Lovebug Posted June 22, 2005 Report Posted June 22, 2005 I was following another string on Vancouver hotels and you suggested I start from scratch to get advice on procurring a downtown Vancouver hotel. We will check in on 7/16 - check out 7/23. My preference would be the Sheraton or Hyatt. Do you have any advice on a strategy? Does it do any good to wait 72 hours and try again if my first attempt(s) fail? Appreciate your expertise and would value any tips you might have to share. I've used Hotwire many times, but haven't used Priceline. One of my co-workers has had great success with Priceline so I wanted to give it a try for the trip. Thanks much!
thereuare Posted June 22, 2005 Report Posted June 22, 2005 Is SPLITTING YOUR BID an option? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Lovebug Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Posted June 23, 2005 Probably not. I'm fairly certain my spouse would not be agreeable to changing hotels during the stay. Should I try Priceline again and raise my starting bid to $85? I could move to Hotwire at this point, but their lowest price on a 4* downtown hotel is $131. Any advice?
thereuare Posted June 23, 2005 Report Posted June 23, 2005 Take a look at the Hyatt and you'll see that they are sold-out for your stay. However, i believe they are only sold-out for the first nite of your stay, which is why i suggested splitting the bid (the other dates aren't cheap, but at least you'd then have a legitimate chance)Let us know what your maximum bid is and we'll suggest a strategy to go up to that amount. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Lovebug Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Posted June 23, 2005 Ok, maximum bid would be $120. One other thing, where did you check to see that the Hyatt was sold out on the first night? Thanks.
thereuare Posted June 24, 2005 Report Posted June 24, 2005 Do you see the link at the end of this sentence: HYATT. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Lovebug Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Posted June 24, 2005 Sorry, I didn't notice 'Hyatt' was a link and I wondered if there was some place on your site for this info that I had missed. It's clear I'm a novice at this, I would ask for your patience.
Lovebug Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Posted June 24, 2005 Also, please understand that we would like to stay at the Sheraton or Hyatt, but would be happy to get a decent price on any 4* downtown hotel.
thereuare Posted June 24, 2005 Report Posted June 24, 2005 At the 4* level you have three re-bid zones available. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read PRICELINE RE-BIDDING and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before bidding.This is what i would try...Select 4* Downtown...Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $90, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* Downtown and re-bid zone2...Bid $95, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* Downtown and re-bid zone3...Bid $100, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* Downtown and re-bid zone1 and re-bid zone2...Bid $105, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* Downtown and re-bid zone1 and re-bid zone3...Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* Downtown and re-bid zone2 and re-bid zone3...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $120.Any qustions feel free to ask.Good Luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Lovebug Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Posted June 24, 2005 Thanks for the strategy. I'll try this evening when I have some time to concetrate on what I'm doing. Will definitely let you know how it goes.
Lovebug Posted June 25, 2005 Author Report Posted June 25, 2005 Woo-hoo! Was successful in procuring the Sheraton Wall Centre downtown 7/16 though 7/23 for $105 (thanks to your strategy)!Had to wait until almost 10:00pm last night due to the 72 hr restriction. Followed your instructions exactly including closing browser and using SavingsBarn to access Priceline each time. Was accepted at the step where I selected 4* downtown and re-bid zone 1 and re-bid zone 2. As you'll recall, our preferred choices for hotels were the Sheraton and the Hyatt. Getting the Sheraton is a real coup for us. You've definitely helped to make this trip exta special. You can bet I'll be using BetterBidding in the future.Let me know if there is any other info I could provide that would be helpful to future bidders.Thanks again, Lovebug
thereuare Posted June 26, 2005 Report Posted June 26, 2005 Congratulations on your success!!Glad to hear of your success. We're happy you received one of the hotels that you were hoping for and that this will be the 'extra special' trip you were hoping for. We apprecated you using the links at SavingsBarn to begin your bids, thanks!Have a great trip! Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Lovebug Posted June 26, 2005 Author Report Posted June 26, 2005 One last question for future reference, in the strategy, what does closing the browser every so often add to the process and chance for success?Thanks! Lovebug
thereuare Posted June 26, 2005 Report Posted June 26, 2005 It gives you the ability to "uncheck" zones, which is not an option if you continue to bid direct from the existing "change a parameter below" screen. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Lovebug Posted June 26, 2005 Author Report Posted June 26, 2005 Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation and thanks for the help!
Recommended Posts
Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.
Sign In Now