Priceline Hotel: coach me up on PL

[Coachdunn]

I am a high school coach trying to make reservations for a convention in vegas. I will be booking 2 rooms on the strip for 2/8/06 thru 2/11/06 ( wed - sat nite). i have spent several hours reading the threads and think i can get into the game. i need a solid game plan or face years of abuse from my fellow caoches. some of u can remember what that was like!!! i have booked online with other sites but have not tried PL. i am coachable, but very green. here are my questions, and thanks in advance

1. do i have a chance at the Venetian for $120.00 a night.

2. What should i begin bidding at

3. What order should i change things to rebid

4. if i cant get the venetian for $120.00, i will drop to the 4star level. PL has 9 properties listed, but only shows some of them.

5. what r my chances of getting put in a hotel that is a block or 2 off the strip. (palms, rio, etc)

6. wher should i start bidding to try for the mirage,ti,mgm,ceasars,nyny, etc.

sorry for the length, and the coaching theme, please come to my aid because there is nothing worst than a po'd coach

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetteBidding!

I don't think you have a chance at the Venetian for your entire stay. However, you may be able to get one nite of the three... is SPLITTING YOUR BID an option?

You can only receive a hotel that is within the shaded region that you bid, so hotels such as the Palms and the Rio (which are substantially more than 2 blocks off the strip) are not a possibility unless you bid those zones.

The hotels that Priceline shows in the "Shop and Compare" product are a different universe of hotels than are used for the opaque product, so that's not a good indication of availability.

As far as your other questions, we'll need to first know if you are willing to split your bid or not, and we can advise from there. Do you have a budget in mind?

[Coachdunn]

i cant imagine the complaining i would get from some old football coaches in having to switch hotels, so splitting is out of thequestion. we are staying 2 to a room and can spend $100.00 pr night. I think we can fudge a little to about $120.00 without getting a penalty. haha sorry trying to stay with the theme. it is a vegas vacation.

[thereuare]

What are your thoughts about these properties:

Luxor for $105/nite

Excalibur for $109/nite

Monte Carlo for $138/nite (i know, a reach)

[Coachdunn]

the LUX or the castle sound great. any chace at the grand / mirage / TI. if u dont think its doable. read me the playbook for the first 2. by the way, thanks for the coaching

by the way, that is the wednesday after super bowl sunday. i have to believe its a slower week than average.

[thereuare]

The Excalibur and the Luxor can simply be booked at those prices by clicking the links above.

Given the Friday nite of your stay i think makes a Priceline win much tougher... prices at the MGM Grand, Mirage, and Treasure Island are all in the $150+ range.

The rates thru the links above are cancellable up until 72 hours before your check-in date, so you can continue to monitor these other properties for any price drops.

[dahammer]

Coach, looks like the Luxor and Excalibur are on your 10 yard line and the TI is at the opponent's 25, a little closer to the goal line. The clock is ticking so right now, I would take a time out, book the Luxor as it can be cancelled up to the 2 minute warning (up to 72 hours before the gun goes off) This still gives you some time to change your game plan and substitute one of the bench warmers if it looks like your starter's legs are getting wobbly. Follow this advice, you will emerge victorious and your fellow coaches will no doubt vote you rookie of the year. :)

Now....DROP AND GIVE ME 20!!!

PS, I used EasyClickTravel Travel for a Vegas reservation and they are a starter on my team.

[Coachdunn]

ok coaches, i said i am coachable. i just booked 3 rooms( picked up 2 more players off the waiver wire) at the luxor. with tax it came to $114.00 a room. wow what a big play that was. now im set for the 2 minute offense. can u coach me up on how i can get priceline to make me a better deal. i have read the post about changing/ rebidding, but i have time to run the ball up the middle a couple times. send me a play caoches. by the way i did the 20 push ups, if u ask for 25 you better send an AED for my heartattack :)

[thereuare]

In Vegas i sometimes think the 'known' hotel is better than the 'opaque' hotel, but if you want to try nonetheless....

When bidding 4* in Las Vegas you have two re-bid zones avaialble. 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 4* Strip...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Strip and re-bid zone2...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $100.

