tj9630 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Looking for bidding strategy for the above dates for 3-4* hotel in Washington DC. $120-150 per night (is this reasonable?)Areas listed in priority order:1. Whitehouse - Downtown2. Georgetown - Foggy Bottom3. Convention Ctr - Capitol Hill AreaMain priority is location as this is our first trip to DC and we want to be close to the sights and transport options. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Did you want to first bid up to your limit for White House-Downtown, then if that is rejected try up to your limit for Georgetown-Foggy Bottom, then if that is rejected try for Convention Center-Capitol Hill... OR is your goal the least expensive hotel in any of these zones?Also, what about star rating... did you wan to first try for a 4*, then if rejected try for a 3.5*, then if rejected try for a 3* OR is your goal the least expensive 3* in any of these zones? If the former, if you first try for 4* WH-DT and that is rejected, do you then want to try for a 3.5* in the WH-DT zone OR for a 4* in GT-FB?Let us know your thoughts on the above and we'll take it from there.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
tj9630 Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi and thanks for the feedback.Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think that White House area would be the most convenient in terms of seeing all the sights in Washington. Therefore, our priority areas would be:1. 4* WH-Dt2. 3* WH-DT3. 4* GT-FB or Dupont CirclePlease note I have listed Dupont circle area instead of Capitol Hill because after doing a bit more research, we think that maybe Dupont Circle is a better location. If you could give any further advise on this, it would be appreciated! Also, the date range that we want to stay has changed: 23-25th May (3 nights) Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 I'm not the DC location expert, but from what i do know:CC-CH and WH-DT are both closest to the touristy sitesDC-WP is also frequently used as 1) it's often less expensive than the above two, 2) most hotels (especially at the higher star ratings) are generally convenient to mass transit to quickly and easily get to the sites/touristy areas, 3) it's a great neighborhood with lots of bars, restaurants, cafes, etc. which gives more of a 'in with the locals' feel vs. the 'business-like hotel' experience.GT-FB isn't bid as frequently as the three zones abovePersonally i like 'living like a local' while on vacation (while still being able to walk to places in the immediate area), so the DC-WP zone would appeal to me based upon the hotel environments like like. My gameplan would be to bid for a 4* hotel in the CC-CH, WH-DT, and DC-WP zones... having the one with the lowest price accept my bid. If that was rejected i would re-try at the 3.5* (although do a bit more research at the 3.5* level to make sure that all 'known' hotels at this star level would provide easy metro access. However, it's your trip so your strategy and preferred zone(s) need to be tailored to your preferences, not mine ;)With the above noted, my guess is that you're likely looking at $160-$185 for a 4* hotel in one of the above zones and perhaps $145-$165 for a 3.5* property.Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
tj9630 Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 " My gameplan would be to bid for a 4* hotel in the CC-CH, WH-DT, and DC-WP zones... having the one with the lowest price accept my bid" - that sounds good. Could you please help with a bidding strategy for these areas?We would be willing to pay up to $160 for a 4* room, but obviously the lower the price the better! If this fails, perhaps we will then try bidding 3.5* in WH-DT area, then CC-CH. Thanks again! Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 When bidding 4* in the DC area you have SEVEN re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.Select 4* CC-CH and WH-DT...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $135, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* CC-CH and DC-WP...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $135, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* CC-CH and WH-DT and DC-WP...Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $148, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $153, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $158, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160Any questions feel free to ask. If rejected just post back and we'll revise accordingly.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.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 Link to comment
tj9630 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Just tried bidding up to $160 with no success...Would like to try for 3.5* in WH-DT then CC-CH up to $160. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 You budget may be difficult for just these two zones, but you have some time if you'd like to give it a try.However, before bidding, to confirm, did you first want to try WH-DT up to your $160 limit, then if rejected try CC-CH up to your limit... or is the goal the least expensive in either of these two zones?Let us know and we'll advise accordingly.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
AGuyNamedSteve Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I'm doing something similar. If I can get WH-DT cheap, it's my first choice. But it's also likely to be the most expensive. CC-CH is my second choice due to being cheaper than WH-DT, but possibly just a little more than DC-WP. However I think I'm most likely to get DC-WP based on cheap over touristy convenience. And having stayed there once before.So in order to get extra bids where I expect to land (DC-WP or CC-CH), I'm bidding them in order of expected price. That way, after doing all the standard free rebids, I can get one more when WH-DT is added to CC-CH and two when WH-DT and CC-CH are added to DP-WP. Since I've already bid them higher, and would be happy to stay there anyhow, I don't expect them to be accepted when bidding my lower areas.Here's how I've done it using only 4*:WH-DT @ $125Add AW @ $130Add Beth @ $135Add CC @ $140Add DC-NE @ $145Add GN @ $150Add MV @ $155Add SS @ $160(none accepted)CC-CH @ $100Add AW @ $105Add Beth @ $110Add CC @ $115Add DC-NE @ $120Add GN @ $125Add MV @ $130Add SS @ $135Add WH-DT @ $140(none accepted)DC-WP @$50Add AW @ $60Add Beth @ $70Add CC @ $80Add DC-NE @ $85Add GN @ $90Add MV @ $95Add SS @ $100Add CC-CH @ $105Add WH-DT @ $110(none accepted)So as you can see, I had 8 and 9 rebids with this strategy. I've got a few weeks before my trip and have a Saturday night first night, so I'll start revising the bids as I get closer. Right now I'm hoping to get lucky on the cheap side. Link to comment
tj9630 Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Got Marriott Wardman Park (Dupont Circle area) for $155/night. Started bidding for 3.5* hotels in WH-DT area but unsuccessful then added DC-WP area. Not sure if this is the best price for the location but we are happy with the hotel as it meets our requirements of being close to metro station. Also, just a relief in general to be within our budget - especially considering that we are staying for 3 week nights, rather than on the weekend.Thanks again to Betterbidding for all the friendly advise and good luck to anyone else bidding in these areas!!! Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Congratulations on your success! Glad to see you got this stay settled and are pleased with the results... always a bit of relief when your plans are confirmed and you know where you'll be staying (and how much).Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding. Enjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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