Priceline Hotel: Ready to bid - Downtown LA

[Kali M]

Hi,

I'm new but have been reading posts here for the past week.

I'm planning to bid on a downtown LA hotel. Will try for a 4* with an opening bid of approx $55 (I don't want to have to wait too long - in case I have to rebid - though we won't be traveling until November).

Is there any way of increasing the chances of getting one hotel over another on Priceline? Latest bids seem to have won the Omni (which would be great). Reviews of the Millenium Biltmore have not been impressive (and prices for that one have usually been higher). Hilton Checkers has gotten great reviews, but is that one only offered through Hotwire? I haven't seen any bid info here on that one lately (and did a search that didn't find anything).

I would prefer to be around the middle of downtown as I'm going for medical reasons and the physician is close to that locale.

Also, it seems bids on the Miyako (3* in Little Tokyo) have won some folks rooms in one of the two unrennovated floors (with stains on the floor, etc.). Does it seem to be a trend or a rule that many hotels assign Priceline bidders the worst rooms due to the low price?

Thanks for all the other info on this site. It's going to be very helpful once I bid (as long as I don't confuse things and make a big mess). :)

Kali

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Given you're situation above you can try to avoid the higher price hotel by keeping your bids below the threshold of the Biltmore's usually accepted bids... although there are no guarnatees

Most hotels treat Priceline/Hotwire guests like any other, but there are a few in the system that do discriminate. A lot of times a user will get a room that they don't like and attribute the assignment to their low rate... so it becomes an easy scapegoat/explanation; while a "full paying" guest may have received that very same room if they had checked-in at the same time instead of the 'opaque' customer.

What are the actual date(s) of your stay? When do you intend to start bidding?

[Kali M]

Hi Thereuare,

Thanks so much for your reply. I may have quoted the wrong hotel as well. I believe it was the Wilshire that's been getting the not-so-great rap. But, then again, it's a 4 star and I'm bidding low - can it really be THAT bad? (I'm NOT picky; and my husband is even less so). We stayed in a 3 star in Rome (which would have been more like a 2 star here) and loved it.

We'll be in LA 11/14-11/19. I plan to bid in the next few days. (Will also be bidding on airfare, and want to do that more quickly as prices are on the rise - d/t oil issues probably). I haven't looked at the airline hints, but will.

We certainly could stay in a different area, but I really don't want to have to rent a car and SERIOUSLY really don't want to have to drive in LA traffic! Yikes. We'd have to take taxi's to the doc and the hospital should I need tests. Again, not completely out of the picture as an option.

I've seen some posts on the LA Hotels pages where folks have mentioned counteroffers. Is this common on PL that they return with a counteroffer? If so, how long do you have to make up your mind and accept?

Once again, THANKS!

Kali

[Kali M]

Hey All,

Have read for about 2 months on this site. Gotten LOTS of great info. I'm ready to bid on a hotel for 11/14-11/19 in downtown LA but wanted opinions or suggestions first.

I REALLY would prefer a 4* which doesn't delegate priceline bidders to rooms that are damaged/old "smoking" rooms/etc, and which has internet access. What I'd prefer is the Hilton Checkers. I almost never see it come up for priceline. I've done some sleuthing and seen what probably is the HC come up for around $110-140 (can't remember now which it was) on Hotwire.

I know I can easily get a downtown 4* for $55-60/night + taxes by bidding. Don't know what I'll get though (and most likely will NOT be the HC). I can get the HC at government rate (legally!) which would be $106.00 + taxes, though the cost will be out-of-pocket (not covered by my employer). I need to save money, but also would be stressed if we got a bad room somewhere and had a bad experience.

Just FYI, I bid on airline tickets and was rejected all the way up to paying $192.00 per ticket. I wasn't willing to give up all my "rights" (choosing the airline, seats, times, layover lengths, etc) for only $50 savings per ticket. Dumped PL at that point and bought them directly from the airline (plus got the points). But, unfortunately, we've saved no money on the airline tickets.

Any thoughts from those of you who've been to the area or bid on these hotels?

Thanks!

Kali

[thereuare]

I think you need to weight the outcomes and costs and make a decision what it is that is most important to you.... getting the hotel you want direct for $106/nite or risk getting a hotel you may not be thrilled with for (what you believe will be) about half that price.

Is the savings worth it to you to take that risk?

Let us know and if you want to move forward we will suggest a strategy to try.