Priceline Hotel: Long stay

[jobean]

Please help me bid for a room in Orange County from 12/7/13 through the end of the year or 30 days. Sorry for the short notice but it's last minute. Wouldn't mind something like the Fairfield or Extended Stay America.

[AaronJB]

What would be your desired budget per night for this stay and which zone/s would be acceptable?

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

[thereuare]

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

... and please click each of the links above before replying.

Thanks.

[Romelle]

Priceline only lets you bid for stays up to 21 nights. However, that isn't all bad, since you'll probably be totally tired of one hotel toward the end.

Also, you could try bidding for shorter periods like two 15 night stays. And then if you wanted more bids, you could bid 16/14, 17/13, etc.

It might be necessary to break things up anyway since your stay is running over both Christmas and New Year's. Availability will be variable, and sometimes Priceline doesn't do a good job on averaging.

Hotwire will let one try for 30 days.

Romelle

[jobean]

Sorry didn't post sooner but my battery ran out. Was planning on staying at an executive sublet place but she changed the price on me at the last minute and I feel like I haven't been able to get a straight answer. It's been a while since I've used priceline/better bidding but I had good luck in the past.

Breaking up the stay even into 3 stays of 10 days is ok. My budget is $1600 for a month. Less would be better but don't know if that is reasonable for a nice clean place in a safe area.

My preferred zones are:

Irvine spectrum

Irvine Santa Ana

Anaheim hills

I am not as familiar with but suspect these areas would be ok too

Angels stadium

Lake forest

Foothill ranch (? Zone?)

[Romelle]

The budget will be a bit of a challenge, but possible. It equates to about a $42 bid per night if you are still talking a full 30 days.

On Priceline Express there is a 2* offer at $51 or $52 (depending upon the date range) in one of your top three zones. They throw in Free Breakfast. You might use this as a back-up plan. Try bidding first. If you aren't successful within your budget, then book the first batch of nights with Priceline Express so you can continue working on the later nights.

You might prefer booking either 7 or 14 nights so you can move on weekends?

You've only got today and tomorrow to find a place starting the 7th. Yes, you can bid on the same day as the stay begins.

You might look at Hotwire also. There is a 2* Irvine offer within your budget. For your first 10 days. If you haven't used Hotwire, you'll find it really simple. Upper left hand corner of this site for the link. The zones are different from Priceline's zones, so do take a good look at the map. They can be a little more generous with their star ratings, maybe a 1/2 star, but it varies a lot. No bidding involved. Either accept their offer or not. Very similar to Priceline Express.

And when you are on Priceline, do check the "My Rewards" area. Rather randomly, bonus money can show up there.

I'll leave the moderators to give you the fancy bidding plan. For the record, I'm just a member.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Do you want to go with one of the HOTWIRE or PRICELINE EXPRESS offers above OR try bidding on PRICELINE? If the latter, what is the minimum star rating you're willing to accept and your maximum bid price (before taxes/fees)?

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

[jobean]

The last time I booked with Hotwire! I had a bad experience so I don't want to try that again right now. Will probably book the Springhill Suites Santa Ana $79 for a couple of nights to buy myself some time since things are very hectic right now and I can figure out what 2* and 3* hotels are available. And booking for 7 nights sounds like a good idea.

[thereuare]

Keep us updated as to when you'd like to resume bidding for this stay and for what dates.

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

[Romelle]

..... and I can figure out what 2* and 3* hotels are available.

You can see what hotels have been reported as Priceline wins in the Priceline Hotel List.

Of course it is always possible to get a new as-yet-unreported hotel, but this will give you a good idea of the types.

Romelle

[jobean]

Thanks!

Really like this Spring Hill Suites, too bad they aren't on the list. Are the Doubletrees (hotel and club) across the way similar? They have pretty good reviews. Someone listed in September that they won the doubletree club for $47. Bidding for 7 nights starting 12/8 for something similar.

[Romelle]

I seem to remember getting a Spring Hill Suites via bidding in a different city. Los Cruses, NM? Even if they haven't been reported for your Orange County zones, they could be a possibility. I've several times gotten hotels not yet reported, and always enjoy being able to add a new one to the lists.

The Doubletree is a 3.5* on PRICELINE. Spring Hill Suites is a 3*. I don't know the particular Doubletree in your area, but I've stayed at several in other areas and they have always been really nice. And I think they use the same great chocolate chip cookie recipe everywhere. I'd guess they might be a little bit more posh, but wouldn't have the mini-kitchen/dining/living room areas.

If you haven't found it already, there is a Hotel Review area at the very end of this site. Reviews are member-submitted, and include the unique perspective of having a PRICELINE or HOTWIRE bargain rate.

There is also www.tripadvisor.com which has a huge amount of reviews on hotels everywhere from anybody.

I'm glad you bought yourself a little breathing room. Now to get down to some serious bidding.....

Romelle

[thereuare]

Really like this Spring Hill Suites, too bad they aren't on the list. Are the Doubletrees (hotel and club) across the way similar? They have pretty good reviews. Someone listed in September that they won the doubletree club for $47. Bidding for 7 nights starting 12/8 for something similar.

You mention two hotels that have different star ratings, so i'm not sure what you're looking for by "something similar". For help with a bidding strategy please let us know the star rating you'd like to try for, the zones (by PRICELINE name) you're willing to accept, and your maximum bid.

However, i'll add that rates are date specific, so you won't necessarily be able to replicate another user's win when their dates are different than your own.

