jkloni Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 I want to bid on a hotel in Houston, Texas for Aug 22, 23, 24 checking out Monday 8/25. Would prefer to stay in the Astrodome/Medical Center area because we are going to baseball games, but Galleria area ok too. Checked this site and only hotel listed for Houston is the Omni in the Galleria area for $45 and $48.Would probably bid no lower than 3* and would probably try 4* first. Any thoughts on bidding stategy? How low should I start? Increments help?Thanks for any help. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Plenty of re-bids available so i don't see too much of a problem with this and sticking with your first choice of zones.What is the maximum you want to pay (not how much you think it should cost, but the most you'd be willing to pay) and i'll post a strategy that goes up to that amount. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
jkloni Posted August 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 I'll go up to $50 (I like $40-45). The Holiday Inn right next to the Astrodome I can get for $64 with an Entertainment Card. So a nicer hotel for less is what I'm looking for.I wonder what 4* hotels are in that area? If you don't think I can get a 4* for that, I can try for a 3* like Marriott, Sheraton, etc. As always, thanks for your help. Link to comment
Welldone Rumproast Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Hi - are you going for baseball games (tournament etc.) OTHER than the Astros? The reason I ask is that the 'Stros now play in Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron) which is smack in the middle of downtown (they're playing the Reds during your dates). Sorry if I misunderstood - just checking. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 I'm going to post a strategy for the MedCenter/Astrodome zone, but if the 'local' info from WDR changes your zone needs, just post back and i'll adjust accordingly.When bidding 4* in Houston, i count 13 re-bid zones (as of last nite, so may want to double check to make sure still valid), so this is how i would proceed:4* Med Centre/AstrodomeBid $35, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $40, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $42, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $44, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $46, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $48, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $50, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $52, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $54, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $56, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $58, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $60, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $62, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $64.I posted a strategy up to $64 because the stay is for 3 nites, so Priceline's fee will amount to only $2-3 per nite, and i were in your shoes i'd prefer the upgraded hotel for that amount. If you disagree, then you can just incrase the last few bids by $1 instead of $2.If the above is rejected, you should then decide whether you'd rather switch to 3* or go for 4* in the Galleria zone.If 4* Galleria, i would follow the same strategy above but choose the Galleria zone when starting off.If 3* Med Center/Astrodome i count 5 re-bid zones (as of last nite), and i would proceed as follows:Select 3* Med Center/Astrodome and...Bid $25, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $30, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $35, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $38, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $41, if rejected add rebid zone and....Bid $44As i said above, if this is the wrong area you need to be bidding just post back and i'll post a new strategy for the new zone. I'd bid this soon so that if there are any problems you still have a few 72 hours periods to try again.As always if you have any questions or need help with Re-Bid Zones, feel free to ask.If you find the info at BetterBidding helpful, it would be appreciated if you started your bid at SavingsBarn.com Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
jkloni Posted August 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Yes we are going to Astros games, Waterworld, Galleria shopping. I thought they still played at the Astrodome. Thanks for the update. So would the Galleria zone be better for us? Or or both zones OK to stay in to do what we are planning? If Galleria is where we should try to stay, thereuare, can you give strategy? Or would it be the same as for the Astro/Medical Center zone?I'm going to bid tomorrow evening after work. I'll keep you posted on my progress/success.Thanks again to all. Link to comment
Welldone Rumproast Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Hi jkloni,The Galleria area (Westheimer area) has the advantage of the shopping and lots of restaurants. And you can reach the other attractions pretty well, however, you need to be careful of commute traffic on the 610 Loop, which can get pretty crazy at rush hours. If you do stay in Galleria and are going to the ballpark, consider staying off the freewy and taking MEMORIAL DRIVE, a parkway road that run straight into downtown.Also, if you get the Omni, be aware that it is NOT in the area that is right across the street from the Galleria - it's about two or three miles north in an office park called Riverway. It's a very short five minute drive, but you can't really walk (very nice hotel by the way - it was originally built as a Four Seasons property). Some of the hotels in the Galleria zone (like the JW Marriott) *are* directly across the street from the mall. Downtown Houston is another possibility. You might even be abe to walk to the ballpark. In calculating your potential costs, you would need to factor what you would pay to park in the hotel garage, versus what you will pay to park at Minute Maid Park (if you drive in from the Galleria or other area). Dontown can be a little desolate at night (but that was before the ballpark opened, I'm sure that on gamedays, all the people in the area for a game really livens things up)! Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 WDR.... not bad for a Flordian! :) How'd you get so knowledgable about Texas too?JKloni... it doesn't sound like a clear cut decision on zones, so i'll let you tell me which one you want and then i'll post a new strategy if it's different than the one above. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Welldone Rumproast Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 not bad for a Flordian!Especially onn in Milan :) <Smart aleck> (coming home tomorrow)How'd you get so knowledgable about Texas too?I used to work for a company with HQ in northern Houston. They also had a lot of clients there, so I ended up making so many trips in the '90s I wanted to get a bumper sticker for my car reading "My Other Home is the Houston Airport" :) Link to comment
jkloni Posted August 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Successful! Went for 3* in the Astrodome Area. Went like this:Bid $25 rejectedBid $30 rejectedBid $35 rejectedBid $38 rejectedBid $41 accepted (of course added rebid zones to each) - no rebid zones left unless I wanted to add Galleria area which has 4*, but ok with me)and upgraded the hotel to a 4*. Renaissance Houston Hotel.Total for 3 nights $123.00Taxes & Fees $28.62 -Are these fees high? I never can tellTotal $151.62Thanks for all the help. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Glad it worked out for you!Taxes and fees seem inline:This area has a 17% tax rate, so:$123 x 17% = $20.91Therefore the fee portion would be:$28.62 - $20.91 = $7.71A little more than the $5.95 Priceline used to charge, but certainly within an acceptable range of their new fee calculation... and given the best rate of $89 at the hotel's website, i think we'll let Priceline have the extra $2 in this instance. :) Have a great trip! Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Welldone Rumproast Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Excellent job! I know this hotel quite well (in my former job I used to visit a client in an office building across the street). It is in the Greenway Plaza complex, directly across the street from the Compaq Centrer (arean where the Houston Rockets play). The hotel is connected to a small underground mall with restaurants and a movie theatre that plays both first run and "art-house" things too.The hotel parking entrance is right on the service road that runs parallel to the Southwest Freeway (US-59). When you get ready to head to Minute Maid Park, you only need to get on 59 and head downtown - the freeway is right in back of the ballpark!The rooms are larger than average and very nice. Parking is directly underneath, and you can take an escalator or elevator direrctly to the lobby without going outside. I don't remember if they charge for parking or not. Lots of good reataurants on nearby Kirby Drive. Try Beck's Prime (looks like a typical fast food joint but the food is really good) for mesquite-grilled hamburgers and super-thick milkshakes, and the Goode Company for good BBQ. Link to comment
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