Priceline Hotel: Need bid guidelines for LAX hotel

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Stay needs to be 2 nights 1/11-1/13 (although I'm not opposed to adding one night on either end for substantial savings. Not sure if that's how it works.)

Needs to be in the area (very walking distance) of the Renaissance LAX or Four Points LAX (3*) off Airport Rd.

So Embassy Suites, Crown Plaza, Hilton, Marriott is all fine. (I do understand some of these are higher stars/rates.)

But I do understand one can't zero in and I might get Sheraton, Courtyard or this particular dreaded Radisson.

Current price for Four Points went down from $99 or a few days now to $94 just today.

Needs to be 3*-3.5* or above.

Clicked on PRICELINE link on board.

Bid per night with areas selected minimum 3*:

$55 Los Angeles Airport (LAX)

$57 USC, Los Angeles Airport (LAX)

$60 Lawndale, Los Angeles Airport (LAX), USC

$65 Lawndale, USC, Inglewood, Los Angeles Airport (LAX)

Hoping the hotels get antsy and lower their prices in the supply. Is that possible? Or must we keep bidding higher?

Been eyeballing the other competitor opaque site and I see a 3* for $62 on one site and $71 on another depending on how you search.

Longtime bidder on PL, never been successful. Any advice anyone? And should I split up the two dates? Also, wondering if I don't have enough to get authorized on the card, beyond the charge amount, would it deny the bid? There is at least $50 available above the total bid amount and taxes.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Needs to be in the area (very walking distance) of the Renaissance LAX or Four Points LAX (3*) off Airport Rd.

So Embassy Suites, Crown Plaza, Hilton, Marriott is all fine. (I do understand some of these are higher stars/rates.)

But I do understand one can't zero in and I might get Sheraton, Courtyard or this particular dreaded Radisson.

Are these others hotels/parts of the zone acceptable to you? If not, HOTWIRE would be a better option as you'd at least be able to take a guess as to hotel you may receive based upon the amenities and any other description provided by HOTWIRE, and therefore have a guess as to if the property will work/be close enough for your needs... with PRICELINE you can receive a hotel anywhere within the zone(s) that you select.

You'll need enough available credit on your card to cover the transaction, but keep in mind that most hotels will require a credit card when you check-in as well as place a hotel in order to cover incidentals, so if you're using a debit card you'll need to call the hotel beforehand to find out how much they place on hold for a 2 nite stay and ensure that you have available funds on the card you're using.

If you need a specific location you may also want to try our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com which will show you all hotels on a map (with prices and star ratings directly on the map)... should make it easy to see what is in the immediate area and how much more/less it would cost to go up/down in star rating and/or closer/further from your ideal location.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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Thank you, glad to be here. I want to try PRICELINE because HOTWIRE is not listing any hotels in that area and it looks like Holiday Inn falls in the same class as Four Points and it will be a pain to get back and forth without a car. (Been reading neighborhood is not nice and the insides of the rooms are not well cared for at the HI.)

*I understand anything in that zone could be picked for me within it's star class, so that's fine. Even if it unfortunately turns out to be in the "panhandle" part of the zone near the northern side of the airport. That's still better than being stuck farther out like Culver. (Which I have to be careful not to accidentally select.)

*I have enough to cover the transaction, but not sure if Priceline wants to authorize more for it at the time of bidding. I can deal with deposits later. I ask that because I'm wondering if the bid's just always too low, or there could be that reason why my bid is denied...

And yes I did check the MAPS and HOTELS.com sister site. Very nice. Confirmed my suspicions and hotels of which I've looked and researched a lot on at this point.

I've been looking at price ranges and either rooms are out of stock on PRICELINE or they just want a ton of money for these days and being hopeful they fill up because I'm right in the correct range to get something.

I know adding a Thurs night stay or a Sun night stay can hurt the bid by requiring another night be "in stock," but can it help to get a rate down by an amount that would make it worth it?

Am I supposed to wait even more last minute? Because it sure looks like I can get better and closer to the airport for less and not have to deal with the Holiday Inn near the freeway.

