Priceline Hotel: Bidding Assistance for New Orleans Hotel - PL or HW

[hohogap]

Delta has a great non-stop fare from DTW for the MLK weekend so my wife and I are heading to the Big Easy for a couple of days in January. I've looked at wins in 2011 for this weekend and they were as low as $60/night on PL (up to $85). No wins reported on PL or HW yet for these dates in 2012. LMT has the Hilton Riverside for only $63/night (on request) for these two nights, with a 1 day penalty for cancellation before the final 3 days. Not really the area where I like to be, but everythings is so close it probably doesn't really make much of a difference. Any thoughts on bidding strategies for PL or HW, or should I just try the $63/night Hilton on LMT and be happy? BTW - the Board's LMT link still isn't working. Trying to make ALL my searches, bids and wins through the site's links. Thanks for any thoughts on these dates.

[thereuare]

If you wanted to try bidding first, which zone(s) and star rating would you include in your bidding?

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[hohogap]

I am looking at 4* on PL, sticking to downtown, CBD or convention center. Decided to give it a try on LMT to book the 4 1/2* $63/night at the Hilton (on request) and got denied this afternoon. I'll keep bidding through PL, looking at HW and LMT for deals, and as always, all bids, searches and wins are made through the BB links on the Board! I'll start a new thread when successful or if I need additional help on bidding. Thanks for all of your help!

[thereuare]

PRICELINE doesn't have a CBD zone anymore... did you mean Convention Center, Downtown, and French Quarter as the three zones you're bidding?

Note that if you end up in the south part of the Convention Center zone it can be a bit of a hike into the Quarter... it's not far to Canal, but if you're going 'deep' into the Quarter it can be a bit much, especially the walk back home if at nite.

Not sure how high you're willing to bid at the moment, but i suspect you should be able to get a 4* hotel in the $80-$100 range.

Keep us updated on what you decide and if we can be of any help along the way.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[hohogap]

Thanks for the update, I see the new zones in place at PL. I appreciate your advice. I've been bidding up to $70/night for the downtown and convention center zones, sticking to 4* at the moment. There is a $79/night LMT available price for the Hyatt Regency (which is quite a ways away from the Quarter, almost to the Superdome). I checked the list of PL hotels on the BB site and it is listed as "closed" and 3*. Has it reopened and is 3* still applicable? Thanks!

[thereuare]

Looks like they've re-opened just a few days ago as their website indicates:

Now accepting reservations for October 19, 2011 onwards.

Considering the short distances traveled, i found taxis in New Orleans to be a bit on the expensive side, so i would try to choose something that is more walkable to the French Quarter, assuming that is where you intend to spend most of your time.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[hohogap]

Fantastic, thanks! I'll keep you updated and will post when successful. I will try to stay closer to the Quarter with the revised PL zones.

[hohogap]

Been bidding up to $75/night without luck for a 4* for these dates in MSY. LMT has the Hyatt Regency for $78.93/night, $157.86 + $32.12 tax and fees, total $189.98. I know it's a bit of a hike from the Hyatt hotel to the Quarter, but wanted to get anyone's thoughts on whether I might be able to get better rates through PL or HW in the next month or so? I know it's generally a crap shoot based on inventory, etc., but just wondered if anyone had any insight on whether the MLK weekend might get tighter (or looser) as the dates approach. Thanks!

[thereuare]

It really is a toss-up as to whether rates will come down, or move higher from here between now and your stay, but i'll add that at the moment rates don't look too terribly high.

While not a perfect correlation from one year to the next, this year MLK Day was on January 17th, and checking the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins for this weekend this past year rates for 4* hotels were in the $60-$90/range.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[hohogap]

Fanatstic, thanks for the input. I looked at last year's rates and have bid up to $85/night, even down to 3 1/2*, without luck. I'll try in the next couple of weeks and start bidding again to see if the rates fluctuate . LMT still has the Hyatt at $78.93, so even with the walk I feel I should be able to grab something in that range. Airfare's booked, so we're going regardless of hotel cost! And all my bids and searches continue to be done through the BB Board links!!

[LSU]

Hoho, If I had to guess some inventory will become available for cheaper during that time period. I'd continue using Priceline.

