Priceline Hotel: Bidding for Downtown Buffalo

[hdzt13]

Hello all--

I am new to Priceline and as you could imagine when it was your first time bidding, it's a little nerve wrecking to bid your money on something that is hard to know what exactly you will get! I have been doing my homework and reading the forums the past week and trying to understand the approach to getting a hotel you want and/or like for a reasonable price. I saw someone around the similar time, was accepted a $50 bid at the Hyatt (this was last year though). I really would like to get this hotel for a similar price.

I know I should not bid too high, otherwise I may not get the best deal available. However I do not want to end up in a crappy hotel.

The dates I am aiming for are October 23rd-October 27th, 2013 and I am selecting the downtown area. The information I receive is:

Indoor or Outdoor Pool, Pets Allowed, Fitness Center, Business Center, Guest Score 8/10 or Higher

Could someone please help me along this process??

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

You can't bid on a specific hotel when using PRICELINE, you have to be able to accept any hotel in the zone at the star level (or higher) that you choose. With HOTWIRE you can often take an educated guess as to what is being offered based upon the amenities associated with the property, but it's still a 'best guess' and no guarantees you will receive the hotel you're hoping for. As well, HOTWIRE only shows one hotel at each star level per zone, so there is a chance the hotel you're hoping for isn't the one which is offered for your particular dates.

The amenities you're seeing on the bidding side of PRICELINE (next to the 3.5* star rating after selecting the 'Downtown' zone) are amenities that are offered at all 3.5* hotels in this zone... not for one particular hotel that you would be bidding on.

Let us know your thoughts/questions regarding the above and/or how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[hdzt13]

Thank you for getting back to me.

I am looking for the downtown buffalo area, from Oct 23-27th. I was thinking of starting the bidding around $55-60 and then go from there. Do you have any suggestions? I'm just unsure where to start at.

Also, if I bid closer to the arrival date I heard from other bidders that it is better because the price is dependent on the availability of rooms. However, my other question is- if I choose to bid say a Monday versus Thursday will that influence the cost? Or if I bid at 1pm versus 1am?

Thank you for your kind help. I noticed others have viewed this but I am not getting the volume of responses/opinions I was hoping to get by posting on this forum.

[AaronJB]

There is no standard "best time" to bid, as there is no way to get information on inventory. Purchase timing is discussed in the FAQ, but there is no way to know for sure. You did see more in the way of "last minute" lower prices a few years ago, but as demand and rate/s have risen, this has been less frequent.

Rate/s are unfortunately on the high side for these date/s in Buffalo and I'd guess you're probably looking at more towards the $80-95 range at the 3* level and higher for a 3.5*. What would be your desired budget per night?

Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

...I am not getting the volume of responses/opinions I was hoping to get by posting on this forum.

We were awaiting your response to the comments previously posted. ;)

[hdzt13]

Thank you for getting back to me. I did not know how this works, or that you were waiting for me to reply earlier in the previous posts.

I have one more question, I hope someone could answer. If I book my hotel from sat Oct 23rd-25th, but I would like to stay longer at that hotel. Will I be able to extend my stay with the hotel for the cost I accepted for the previous dates? I read on a few different threat posts that this is possible to do. I do not know how this works as well...

I'll be awaiting your replies. Thank you for you help thus far! :)

[thereuare]

PRICELINE will sometimes give you the chance to extend your stay, but it does not guarantee that you'll be able to do so. If you try to extend your stay PRICELINE will respond one of three ways:

1) you have successfully extended your stay

2) rooms are available but only at $xx (and you then have the option of accepting or rejecting the higher price)

3) no room available to extend your stay at any price

ALSO NOTE: you can only try to extend your stay for up to the same name of nites as your original purchase... so you can't buy one nite and then try to extend 2-3 nites. Also you only get one chance to try to extend your stay.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (please click each of these previous links before replying)

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.