Priceline Hotel: Need hotel in St. Louis area for 1st 3 weeks of July

[newbids]

Hello experienced bidders,

 

I have to move out of my condo one month early. I am not finding a suitable sublet for July, so I would like to rent a hotel. I am looking to check-in July 1st or 2nd and stay for at least 3 weeks. I am not comfortable bidding for a 2.5 star because some of those places are nasty/smelly (I already visited a few) and I don't know if I will get a "good" 2.5 star or a "bad" one. So I would like to get a 3 star as the lowest level I would bid without knowing which hotel I am getting.

 

 

I would like to get something for $45-55. Any advice? Should I break up my bids? I can't figure out what might be going on to fill up the hotels -- I have tried separating the days around the 4th of July out, but that doesn't seem to help.

 

Should I call the hotels directly and see if they would negotiate a reduced rate for a longer stay? Is priceline more for shorter stays and I should be using a different website from priceline?

 

The areas I am comfortable with are: Forest Park/Clayton, Chesterfield, Westport, (possibly Downtown - because of high parking costs), (possibly Fenton), (possibly Airport or Airport west, but I might want to try a higher star there to make sure I get a clean place).

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

I wouldn't suggest downtown, as you're going to run into spotty busy periods (Cardinals games, etc) over the time period and parking fees. PRICELINE can certainly be used for longer stays, but you increase your odds for a better overall per night average if you are willing to break up the stay, as a hotel may have discount inventory for part of a three week stay, but not all.

 

Are you willing to break up your stay once or possibly twice? 

 

Chesterfield is often a promising area at the 3.5* level, as - while no guarantees - the Doubletree in that zone (there may be others, but the Marriott is the only other 3.5* in that zone that has been reported to the board) often seems to appear for reasonable rate/s if there's nothing going on.

 

Is your desired max bid $55 "all-in"(including taxes/fees) or $55 + taxes/fees?

 

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

[newbids]

I would be satisfied with $55 max +taxes/fees. I am OK with anything over 3 stars, I am just not sure about the quality of 3 stars in the airport areas.

 

I don't mind breaking up the stay multiple times, just not sure what would be the best way to break it up to maximize chances for a good deal?

 

I prefer Forest Park/Clayton or Chesterfield

 

I would be OK with a 3* or 3.5* in Westport, Fenton, possibly Airport areas.

 

Thank you

[AaronJB]

My thought is that you may be successful at the 3.5* level in Chesterfield between $45-55 for 7/1-15.

 

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

[thereuare]

Please start by reading your messages... then reply to this thread with exactly what star rating, zones, and bid prices you have already tried and we'll look further into this stay.

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

[newbids]

These are the St. Louis areas:

1 - Downtown St. Louis

2 - Fenton - Kirkwood

3 - Forest Park - Clayton

4 - Hazelwood

5 - O' Fallon

6 - Saint Charles - Saint Peters

7 - St. Louis Airport

8 - St. Louis Airport West

9 - St. Louis South

10 - St. Louis West - Chesterfield

11 - Westport

 

These are some of the bids I have tried that have been rejected (I haven't been recording all of them):

 

$40 for 2.5* in 1+3+10+11 from 7/6-7/27

$45 for 3.5* in 1+2+3+8+9+10+11 from 7/1 to 7/22

$47 for 3* in 1+3+10+11 from 7/1 to 7/22

$50 for 3* in 1+3+4+10+11 from 7/1 to 7/22

$50 for 4* in 1+2+3+4+5+9+10+11 from 7/1 to 7/22

$56 for 3* in 3+10+11 from 7/2-7/15

 

I am hoping for advice to get the price closer to $50. Should I wait until a certain number of days/weeks before the check-in date to bid? Should I split up my bids? One week at a time? just weekdays? just weekends? avoid certain dates? 

 

Thanks for any help. I will try to keep better track of future bids and the outcomes.