Priceline Hotel: Identify Express Deal Tokyo or bidding strategy

[malk]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to all this so apologies in advance!

 

Any clues on a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal in Tokyo Shinjuku-ku - Ikebukuro Area? Dates 02/22/2015 to 03/01/2015. Amenities are Free Internet, Restaurant ,Guest Ratings: 7+ Good. Also bed options of :

 

SINGLE BED - NONSMOKING ROOM Save 20% on this stay! Book$74 /night

DOUBLE BED - NONSMOKING SUPERIOR ROOM Book $97 /night
DOUBLE BED - NONSMOKING STUDIO Save 65% on this stay!Book$162 /night

 

For bidding I'd take the 5* option which presumably is the Park Hyatt (no other 5* in Shinjuku?) but I'd be limited to about $140-150 per night.

 

For 4*, I can book the Granbell for about $985 including taxes so I'd want a decent amount below that. No more than $100 per night without taxes?

 

Hopefully this makes sense!

 

Cheers.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding! (and sorry for the delay in replying)

I don't have any insight into the 4* property above as i couldn't find any matches where i had a high degree of confidence in the guess.

If you want to try bidding for a 5* hotel in this zone (there could be others besides the Park Hyatt) i don't think that $150 will likely be enough, give the current 5 Star Priceline Express Offer (confirm your dates on the landing page) in this zone is currently selling for $313/nite. If you want to give it a try anyway i would proceed as follows:

When bidding 5* in the Tokyo region you have FOUR re-bid zones. 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.

Select 5* Shinjuku-ku - Ikebukuro...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $150

Any questions feel free to ask (especially confirming your re-bid zones if you're new to the subject).

If the above is rejected, i suspect that you could likely get a 4* hotel in this zone for less than $100/nite, given the PRICELINE EXPRESS offer above starting at $74/nite, but we can take that next step if/when your 5* bidding is turned down.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[malk]

Cheers!

 

Went up to $190 in the end and still no joy so it looks like it's down to 4*.

 

If I'm looking at this correctly there's only one rebid zone, North Tokyo, so I can make one bid with just shinjuku then add that if rejected to make another. After that I'm down to waiting 24 hours then rinse repeat?

 

I've got a backup so time isn't pressing, any ideas on a good starting bid?

 

Thanks again!

[thereuare]

Are there two people traveling or just one? (since the $74 rate is for a single bed, and PRICELINE guarantees double occupancy when bidding, i'm questioning if the $74 rate would be a good limit when bidding)

Where, and how much, is your back-up hotel?

Let us know the information above and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow (yes, you are correct, currently just one re-bid zone at the 4* level)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[malk]

Two people travelling. Currently in the Granbell also in Shinjuku for just under $900 including taxes.

[thereuare]

Using your one re-bid zone i would start with:

Select 4* Shinjuku-ku - Ikebukuro...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70

... although i don't think the above will be successful, especially given the $74/nite rate for the 4* hotel seems to be gone at the moment, but i'd be willing to go substantially higher since even at $100/nite it would be a significant savings vs. your current back-up reservation.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[malk]

Thanks again. No joy at $70 but I have half an inkling that better deals may become available closer to departure. I have until the 20th Feb to cancel the original booking so might keep an eye on the PRICELINE EXPRESS deals to see if something comes up.

Who knows, the 5* option might even get more desperate as time goes by.

I'll keep you posted.

[thereuare]

... I have half an inkling that better deals may become available closer to departure... so might keep an eye on the PRICELINE EXPRESS deals to see if something comes up.

Our RateDrop service is free and will 'watch' the deals for you :)

You can set up alerts to be notified any time that PRICELINE EXPRESS hotels for your specific dates and star rating (as well as for HOTWIRE and/or 'named' hotels (ie- so sign up for alerts for your back-up hotel so that if it too drops in price you can cancel and re-book at the lower rate))... should anything drop to the rate you designate you'll receive an email.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Keep us update on your progress and let us know what you ultimately decide to do for this stay or how we can be of further help along the way.