Priceline Hotel: Bidding Strategy for 4/4 - 4/6 Arlington 4 star

[smally]

Hello - it's been awhile since I used this board, and I want to make sure my strategy is correct. I'm looking for a room in Washington, DC checking in Thursday 4/4 and checking out Saturday 4/6. My initial thought was 3.5 stars in Crystal City since I've stayed there before and the metro access was very close by. Now I'm thinking I'll aim for a 4 star in Arlington since it seems metro access is just as easy and I can get a little better hotel for not much more money.

I've seem some previous winning bids for 4 star Arlington in the $60 - $75 range, so that is where Id like to start. It looks like I have 8 rebid zones if I bid 4 star in Arlington. Does $60 sound like a good place to start and go up in $5 increments? I know parking ranges from $20 and up per day, so I'm trying to keep that in mind as well. To confuse things even more, I see several wins for the Mayflower Renaissance at $80 in the White House zone which also sounds appealing (except for the $28/day parking with no in/out).

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[thereuare]

You can/should try for whatever star rating and zones you're comfortable with as it costs nothing to place a bit and you might just get lucky, but a very quick look at prices (i'll further investigate once you decide which area(s) you'd like to focus on) i think this is what you're facing based upon current rates:

3* Crystal City in your expected bid range... a 3.5* here will likely cost you closer to $80-$100.

In Arlington a 4* likely $85-$105... a 3.5* $70-$90.

A 4* in the White House zone for less than $100/nite is not likely but a 3.5* in any of the 'downtown zones' (Capitol Hill, White House, or Dupont Circle (this last one a bit outside of 'downtown)) might be had in the $100-$120, which you'll need to decide if it's worth the few extra dollars to be more convenient.

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

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