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

[jobean]

I didn't know that they were different star ratings, somewhere else listed the Springhill as 3.5 *. So I guess I would like to bid for a 3.5 * in Irvine - Santa Ana, max $50. I'm figuring $15 in taxes/fees + $10-15 parking, so that would end up $75-80 per night. So lower bid is better or how to get a place w/o parking fees.

[jobean]

Sorry I've been so dense but I couldn't find the hotel reviews. I found the list of hotels by region then zones and hotels but no reviews. Could you please provide a link? Thanks.

[Romelle]

No problem. New web sites are always sort of over-whelming to me too.

Click here.

Alternatively, click up on either BetterBidding or Forums (left side in the header) and then just scroll clear down to the very end. And there it will be.

To use the area, the first post lets you click on a letter of the alphabet for the first letter of the state in which you are interested - "C" for California in your case. Then scroll down to your particular city - Orange County I think.

Foreign countries are treated like states, so when you start hunting for one of those it will be "F" for Paris, France.

And regarding the hotel star rating:

Hotels of the same chain with the same name can have different ratings in different cities. We are used to Holiday Inns around a 2.5* or 3*, but I think there is a 5* one in London.

Different vendors can rate the same hotel differently. Overall, Hotwire tends to be more generous with stars than Priceline. Lots of examples of about a 1/2* difference, but a few the same and a few a full star difference.

Within the same vendor though, the star levels should be the same - i.e. Priceline direct retail purchase, Priceline Express and Priceline bidding. Those three areas don't necessarily carry the same hotels, but when they do the hotels should have the same number of stars.

And of course a vendor might choose to change a hotel's rating if the hotel changes for the better or worse.

The Hotel Lists showed 3.5* Doubletrees in the zones you mentioned as preferred, but there weren't any Springhill Suites there. So I searched for them in the retail area of Priceline and found the airport one as a 3*.

Romelle

[jobean]

Thanks for detailing the differing stars. I've also found that the star levels are in part based upon amenities at the lobby levels including restaurants, pools, gyms, concierge, etc so an older hotel with all the amenities may have 4* but I prefer something like a more recently built Springhill 3* (or even some Fairfields 2*) which may have nice suites with internet access, charging stations, etc but with minimal lobbies. That's why I try to check out the individual hotels not just the star levels.

I bid $30, $35, and $40 in Irvine-Santa Ana, adding Anaheim, then Angel stadium. Will wait until Sunday late morning to check a couple other apps before re-bidding to $50.

Thanks also for the links to the hotel reviews.

[thereuare]

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if/how we can be of further help along the way.

What dates are you currently bidding for?

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

[jobean]

The budget will be a bit of a challenge, but possible. It equates to about a $42 bid per night if you are still talking a full 30 days.

On Priceline Express there is a 2* offer at $51 or $52 (depending upon the date range) in one of your top three zones. They throw in Free Breakfast. You might use this as a back-up plan. Try bidding first. If you aren't successful within your budget, then book the first batch of nights with Priceline Express so you can continue working on the later nights.

You might prefer booking either 7 or 14 nights so you can move on weekends?

You've only got today and tomorrow to find a place starting the 7th. Yes, you can bid on the same day as the stay begins.

You might look at Hotwire also. There is a 2* Irvine offer within your budget. For your first 10 days. If you haven't used Hotwire, you'll find it really simple. Upper left hand corner of this site for the link. The zones are different from Priceline's zones, so do take a good look at the map. They can be a little more generous with their star ratings, maybe a 1/2 star, but it varies a lot. No bidding involved. Either accept their offer or not. Very similar to Priceline Express.

Any idea what the Priceline Express 2* offer is?

I bid up to $51 (@ $42, 44, 46, 48) through Friday, 12/13/13 with no acceptance.

Any idea on the 2* Irvine offer? Is that La Quinta? Some reviews said they had plumbing problems and that is one of the worst for me. I did a hotwire express a couple of years ago (in another area), got a Red Roof inn and it was awful, my skin was crawling the whole time so I've been hesitant to try again.

[jobean]

Please help me identify these 2 Priceline Express deals, one is 2.5* in Santa Ana for $71 and the other is 3* in Angel Stadium for $56. Thanks!

2½ Star Hotel in Irvine - Santa Ana Area for $71/night

This deal saves 15% or more compared to similar hotels*

Not what you're looking for? See more Express Deals.

Star Rating: What hotel is this?

Guest Score: Rated 8.0out of 10 (or higher)

Guaranteed Amenities:

Free Breakfast

Free Internet in room

Outdoor Swimming Pool

Free Parking

Business Center

Fitness Center

3 Star Hotel in Angels Stadium Anaheim Area for $56/night

This deal saves 35% or more compared to similar hotels*

Not what you're looking for? See more Express Deals.

Star Rating: What hotel is this?

Guest Score: Rated 7.0out of 10 (or higher)

Guaranteed Amenities:

Free Internet in room

Outdoor Swimming Pool

Free Parking

Restaurant

Business Center

Fitness Center

[jobean]

Oops, forgot the dates. 12/8/13 - 12/13/13

[jobean]

Also this one in Anaheim Hills. Same dates.

2 Star Hotel in Anaheim Hills Area for $39/night

This deal saves 50% or more compared to similar hotels*

Not what you're looking for? See more Express Deals.

Area:

Less than 20 miles northeast of Anaheim you'll find the upscale suburb of Anaheim Hills. Easily accessible by major highways, this neighborood offers great restaurants and... (Click for full Description)

Star Rating: What hotel is this?

Guest Score: Rated 7.0out of 10 (or higher)

Guaranteed Amenities:

Free Breakfast

Free Internet in room

Free Parking

Pets Allowed

*edited to add: looks like this would be an extended stay America in either Anaheim Hills or Yorba Linda.