Priceline Hotel: Boston Bidding Help 1/5/13-1/8/13

[nzpod]

Hi,

I need a room in Boston for 3 nights from 5th Jan to 8th Jan 2013

3.5* in Beacon Hill, Boston Common, Financial District, Harbourfront.

Just one room.

Any advice?

And was always using your links to click through.

Thanks a lot guys!

[AaronJB]

What would be your desired budget per night for this stay?

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

[nzpod]

70USD/per night. Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks

[thereuare]

When bidding 3.5* in Boston you have FIVE 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.

Beacon Hill, Boston Common, Financial District, Harbourfront

Select 3.5* Beacon Hill, Boston Common, Financial District, Harbourfront...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70

Any questions 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.

[nzpod]

I understand the concept of rebid zones but what exactly are they for Boston?

Given I'm staying in Jan should I book now or wait and book closed to the date?

Thanks.

[nzpod]

So I just tried it

Selected Beacon Hill, Boston Common, Financial District, Harbourfront

Start at 50 USD rejected

Add Brigton to 55USD rejected

Add Sth Boston to 60 rejected

Add Nth Cambridge to 65 rejected

Add Medford to 68 rejected

Add Fenway park to 70 rejected

So I guess now I should either increase my budget or wait?

Thoughts??

Thanks

As always I used the priceline and HOTWIRE links!

[Romelle]

With almost 5 months to go, at this point it probably makes sense to just try your bidding pattern once a week or just a little more often. You can keep an eye on other member reports with the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins (under Tools above).

You might be on the low side, since the best Hotwire 3* is $93, but it won't hurt to keep trying in your range for a while. HOTWIRE can run higher than PRICELINE.

You could book a cancelable back-up place.

Romelle

[nzpod]

Thanks for the great advice.

I put in further combinations and bit up to 78USD and still no luck.

Will just wait it out.

Is it just me or is Boston super expensive??

[thereuare]

Is it just me or is Boston super expensive??

Rates for your dates are actually fairly inexpensive for Boston... i think you have a good chance at success within another $20 or so, perhaps even for a 4* hotel, but sub-$100 for a major city isn't really that bad, imo.

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

[nzpod]

For a 4* hotel should I still bid the same way and hope that they upgrade me from a 3* or do I do a whole new bidding thing only focusing on 4* hotels?

Cheers for your help.

As Always clicked the links

[Romelle]

Interestingly enough, you have the same 5 rebid zones for 4* bidding as you have for 3.5* bidding so you can use the same pattern thereuare provided (always first checking to make sure those rebid zones are still OK).

When you are bidding 4*, you can only be upgraded to things like 4.5 *, Resort, and 5*. You will receive either a 4* or higher, not a 3* as you mentioned above.

PRICELINE always assumes all higher star levels applicable, and will upgrade you when possible.

You could use the bid pattern at the 4* level (I think this is what you mean when you say "....do a whole new bidding thing...". If it isn't successful, you could close your browser or sign out of PRICELINE and then link back in and do the pattern at the 3.5* level.

Romelle

[nzpod]

So I cant seem to do the 4* bid.

I did the whole 3.5* bid as described yesterday.

So it would seem I can start at 4* the downgrade to 3.5 but cant go the otherway?

Cheers

[Romelle]

Yes, you can start at 4* and then downgrade to 3.5, but within the same 24 hour bidding session you can't go the other way. The reason is that Priceline has already assumed 4* when you bid 3.5*, so it amounts to a repeat bid.

If you are trying to do the 4* bid now and getting messages along the lines of "you've already made that bid" or "repeat bid", you probably are still within 24 hours of when you were doing your 3.5* bidding yesterday.

It probably will be necessary to not do anything for a full 24 hours from these 4* attempts, since those have triggered that 24 hour clock again. You have to wait until it clears before starting a new session. 24 hours from the last thing you did.

I usually keep a little crib sheet on my computer, posting the time I get out of Priceline so I don't fight their very particular clock. And I spot them a few minutes too. You've got a long time until this trip. An easy way to stay out of timing problems is to just bid every other day. Then you can do it anytime.

I occasionally get really frustrated with Priceline too. Have to tell myself how much money I'm saving and/or how much nicer places I get to stay.

Romelle

[thereuare]

If willing to bid up to $100 for a 4* hotel i would try as follows (taking into consideration your recently rejected bids up to $78):

Select 4* Beacon Hill, Boston Common, Financial District, Harbourfront...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $83, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $88, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $93

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck!

[nzpod]

Hi all,

So I bid up to 95 with no luck.

Looking for a 4* in Beacon, Common, Financial an Harbor Front.

Should I wait or increase my bid?

Thanks!

AS always used the PRICELINE link

[Romelle]

There is a good discussion of bid timing in the FAQs. Essentially, there really isn't any way to know whether rates will go up, down or stay about the same. There are a couple cities rumored to be better at the very last minute, but I don't think Boston is one of them. For that matter, I'm not particularly sure of the rumor either. If you want to try a last minute tactic, do take the precaution of making a cancelable back-up reservation.

Have you tried the 3.5* level recently? You were considering it earlier.

And it might be worth your while to look at Hotwire. Within the range you are bidding are some 3*s, plus a 4* at the Quincy Market Place. And a $104 4* in one of your selected areas.

Good luck.

Romelle