Priceline Hotel: How do you avoid the Trump AND the Tropicana?

[spotsthezebra]

So I want to go to Vegas Halloween weekend from Friday, Oct. 26th to Sunday, Oct. 28th...

My max amount to spend per night is $100, however I would prefer to spend no more than $80 a night (broke college student.) I know that is not much for Halloween weekend however I would be happy with any 4/5 star hotels in the Strip North/Strip South Vicinity except for the Trump/Tropicana.

Is there a way to bid knowing you won't get one of those two hotels?

I'd even be happy with the Flamingo or Bill's (3.5/3 stars) but I would hate to end up with the Tropicana :/ I read several topics on this site but I'm still a little confused. (Oh and I used the priceline/HOTWIRE links from here!)

Thanks!

[Romelle]

The Trump is in the "Strip Vicinity North" zone, rather than the "Strip North" zone where the other ones are, so it is easy to avoid.

However, the Tropicana is a 4* right along with all the others in the "Strip Vicinity South" zone. So the only way to avoid the Trop is to not bid Strip Vicinity South, or only bid 5* there.

You might look at the Trop reviews on www.tripadvisor.com before you totally run it out. It gets good reviews there.

Your budget might fall a little short, but .... nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Romelle

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

There is no way to avoid a particular property when using PRICELINE or HOTWIRE - the trade off for the discounted rates on both websites is that there is no way to guarantee a particular property (or guarantee avoiding a particular property.) If you bid for a 4* South Strip, you could get the Tropicana. If you bid on PRICELINE for a 5* in Strip North Vicinity, you could (would likely) get the Trump. If you bid 3.5* in the South Strip zone, you could be upgraded to 4* (as there's always the possibility of being upgraded when bidding to a higher star level.) Which zones would be acceptable? Unfortunately, given rates for these dates, I'm guessing $100 will not be enough for a 4*/5*.

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

[altoid]

The tropicana is pretty nice now, but it's pretty far south and far from the mid strip area. I avoid it by bidding 5 star only in this area.

[spotsthezebra]

Oh thanks! Somehow I got confused and thought it was in the Strip North area XD

I think I'm going to bid on strip south and north, 3.5 stars being my min star level. And if I get the Tropicana then oh well, it does seem nice but I'm in college and looking to party and I know it's not exactly one of "those" hotels, I'd be happy with the Flamingo/Elara/Luxor thought. Do you think under $100 is a reasonable bid for one of those hotels? (for halloween weekend)?

[Romelle]

Just in case you haven't found it yet, here is the list of hotels members have reported here as Priceline "wins": Priceline Hotel List

When you bid 3.5*, that also includes the higher star levels.

I think all the Las Vegas hotels are pretty much "party hotels". And they are close enough to each other that one can easily hop from one to another.

$100 might work. The only way you will know for sure is to try it. Have you actually placed any bids yet? You can start lower and work up.

Romelle

[thereuare]

If you haven't yet, please read your messages.

My guess is that you may be looking at about $95-$115 for a successful bid... but i would of course start lower. If you let us know your maximum bid we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[spotsthezebra]

My max bid is probably $110, and I have already made several bids starting from $70 and going up to $90, however that was not yet including the 3.5 stars in the strip south area. Should I start including other areas (are there any areas with only 3 stars and lower?) or should I just wait a week or so to bid again?

And I read that message and yes I am using your PRICELINE link :) Thanks for all the help!

[spotsthezebra]

Can I add the boulder area as well as the henderson area? Which both (I believe) have hotels with 3 stars or lower...or am I mistaken and is there a 3.5 star hotel in either of those areas?

EDIT: I actually just added those areas as well as the nellis area and bid up to $90, 3.5 stars, but still no luck :/ Guess I'll try again tomorrow!

[Romelle]

You are actually right about the three zones that work for free rebids at the 3 1/2* level. But before you get yourself in trouble by guessing, you need to know the correct technique for determining the free zones. There is discussion about it in the FAQs above.

If it doesn't quite make sense to you, please post back for some additional explanation. You need to check before each bidding session since things change. If you use a zone that was OK the day before, but has just added a hotel at the 3 1/2* (or higher) you could end up winning in some area you don't want to stay.

Hotwire has a $93 North Strip 3* for your dates, so you probably are getting very close to success.

Romelle

I've never been to Las Vegas at Halloween. I imagine it really is an especially fun place then.

[thereuare]

Now that you have bid up to $90 at both the 3.5* and 4* levels, do you want to:

1) raise your maximum bid for a 4* hotel

2) raise your bid for a 3.5* hotel

3) wait it out and hope for lower rates in the days ahead

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

[petrel800]

Not to butt in on your conversation, but don't forget about resort fees, some of the hotels you are looking at have some fees, others don't.

Best of luck, even Bally's is showing $199 a night for that weekend, but it's probably a fun weekend to be in Las Vegas.