AEW Posted January 4, 2014 Report Posted January 4, 2014 We're looking for a bid strategy for our upcoming honeymoon in Ireland. We have accommodations through a tour we're participating in, but we decided to extend our trip an extra 2 nights in order to be in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. Dates are 3/16-3/18. We're looking at 3-4 star hotels preferably in Dublin City Centre South-Ballsbridge as our first area choice or North West Dublin as our second choice. We really would like to spend between $100-150 a night, less is best though. I know it's a crazy busy time of year but it's early still for accommodations in Dublin so I'm giving it a shot. How do you suggest I approach this with Priceline?
thereuare Posted January 4, 2014 Report Posted January 4, 2014 Welcome to BetterBidding!What are your priorities in terms of zone, star rating, and budget? Do you first want to bid for Dublin City Centre South-Ballsbridge up to your limit, then if rejected, try for the North West Dublin zone, OR is the least expensive of the two the objective? What about star rating... are you willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel OR is the goal the least expensive 3* or better?Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
AEW Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Posted January 4, 2014 Thanks for your reply. I'd like to bid first with Dublin City Centre South-Ballsbridge up to my limit and then try for the North West Dublin zone. The goal is to aim to pay the least expensive for 3* or better.
thereuare Posted January 4, 2014 Report Posted January 4, 2014 So to confirm... first try is for a 3* in the Dublin City Centre South-Ballsbridge up to $150(??) and if that is rejected then try the same for the North zone?Also, is the City Centre zone not acceptable?Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
AEW Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Posted January 4, 2014 I just really don't expect the direct central location of the city to accepting my bids. On average most are going for $300-400 in that area. I just am really concerned with my dates and hotels with better ratings willing to discount their rates to meet my budget. Do you think I should start working my way up to my budget with 4 star ratings and then if rejected go towards 3 star ratings? I think if I can get over my fear of these dates I can make more logical sense.
thereuare Posted January 4, 2014 Report Posted January 4, 2014 You want to include as many zones as are acceptable to you in your bidding, even if you don't expect that your budget is enough for that zone, as including more zones 1) gives more hotels the ability to accept your bid and, 2) gives you more bidding opportunities and therefore the ability to start low and gradually increase your bid amounts.I'm not sure i'm following your 'fears' as far as hotels accepting your bid, but i think you need to first confirm that you're comfortable with a 3* hotel or not. While a 4* hotel may be a bit of a reach, it costs nothing to bid (if your bid is not accepted) and your budget isn't that far off the mark for a 3* hotel, as PRICELINE EXPRESS has a 3* hotel in the City Centre zone for $169/nite.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
AEW Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Posted January 4, 2014 Your response definitely makes since regarding the bidding and that alleviated my concern over bidding. I think the only reason I chose those 2 zones was because of their location for public transportation. I checked out the PRICELINE EXPRESS and my only question is how do I figure out which hotel that might be?
thereuare Posted January 4, 2014 Report Posted January 4, 2014 With just a Restaurant amenity showing i'm not able to gain any insight into this 3* City Centre property... but it does give an indication that your $150 budget is in the right ballpark. You could try bidding on PRICELINE up to this rate (or the $150 rate of your current budget), and take this property if your bids are rejected.If you do want to try bidding, let us know which zone(s) are acceptable (if we can include the 'City Centre' zone or not)Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
AEW Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Posted January 4, 2014 Zones 2,3,4, and 6 are fine. I can't do the airport, South Dublin, or the Citywest though. I want to try bidding. I've never tried it before and I think it's worth a shot. If all else fails I have the Priceline express as backup.
Romelle Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Not to confuse the situation further, but you might also look at HOTWIRE. Left above in the header - just fill in the boxes for an idea as to what might be available. HOTWIRE is similar to PRICELINE, in that you won't know which hotel you get until you've committed. But there isn't the bidding process. You either accept the listed price or not. Since the hotel amenities are shown ahead of time, it may be possible to sleuth out which hotel is being offered. If you choose to look at Hotwire, do watch the size of those zones. There is a scale on the map. The outer zones are a LONG ways from the city center. There are offers within the budget you suggested, in the more central zones of Hotwire. RomellePS - if you haven't done so already, I'd hope you find a guide book or two for Dublin. I like the Lonely Planet one, but there are lots of other good ones. Your local library probably has some - for free yet.
thereuare Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 Zones 2,3,4, and 6 are fine.Please use the zone names, and not numbers, since the zone numbers will change in the future if/when PRICELINE adds/removes/changes the name of a zone.To confirm your acceptable zones:Dublin City CentreDublin City Centre North Dublin City Centre South - BallsbridgeNorth West DublinBut this now raises an additional question as PRICELINE EXPRESS has a 4* hotel in the North West Dublin for $151 (and a 9.0/10.0 user review rating, which is very good)... my guess for this property would be the Castleknock Hotel and Country Club. If you still want to try bidding on PRICELINE, do you now want to try for a 4* hotel first up to your limit in any of the zones above OR are you looking for the least expensive 3* hotel in any of the zones above?Please confirm and we'll advise accordingly.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
AEW Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Posted January 5, 2014 I'm really unfamiliar with Hotwire but I will check it out. I'd like to stick to 4 star and I might have to take the North West Dublin zone off because Castleknock is not close to where we will be for the festival nor is it near the airport, and I'd like to get stuck with this location if I bid there. I'm going to stick with bidding though.
thereuare Posted January 5, 2014 Report Posted January 5, 2014 I'd like to stick to 4 star and I might have to take the North West Dublin zone off...So the current gameplan would be a 4* hotel in any of the following zones, with a maximum bid of $150?Dublin City CentreDublin City Centre NorthDublin City Centre South - BallsbridgeAt current rates I think $150 will likely fall short for a 4* hotel for these dates, but you can give it a try as follows, over TWO DAYS:Select 4* City Centre...Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre North...Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre South...Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre and City Centre North...Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre and City Centre South...Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre, City Centre North, City Centre South...Bid $135If the above is rejected, wait 24 hours and re-try, once again starting with the PRICELINE links on the board (and NOT any links in any emails PRICELINE may send informing you that you are eligible to bid again)...Select 4* City Centre...Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre North...Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre South...Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre and City Centre North...Bid $145, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre and City Centre South...Bid $145, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...Select 4* City Centre, City Centre North, City Centre South...Bid $150Any questions feel free to ask.Good luck and let us know how it goes.PS- since may zones in this region begin with 'City Centre...' double check all your bids to make sure that you have only included the zones you intended and didn't accidentally include a zone you didn't intend (as it's easy mistake to make) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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