Priceline Hotel: Hotel for Consultant

[jcarver]

I'm trying to find a hotel either in downtown Minneapolis or the western side of Minneapolis that is nice enough for a consultant we are sending to Minneapolis, but cheap enough so our client's jaw doesn't drop for price. The consultant is scheduled to stay at least three weeks solid, but we want to book week to week in case something changes. Any advice out there that could help? I appreciate it since this is my first time using betterbidding. Thanks.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Few things to begin looking at this and helping...

-is the consultant willing to change hotels after the first week

-what are the actual dates of the first stay

Let us know and we'll advise accordingly.

[dahammer]

I don't think this is a good case for using an "opaque" service like Priceline or Hotwire. The reservation is prepaid and not cancellable, so if plans change mid week, you might not be able to bill the client for the unused room charges.

I would recommend using the Travel Links to Help Support BetterBidding above and then look for the link to Wyndham, Hilton, Marriott. All have extended stay properties like Summerfield Suites, Homewood Suites, and Residence Inns as an example. You want to keep the client happy but you also want to keep the consultant comfortable as well :)

Have you ever used Priceline before?

[jcarver]

Thank you. The dates of the first saty would be 7/31 to 8/7. More than likely, it would just extedn from there weekly out until the 8/20. The consultant would have no problem switching hotels as long as it was still in Minneapolis or the western suburbs. Thank you in advance for your help.

[dahammer]

There is also a chain called Extended Stay America, but the rooms are stark and the furniture looks like it was made in a prison.

[thereuare]

Look at Priceline's map of this area... there is no "Western Suburbs" zone, but there is a Northwest and a Southwest zone, are either, both, neither of these acceptable? (look at the zone closely as they're quite large)

Thru another source, are any of these areas acceptable:

Eden Prairie, Shakopee, Maple Grove, Plymouth

Let us know and we'll advise as to how to proceed. I'm assuming you're willing to move forward taking dahammer's comments into consideration? (i don't know the billing arrangement you have the the client)

[cabara]

I'm familiar with the Minneapolis area and you may want to try for a hotel in the Mall of America area. It's along I-494, mostly in Bloomington and it's pretty easy to get around the Twin Cities from there.

The Sheraton in Bloomington (which used to be the Radisson South) is pretty nice and has been won on Priceline for some pretty reasonable prices.

(I'm assuming your consultant will have a car to get around with. Mass transit is not a good option in the Twin Cities. If the consultant doesn't have a car, you may want to focus more on the downtown hotels.)