jelliott04 Posted March 23, 2014 Report Posted March 23, 2014 Hello. We have to go to a convention in June in DC. It is at the Wardman and the rate is $285 per night which is what I want to beat using Priceline and Hotwire. I always use your links to check prices and bid. My question is if I don't take the express deal, what amount should I start to bid with? I guess at this point I'm trying to beat $183 per night. I don't care whether I use Priceline or Hotwire and I'd like to say in a 4* or above. Dupont Circle area since the convention is at the Wardman. Priceline offers in express deals a 4* at $183 per night with Outdoor Swimming, Pets, Restaurant, Business and Fitness. I'm guessing this is Palomar? Omni also allows Pets so it could be that too. Total price is 825.92 with taxes and the Spring14 discount. Hotwire offers a 4.5* for $194 per night with Free Internet, Smoke Free, Fitness, Restaurant and Business Center. Total 929.71 I'm guessing Dupont Circle? Hotwire offers a 4* for $182 per night with Pets allowed, Smoke Free, Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Business, Internet Access and Spa for a total of $872.88. I'm guessing this is the Omni? If I go for the 4* and both Hotwire and Priceline are the Omni, I'm better off going through Priceline because of the little discount. If I bid for it instead of going for the offered deals, I really don't know what to start at or if I can do better than those prices. I went through priceline's zones and bidding for a 4 or 4.5 star I have 9 free rebid zones that I can use. Any thoughts? Thank you in advance.
AaronJB Posted March 23, 2014 Report Posted March 23, 2014 Please provide a follow-up for your prior London Hotwire thread (post what you decided for that stay within that thread, then reply to this thread and we would be happy to take a look and try to ID the listing. Also, for Hot.wire, If you repeat your search using our Bidding.Helper.com tool... use the HOTWIRE EASY VIEW tab and then click the GREEN BUTTON next to this listing, do you see more amenities then what you have listed above? Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
jelliott04 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Posted March 23, 2014 I thought I replied to that? We booked direct because of the way the zones are laid out in regards to distance to our business meetings. We are trying to work out another trip coming up before the summer is over and we're taking the kids so we'll definitely need to use PRICELINE for two rooms, unless I find an available apartment. There are two 4* using this view. One for $311 and one for $185. There is a 4.5* for $197. The 4* $185 amenities are: Pet friendly,Smoke Free Rooms,Fitness Center,Pool(s),Restaurant(s),Business Center,Internet access,Spa Services,Accessible for the deaf,Accessible path of travel,In-room accessibility,Accessible bathroom,Handicapped parking,Roll-in shower The 4* $311 amenities are: Pet friendly,Boutique Hotel,Smoke Free Rooms,Fitness Center,Pool(s),Restaurant(s),Business Center,Internet access,Spa Services,Accessible for the blind,Accessible for the deaf,Accessible path of travel,In-room accessibility,Accessible bathroom,Handicapped parking,Roll-in shower The 4.5* $197 amenities are: Free Internet,Smoke Free Rooms,Fitness Center,Restaurant(s),Business Center,Internet access,Accessible for the blind,Accessible for the deaf,Accessible path of travel,In-room accessibility,Accessible bathroom,Handicapped parking,Roll-in shower
yellowdog Posted March 24, 2014 Report Posted March 24, 2014 4.5* $197 Best guess The Dupont Circle Hotel. 4* $185 Best guess Omni Shoreham Hotel 4* $311 I'm not sure but Hotel Madera would be a guess. Keep us updated on your progress and let us know what you ultimately decide or if we can be of further help. Please use the PRICELINE and hot.wire links on the board to begin your purchases and searches. Yellowdog.
jelliott04 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Posted March 24, 2014 I'm wondering if I would get them any cheaper by bidding instead of using express deals? $825 total isn't bad for DC but of course if I can get it for significantly less, that would be great too. I have 9 free rebid zones. Any clue what price I should start bidding at? I looked in the thread but don't see any already won for Dupont Circle around my dates.
thereuare Posted March 24, 2014 Report Posted March 24, 2014 You may be able to get a hotel for less, but not necessarily the same one currently offered by PRICELINE EXPRESS. Above you have asked about 4* and 4.5* hotels, which is it that you would like to try for first? Based upon the room rates above, what would be your maximum bid for this trip (before taking one of the PRICELINE EXPRESS deals above)? 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
jelliott04 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Posted March 24, 2014 The second line of my original post says : "My question is if I don't take the express deal, what amount should I start to bid with? I guess at this point I'm trying to beat $183 per night." As for the 4* and 4.5*, I guess I'll start with the 4* for now. Thank you for the assistance. My main problem with using PRICELINE is that I never know what to start bidding at. Is there a rule of thumb that you all use?
