Priceline Hotel: new orleans help

[juliemackenzie]

Can you give me some help on New Orleans, is there a trick for this city. I want to pay max about $60 per night and be close to a nice area. Since I am not very familiar, I know with other cities I have had free rebids by adding certain areas that I may not want to stay. I want the most stars possible for $60. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous PRICELINE SAN DIEGO post.

We will then walk you thru an explanation of re-bidding.

[juliemackenzie]

I replied, I didn't go on the trip because I got sick. I am helping my sister bid on hotels right now. She is going 8/31-9/8. If you can help, I would appreciate it. she is not computer literate. :)

[juliemackenzie]

After looking at my San Diego log, I think I figured out New Orleans. I couldn't find my old log. So thanks. If I understand what you wrote about New Orleans.

If I want a 4* in The French District, I should include a 4* hotel in New Orleans (Airport MSY) and New Orleans (Metairie - Harahan) because they both do not have a 4star hotel. Is this correct. I already found out that they will not take $65 in French Qtr for the dates, so I am not sure how to progress from there.

Thanks

[thereuare]

I think you have the concept down, but you only listed 2 re-bid zone... when bidding 4* you actually have five re-bid zones. The correct way to determine the highest star rating available in each zone is:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time.

So see if you can figure out all five re-bid zones, and if so, let us know your sister's maximum bid and we'll then supply a step-by-step strategy for you to follow.

[juliemackenzie]

Thanks, I remember now...

ok

1. Garden District max 2 stars

2. Metaharie max 3 stars

3. Airport max 3 stars

4. New Orleans East Max 2 stars

5. West Bank 2 stars

Her max is $90 per night for French Qtr, I guess if she can't get that, then we go 3 stars and she has region 1,4,5 as free rebid zone.

Thanks,

Julie

[thereuare]

OK, so you have the re-bidding down (great!).

I'm assuming you already bid today at $65 for the FQ and were rejected. This is how i would proceed from here:

Select 4* FQ and re-bid zone1...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $85, if rjected add re-bid zone5...

Bid $90.

Any questions feel free to ask. Let us know how it goes, if rejected we'll then discuss next options, but i think the above has a good chance of being successful.

PS- always double check your re-bid zones before bidding to make sure that no new star ratings have been added to the above zones (due to new hotels added to the system or other hotels upgraded/downgraded)

[juliemackenzie]

I will use savings barn.

ok, I bid all of the areas to no avail.

How bout a strategy for 3 stars

should I do 3 starat 60

1.FQ 60

2. FQ & Garden Dist 65

3.Fq and NO East70

4. FQ NO West Bank75

then what would I do if these dont work. should I wait a month or so? or just start over in a couple days and do the same.

[juliemackenzie]

Well I went up to $80 for a 3* and they still did not accept. I have found the hotel conti3* on the web for an average of $91/night. most of the week is 49-59 and weekend nights being 139. So I am not sure if there is another route to take or not.

Thanks

[thereuare]

Rates are not high for these dates so it may be that hotels have not yet released inventory to the opaque players.

Where did you find the hotel conti (Prince Conti Hotel?) Is it cancellable?

Is SPLITTING THE BID an option?

[billyblaze]

If you want a 5 star backup hotel the Ritz Carlton has a $119.00 a night special for your dates. I believe you can cancel w/o penalty if you reserve with the hotel directly.

[thereuare]

That would be a good find!

I searched for the above and received the $119/nite rate for the first nite, then the message:

The rate for this room changes on 09/01/2005 to 279.00 (USD) per night

[chen]

You may want to consider expanding your bidding out of the French Quarter and into the CBD and CC zones. There are a lot of nice hotels there that are super cheap (ie. around $60). Also, those zones are not really far from the french quarter.

I stay at the Hyatt every year for jazzfest for around $60 a night. I love it.

ps. Although it's only a 5-10 walk to the FQ from the Hyatt, with the savings on rooms, you can afford to pay for a cab if you need it late at night.

[thereuare]

I'll add that i think there is a good chance at success at the 4* level if you bump your maximum bid to $100.