Priceline Hotel: 3* Vancouver Holiday Inn Downtown

[ivo]

Beautiful site! I wish I had known of you a year ago!!

Here is my situation: I will be in Vancouver starting 10/22 and leaving 10/26.

I want to try and stay at the Holiday Inn Express on Hastings by Hwy 1. I would like to get a rate as close to $40 as possible.

In all my searching, the lowest price I have found is through ReserveTravel.com for what was $67US, now $66US(excluding taxes-total per night charge is $93CAN).

A search through Hotwire choosing the Burnaby/Coquitlam area(which I believe is where my wanted hotel is) yielded three results:

A 3 1/2* for $87,

Amenities being: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Tennis Nearby, Business Center.,

a 3* for $70 including

amenities of: Complimentary Breakfast, Pool(s), Fitness Center, High-Speed Internet Access, Tennis Nearby,

and a 2* for $52 with no description or amenities listed whatsoever.

I believe that the amenities list of the $70 3* was probably the HI Express. But even if it is, $70 is far and above what I am willing to pay. I would like to use priceline, but how would I ensure that I am going to get HI Express? Am I lowballing too much? Is it impossible to ensure which hotel you get?

I know hunting a 4* in downtown is an easier venture, but I really don't wish to stay in downtown, the HI ExP. is much closer to where I need to be, so downtown is not an option.

Priceline's standard search(where you DON'T name your own price) lists that HI Exp. as a 2*, offering $95 a night :) :) um, sure, okay...

any strategies are welcome.

did I provide all the needed info?

thanks in advance,

ivo

[thereuare]

I think ReserveTravel is just a re-seller from one of the "Big 3" agencies. If you actually clicked "Book It" you'd see that the $69/nite rate is only for the first nite... it's also good for the 3rd and 4th nites while the 2nd nite is priced at $85.

This is the exact same price as offered thru Travelocity"]Travelocity and i would sooner use a big name company than a re-seller.

You can't target this specific property via priceline, you must be able to accept any hotel within the shaded area.

[ivo]

Actually, all four nights on ReserveTravel are listed as $66.96, with a final price of $374.40CAD or about $312.26US, plus $5per night booking fee- all told, about $10 less than Travelocity- also, the search engine is nothing similar to Travelocity's. Additionally, many of the 1* and 2* hotels listed on ReserveTravel are considerably less than Travelocity, Expedia, or Orbitz.

Is there any way for me to find out what Priceline's 2* hotels are in the Burnaby/Coquitlam area?

[ivo]

Bid 8/30 Early AM for 2* in burnaby/coquitlam area, $28 failed. Expanded to Vancouver Downtown at $34, still 2*, failed.

am bidding again in about 12 hours...

This is my revised plan:

10/22/05-10/26/05

Open with burnaby/coquitlam zone 3* at $34, expand to Van. DT at $36, drop to 2* at $38?

Low price in burnaby/coquitlam zone is $49US, high is $75US, average of rates I checked(six total) is $66.33US for these dates.

Trying to keep it in Burnaby/Coquitlam. I will of course check rates before I bid again, but as of yet, no changes in rates.

Thanks in advance

Ivo

[thereuare]

With so much time before your stay, why add the Downtown zone if you really don't want to stay there?

[ivo]

well, do you really think I'll get anything there in that price range? I just figured it wasn't probable, and was thinking of having that additional re-bid.

Do you think that would happen?

[edyvr]

Well, the 3* HI Express offered by Hotwire is the one in Metrotown in Burnaby. Definitely not the one on Hastings you want.

I'd recommend you book at an unopaque channel to ensure you get what you want in this case.

[ivo]

Not to be obtuse, edyvr, but what do you mean by booking at an unopaque channel? Could you break it down for me?

[thereuare]

Opaque = you don't know the name of the hotel before your purchase

Non-Opauqe = you do know the hotel before purchase

I still contend that RT is a re-seller; if you look at the Holiday Inn Express on Hastings you will see that the prices are as i mentioned above.... and the same as Travelocity"]Travelocity. (notice that the hotel reviews from their site go exactly to the hotel reviews of Travelocity, also note that their star rating system uses Travelocity's 'purple diamond' icons, etc)

[ivo]

After I thought about what you said, thereuare, and then looked, I saw what you meant. I'm not willing to pay those prices, either. Sooo...guess I'll have to throw it to the wind. I'd rather be hunting for the best deal, anyway. Its funner, and lighter on the pocket book. We shall see.

[ivo]

Hmm...tried my strategy as posted earlier...rejected at 3* Burnaby/Coquitlam $34, and again with 2* $36...I hesitated, and decided to add Vancouver for a third bid, they said they were still working on my request, and to check back in 15 min. Rejected.

grrr...

funny, I didn't recall asking for patience :)

lol oh well, another 72hours to go

[ivo]

*sigh*

I don't know what happened, except that I was really tired on the last re-bid, and should have just waited. But I got a good deal...

9/5 Opened with bid of $36 for 3* in Burnaby/Coquitlam, added Delta at $38, then Langley at $40... was really tired, didn't realize what I did next till I already did it...I could have just added Vancouver without changing the price or rating. I think if I had I may have gotten my wish for Burnaby...what did happen was, I added Van, dropped to a 2 1/2* rating(!!) and bumped the bid to $42 (!!!) - as soon as I submitted I realized my mistake.

Accepted bid in Van, $42, bumped to a 3*- Holiday Inn and Suites Downtown. A great deal, admittedly. But I will still have to pay for parking, apparently, $11CAN daily. I'm going to call the hotel and see what my options are about that. But looks to be a fairly nice place. And obviously, a great rate. Thanks, I used Savings Barn.

My goal was to keep the trip price as close to $420 as possible. Going outside of PL, I would have at BEST done $620, as it stands, for the total accomodations(car, R/Tplane, hotel) I'm at around $485...not bad, and again, thanks.

So, the addict bargain shopper in me says I have to go back there again, sooner, and do this right. LOL

[ivo]

sorry here's the details:

Your Offer Price: $42.00 (US dollars)

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 4

Subtotal: $168.00 (US dollars)

Taxes & Service Fees:

$27.16 (US dollars)

Total Charges: $195.16 (US dollars)

[thereuare]

Glad to see you able to adapt your plans to this zone.

Thank you for using the SavingsBarn.com to begin your bids.

Enjoy your stay.