Priceline Hotel: Chicago Priceline Help

[Ryanz]

I've been to Chicago three of the last five years and never had such a hard time with Priceline. We were ideally looking at Loop or Mag Mile and have bid up to $145/night as low as 2.5 stars with no luck. I've also tried splitting the dates without a win. Any tips or advice on this? For the weekend we will be around Wicker Park, is there another area with this in mind we should be bidding on? Should I be waiting for a last minute deal at this point? It doesn't look like there are a ton of options at this point. Thanks for the help!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Sharing any prior wins would be greatly appreciated, as the information does still help others.

Unfortunately, this is a really, really busy time in the city - there is a very large convention from the 10th-15th. The weekend prior, while definitely less expensive by comparison, is still pretty busy.

A couple of questions:

Would you be okay with splitting your stay? You could get a 4* for less than what you have been bidding for a 2.5*, but for 9/7-10. It's the 10th-13th that are the real problem, and my concern is that there may not be anything reasonable for these dates - HOTWIRE is showing nearly no availability for downtown for these dates, and what is available is well over $300.

Are you driving in? 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.

[Ryanz]

Yes, we would be ok with splitting the stay. Should I be trying under $50 for the 7th-10th then? Are there any other neighbourhoods that you would recommended (ie. are a quick cab or train ride) to the Loop/Mag Mile area from the 10th to 13th. Ideally we would like to keep the average for the stay under $150 per night.

I also checked on Hotwire and didn't see much that was in this range. I did notice that the Doubletree still has openings the whole week, any chance of being able to win this on Priceline?

Yes, we are flying so I don't need to worry about parking. Thanks!

[Ryanz]

Help ID a Hotel 3 Star Millenium Park/Grant Park

Sept 7-10

I saw this on HOTWIRE, any idea what hotel this is? Is this a "good" deal, or would I be better off on PRICELINE? I've bid as high as $125 without luck.

We are staying from the 7-13 but may have to split the dates. It looks like the 10-13 is booked up pretty good and very expensive. Trying to keep it under $150/night.

[AaronJB]

Unfortunately, I think the concern becomes getting a hotel within your desired budget range for the entire period, given how bad the last few days are. With the entire period together, I think you're likely looking at the very high $100's or possibly a touch over $200. At the 4* level, you're likely looking at more towards the $215-225 range.

For the cheaper 9/7-10 period, there's a $144 4* in the Loop that's likely the Palmer. Given that, you may be able to get a 4* in the Loop for $115-130. However, if you look at 9/10-13, there's barely anything available - and the couple of listings on HOTWIRE are $300+. There's a high possibility that there may be little or no PRICELINE inventory for these dates, and if anything is available, it would be extremely pricey.

So, at this point, I think the main options are:

* Stay downtown the entire time, but I think it will very likely go over your desired budget.

* Stay downtown under budget for the first half, then stay outside the city for the second half. The issue with staying outside the city is that areas with hotels don't really start until 30-35+ minutes outside the city - such as Evanston/Deerfield/Glenview/Northbrook to the North or O'Hare to the W. If you are not driving though, the suburbs become difficult because many hotels are not within walking distance of the train from downtown.

The Homestead in Evanston is $126 on sale regular rate via Expedia and that offers free breakfast - it's also a few minutes walk from a CTA and a Metra station. Evanston is by the lake and is a college town with plenty of restaurants and shopping. Unfortunately, now that I look, O'hare also seems to be a popular idea for 9/10-13 - there's little available and a 4.5* is $183.

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

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

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

Please read your messages and click each of the links above before replying.

Thanks.

[Ryanz]

Thank you for the help! How tough is it to get from Evaston to downtown?

I was also looking at zone #4 on PRICELINE. If we are spending time at Wrigley Field and Wicker Park, would this not be a decent option as well? It also looks like a quick cab to Mag Mile/Loop. Thank you again.

[AaronJB]

Lincoln Park (zone 4) is closer to downtown than Evanston, but there are hardly any (4-5?) hotels in that zone, and they are close enough to downtown they are still going to be highly expensive if they even have availability. The Best Western near Wrigley is $270 and Hotel Lincoln (the one 4* in the zone) is over $300 for 9/10-13.)

With Chicago, when there's a convention like the one there is 9/10-13, downtown rates go sky-high or hotels sell out, then rates in the outlying areas start ramping. Lincoln Park and O'Hare are definitely more expensive for these dates than usual, and I'm surprised Evanston has regular rate inventory for 9/10-13.

There's a B & B and a hostel for $120 each in Lincoln Park, but both are shared bath.

It's a trip to Evanston, but it's easy - plus you can choose either Metra or CTA trains, both of which run through Evanston.

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

[Ryanz]

A few more questions.

I booked the Congress off Hotwire from the 7th-11th for $160 a night. Unfortunately the plan was to book it on Priceline from the 11th-13th at $209/night, but this morning the price went up $100 and then this afternoon disappeared off Priceline.

Any other good neighbourhoods for the 11th-13th you can suggest? We are likely checking out a White Sox game in the evening. I'd rather stay downtown but even on the hotel's websites there's no availability for the nights of the 11th/12th (is there a minimum stay of three nights?). Thank you again for the help.

[AaronJB]

In terms of the Congress, can you confirm the star rating and amenities that were showing with the listing? This information is available under the trip information in your HOTWIRE account.

Unfortunately, the core of downtown (Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park S of the river and River North-NMA to the North of the River) are really where the great majority of hotels are. There is the Lincoln Park area (which only has a handful of hotels) and the Greater Chicago area (which is a large area that also only has a handful of hotels, and could result in winding up in the middle of nowhere.) Downtown gets costly or fills up on convention days, then surrounding areas quickly start to fill up. Once you get outside of downtown, there's no "hotel areas" really for a good 20-30 minutes. Unfortunately, for the 11th-13th, it's either pay sky-high prices for downtown or stay outside the city (or at the very least get a refundable reservation for outside the city so that if something does open up between now and your stay, you can move reservations.) For help with the additional nites please start a NEW TOPIC.

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