Mirandamega Posted February 2, 2014 Report Posted February 2, 2014 I've been trying to bid on a hotel in west Mesa, AZ for about 4 days now. I look at the resent bids for 3 and 3 1/2 star hotels and they are $60-$68. I've bid all the way up to $80 and have not won. I don't understand why others get such a low price and I can't get it for $20 more?? Ugh
djs Posted February 2, 2014 Report Posted February 2, 2014 May have to do with your dates; if you are looking for a room during a peak period the hotels will be charging more.
Mirandamega Posted February 2, 2014 Author Report Posted February 2, 2014 When checking recent winning bids it asks for my dates. Do they check winning bids during those dates or just recent bids at any time?
AaronJB Posted February 2, 2014 Report Posted February 2, 2014 Welcome to Betterbidding. :)Bidding really is entirely a case-by-case basis and rates can vary (sometimes substantially) from day-to-day. It's all a matter of traffic and inventory. Unfortunately, in this case, your date/s may be busier or significantly busier.Please provide your date/s of travel and desired budget/star rating.Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
thereuare Posted February 2, 2014 Report Posted February 2, 2014 Please provide your date/s of travel...???Please let us know your dates as we will them be able to offer a lot more insight and will respond 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
Mirandamega Posted February 3, 2014 Author Report Posted February 3, 2014 My dates are 3/6-3/9 west Mesa AZ. I'd like to get a 3 star hotel because I will most likely get free internet and breakfast (vs 3 1/2 stars). Looking to pay about $85 a night. The express for that area is going for $105. I know the Cubs have their spring training in that area at that time and that is why the prices are inflated. PS. I used apache junction to rebid because the highest star is 2 for that area. That's playing it safe right!?!Thanks for your help. I appreciate it. I travel a lot for my son's Junior Olympic springboard and platform dive competitions and it gets quite costly.... Trying my best to get him where he needs to be for as little $ as possible!
thereuare Posted February 3, 2014 Report Posted February 3, 2014 I'd like to get a 3 star hotel because I will most likely get free internet and breakfast (vs 3 1/2 stars).A few flaws in your thinking:1) If you look at the Priceline Hotel List in this zone there are four 3* hotels that have been reported to the board. Of these, only one serves a complimentary breakfast.2) the star rating you select is the minimum star rating that you're willing to accept, and your 3* bid could always be upgraded to a higher rated hotelI know the Cubs have their spring training in that area at that time and that is why the prices are inflated.I think you've answered your own question as to why your bids have been rejected, as Spring Training is often a boom to hotels in this area as demand, and therefore rates, often increase dramatically. Hotel direct rates for your dates are likely higher then when others have been successful bidding for less. Even if hotel direct rates are only slightly higher for your dates, hotel occupancy is likely higher, so hotels may not be willing to discount as deeply vs. other times when there is nothing happening in the area and the hotels are more empty.PS. I used apache junction to rebid because the highest star is 2 for that area. That's playing it safe right!?!You actually have TWO re-bid zones available when bidding 3* in this area. For help in determining your re-bid zones see this thread: If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding. and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones before bidding.With the above noted i think you can likely be successful for not much more thank you have already bid, but do you want to move forward bidding higher for a 3* hotel OR do you prefer to take the 2.5* hotel PRICELINE EXPRESS property that is showing Free Breakfast, or use HOTWIRE and choose something there with the Free Breakfast amenity listed?Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Let us know your thoughts 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
Mirandamega Posted February 3, 2014 Author Report Posted February 3, 2014 Thank you for your input. :) I figure the cubs are the reason why I couldn't get a great deal. My question was more pointed towards when I check the recent winning bids why does priceline ask for my travel dates if the most recent winning bids are most likely not from that time. (Does that make sense?) I want to know what others are paying for the rooms for the same travel dates... In your experience, if the express price is $105 is $80 a good bid? I also know that blocks will become available after February 5. Will that change anything for me? Thanks so much for your help!
thereuare Posted February 3, 2014 Report Posted February 3, 2014 I don't think PRICELINE's recent winning bids are for your specific dates, but you can use our Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins to see if there have been any reported wins to the board for any dates within your date range.If 'holds' are released on room blocks on Feb 5 then rates could drop at that time if the hotel did not sell as many blocked rooms as expected, but if they sold as many (or more) rooms a expected, then you might see no change in rates or rates could rise further.You can try an $80 bid although it may take closer to $90-$100/nite as there often isn't that match of a discount using PRICELINE EXPRESS vs. bidding on PRICELINE, but it depends just how high you're willing to bid at point in time.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
AaronJB Posted February 4, 2014 Report Posted February 4, 2014 If you don't take the $105 that is available to you now or bid in a manner to try and lock something up (rather than starting at $80, I'd start at $85 or $90), there is the chance the $105 rate may no longer be available and/or rates may jump substantially. The choice to wait or try to get the cheapest price is a real risk because with Spring training, there's no real reason why rates would go down and quite a few reasons why they could go higher (in other words, it may be a good idea to get a "good or great" price rather than try to take time and try to get the absolute lowest price.)Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
Mirandamega Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Posted February 4, 2014 Now when I tried to bid $85 it offered to let me up the bid by $21 making it $106! Why would I do that when I could get the express for $105?
AaronJB Posted February 4, 2014 Report Posted February 4, 2014 The "counter-offer" is not the actual required number to get a win. The actual required price to get a win is somewhere between your last failed bid and the counter-offer.Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
Mirandamega Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Posted February 4, 2014 I tried and it said something to the effect of it should be $21 or more
Romelle Posted February 4, 2014 Report Posted February 4, 2014 I tried and it said something to the effect of it should be $21 or moreIf you still have more bids using your free rebids tonight, you can just raise a dollar or a few dollars. If you've run out of bids for this time period, wait out your 24 hours and then start bidding about, just adding a dollar or a few dollars. Usually people have success about 1/2 way between the bid (your $85) and the counter-offer (the $106). Once in a while all it takes is a dollar or two. You might not see the counter-offer again, or it might actually continue to be $21 even when your bid is higher. Ignore it, and keep inching up. Once in a great while it is necessary to bid clear up to the counter-offer point (the $106), but that obviously isn't wise since you can just accept the $105 Express offer. You've got plenty of time. Just inch on up. Alternatively, some people like to jump right the the mid-point. Rounding up, this would suggest $96 as a likely success. RomellePS - you mentioned knowing "blocks will come available after Feb 5". I'm assuming you mean blocks of rooms? If so, and you are reasonably sure of this, why not wait with your bidding until then?
Mirandamega Posted February 9, 2014 Author Report Posted February 9, 2014 Ok I'm still looking for my great deal and have another question...I started looking at 3 star hotels in east Mesa with express price of $77! There are only 3 hotels with 3 star rating in the priceline's east Mesa zone. However, one of the hotels in the east Mesa zone is a hotel with a Gilbert address. (Of course that is the better one of the three) My question is the AZ golf resort is the only one listed on the "priceline hotel list" is it possible to get one on the other hotels? Or will I most likely get the AZ golf resort?The three hotels are:Residence inn by Marriot in phx Gilbert ($186)Painted mountain resort ($182)AZ golf resort ($139)Any input? Theories?Thanks!
Romelle Posted February 9, 2014 Report Posted February 9, 2014 It is possible to get any 3* (as rated by PRICELINE) hotel within the mapped area of PRICELINE EXPRESS, no matter what the address. That includes ones not yet reported (has happened to me a few times). It even is possible to get an "upgrade" and end up with a higher star hotel within the map boundaries.Romelle
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