Priceline Hotel: Houston (Galleria) Help

[stargazir]

Hi,

I'm a first time user and am trying to book in Houston Galleria for Feb 1st - 4th (3 nights). There are some recent wins posted $50 - $55 for 4*. I have just tried a number of re-bids up to $53 with no luck. Should I just increase my bid or will it possibly be worth trying again over the next few days?

Also, i've chosen a 4* as I won't have a car and would like to be close to the Galleria. I figure that a 4* will hopefully have a free local shuttle bus but lower star ratings might not. Is this a correct assumption? My main priority is location rather than amenities.

Thanks in advance!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

I think you're likely not far away from a win in the area - possibly in the $57-65 neighborhood. However, there is definitely no guarantee of a local shuttle - not sure how many offer it in this zone.

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

[thereuare]

My main priority is location...

Since location is a primary consideration for this stay you may want to consider HOTWIRE too as you can use the description provided to take a guess before your purchase as to the hotel being offered (and therefore also have an educated guess as to the location of the property, as well as if a shuttle is offered). However, you'll also want to check the zone boundaries of the Galleria zone on HOTWIRE as it may be different then PRICELINE's zone boundaries. HOTWIRE will likely cost you a little more than PRICELINE, but it would at least give you the ability to try to target a specific hotel/zone.

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

Keep us updated on your progress and/or if we can be of further help in the pursuit of a hotel for this trip.

[stargazir]

Thanks for your help so far. When using hotwire do I just compare the list of amenities to the list of hotels on here then try to guess or do you mean I should look at the list that hotwire provides as which hotels a certain star includes and go from there?

[thereuare]

You should use the information on the board as a starting point... if there is something you think you've matches and are interested in, you can either move forward with the HOTWIRE purchase or ask the board for help in confirming what you suspect the property to be; if something that you can't find a match for but meets your desired zone, star rating and budget, then ask for the board for help and we'll research and try to give our best guess.

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

[amanisofia]

I live in the houston area and bid in the galleria area every time I do a night out downtown (lot better then having to drive home). I have always gotten a four star hotel in the 50-60 dollar range. You will usually get either the intercontinental, jw marriot, or hilton postoak. These are all nice hotels perfectly located and a deal at that price. Once in while you will get lucky and get the westin or hotel derek. All the hotels are within a three block radius of each other.

The only time you will not get a room is when a large event is going on downtown. You can figure that out by looking at the individual hotel web sites, if they have room available then priceline usually comes through.

Best of luck and enjoy your stay.

[stargazir]

Thanks to everyone for all of your help. I did a bit more research on the hotels on the list here and decided that anything down to a 3* would probably be close enough to the Galleria for me or offer a shuttle that would help me get there. I tried bidding again the last two days including down to a 3* hotel. My highest bid was $60 which wasn't accepted. I have now booked Hotel Indigo through another website, paid $78 including tax which is slightly more than the bidding process but at least I know what I am getting (also seems to be a very good rate compared to most sites). That booking is refundable so I will try again in a week or so for a 4* and see what happens.

[thereuare]

Glad you found something that works for your needs (at least as a back-up).

If i didn't mention it above, you can try searching for a hotel at MAPS and HOTELS.com as it provides an easy way to see which hotels are near your desired location, as well as how much more/less it would cost to stay closer/further away as well as go higher/lower in star rating.

Let us know if any changes to your reservation or if we can be of further help along the way.

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

[stargazir]

That website is great. Thanks!

[thereuare]

Glad you like the MAPS and HOTELS.com site... we have quite a few more TOOLS in development at the moment which we be released in the coming weeks.

Have found anything that works as a suitable back-up?

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

[stargazir]

Not as yet. After reading further reviews of the back-up hotel I booked I think I am happy with it, particularly as location was important to me. I have been looking on both priceline and hotwire to see if I can grab a bargain however it looks like I will only save about $10 per day so currently think its not worth the risk of changing. Thanks again for all your help

[thereuare]

Let us know if any changes in your plans or if we can be of help along the way.

[CountBlah]

I figured I'd piggy back on this topic, as it's my exact issue.

I used to use priceline all the time to book hotels for my trips down to my home office in the Galleria area. I usually book Monday - Friday and have always started a week out by trying 5, 4, 3.5 stars. I used to start at $79 then work my way up to $89 and $99 per if none are accepted. I usually got the Hotel Derek at $79 or $89, occasionally I'd get the Intercontinental. But it seems that the last 6 months or so, I can not book a room at all!!! I've even gone as high as $109 and still get rejected every time.

Because of no accepted bids, I've been staying at Extended Stay America for like $85-$89 a night.

So, in my experience, it seems like the galleria hotels have drastically changed their prices or agreements with priceline. This used to be easy, now I'm finding priceline simply does not work for me anymore.

Any advice would be appreciated, or else I will be forced to abandon priceline because it has effectively stopped working for me.

Thanks!!!

[thereuare]

CountBlah,

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages.

For help with your own situation please start a NEW TOPIC, and if possible, include dates of an upcoming trip to the area so we can have a look at actual dates and pricing.

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

Thanks.

[CountBlah]

Will do, thanks.