Priceline Hotel: Priceline get the hotel you want?

[hastyle]

Hey, im looking to use priceline for next week (Toronto), I've seen a few people on this forum get the new Thompson Hotel, is there a way to help my chances of getting this hotel too?

thanks.

[thereuare]

You can't bid on a specific hotel 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, but it's still a 'best guess' and no guarantees you will receive the hotel you're hoping for. As well, HOTWIRE only shows one hotel at each star level per zone, so there is a chance the hotel you're hoping for isn't the one which is offered for your particular dates.

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

[hastyle]

thanks for the reply.

[AaronJB]

Please let us know date/s of travel, desired zone/s and budget per night if you are still interested in bidding. If you want to go for a particular property, please use the site's Support Page links to book regular rate.

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

[hastyle]

May 26, 1 room 2 adults, 1 night, Toronto South, under 100 dollars bidding. I tried bidding 75, toronto south, didnt get anything, they said i had to change one of the settings to be able to change the price, so i added toronto north zone and up the price to 80, didnt get anything. What do i do now? i tried upping the price again, but they want me to change the criteria again. I dont want to be anywhere but downtown toronto, and i dont want anything but a 4 star accommedation.

thank you.

[thereuare]

When bidding 4* in the Toronto area you have TEN 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.

Feel free (highly recommended) to ask question and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board if you're new to the subject.

Once you're comfortable with and have confirmed your re-bid zones we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow. However, i'll add that at the moment $100 for a 4* hotel in the Downtown zone(s) doesn't look very likely... you're likely looking closer to the $13-$150 area.

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

[hastyle]

Oh i was just biddingg off what people on this form got the Thompson hotel for ( under $100 ) as for the zones, I only want to be downtown toronto, so there is only 2 zones Downtown Toronto North and South. So if i only want 4 star hotels, and want to rebid i should look for a zone that only has 3 star and add it, but how do i find out which zone would only have 3 star max?

thanks

[Romelle]

The free re-bidding thereuare is pointing you to in his last post is a bit of a tricky concept.

Try this just to get you started on the idea. Come into Priceline just like you were going to bid, but don't check your two desired downtown zones.

Only check Brampton. Look at the star levels available. You will see that only 3* and lower is available.

Now uncheck Brampton and check Burlington-Oakville South. Same thing. No 4* or 3.5* availability for bidding.

So ... if you were to bid 4* North Downtown, South Downtown and Brampton .... do you see that the only possible outcome could be a hotel in one of the two zones that actually has 4* availability?

Similarly, if this bid didn't work and you went on to change something by adding Burlinton-OS you could try again with another higher bid. You still could only get one of the 2 Downtown areas since the other two don't have 4* availability.

Same game for 8 more of those nifty free re-bid zones. But you have to hunt them out one at a time just like we did with Brampton and Burlington-OS. Being VERY careful, because there are some others in that list that actually have 4* availability and you don't want to add them in to your bidding or you could well end up there.

The reason you have to be able to find the free re-bid zones yourself is that they change. You have to make the check just before bidding.

Do post back if this makes sense to you, or you want to ask a couple more questions before plunging into the free re-bid world.

Romelle

PS - you also are running out of time. There has been a downtown 3.5* win on your date for $85. If you want to try at the 3.5* level, you'll have to exit Priceline and come back in again so that all those boxes are unchecked. You can then bid at a lower star level.

[hastyle]

yeah understood, just wasnt sure how to find out which zone has 3 star and below, i only want a 4 star hotel, seen some of the 3.5 on the list, not a fan of those hotels. anyways will give it a try, thanks

[thereuare]

Have you tried bidding? Have you been able to determine your re-bid zones using Priceline Re-Bidding Explained?

If you're still confused with re-bidding try this:

1) Use the PRICELINE search box on the upper right of this page, enter 'Toronto Canada' and your dates, and click "GO".

2) List each zone that is offered in this region.

3) Next to each zone list the highest star rating offered in the zone. The way to determine the highest star rating offered in the zone is by selecting the first zone i the list, then scrolling down to see the highest star rating selectable (ie- not greyed out). NEXT UNcheck the selected zone, place a checkmark in the next zone, and repeat the process for each zone in the region. Each time you take note of the highest star rating in the zone, make sure that only ONE zone is selected above.

4) post your findings and we'll take it from there

If you don't follow the above just post back and we'll break it down further.

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