Priceline Hotel: Seeking advice 3.5* or higher Downtown Jacksonville hotels

[JayM]

I'm looking for a Downtown Jacksonville room over the Memorial Day weekend, 5/24 to 5/29. The dates are flexible. The location 5/25 to 5/28 is not, I'll be in town for the Jazz Festival. I wouldn't mind staying on the coast Thursday and/or Monday.

Idealistically, my budget would be the $50's to $80's. Is this realistic? I can go higher.

I'm thinking there are 2 rebid zones for 3.5*. Is this correct?

Is there a rule of thumb for bidding, according to Hotwire's listed price? For instance, if Hotwire has a room I'm looking for listed for $100, should the maximum Priceline bid be a certain dollar amount less?

Thanks in advance!

[thereuare]

You actually have FIVE re-bid zones when bidding 3.5* in Jacksonville. See Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to confirm them with the board, or if you're confused, just post back and we'll break it down further for you.

Once you have your re-bid zones confirmed, did you first want to try for your complete stay in the Downtown area, then if rejected try for 5/24-5/28, then if rejected try for 5/25-5/29?

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

[JayM]

I just had an epiphany! Even though, I've had over a dozen successful bids, I've never searched for re-bid zones like Priceline Re-Bidding Explained because I was just going by the name appearing in parentheses. I was overthinking the situation. This is way easier than I thought!

I'm am now figuring it would be safe to re-bid in:

Jacksonville East

Jacksonville SE - Baymeadows

Jacksonville West

Orange Park

Yulee

Yes, I'd like to bid the complete stay, then whatever order you suggest, at whatever price range you feel would be successful.

What about my question regarding using Hotwire's price as a guide?

Thanks again!

[thereuare]

You can use HOTWIRE as a guide but there is no set percentage to use for your PRICELINE bidding, as in some areas there can be a big difference between PRICELINE and HOTWIRE rates, and in other areas very little difference (then throw zones and star ratings to the mix and the issue becomes a bit cloudier). Then take into account that each services uses their own star rating system so the 3.5* on HOTWIRE may not have the same star rating at PRICELINE, so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison... as well as each service using different zone boundaries.

I'm guessing that a 3.5* may take as much as $100-$115 for this trip, we will of course start lower, but this may be where you ultimately end up.

If you want to try your range first you can do so using your FIVE re-bid zones:

Select 3.5* Downtown...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[JayM]

I'm giving up on this trip, at least for now. I may revisit later, in search of a last minute deal. I was looking for an inexpensive, in-state getaway. This wasn't making economic sense for me. I went over my budget to around $130 and no luck. For that type of money, there are other destinations I'd prefer.

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that bidding didn't work out in this case.

You still have some time though, so rates may come down closer to your stay.

Thank you for closing the thread, although again, inventory may change closer to your stay.