Priceline Hotel: 4* DC (Arlington) Hyatt Arlington

[HipHop-opotamus]

first, let me say that this site has been a great help a few times in the past few years, so thank you for all the advice and data.

I'm just wondering if anyone might have an idea of why my offers aren't being accepted for my stay this weekend (friday, 2/3). using the bidding helper, i started at $39 with 4* and Arlington only, and i've just increased $1 at a time with Arlington along with various zones that either don't have a 4* hotel or, if they have 4*, i wouldn't mind being in. those other acceptable zones are Conv Ctr, Dupont, Gtown/FB, Dupont, & White House, but based on winning bid history here, i was pretty much expecting the Hyatt Arlington to accept before anything else. However, i was expecting that to hit at around $45, or at most by $50... but i just submitted at $53 & received my first counter offer for $71.

so the question is, am i too close to the date of my stay to expect a deal around $45-50? maybe friday isn't a good night for getting a low price? i thought weekend rates were normally better than weekday rates in the DC area. do their acceptance ranges vary based on time of day? i don't want to just keep going up right now if there's a chance i could get a deal around $45-50 later today or tomorrow. any help would be appreciated.

[thereuare]

Welcome (officially) to BetterBidding!

...let me say that this site has been a great help a few times in the past few years, so thank you for all the advice and data.

We're glad to hear that the board has been helpful to you in the past, but it would have been appreciated if you shared your wins with the board so that the information could help other users, just as you had been helped by those who posted before you.

Rates are date specific, and currently rates for these dates are likely a bit higher than usual, and therefore require a big higher than usual bid. What you do know is that at the moment the 'right' numbers is somewhere between $54 and $71. Nobody can say if rates will come down tomorrow, or continue higher... there is always a chance that rates will drop the day after you purchase, just as there is a chance at the $54-$71 hotel available right now won't be available in a few days if you continue to try lowball bids.

Is this a discretionary trip that you'd cancel if you get something below $xx price or a trip you're taking regardless of whether it takes $71? What is your maximum bid for this stay?

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

[HipHop-opotamus]

We're glad to hear that the board has been helpful to you in the past, but it would have been appreciated if you shared your wins with the board so that the information could help other users, just as you had been helped by those who posted before you.

honestly i thought i had, but it might've been under an old email address because i wasn't able to sign in or use the "forgot password" option with my vague memory of what that address might've been. if not, i apologize. i've found some information on a couple past trips through priceline, so i'll try to piece it together and at least post the hotels, dates, & prices from the winning bids. they were back in '08 & '09 though, so i'm not sure that'll be helpful information at this point.

Is this a discretionary trip that you'd cancel if you get something below $xx price or a trip you're taking regardless of whether it takes $71? What is your maximum bid for this stay?

it's technically discretionary (we live about an hour west of DC and just want to get some time to ourselves for a night, so we're planning to drop the baby off with the grandparents who live just east of DC, and spend Friday & Saturday in DC). however, we don't need a rock bottom price to make it happen... though we would like to obviously. if i'm going to end up paying closer to $71 for Arlington, i think i'd rather see if i can get one of the top (trip-advisor) rated 4* hotels in one of those optional zones (Palomar DC, St. Gregory's, etc) for around $80-90... or even something like the 3.5* Madera for a bit less. we're also considering whether to drive in (in which case the huge DC parking cost would be a consideration) or take the metro for the entire trip.

sorry for the rambling. to answer your question, i guess i'd say we probably don't want to go over about $90-95 max, but the ranges of what i'd be willing to pay depend on location & likelihood of getting a well reviewed hotel.

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

i used the bidding helper for all my attempts last night... i'm assuming that helps the same as the links? just in case, i did click on both the PL & HOTWIRE links this morning.

thanks again.

[HipHop-opotamus]

(edited)

also, regarding a HW price i'm seeing... i'm not sure if i should start a new thread on the HW forum (i think i read somewhere that you'd prefer everything for the same trip to be in one thread), so please let me know if i should. it's as follows:

4* Dupont Cirle - National Zoo area

Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High-speed internet (added)

$83 for 2/3/2012

based on the HW hotel list, i think the only exact match is St. Gregory Hotel, but could it also potentially be one of the following: Dupont Hotel, Hilton Washington & Towers, or Hotel Palomar? based on the HW hotel list, the only exact matches are the Dupont Hotel, Hilton Washington & Towers, Hotel Palomar, & Westin City Center... could possibly be St. Gregory? i think i'd be very happy with any of those 4 except for Hilton Washington & Towers (lower ratings & a bit further north than we'd like). probably be happy with any of those except Hilton Washington & Towers (lower ratings & a bit further north than we'd like) or Westin City Center (low ratings). thoughts?

[HipHop-opotamus]

sorry, this is going from an initial question about Priceline to heavy on Hotwire... but the listing on Hotwire changed again. up to $84, and dropped the internet from the amenities. so here's the updated specs:

4* Dupont Cirle - National Zoo area

Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center

$84 for 2/3/2012

and to change my thoughts back again:

based on the HW hotel list, i think the only exact matches are the Dupont Hotel & St. Gregory Hotel, but could it also potentially be one of the following: Hilton Washington & Towers, Hotel Palomar, or even Westin City Center? i think i'd be very happy with any of those 5 except for Hilton Washington & Towers (lower ratings & a bit further north than we'd like) or Westin City Center (low ratings). thoughts? & thanks again.

[thereuare]

based on the HW hotel list, i think the only exact matches are the Dupont Hotel & St. Gregory Hotel, but could it also potentially be one of the following: Hilton Washington & Towers, Hotel Palomar, or even Westin City Center?

Amenities and star ratings to change so it could be anything, but based upon the 'known' info, the Dupont Hotel or the St. Gregory Hotel would be the best guess. Unless a hotel doesn't offer an amenity shown (and there are fairly generic so likely at all of these hotels) you can't ever exclude a hotel from the possibilities... all you can do is take all the 'known' info and form a picture from the pieces of the puzzle that you're given.

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

Let us know what you decide or if we can be of further help.

[HipHop-opotamus]

well i decided to try 4* Arlington for $45 one more time on PL before moving on to the downtown zones... and it accepted for the Hyatt Arlington. i don't see an option for changing the title of this post to reflect the winning bid. let me know how if that's possible, or if you'd like me to use the "post hotel win" button.

again, i used the links and "quickquote" boxes at the top for my searches & bidding. thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you scored a nice deal and are pleased with the results.

It's no longer there (since i've edited the topic title and the button can only be used once) but for the future, for the thread starter there is a button on the bottom right corner of the page "EDIT TO REPORT WIN" which you can click that will provide you with a form to edit the topic title with the winning bid info.

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

Have a great stay and enjoy the quiet time.