[thereuare]

Rates for these dates are not high and it is a bit surprising that your $65 bid for a 3* hotel was not accepted, although i'm not sure just how long ago you placed that bid. (the $65 bid you mentioned in your first post was at the 3* level??)

With your stay just 3 days away i don't think it's a timing issue... is $65 still your maximum bid for this trip OR do you want to bump it up a few more dollars?

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

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Yes honest to God. Actually I saw that I used an extra bid separately to $66 and i was bidding 3* all the way.

Well the property I'm aiming for is now $76 just straight out purchasing it (Name clearly shown), and I see a 3.5* "Express Deal" for $69... so I really don't know. How much more do you think it would take? I really actually went over-budget as I had planned to max bid $60... How much is a 3* and a 3.5* supposed to be at this time of year?

Should I go down to a 2.5 star? I mean at least then I get a free continental breakfast.. What would the range be for that level at LAX.

Maybe I should do a separate one day stay on Thursday night so I'll be right there when I wake up.. if so, would the price range be the same as 2.5* for Fri-Sun stay? Currently I see a $60 "Express Deal" for a 2.5* LAX hotel.

[thereuare]

Well the property I'm aiming for is now $76 just straight out purchasing it (Name clearly shown)...

What hotel is this? If you're bids up to $66 have already been rejected is it not worth $10 more per nite to have the hotel you want and not have to change hotels mid-stay? (i'm not saying it is, i'm asking for your thoughts, as for some the extra $10 is worth it... to others it's not)

...and I see a 3.5* "Express Deal" for $69... Should I go down to a 2.5 star?

It really depends what you're looking for from this stay and how much you 'use' the hotel and care about the amenities that come with a 2.5* property vs. the 'upgrade in comfort' that a higher rated hotel offers.

Maybe I should do a separate one day stay on Thursday night so I'll be right there when I wake up.. if so, would the price range be the same as 2.5* for Fri-Sun stay? Currently I see a $60 "Express Deal" for a 2.5* LAX hotel.

Again, this comes down to personal preference on how you value a $5-$10 difference in price vs. a 2*/3*/3.5* hotel... as well as how you feel about changing properties.

If you're looking to split the bid/purchase, i would first search HOTWIRE and PRICELINE EXPRESS for the dates that you're going to be using to see if what appears to be the same hotel appears on each search and how it effects the price (if at all).

I would also focus if the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal or HOTWIRE offer(s) show user review ratings... personally (for me) i prefer higher rated hotels, but for a similar price i would sooner take a lower star rated hotel that had 9.0/10 user reviews (or a 4.5/5.0 TA rating) with free breakfast vs. a 4* hotel with mediocre reviews.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

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Well the $77 (non opaque?) hotel I was aiming for was the Four Points because the Renaissance across the street was a 4 star and too high.

But that was before there was a last minute Venue change, so now we're aiming for the Hilton on Century east of Airport Blvd.

That means the Super 8 is now out of the running (ideally) and if I have to, I guess I can weigh my options more now. Tons of hotels on that street of the new venue (Century).

Plus, it's not $10 more a night, it's actually $20 over personal budget per night. And of course adding on the hidden bidding fee per night...

So a late mid stay change of hotels won't be prudent probably, I'd be too tired and just want to go to the room and not have to deal with the check in process...

And I agree, it doesn't seem very worth bidding because it's starting to not be cost saving very much.

I'm not sure what I'm really looking for as far as amenities, but I know from my experiences 2.5* have free breakfasts and 3*s have a restaurant so no free breakfast. I suppose I can do without but it would be really nice.

I know I'll be in the hotel at least to sleep 8 hrs and I want to be comfortable and happy and relaxed in the hours before and after. A good tv is important as I seem to be more in the rooms than most people.

So I agree with you about the higher rated and if necessary to go down star levels for a higher rating.

