Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Bloomsbury-Marble Arch) Novotel Euston

[bembowen]

Hello! Thanks for all the great research material!

We would like help with six nights from check-in on December 27 to check-out on January 2, two adults. We would prefer to spend no more than $75 a night--or less, of course--for a 4* in Mayfair (yes, that is my idea of a joke) or Marble Arch, but could be talked into another area if the hotels historically land in a relatively safe and convenient area of zone 1. Let me know if I need to post more information. Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Are you willing to SPLIT YOUR BID?

[bembowen]

Yes, hesitantly. Only in two, and still with all the other stipulations, though we would, of course, prefer not to. I take it you think this will increase the odds of a better price somewhat significantly?

[thereuare]

If you're not thrilled about splitting your bid than i wouldn't do so just yet.

I would bid as follows for your complete stay:

Select 4* Bloomsbury/Marble...

Bid $55, if rejected add Mayfair zone...

Bid $60.

If rejected wait 72 hours and:

Select 4* Bloomsbury/Marble...

Bid $65, if rejected add Mayfair zone...

Bid $70.

If rejected wait 72 hours and:

Select 4* Bloomsbury/Marble...

Bid $73, if rejected add Mayfair zone...

Bid $75.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and keep us updated on your progress.

[bembowen]

First update:

bid $55, rejected, counteroffer $107

rebid $60 (I figured this was the right thing to do, just stay with the strategy since we have time.), rejected

Until 72 hours from now...!

[bembowen]

Second update:

bid $65, rejected, counteroffer $107

rebid $70, rejected

[WillTravel]

It might be there's no cheap option for your long stay. In which case, you would probably succeed in the $95-102 range. The price may go down, but my limited experience and some reading tends to indicate that while it's somewhat likely that short-stay prices will go down in price, that's rather less likely for 6-night stays.

[bembowen]

Adding Westminster doesn't seem like a bad idea--should I finish out this bidding strategy and start over with 3 rebid options? Or should I tack it on with my third attempt?

[thereuare]

That is a decision you will have to make by weighing the Westminster location vs. the other zones you prefer.

You're almost at your limit (and will be at the next bidding cycle) so i would probably stick with the current strategy at least once more time, if that is rejected, you can then always bid again immediately (from a new browser) and include the Westminster zone.

[bembowen]

3rd attempt:

Bid $73, counteroffered $106 (they're weakening! :) )

Rebid $75, rejected

Added Westminster, rebid $77, counteroffered $106

So...wait some more? Up my spending limit? Inch up by $2 each rebid for the next few weeks? I didn't really understand what you meant about almost at my limit.

Thanks for the help.

[thereuare]

I didn't really understand what you meant about almost at my limit.

I was referencing your first post in this thread:

We would prefer to spend no more than $75 a night

It's up to you whether you want to raise your bid, lower your star level, or add other zones.... you do know that you can be successful at some figure less than $106.

[bembowen]

Oh! I thought you meant there was some Priceline rule I missed about how many 72-hour periods I could have. $75 was my strong preference, but as we have seemingly established that nothing is available for that price, those stars, those areas, I guess I'll have to raise the limit some. I'll just keep bumping it up little by little until it really is too painful and then reconsider. I'll post back here if/when I win something.

Thanks for the coaching!

[bembowen]

Have been adding $2 to my bids, plus added Westminster as a zone. I'm up to $90 and still rejected. At $86, it said that if I was willing to add $22 to my bid, I could automatically resubmit my bid. I guess that's sort of a reverse counteroffer.

My plan is to discuss with hubby if he minds splitting the bid, or if I should continue to creep up. I will report back later.

[bembowen]

Okay, we've had The Talk, and he's willing to split the bid. Do you think there's a chance this will help? How would this work? I'm not really sure how to proceed now.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

What is your maximum bid for the split stays?

Based upon Priceline's counter-offer of $108 above... have you found anything close to that if youre unsuccessful at lower levels? (trying to get a feel of what a back-up reservation would cost)

[bembowen]

Not really, which is why I'm sort of thinking I should just continue going up by $2 and be satisfied with what I get if I'm going to insist on 4*. The closest thing I saw was a special I just saw at The Leonard Hotel (but only good for Friday and Sunday of our stay) for $128? per night, which is pretty awesome, considering. Unfortunately, any other night there would cost us a minimum of about $250. Most other hotels running holiday specials seem to be around $150-$170/night, though I can get the Russell Hotel for $103/night for the first three nights. If we had to make a backup reservation, I would have to either wait it out and pray for a special that's good for most of the nights we need (as opposed to only two), or downgrade to a 2* or maybe a 3*, and the best 2*s I could find, as in the best location with the best reviews, would still run us about $100/night without any specials.

At this point, I don't mind spending about $100 +/- after taxes, which is why I stopped at $90 before taxes to reassess. My husband, however, did mention that if we do stay in two places, he would prefer to stay at the nicer of the two last, if that makes a difference. I suppose it doesn't, though.

[thereuare]

If the split stay is going to work it's likely because the hotel(s) are wanting higher prices for the New Year's Eve holiday (although hotel direct rates aren't necessarily any higher for these dates)... thus making the 2nd part of your stay more difficult (by requiring a higher price). Therefore it will be more difficult to ensure that this be the "nicer" of the two hotels you may receive.

My two cents...

I would first try splitting the dates, seeing if you can find success for 12/27-1/1 (this will likely fail but best to try it anyway as nothing to lose)...

If that failed i would then try again for 12/27-12/31. This has a better chance of success than the previous bid since it does not include the nite of New Year's Eve.

If either of the above are successful, we can then work out the remaining two nites, but we can devise a strategy for that if/when you have success on the first part of the stay.

If unsuccessful with the above partial stays, i would then increase the bids for the complete stay by $2 as you have been doing... it doesn't seem as if there are any other options within this price range (assuming you're still able to ultimately find success at $108 or less) and to stretch the budget by a few dollars per nite would be worthwhile to me. If the budget is very tight you could then have one additional dinner at a pub instead of a fancy/nicer restaurant and it evens out.

Keep us updated and let us know how it goes if you try the above splits.

[bembowen]

For the first option, meaning check-out on the 1st, and for the second option, meaning check-out on the 31st?

[thereuare]

Yes (and to confirm... the first option cuts your complete stay by one nite, the second option cuts your complete stay by two nites).

Also, when you change arrival/depature dates, it's treated as an entirely new bid... so no need to wait 72 hours between bids when you change the depature date.

I would also lower your bids a bit for these partial dates... maybe trying $65 and $75 to begin (i would definately try to bid at least $75).

[bembowen]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLL!!!

Success!

For 12/27-1/1:

B/MA $65, counteroffer of $98

added MF $70, nothing

added Westminster $75, nothing

For 12/27-12/31:

B/MA $70, counteroffer of "add $22"

added MF $75, accepted!

Novotel London Euston

12/27 check-in

12/31 check-out

Your Offer Price: $75.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 4

Travel Insurance: $20.00 (because I tend to get sick at inopportune times)

Subtotal: $320.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $63.43

Total Charges: $383.43

Yay! So...now what?

[thereuare]

Congratulations... glad it worked out for you and has shown you some light at the end of the tunnel.

Please start a NEW TOPIC for the balance of the stay so that we can accurately reflect the details of your next win (how's that for optimism :) ) in the topic title.

Thanks, and enjoy this leg of your stay.