Have you ever been to the French Quarter area? I live less than 50 minutes from NOLA and make weekend trips 3-6 times a year. I prefer the Downtown area to the FQ since as they have better restaurants and easier access to streetcar and cabs, but you can literally be in the FQ in less than 3-4 minutes from most PL hotels.

I have a Spreadsheet laying out the food/bar scene in NOLA if interested send me an email at thelsuguy[-AT-]gmail.com and I'll forward it to you.

[hohogap]

Will do, thanks! And I agree with your assessment of zones to stay in. I have only stayed once in the FQ and like the downtown area much better. Probably been there 15 times since the mid-1990's, and I don't mind the walk at all. I'll send you my email as offered.

[hohogap]

Rather strange result for this bidding protocol. LMT had listed the 4 1/2* Hilton Riverside New Orleans as "on request" for $62.52/night when I first started bidding for this 2 night stay (with taxes and fees of $27.51) for a total bid of $152.56. After bidding, and being denied 24 hours later, I re-bid using the different bedding option, just in case. Still denied. I wrote LMT and asked how they could continue to list the Hilton at such a great price when they KNEW that the "on request" was denied and the option was no longer available. Their response was that on request could change at any time, so they keep it up, which led me to re-bid at the same rate twice again, using both bedding options. This time it wasn't just "denied," but the response was "Hilton Sold Out for your dates." Fine, the rate was almost too good to be true anyway.

So I was goofing around and continuing my searches through the BB links on this Board, and decided to give it another go earlier this week just to see what LMT had listed currently for my dates. Hilton still showed up, and for a goof, I bid it AGAIN just to write LMT and try to figure out what the heck was going on. Today, recieved a "CONFIRMED" email with voucher for the 4 1/2* Hilton Riverside for my dates. I thought I might've punched in the wrong dates I've been bidding on this trip for so long, but it was the correct dates. Total price for 2 nights the same at $152.56. Great price, but very odd to get accepted on my 5th try! As always, all bids, searches AND WINS are made through the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links (and other links) on the BB Board!

And, with mercy, this hopefully closes this thread!

[hohogap]

I've bid through the links on this Board and LMT often provides an altenative booking source that has come up with great hotels in certain situations (Hiltons, particularly seem to sometimes be far less than on other sites). Anyway, I bid an "on request" room for New Orleans in January, and the rate of $62.52/night for 2 nights was great. It was "on request," which gives LMT about 24 hours to try and confirm availability at your price. It was denied, so I re-bid using a different bedding option, still denied. I wrote LMT to complain that they should take down the "on request" hotel as it was clearly not available. Their response was that inventory changes and "on request" might be "available" in the future.

So, enjoying the thrill of the bid, I repeated my prior process, and instead of getting a denied, the response was "Hotel Sold Out for your dates." Fine, not a problem, until I was goofing around a week later and re-bid AGAIN, just to re-write LMT and complain about keeping such a low cost/high star hotel on their board. Surprisingly, I recieved a CONFIRMED response and we're booked! What is anyone else's experience in this regard? I was totally flabbergasted, but happy. The only downside is I have 4 tentative bookings on my credit card at $152.56 each as "holds" and LMT says they won't delete them affirmatively, just wait for them to drop off in the course of business (which could be 30 days). Best available rate on Hilton web site was $239.00/night. Thanks for any comments!

[thereuare]

There is a link which explains this in the PRICELINE FAQ.

[hohogap]

Thanks. I had read that link prior to posting, but it still seems really odd that a 5th request for an "on request" room for the same nights at the same hotel would be successful after the prior 4 were denied. I guess this really confirms that hotel inventory changes quickly, and when you get a great deal, pounce on it as you never know what might happen in the future! Thanks for all of your efforts and the great upgrade of the Board's web site.

[thereuare]

I guess this really confirms that hotel inventory changes...

Exactly, as the hotel could have had a large group just cancel, a last minute event (small conference or business meeting) that they were hoping to get for these dates fall through, or hit a point of 'x days' before arrival and we should try to get occupancy levels a bit higher.

Glad you found something that works for your needs/budget and were able to take advantage.

Enjoy your stay.

[hohogap]

Thanks for your great advice, the hotel will work great at this rate and keeps me from spending hours bidding on these dates to get the best prices!