Priceline Hotel: How high do you think I will have to bid for Nov. 23-25?

[vb mom]

Having problems winning a bid for Nov. 23-25 for this Priceline Zone [3* Saddle Brook - Teaneck (Paramus - Hackensack)]

How high do you think I will have to bid to secure a room? I know this is Thanksgiving weekend, but we had an unexpected death in the family and need to find a room. So far I have bid as high as $77 with no win or offer for a counter bid. The rack rates for the three, three star hotels that typically win are $129, $128, and $199 :o

I really don't want to go down in star level, as we have been unhappy with wins at that level.

For a brief moment I thought about staying further west in the Parsippany North zone, but when I read the reviews of the 3.5 star Priceline hotels that seem to win, I was not thrilled.

So basically I have two questions:

1. How high do you think I will have to bid to secure a win in this area?

2. Is there another area to the west, close to interstate 80, that I might get a decent win with good reviews?

[Romelle]

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm a member, not a moderator, but thought I'd try to help a bit.

The low on 3* Hotwire for your dates is $89, so that suggests just how far you might have to bid. But sometimes Hotwire will call something a 3* that Priceline calls a lower level, like maybe a 2.5*. Since you've not had good experiences with the lower levels in that area, if you decided to consider the 3* you could post back here for an educated guess as to what it might be.

You do know you've got one free rebid at the 3* level? You can use it to do another bid in the same session. It is the one that only has 1* bidding, so you can't win in it and can safely use it to continue bidding for the other zones.

You might also try hotels.com via the link on the Support Page. I checked it and there are a number of options at around $100.

I don't know the geography in the area, but likely somebody else will help with that.

Romelle

[vb mom]

Romelle

Thanks for responding. It appears I will have to bid much higher than normal. I did look at Hotwire, but didn't see anything in the Paramus area. I will keep checking there. I was shocked to see the Hyatt Place Rack rate at $199. In the past their rack rate has been around $120-$130. That is quite an increase. The Hyatt Place is our favorite of the three hotels, followed by the Courtyard and lastly the Crown Plaza. I can get the Courtyard for $123 with AAA, but that is way more than I would like to pay, especially since we need two rooms. To think that earlier this month I stayed at a motel right on the Pacific Ocean in Cambria, CA for $86 night. Bit of sticker shock this week!!!

If I see anything on hotwire, I will be sure to post for help. Thanks again.

[vb mom]

Took a look at Hotwire. Paramus seems to be included in the Fort Lee Hackensack Area. We do not want to risk being all the way down in the Fort Lee area. I can't find any listed area that includes Fair Lawn, which is where the Hyatt Place is located. :(

[Romelle]

There seems to be a bit of difference for the demand between the two nights. When I looked at Hotwire just one night at a time, Friday night was more expensive than Saturday night. If you were to Priceline bid just the Saturday night, you might be successful for a little less. And then book Friday night conventionally? Not a great solution but when you are booking two rooms the savings adds up.

Also, I've read that hotels sometimes will give a rate break if you call them directly and explain a bereavement situation.

Romelle

[vb mom]

Romelle, I was beginning to wonder if trying to book two rooms is part of the problem. I know I have read that before on this forum. I checked the rack rate prices at the Hyatt and there is only a $10 difference between the two nights.

I am aware that some hotels will give a bereavement rate, but have not yet checked into it this time. Priceline is still usually better. Last year we used Priceline and won the Hyatt Place for another funeral in NJ and they did give us a bereavement rate for the others that came out to NJ for the funeral. The rate was higher than our Priceline rate, but lower than the rack rate. I guess I should pursue that tomorrow.

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear of your recent loss.

I'm familiar with this area... where exactly do you need to be?

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

[vb mom]

The funeral is in Fair Lawn, and relatives live in Lodi and Fairlawn.

Basically we like clean, and don't need fancy. However, in my experience with Priceline, if you go below 3 star you are getting into a risky area when it comes to cleanliness. We have won all three hotels in the 3* Paramus category on Priceline. Our least favorite was the Crown Plaza, but it was an okay win for the price at the time. Paying upwards of $80 would not thrill me.

If we can't be real close to Fairlawn/Lodi we are willing to be west of Lodi somewhere along I-80. On Sunday we will be heading back to Michigan, so being a little West is better than being East, North or South.

[thereuare]

What about Secaucus-Meadowlands which would put you about 10 miles South of Paramus... but BEWARE that traffic will be absolutely terrible this weekend.

Another option might be Wayne - Fairfield - Totowa which would put you directly in the vicinity of Route 80.

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

[vb mom]

I gave up with PRICELINE. I bid $79 today and was told I could get a free rebid for $112. I turned it down and added the "free" Ridgefield zone and bid $85 and was once again turned down. At that point we decided to book direct. We chose the Comfort Inn and Suites in Paramus which will include a continental breakfast. With our AAA discount we are paying $117. More than we have ever paid in this area, but if I was going to have to go up to $112, pay PRICELINE fees and then perhaps end up with a hotel with no free breakfast, we decided we would rather choose our own hotel. Our biggest fear was raising our bid and getting the Crown Plaza. I consider that an okay place for about $50-60, but not for over $100. Hopefully the Comfort Inn will work out okay. Thanks for the help.

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear the bidding didn't work out for you this time around, but glad to see you found something that would work for your needs and provided some value added amenities.

If you didn't, please note from our Support Page that we're an affiliate of the Comfort Inn and please check for and use the links there to begin your future hotel direct travel purchases.

Have a safe trip.

[vb mom]

I did not realize you had a link for hotels direct. Very sorry about that. I always use your PRICELINE link when I book through them. Now I just have to get my brain to remember this new bit of knowledge.