thereuare Posted March 24, 2014 Report Posted March 24, 2014 I guess at this point I'm trying to beat $183 per night.Since there is more 'unknown' when using PRICELINE's NYOP, some people require more of a discount vs. the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal in order to make it worthwhile... some just want to beat the express deal by $1, others require a significant discount to make bidding worth their while. (like in your instance where you know the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal is 9.0/10.0 or better rated by previous guests... this could make the express deal more appealing then bidding for any 4* hotel in the zone) As there is currently an additional 5% OFF link and code in my signature for PRICELINE EXPRESS, we will lower your maximum bid to $173 to make equivalent to the current price you could get for the PRICELINE EXPRESS property. Using your NINE re-bid zones i would bid as follows: Select 4* Dupont Circle... Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $168, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $173 Any questions feel free to ask. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jelliott04 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Posted March 24, 2014 Looking at the Price.line hotel list in the other thread it lists: 4.5 as Fairfax, and the 4* are Omni, Dupont Circle and Palomar. I realize that any hotel can come up at any time and I know I'm taking my chances by bidding but if those are the ones to go by, I'd be happy with any of those. I see what you mean by the 9.0 / 10.0 and I'm going to think about that. I'll get to bidding and report back. Thanks!
jelliott04 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Posted March 24, 2014 Oh...and I'm waiting to hear what the budget is for this trip. If it is below $1500, I'm definitely going to bid on PRICELINE. If it is over $1500 then I might do the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal. Either way I should find out this morning. Thanks again for the help!
thereuare Posted March 24, 2014 Report Posted March 24, 2014 Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help along the way. Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board. Good luck! Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jelliott04 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Posted March 25, 2014 Quick update to say that I didn't get the final budget number until this morning. Getting ready to bid in a bit and will report back. I'd be happy with any of the 4*'s currently listed in your Priceline hotel list so I hope it is one of those.Fingers crossed! I'm curious if anyone suggests buying the trip insurance?
thereuare Posted March 25, 2014 Report Posted March 25, 2014 On HOTWIRE the insurance costs ~5% so you need to determine if you think there is a greater than 5% chance that you will need to cancel for a covered reason... if so, the insurance is a good bet, if not, then the insurance is a bad bet. On PRICELINE the insurance is $5/room per nite, so you have to do a little math to determine what percentage $5 is of the bid amount, then adjust your calculation accordingly. The important thing to remember is that the insurance is not if you don't like the hotel or if you change your mind, like all insurance policies, there are specific conditions that need to be met in order to make a valid claim. By the time i use PRICELINE / HOTWIRE my plans are firm and i expect a very low chance that i would need to cancel so i don't purchase it, but if it gives you peace of mind then it can be money well spent. 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
jelliott04 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Posted March 25, 2014 I started a bit lower than suggest at $120 as it was my first try and my dates are far enough out to try again tomorrow if it is still 24 hours? Bid for a 4* up to $161 for a total of $755.04 and was rejected through all of my free rebids. Interestingly, 4* was checked and 4.5* was checked but I didn't check 4.5*. Either the system defaulted to that or I did it on accident and didn't notice it.
thereuare Posted March 25, 2014 Report Posted March 25, 2014 The star rating you choose is the minimum that you're willing to accept, so when you bid on a 4* hotel PRICELINE is also automatically checking for 4.5* (and 5 star if offered) hotels too, which is why it is preselected at the re-bid screen. This is also why re-bid zones not only need to not have the star rating you're bidding, also nothing higher, since PRICELINE can upgrade your bid to a higher level hotel than the star rating you had selected. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we can be of further help along the way. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Romelle Posted March 25, 2014 Report Posted March 25, 2014 ...if it is still 24 hours?Yes, it is still 24 hours. But make sure you allow a full 24 hours, and even a few minutes extra just in case. If PL thinks you have started bidding within the 24 hour range, it blocks you AND sets the clock all over again for another 24 hour wait. When I have a lot of time like you have for this trip, sometimes I only bid every other day. That way I don't have to pay any attention to the exact time. When bidding, you might start getting responses like "if you add x$ to your bid you can be successful right now". The wording varies, but it is a "counter-offer". All that really means is there actually is a dollar amount somewhere between your last bid and their suggested amount that will be successful. Best just to ignore it and stick with your strategy. People have increased their bid by only $1 and been successful. It tends to be somewhere mid-way between, but one never knows. There are some reasons for taking the counter-offer - running out of time, running out of bids, running out of patience, running out of nerve. Counter-offers are not always seen before successful bids though. Romelle
jelliott04 Posted March 27, 2014 Author Report Posted March 27, 2014 Greetings all. Tried again today, starting at $125 and going up to $167 and still nothing accepted. Should I keep replying so that you know I'm still trying or do you just want me to wait till I either get accepted or buy the express deal? I don't want to clog up the forum needlessly, unless my information on what I tried is helpful to anyone else. I tried, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 151, 158, 161, 164, and 167. Should I keep trying the low numbers just to see or should I start higher and raise the bid fractionally? At $167 I'm only off the express deal by $43. I'm not in a hurry so I can keep at it. Maybe I'm bidding too early? Interestingly enough, I kept track of the bid amount and the total amount from my bids the other day and the totals are different. For example, I bid $135 and the total was $634.16 but today when I bid $135, the total was $634.28. When I bid $145, the other day's total was $680.68 and today's total was $680.56.
