Priceline Hotel: Any trick to this?

[xbluemoonx]

When I stay in Gulfport, MS, I typically like to stay at the Holiday Inn. Unfortunately, bidding on this hotel is difficult. The price I am willing to pay for Holiday Inn closely matches that of the Best Western which is right next door! The HI offers ameneties I want and need, plus it doesn't have a nightclub attached to it with riffraff running all about at all hours.

Holiday Inn 2.5 Star $145/nt

Best Western 2.5 Star $89/nt

Same Priceline Zone

How do I bid to ensure that I get the Holiday Inn, and not Best Western?

[Gallus50]

If the star levels are the same, there's no way to ensure which hotel you get.

If you really want one and not the other, you should probably troll HOTWIRE and possibly check out LMT so you can get a not-so-opaque listing and get what you really want.

[xbluemoonx]

Well lets say I bid $90, which is under the Best Western advertised price, but under Holiday Inn's. Would that work out in my favor? I guess I am wondering if hotels in the same star class/area would take a bid that is higher than their advertised price?

LMT?

[thereuare]

Well lets say I bid $90, which is under the Best Western advertised price, but under Holiday Inn's.

Not sure if you wrote what you mean, as this doesn't really make sense to me (or maybe i'm just tired :) ) but there is little correlation between retail price and the hotel that you will receive. If one hotel is $100 and the other is $400 then yes, the $100 hotel is more likely... but if one hotel is $150 and the other is $175, the less expensive hotel is not necessarily more likely the one you will receive.

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

[AaronJB]

If you meant over the Best Western price but under the HI's, then you could still possibly get the BW. Overbidding in an attempt to get or avoid a particular hotel could wind up in getting the hotel you were trying to avoid (or, just in general, lead to disappointment.)

There have been instances of bids getting accepted over retail (in a few cases quite considerably), which is why PRICELINE has the best price guarantee.

PRICELINE is best for those flexible - it's more about getting *a* hotel at a discounted price than a specific hotel, but you are pleased with the hotel you get, all the better. HOTWIRE, while more expensive, allows for an educated guess as to which hotels are showing.

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