Priceline Hotel: Austin Downtown Hotel Bidding Suggestions (Two Separate Occasions)

[Petenana15]

Hello, everyone. Long time follower of this forum, first time poster.

I am from about 2 hours away from Austin but love to come to Austin to party etc. I have never used priceline / hotwire before as I have normally used employee discounts. Since I don't have that advantage anymore, I thought I would give this a try.

I am trying to head to Austin on two separate occasions, both seem to fall on "holiday" weekends which may make bidding tougher than usual.

Well down to the point:

First, my brother is coming into town for a first time Austin experience so I would like to show him a good time and show him what Austin is all about. I am looking for a 4* hotel but if the price isnt right a 3.5* or even a 3*.. How much do holiday weekends affect bidding on priceline. I want just one night, Thursday before Memorial Day. Is it better to bid far in advance or a week before? I already bid for $105 in the downtown area and got rejected.

Second, I am looking for a hotel 1* , 2* , 3* etc.. basically anything for cheap for Friday night of Cinco de Mayo Weekend. This one is the one were I am looking to spend a lot less. So will any hotel in the downtown area even accept somewhere arond the ball park of $50 a night? Especially on a Friday?

Thanks for the help everyone. .. .

[WillTravel]

1) There is no one best time to bid. Figure out a good deal for your case, and how much you want to bid, and just bid up to that.

2) Note that the Downtown zone encompasses part of South Austin. You will *probably* get an actual downtown hotel if you stick to 4* (but you'd have to check carefully). How picky are you about the location? As for your price range, you'd just have to try. What are the conventional rates you see for acceptable hotels for that night? What does Hotwire offer?

[thereuare]

Welcome (officially) to BetterBidding!

If you haven't yet, please start by reading your messages.

We will use separate threads for each of your upcoming trips... we'll use this thread for your first trip, May 24th??

For this nite, what is your maximum bid for a 4* property before you would lower your star rating and try for a 3.5* hotel?

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

Let us know the information above and we'll have a closer look at rates for your dates.

[Petenana15]

Location is pretty important as I want a manageable walk or short taxt to sixth street area. I have stayed at the Hyatt Regency before and it was great.

[thereuare]

You can't bid on a specific location within the zone when using PRICELINE, you have to be able to accept any hotel in the zone at the star level (or higher) that you choose.

With HOTWIRE you can often take an educated guess as to what is being offered based upon the amenities associated with the property, and therefore have an educated guess as to the location, but it's still a 'best guess' and no guarantees you will receive the hotel/location you're hoping for.

The trade-off is that HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE.

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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