And what numbers in user reviews are considered mediocre? 7.5? Because I've looked at some of them and those rating in the 5's were really "in the dumps" bad, if you will. What is a generally good level to stay above on user ratings?

I probably might as well look at Hotwire. I saw a $63 there the other day. But they rate hotels higher. ie 2.5 at 3*s. And yes I really would like a 3.5-4* but it's just not in the budget as I was only planning to spend $60 before taxes per day and it adds up.

And yes, 9.0/10 is definitely a very nice find. That's practically everyone who enjoys it notwithstanding the always complaining types.

If nothing else, I hope this helps to serve as a price marker for Priceline for this area at this time of year. I cannot imagine there being anything special in town or on this side of town that would raise prices so high. It's winter so I can't imagine high occupancy even though Four Points did threaten me to book early or get sold out of the hotel. Maybe that really happened.

Let's try one last thing. I'll probably keep looking, but: considering what you know now...

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If I were to stay on the night before, can you advise what price levels on Priceine to start bidding at for one night on 1/10/13-1/11/13 and then I'll get a better idea on if I'll switch over to another hotel.

And by the way, I did bid up to $60 3* on just one night 1/10-1/11 and no acceptance with both LAX and USC bidzone, $50 to start out, LAX only.

Not much luck on Priceline this trip either it seems. Also tried going down to a 2.5 star up to a $58 level. No go. Any more bidding advice? for just that one night?

[thereuare]

I think you're $5-$10 away from a win on all or most of your bids... with the change in venue not sure what your current options are in terms of price if you decide not to go with PRICELINE / HOTWIRE. If your alternative is a 2.5*/3* hotel for ~$65 i would sooner try for a 3.5*/4* hotel for that same bid price.

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

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So I'm locked out of 4* bidding until 6AM it looks like. So just making sure since this is my last bid opportunity, are you saying to:

pick LAX Zone, start at 4* and stay bidding at $65?

and move down to 3.5?

Should I try to add a bid zone and then move up to $70? As I see a 3.5* LAX hotel for $71 currently honestly I really am hard up for a Priceline win, so any specific idea could be good.

And about hotel options, it really doesn't matter anymore. There's nothing we can do about that so long as it's in the LAX zone that shows up on the map then it will just have to do...

But the thing is, when I pick a 3*, it picks the 3.5* and 4* for me, so aren't I also being considered for those also? Or does going too low a star level hurt me...

And hopefully I didn't extend my 24 hour period by bidding before it was 24 hours, up. At least I can still maybe try for a 3.5 hopefully if it extended my 4* timebid.

Currently USC, Lawndale, Inglewood, and Culver City are the free rebid zones available to the 3.5 Star properties.

I actually wan planning to do this:

$65 4*, if n/s, add a bid zone and bid:

$68 and keep going, $71, $74, $77? at this point, I'm sure to have something right?

-My question is should I evenly distribute or have the bid numbers be close together at the higher range since the higher we go the more likely we will get it?-

ie: Start $65, then

+1z $70, +1z $74, +1z $77, +1z $79

And then I suppose repeat for 3.5* level... but evenly spaced increments or less and less increasing as price goes up?

Worst case scenario is Crowne Plaza is the only hotel with availability, so that means they're holding out for about $75 most likely.

[thereuare]

I was saying if it were me and my back-up reservation was ~$65 for a 2.5*/3* hotel i would at least by trying up to this amount for a 3.5*/4* hotel.

Sometimes the deal is a lower price for the same star level you're currently considering... sometimes the deal is the same price as your back-up reservation but for a higher rated hotel.

Since you have very little time you need to decide EXACTLY what your back-up plan is, and based upon this back-up plan, how much you're willing to bid for a 4* hotel before lowering your star rating for a 3.5*, and how much for a 3.5* before lowing to a 3*, and how much for a 3* before you go with your back-up plan.

If you let us know how high you want to bid for each star rating before lowing your star rating we can suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Also, please confirm for which dates you're now bidding, as i'm not sure if it's just 1/10, 1/11-1/13, or if you need all dates 1/10-1/13.

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