Priceline Hotel: 3* Chicago (Millenium Park - The Loop - Grant Park) Chicago Essex Inn

[jam.bonzic]

I have made reservations for several activities in downtown Chicago for Jun 16th -17th but can't seem to get a room thru name your own price on Priceline or a decent price on Hotwire. I've used Priceline many times before and received rooms on the loop or magnificent mile for $125 or less. I've went up to $150 on priceline but still can't get a room. Is there something going on that weekend in Chicago that is making rooms scarce or will more rooms be available thru Priceline closer to the date? Any suggestions???

Thanks!!!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I'm not sure how big of an event either is, but i do see a 'Zombie March' as well as an 'Alternative Comic Book' convention taking place over this nite. Regardless of why hotel rooms are inflated, it's important to note that they are and adjust your bid, expectations, or timeline accordingly.

I suspect you're not too far off, as HOTWIRE has a 4* hotel in the Loop-Theater District zone for $171/nite with Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business and, more importantly, an excellent 4.5/5.0 TA rating. My best guess for this property would be the Hard Rock should this be of any interest (and worth paying a little bit more than you have already bid for a 'known' well reviewed property). Of course you could also try beating this price by bidding higher on PRICELINE, but you could then receive any 4* hotel in the zone(s) you bid and not necessarily one with as good reviews.

Do you want to raise your bid, take this HOTWIRE offer, lower your star rating, or wait it out and hope for lower prices in the weeks ahead?

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

Let us know your thoughts and/or how it goes and we'll take it from there.

[jam.bonzic]

Thanks for the info. I wish we could look at other dates, but unfortunately due to work schedules and reservations already made, that isn't an option.

The Hard Rock sounded good but unfortunately, when I just went to hotwire, the best rate shown for the Loop/Theater area was $215....so I guess I missed out on that :(

[jam.bonzic]

:( Priceline didn't work well for me this time. For the first time ever it came back and said I could try again right now. It siad they couldn't accept my $160 bid but if I was willing to reaise my price by $28 to $188 per room, per night, I could try the same request again right now. Said you normally are required to change additional items to try request again. Howevery they were able to extend this 'one-time opportunity' to me because of the zone, quality level and dates I requested. I figured this meant if I went to $188 they had a hotel. Well, it ended up being the Essex with very bad reviews. Oh well...not happy about the hotel...but we usually don't spend much time in the hotel in chicago anways.

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that the result was a disappointment - hopefully the hotel will work out better-than-expected for the night.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.