Priceline Hotel: 1st Time Bidder

[Glamorous]

Hello everyone,

I just registered on this forum and was wondering if you all could assist me in my first bid on Priceline. Basically, I want to stay at the Residence Inn Crabtree in Raleigh, NC however for the Crabtree area I noticed there is also 3 other 3 star hotels. I do not want to stay at any of the other ones especially not the Holiday Inn because I want complimentary breakfast. Please let me know if I need to provide anymore information. This is my first time so I do not know what all is needed or if this can actually be done at all.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

One of the trade-offs for the discounted rates of PRICELINE is that one cannot bid for a particular property. If you bid for a 3* in a particular area, you have to be willing to accept any 3* in that zone (additionally, if there's a higher star rating in the zone, there is the possibility that the service could upgrade you.) With HOTWIRE, one can make an educated guess as to which hotels are showing based upon the information given, but there are still no guarantees (information that a hotel shows with can change at any time, multiple hotels may show the same way, etc.)

If breakfast is of importance, you can look for a HOTWIRE listing w/a breakfast amenity.

Let us know your thoughts and more information regarding the stay (dates, budget, acceptable zones, etc) and we would be happy to offer suggestions.

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

[thereuare]

I do not want to stay at any of the other ones especially not the Holiday Inn because I want complimentary breakfast.

You don't mention your dates so i can only speak of rates in general terms, but keep in mind that at times the savings on PRICELINE / HOTWIRE can often be 50% or more.

So in an instance where retail rates at a given star rating are around the $100 area, and PRICELINE / HOTWIRE purchases (with our without breakfast) can be had ~$50/nite, it can often be worth taking the risk of landing a hotel without breakfast if the savings are $50/nite... assuming you could find someplace to eat nearby (a fast food restaurant, bagel or doughnut shop, etc) for $50 or less. The numbers can also work with a hotel savings of $20, $30, $40 etc too... it comes down to how much dollar value you place on the breakfast and what it would cost if you were to buy breakfast on your own locally.

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

[Glamorous]

Yes, that is a great point thanks. Sorry, the dates are 1/30/13-2/1/13.

[thereuare]

So with the above noted that you can't choose a specific hotel, how high would you be willing to bid for any 3* hotel in the zone (or 3.5* if that is the star level you choose to bid)?

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

Let us know the above and we'll advise accordingly.

[Glamorous]

I would say 80-85, I want 3 stars or higher.

[thereuare]

When bidding 3* in the Raleigh region you have THREE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 3* Crabtere

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60

Start with the above and if rejected we'll take it from there.

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