Keep in mind that EasyClickTravel reservation has no booking fee, and the above does, which is why we stopped at $100 (which may come +/-$1 to your back-up reservation... if this concerns you compare the total cost before clicking the submit button and adjust accordingly)

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[Coachdunn]

1 last question, when i look at PL and go to 4stars strip/fremont area it pulls up 2 choices Alladin, and gold nugg., by bidding 4star strip, am i basically bidding on the alladin, or do outer hotels make the possible list. i also read the post about the westin being a possiblity. that would have all of my staff throwing helmets

ok 1 more question, is it better to bid for one room at a time or all 3 three

[runNgun]

if you bid 4* Strip area only you won't get the Golden Nugget since it's in the Downtown zone. The Westin is now a 3* so if you bid only 4*'s your ok.

unless you are ok with the possibility of getting two different hotels you HAVE to bid for all 3 at once.

[Coachdunn]

what are the PL 4* strip possiblities just the alladin

please strike my "last question" comment from earlier post. i should have known better

[runNgun]

from the priceline list on this site the KNOWN 4*'s are:

4* Aladdin

4* Luxor

4* MGM Grand

4* NYNY

4* Treasure Island

[Coachdunn]

i am going to try for a lower rate thru PL. any of the four star strip hotels will be fine with us. is this the snap count i need to use.

4* strip vicinity * bid *

4* las airport *bid *

4* nellis - speedway * bid *

4* unlv * bid *

we have a rooms thru easyclicktravel for the Lux for 114.75 per night (344.27 total). the way i see it is any bid accepted at 100.00 would be about the same price as our booked rooms but have a chance to get the following hotels.....aladdin, mgm, luxor, TI, nyny. we want one of these and only one of these, for as cheap as possible. am i ready to take a snap, or have i called the wrong play.

[thereuare]

DO NOT bid as you posted above... there are only two re-bid zones when bidding 4* in the Las Vegas area, you have listed three zones!!

Check your re-bid zones once again and if you have trouble list each Priceline zone in the area and what you believe to be the highest star rating in each zone.

Confirm your re-bid zones with the boad and i'll advise further, as well as make some additional comments before you bid.

[Coachdunn]

i guess i dont get it. when looking for the hotels, the areas are different for the name your price area. for instance strip and freemont are together. when i go to the name yor price i cant find any hotel listings

[thereuare]

You're blending two different services that priceline offers:

1) Name Your Own Price (where the hotel name is not shown beforehand, aka: opaque)

2) Shop And Compare (where they show you the hotel and a price, aka: non-opaque)

The two services, both offered by Priceline, operate independently of each other. Not all hotels that participate with the opaque service also participate with the non-opaque service; likewise, not all hotels that participate with the non-opaque service also participate with the opaque service... so don't assume that the hotels you're seeing thru the "Shop and Compare" service are the only possible outcomes for your "Name Your Own Price" bidding.

For the "Name Your Own Price" side of things, priceline has no intention of showing you a universe of hotels that you will receive (which is why you don't see any hotel names listed)

[Coachdunn]

i click on the name your price. it says to pick your area, i pick an area, how do i know what star levels are offered for that area.

[thereuare]

From Priceline Re-Bidding Explained:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time.

[Coachdunn]

ok it looks like i can bid $70.00 for strip 4* strip

if no takers,

add LAS airport and bid $75.00 for 4*

if no takers,

add nellis - speedway and bid $80.00 for 4*

if no takers,

wait for 72 hours, try snap count again for more money,

if i get a taker, it will be Lux, mgm, aladdin, nyny

have i finally got it thru my helmet?????????

:)

i wont bid more than $ 95 dollars in case it is the Lux then i get the same hotel for less

[runNgun]

or:

4* strip $70,

no takers add LAS $75

start a new bid 4* strip & nellis $80

no takers

add LAS $85

that gives you four downs :)

[thereuare]

The above works for me, but i'll also comment on your previous comment above:

if i get a taker, it will be Lux, mgm, aladdin, nyny

Those are the hotels reported thus far... you could always be the first to report a new property or be the first to report a hotel upgraded from a lower star rating.

Good Luck.

[Coachdunn]

i think i wiil take a knee and the win. ive got the LUXOR at 114.00. after looking at the recent wins and the great web sites i got from this board, i dont think getting a better deal or a different spot at the same price. i give a standing o and a courtesy pat on the butt to all who helped in the victory!!

[dahammer]

Coach, I can understand that you feel reluctant to run up the score since you have a comfortable "win" with the Luxor at $114.....but its time for a two minute drill, you can put some points on the board and follow the plays outlined by Coach thereuare and Coach runNgun for a real victory.....don't quit with time on the clock!!

Then again, if you are satisfied with the Luxor, just let the clock run out.......

[thereuare]

Did you not see Pittsburgh fumble on the one yard line against the Baltimore Indiannapolis last week? :)