thereuare Posted March 27, 2014 Report Posted March 27, 2014 I would suggest focusing on the tens of dollars and not the single dollars or cents. With the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal currently at $183/nite, less the current 5% promotion (which expires in a week) you're looking at a room rate of $174 vs. the $167 you have already bid. If the $174 is a good deal vs. a conventionally booked room i would bid up to that amount (or whatever discount it is that you decided you would need to make a winning bid worthwhile (vs. the 'known' 9.0/10.0 rating of the priceline express offer)). It is true that you do have time before your stay, but while you continue to bid in small/no increments in hopes of saving the last $3/nite, the current offer could disappear entirely and leave you with only much more expensive options... so instead of getting the last $3/nite savings your new alternative is to pay $50+ more per nite thru conventional booking channels, which in the big picture is not a good risk/reward in my book. If you're bidding multiple zones and there are other options currently available at or near the same price point there is less risk in stretching the bidding out of over time since if the current 'best' offer disappears there is another similar (or at least acceptable) offer in another zone right behind it... but the risk increases when only one zone is acceptable. It's OK to backtrack and lower your bids a bit, but if you're last failed bid was $167, and you are indeed willing to bid up to $173 ($1 less than the PRICELINE EXPRESS offer) this is what i would do on the next round of bidding: Select 4* Dupont Circle... Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $163, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $168, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $173 (NOTE the larger increments at lower bid amount when your odds are much lower, given your recent rejections at higher prices... then smaller increments as you get closer to higher bids amounts where your odds increase once you enter previously 'untried' bid amounts) Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Keep us updated on your progress and let us know what you ultimately decide to do for this stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jelliott04 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Posted March 28, 2014 My dollars and cents post was just confusion over how the actual numbers were calculated. Bidding the same exact amount produces a totally different "total". Thanks for the info on the promotion ending. I will try to bid another time or two then just get the express deal before the promotion ends. Hopefully it will still be available. I'll continue to report what I try and the eventual outcome. Thanks!
Romelle Posted March 28, 2014 Report Posted March 28, 2014 When you are bidding, it is worth while to check "My Rewards" on Priceline. There isn't any real pattern to it, but sometimes when one has been bidding unsuccessfully for a while Priceline puts "bonus money" in My Rewards. It can be a flat $20 or maybe $7 per day. Sometimes it is for a rental car. It doesn't happen too often, but worth a peak to see if you've been lucky. It just takes a minute after you've crossed over from here (better bidding) to Priceline. Romelle
jelliott04 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Posted March 28, 2014 Thanks Romelle! There was no "bonus money" in my acount but I didn't know that even existed. Thanks for the heads up!
thereuare Posted March 28, 2014 Report Posted March 28, 2014 I don't think PRICELINE is doing this too much anymore.. instead opting for email promotions (of which 90% have been for PRICELINE EXPRESS which they are trying to get to gain in popularity, as is the case with the currently promotion which has been on for about a month). 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
jelliott04 Posted March 29, 2014 Author Report Posted March 29, 2014 Yay! The Priceline.Express Deal I was trying to beat was $183 per night for a total of $862.52. There is a 5% discount coupon right now which brings it down to $825.92. Bid today as suggested in most recent post and was successful at my last rebid of $173 for a total of $811. Savings if about $15 off the 5% discounted rate. Best available rate is $309 at the Omni. Their advance purchase rate is $262 for a room total: $1202.92. The convention rate next door at the Wardman Park is $285 for a total of somewhere in the neighborhood of $1400. Thanks everyone for the comments and advice. I did use the PRICELINE links that were provided. Next up...Paris/London bidding for this summer! :)
thereuare Posted March 29, 2014 Report Posted March 29, 2014 Congratulations on your success! Glad to see you're pleased with the deal you received for this hotel and that it will be convenient for your plans. Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding. Enjoy your stay and the convention. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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