I understand the concept and strategy in re-bidding. Basically, the steps require me to figure out which Boston zones do not have 4* hotels correct? However, I'm not sure which FIVE are the FIVE re-bid zones in Boston. Some help on these FIVE zones would be appreciated.

So far I've done the following:

Select 4*...

- Add Copley Square.

- Bid $165. => REJECTED.

- Add Quincy Market.

- Bid $169. => REJECTED.

I'm not sure what step or which zones to add next. Thank you for the help!

[AaronJB]

To try and find zones without 4*, on the second page of the bid process with the zone map and the selectable zones, when you click the zone, 4* will not show as an option. This can change at any time, so you should confirm them each time you bid, but you are looking for zones that do not show 4* as an option when you select the zone.

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

[KdoubleT]

I've never seen a zone map with selectable zones during my bid process. I've only seen this when I'm using non-bidding Priceline. When I'm in the bidding process and my bid gets rejected, I just see a list of zones and stars.

How do I change this to be able to view the zone map and selectable zones during my bid process?

[thereuare]

Try the following...

1) Use the PRICELINE search box on the upper right of this page, enter Boston and your dates, and click "GO".

2) List each zone that is offered in this region.

3) Next to each zone list the highest star rating offered in the zone. The way to determine the highest star rating offered in the zone is by selecting the first zone i the list, then scrolling down to see the highest star rating selectable (ie- not greyed out). NEXT UNcheck the selected zone, place a checkmark in the next zone, and repeat the process for each zone in the region. Each time you take note of the highest star rating in the zone, make sure that only ONE zone is selected above.

4) post your findings and we'll take it from there

If you don't follow the above just post back and we'll break it down further.

[KdoubleT]

Thank you for the quick response!

I followed your steps, and here are my results:

- Boston Harbor Front - Aquarium: 2.5* to 4*

- Boston Waterfront - Convention Center: 3* to 4*

- Brighton - Brookline: 1* to 3*

- Cambridge: 1* to 4*

- Copley Square - Theatre District: 1* to 4*

- Fenway Park: 1*

- Medford - Somerville: 2* to 3*

- North Cambridge - Arlington: 2* to 2.5*

- Quincy Market - Faneuil Hall - Financial: 2* to 4*

- Revere - Logan Airport (BOS): 1* to 4*

- South Boston: 1* to 3*

[thereuare]

So do you see how if you were to bid 4* Copley and Brighton and were to win, the winning hotel would have to be in the Copley zone?

Do you understand which zones are your FIVE re-bid zones at the 3.5* and 4* levels?

Let us know and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow or explain further.

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

[KdoubleT]

Still not able to get a winning bid with the previous strategy.

What should I do now?

Failed bids so far:

- 3.5*. Copley Square, Quincy Market, and 5 re-bid zones. $165, $169, $172, $174, $176, $179.

- 4*. Copley Square, Quincy Market, and 5 re-bid zones. $165, $169, $172, $174, $176, $179.

[KdoubleT]

3.5* - 4* just wasn't working within my price range, so I opened it up to 3*.

Was able to book the Holiday Inn at Beacon Hill in Boston (Quincy Market - Faneuil Hall - Financial) for $169 from 08/30/11 to 09/02/11. Not very content with the price, but what can you do. Atleast I got a hotel now!

Thanks for all the help!

[KdoubleT]

Just used PRICELINE and booked Holiday Inn at Beacon Hill in Boston (Quincy Market - Faneuil Hall - Financial) for $169 from 08/30/11 to 09/02/11.

Had previously tried to book a 3.5* to 4* in Copley Square or Quincy Market for $165 to $179, but it didn't work out.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

While perhaps a bit more then you originally expected to spend, glad to see you got this trip for these busy dates settled.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[KdoubleT]

Stayed in a two double bed room at Holiday Inn at Beacon Hill in Boston. The room was clean and organized, so no complaints there. My favorite thing about this hotel was the office center. Free internet and printing! What else can you ask for?

[thereuare]

Glad to see this worked well for your needs.

Thanks for the feedback.