Priceline Hotel: Paris booking advice

[Spinner]

Hi all,

I have a slightly tricky bidding scenario. My party is going to Paris for 4 nights: Thursday 13th September - Monday 17th September. There are 4 of us, but one of us needs his own room. This means I have to bid for 3 rooms on Priceline/Hotwire.

Good deals for that price period seem hard to come by. Last time I went to Paris, around the same time last year (October 2011), it cost about £240GBP for 2 rooms for 2 nights for a lastminute.com Top Secret deal (Novotel Vaugirard). By my calculations, scaling up, 4 nights for 3 rooms (one single occupancy) should cost around £540GBP...but I'm struggling to find anything decent in that price bracket.

I've bid on Priceline for a 3-star in zones 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, and 15. I've bid up to £35 ($55), with no joy.

Has anyone any advice for opaque or non-opaque bookings I could make?

Thanks,

Spinner

[thereuare]

Please post using US Dollars and also provide the zone names, and not numbers, as the numbers will change as PRICELINE renames and/or adds zones in the future.

It would be appreciated if you use the previously requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to access the respective sites for all your bidding, searches and travel purchases.

Thanks.

[Spinner]

Zones bid:

Bastille - Bercy

Champs Elysees - Arc De Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

Latin Quarter

Montparnasse

Opera Quarter West - Jardin des Tuileries

St. Germain

£240GBP (last year's cost for 2 rooms, 2 nights) = $375

£540GBP (target price for this year for 3 rooms, 4 nights) = $840

Thanks.

[thereuare]

It would be appreciated if you use the previously requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to access the respective sites for all your bidding, searches and travel purchases.

:(

[Spinner]

Any thoughts on the original query?

Thanks,

Spinner

[Romelle]

While Hotwire's areas are different from Priceline's, Hotwire prices can give one an idea as to what might work in Priceline. For your dates, the low number from Hotwire was $79.

When I tried the Priceline Express Deals (on the right side of the first screen going into Priceline), there was a 3* Eiffel Tower for $101.

If you are willing to chance having to move, one thing to try is to split your bid. Sep 13-15, and Sep 15-17. Sometimes that will help. Four nights is a pretty short span, and the way it straddles the weekend means you can't separate weekdays from weekend days.

I suspect $55 is probably just a bit low for success.

You might keep a close watch on the Bonus Money area. There just was a 24-hour offer adding $7 to each night's bid. They've been popping up every once in a while lately.

Romelle