Priceline Hotel: Phildelphia bidding help

[crossword]

Hello,

I'm about to attempt my first hotel booking through priceline. I'm looking for a hotel in Philadelphia for the nights of 10/24/03 and 10/25/03 preferably in the University Area zone. My second choice zone is the Downtown zone. Those are the only two zones I'm willing to stay in.

My question is, if I were to start bidding in the University zone at 3* upscale deluxe (the highest rating for that area) if I were to re-bid w/ the Downtown zone can I up the star rating to 4* deluxe? I'm a bit confused about changing star ratings while attempting to re-bid-- it's my understanding that you can stay w/ the current star rating or choose a lower star rating while re-bidding but I'm unsure about upgrading. Basically I figure if I don't get a hotel in the University zone and am going to attempt the Downtown zone, I'd like to try to get a 4* hotel and then use all my re-bids toward a 4* hotel. Sorry if this doesn't make total sense. Too many bidding scenarios in my head!

Also, it is Parents Weekend at UPenn that weekend.

[WillTravel]

Using the savingsbarn link to PRICELINE is nice for the board, so you can start by going there if you like.

Do your first 3* bid in the University zone.

If that doesn't work, close down the browser.

Open it again, going to the savingsbarn.com site.

Make your 4* bid in the Downtown zone only.

If that fails, you can then use your free rebid zones.

I haven't checked this area, so I don't know how many free rebid zones you have.

[thereuare]

First i want to make sure you understand re-bidding which is explained in THIS THREAD.

To do this the way you want you should do it this way....

Place your 3* bid for the University zone, if it is rejected you have 3 re-bid zones available so add them one by one, increasing your bid each time (DO NOT add Downtown at this time). All bids in this cycle will be requested for 3* properties.

If that is rejected, close that browser, open up a new window and start fresh from a new Priceline screen. Select 4* and Downtown, if that is rejected, you then have 7 re-bids available, so add them one by one, increasing your bid each time. All bids in this cycle will be placed for a 4* property.

If that too is rejected, report back as there is one more cycle available to you but it can get complicated so i'd rather just leave it at this and only post the 3rd round of bidding if necessary.

If you don't understand any of the above, feel free to ask any questions. If you'd like a complete bidding strategy please post some prices of hotels in the area, as this is probably a very high demand timeframe and will likely require a higher bid than usual to get accepted (but there are lots of re-bids available, so it's worth a shot)

[thereuare]

Ummm... yeah, what WillTravel said! :)

Looks like your fingers are faster than mine!

[crossword]

you guys are too quick :) figured out the answer and doh'ed but you already responded.

[thereuare]

Another question, If I were to start bidding at say $50 for the Univeristy zone, and then tried $52, $54, $56 for my 3 available re-bids and they were all rejected, can I start all over again w/ the University zone but starting at say $60 (anything higher than $56)?

No, you can't do that... which is why re-bid zones are so important.

In order to bid again immediately you either have to either lower your star level OR add a zone. You may want to confirm with us what your re-bid zones are if you're unsure or not familiar with the concept.

Re-bidding is another one of those things in which many people don't understand it, but once they do, it's as if a light gets turned on and it's perfectly clear.