Priceline Hotel: Pricelin Express Deals chances of a deal coming back?

[petcc1]

I'm looking for a hotel with free breakfast and free internet in the Capitol Hill - Convention Center or White House - Downtown areas of Washington DC from January 2nd to January 6th.

I found a hotel in the Capitol Hill - Convention Center area with free breakfast and free internet the day before yesterday for $68. I checked again yesterday and it was gone. Then I checked again last night and it was back up. Now it is gone again. What are the chances of the this express deal appearing again?

Also, I was looking at another hotel in the White House - Downtown area with free breakfast and free internet yesterday. It was $70 yesterday and today it is $104. I know it is the same hotel because it has a choice of rooms which were identical (it is the Comfort Inn, I cross-referenced the available rooms on Priceline with the available rooms on their website). Why did the price increase suddenly and will it go back down?

Should I keep waiting until it gets closer to the date to book? Will there be more express deals closer to the date?

Thanks for any advice.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Prices and inventory can change at any time on PRICELINE/PRICELINE EXPRESS and HOTWIRE. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if the hotel noted will show up again. I would keep checking, but I would continue searching and keep other options in mind as that listing may not return.

Prices can change suddenly on PRICELINE and HOTWIRE, although it's also not unusual for slight variations in price throughout the day.

Please keep us updated and let us know if you have additional questions.

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

[manypims]

PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals are definitely wacky. And for those of us on this site who like to play games, there is a chance you can get burned if you get greedy. For example, last summer I saw real good Express Deal at a beach location. I tried to undercut that price by bidding. The bids failed and when I went back to buy the Express Deal, it was gone. That happened a second time in a different location.

Express deals are pretty easy to decipher and I've had a similar experience -- prices fluctuate (often daily) and properties tend to appear and disappear. There's no rhyme or reason.

I stay in DC fairly often and I'll check several times before taking a deal or bidding. I usually use the Express Deal rate as my last rebid minus $5. (If the Express deal is $100, my final free re-bid will be $95).

For the winning bid I am about to post, the Express Deal was $94 and I got the same property bidding for $85. I've found several Express deals about $10 more than a winning bid, but this too can fluctuate.

[AaronJB]

I ran into a situation bidding last night where I thankfully was able to get something, but a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal that I had an eye on that was not that far above where I was bidding was suddenly gone while I was bidding.

PRICELINE and HOTWIRE can be a gamble from the standpoint of trying to wait out the lowest low or waiting to see if a different listing appears. If you wait, there's the chance prices may rise or the listing you were looking at and would have been happy with is replaced by a listing you're not so happy with.

I think it's a matter of having a general idea of what is a reasonable price and trying to get a good deal that one is happy with. Waiting for a better deal is a risk, and it's become more of a risk in the last few years as demand has come back up.

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