Priceline Hotel: 4* Detroit (Downtown) The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

[Hail Hail!]

Looking to stay downtown on August 24th. My #1 choice for a hotel would be Greektown, as it's close to everything I want (food, fun, Comerica). I have seen the winning bids here ($85, $90, and $95) and would be ok with spending any of those, but the cheaper the better!

From what I can tell, there are two 3.5* hotels downtown (the third 3.5* Priceline lists is out of the downtown map area) that are offered on Priceline's website - Greektown, and the Doubletree. I looked online and called, and there is about a $40 difference between the rates. I also tried looking on Hotwire, but they don't appear to offer that hotel for those dates.

My big question is this: if I were to bid, for example, $65, would the Doubletree be more likely to accept the bid than Greektown? If I want Greektown, should I start with a higher bid? Or is it really just a 50/50 shot based on availability?

EDIT: I've never used Priceline before, so any help with bidding would be much appreciated!!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

With PRICELINE there is no way to target or guess which property you will receive before your purchase. As well, the star rating you select is the minimum that you're willing to accept, so any 4* hotels in this zone would be possibilities too.

With the above noted, are you willing to accept any hotel in the zone at the star rating (or higher) that you select? If so, did you want to try for the highest rated hotel available within your budget OR the least expensive 3.5* or better for this stay?

Let us know the above, or any additional questions you may have, and we'll take it from there.

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

[Hail Hail!]

I would be willing to accept any of them, although I do certainly have my preferences based on location. It looks like the other two hotels that have been won so far are both close to the People Mover, so I guess I'd be ok with those as well (although I understand that the list isn't necessarily complete and there could be other options).

I'd really like to go as cheap as possible while still sticking to a 3.5* at the minimum.

Does PRICELINE have hotels that aren't on their regular list that are options for the bids? For example, I see 5 hotels in the downtown area that are at least 3.5 stars: Greektown, Doubletree Fort Shelby, Westin Book Cadillac, Ren Cen Marriott, and the Atheneum Hotel. Am I wrong to assume that, if I win a hotel with PRICELINE, my hotel will be one of these five options?

[thereuare]

Does PRICELINE have hotels that aren't on their regular list that are options for the bids? For example, I see 5 hotels in the downtown area that are at least 3.5 stars: Greektown, Doubletree Fort Shelby, Westin Book Cadillac, Ren Cen Marriott, and the Atheneum Hotel. Am I wrong to assume that, if I win a hotel with PRICELINE, my hotel will be one of these five options?

This is incorrect... there are some hotels that only participate with PRICELINE's "bidding" side of their service, some that only participate in the "retail" side of their service, and some that participate in both. See the related link on our PRICELINE FAQ regarding using the retail listings to determine what you will get when bidding.

You didn't stay your maximum bid, only that you'd be fine with anything in the $85-$95 range, so i'll suggest something up to $100 and it will at least get your feet wet with PRICELINE bidding and if not successful we'll take it from there:

At the 3.5* level you have ONE 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 3.5* Downtown...

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

Bid $90

If the above is rejected wait 24 hours and re-try, once again using the PRICELINE link on the board to begin your bidding, trying:

Select 3.5* Downtown...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100

Any questions (especially regarding re-bidding if you're new to the concept) 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.

[Hail Hail!]

Just an update to let everyone know how things went...

I had a lot of time to spare, so I started low and gradually worked my way up. Then I ended up forgetting about bidding for a while. I just started bidding again on Wednesday and started at $95. Was rejected, added Southgate/Lincoln Park zone at $100 which was also rejected.

So this morning I put in $102 and was rejected, added Southgate/Lincoln Park zone at $105 and got the 4* Westin Book Cadillac. With tax, the total was 127.39. Not bad considering they're going for $220 on their website.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you're pleased with the results and thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.