Priceline Hotel: 4* Houston (Galleria) Westin Oaks

[lawgrl]

I'm new so still learning my way around. I'll be traveling to Houston in November 2011 for three nights, and would like to pay TOTAL of about $250 for three nights (including all taxes, etc.). Ideally this total would include free parking and free wifi. My travel is centered around Rice University, so I'd like to be in the med center or Galleria area.

Basically, my question is: how can I improve my chances of getting the nicest hotel available for around that price? This is sort of a "mommy's escape" trip, so I'd like the hotel to be high on luxury and low on cost.

I have looked around this site quite a bit, and I already feel like I've learned a lot, but if anyone is willing to give specific tips for these areas and these dates, I'd really appreciate it.

One specific issue I'm unclear about: is there any way to know in advance whether a particular hotel charges for parking and wifi? Those two together could easilt add another $30/night; in my book, NOT an insignificant amount.

Another question I have (though I realize maybe this question belongs in a different area?): is HOTWIRE or PRICELINE the best choice for this trip, given the information I gave above?

Thank you!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

There is no way to ensure free parking or wi-fi when using PRICELINE or HOTWIRE. With HOTWIRE, one can make an "educated guess" as to which hotels are showing and using that information one can get an idea of potential costs, but there is no way to guarantee that a HOTWIRE listing will be a particular property as HOTWIRE information (new properties or how previous properties are presented) can change at any time.

Please provide your desired date/s of travel, and would you be willing to be anywhere within either of these zones?

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

[lawgrl]

Thanks for the welcome and the response! November 17-20.

As far as location, I figure any 4* in either of those areas would be fine. I'm not willing to stay downtown just because it's kind of a hassle. I'd like to be near-ish to Rice, but it's not a big deal; anywhere near the galleria is fine. I'm going to meet up with some friends, have some quiet R&R in my (hopefully fancy/swanky!) room, breakfast all alone in the Rice Village... Just low key and relaxed.

I took a similar trip 2 years ago, and I booked through Expedia and stayed at the Icon downtown. It was lovely and everything I could have asked for, except staying downtown was kind of a pain. Just, getting around is kind of a chore. I lived in Houston for a few years, and feel pretty comfortable with the med center area and galleria area, but downtown baffles me a bit.

[thereuare]

Most of the higher-end hotels will charge for internet, and i'm not sure of typical parking charges in this area, but if some do and some don't, it's more likely that the higher rated hotels (which is what you're seeking from a luxury standpoint) will charge more so then the lower rated properties. The higher rated hotels tend to cater to a business crowd on expense accounts who can easily expense parking and internet charges back to their company.

What i'm guessing to be the Hotel Derek or the Westin Galleria is offered for $245/nite all-in for your dates. The Crowne Plaza River Oaks a bit over your budget at $300 all-in.

Are any of the above what you had in mind for this trip?

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

[lawgrl]

Well, the hotel Derek would be fine, I think, except for the additional charge for parking (and Internet, I think).

Would the responses be different if I posted an almost identical post in the Priceline forum? I guess another question I have is more priceline related: given that I have some time before my travel, if I place low, but incrementally higher bids each day for a 4* hotel in those two areas until I get what I want, is there any way I could get burned?

I mean, a pool would be nice, but I don't have to have one. I don't need a business center or fitness room. I don't need free breakfast or even a restaurant at all. So, as long as my bid total leaves some room for adding parking on top of the bid to stay near $250, is there any way I could wind up with a lousy hotel?

[thereuare]

Would the responses be different if I posted an almost identical post in the Priceline forum?

Keep all posts for this stay in this thread. If you ultimately use PRICELINE we'll move the entire thread to that section of the board when we edit the topic title to reflect your win.

I guess another question I have is more priceline related: given that I have some time before my travel, if I place low, but incrementally higher bids each day for a 4* hotel in those two areas until I get what I want, is there any way I could get burned?

If you mean 'burned' in the sense that paid more than you should have, yes, you could get burned that way. Take the following example:

Assuming the 'right' price for a hotel today is $55. This 'right' price is unknown, so you start at $35 and increase $2 per day, after a week you're at $49, and at that point the $55 lowers the price needed for a win to $40. HOWEVER, the next day you're proceeding with your bidding and increase by $2 and try $51, which is accepted... although the 'right' price is now $40.

It is for this reason we suggest bidding strategies utilizing re-bid zones (see Priceline Re-Bidding Explained) which allow you to start low and slowly increase your bid... all in the same session. If you're bidding 4* in the Houston area you actually have 21 re-bid zones, so really no reason to increase a little every day... better to start low and increase your bid all in the same session, then the next time you try, start low again and increase in the same session, if rejected the next time you try repeat the process.

So, as long as my bid total leaves some room for adding parking on top of the bid to stay near $250, is there any way I could wind up with a lousy hotel?

If you bid 4* you will receive a 4* hotel as determined by PRICELINE. Overall their ratings are 'pretty good', but anytime you deal with something as subjective as star ratings you're bound to get somebody who things that 'Hotel X' should be rated lower then the current rating assigned. However, you can use the priceline hotel list to at least make sure you'd be happy with any of the 'last known' 4* rated hotels (be sure to read the comments at the top of the hotel list).

HOWEVER, your current maximum bid (assuming no parking or internet charges) is only ~$69/nite. Not sure how much you intend to deduct for parking and/or internet, but if internet is $10/day and parking $15/day, you're now looking at a bid of ~$45/nite, which may be a bit too low for success for a 4* property (a $50-$60 bid is usually a bit more reasonable in this area)

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

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

[lawgrl]

This is very very helpful. Thanks, and I'll keep you posted.

Staying in one of the remote areas would wreck the trip for me, more than paying "too much" or staying in a less- luxurious hotel. I've read about the rebidding and adding zones, I guess I'm concerned that there may be additional hotels available in a zone I don't want, and thus I could end up in Katy or something.

I apologize if I'm asking for too much hand-holding through the process. I am very vey appreciative of your help.

[lawgrl]

This, from the Priceline sticky, is what I'm afraid of, and what I don't understand:

THINGS TO NOTE WHEN USING THIS STRATEGY:

-DON"T use our database of previous hotels to determine what zones contain what star ratings, as our list is NOT complete and new hotels are added all the time and star levels can change at any time.

-when checking star levels in a given zone, only ONE zone/sub-zone should be selected at a time.

I guess it's the second bullet point that I don't really understand. How can I determine definitively which zones only have 3* and below, so I can add them in my bid for 4* hotels, and thus be sure I won't end up somewhere where I don't want to be?

Again, thank you very much. Sorry for so many rookie questions.

EDIT: Oooooooooooooh! NOW I see. OK. I'm sorry.... slow today....

[lawgrl]

Westin oaks

$55/ night

Priceline (used the PRICELINE link from this site)

November 17-20

Room total $165, total with fees $201.69.

In retrospect I may have started bidding too high (this was my first bid), but I felt so nervous about adding other zones, zones I feel would have in some ways ruined the trip.

THANK YOU!!!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received a nice deal for this stay and hopefully pleased with the outcome.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[elgringito]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received a nice deal for this stay and hopefully pleased with the outcome.

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

Enjoy your stay.

What great assistance you provided to this individual and absolutely great results you helped her achieve. The Westin Oaks for $201 all-in is a fantastic price.