Priceline Hotel: 5* Sydney, Australia

[vondeltoid]

I've been trying to bid on 5* hotels in Sydney, Australia (which are only available in Zones 1 & 2).

My stay would be next week - 3/12/13 to 3/15/13.

My highest bid of $160 USD was rejected, and I'm trying to figure out if I'm WAY too low, or pretty close since my stay is only a few days away.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Unfortunately i think you're still likely a good ways away:

Go to MAPS and HOTELS.com and search for Sydney Australia and then only check the 5* option... the least expensive 5* hotel is over $350/nite, making your $160 bid still less then half price of prevailing rates. What is your maximum bid for a 5* hotel before you consider lowering your star rating to the 4* level?

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

[vanpoodle]

I had a lot of trouble with bidding in Sydney for my stay last August. I ended up having to go the traditional route when I saw that my bidding was getting to be higher than what other sites were listing for their retail sites. I did very well with bidding on priceline for Melbourne, but Sydney was trouble. The best I can guess is that they don't have that many hotels participating in NYOP. I think I got to just shy of $200 a night for 5* and gave up and booked a known 4*. There were a few dodgy 4* that barely squeaked in to the CBD with NYOP, so I wasn't willing to drop it down to 4* to snag a room. It's worth taking another look because if memory serves they may have changed the zones a bit since then.