Priceline Hotel: 3* Baltimore (Inner Harbor-Downtown) Wyndham

[rynodaddyo]

First of all I want to thank you for the site. I do not travel alot, and have always been afraid to try Hotwire or Priceline. With the help of the threads I have read, and the great information I have learned, I am going to give it a try. My son and I will be going to Baltimore, DC, Philly, NYC, Boston, and Niagara Falls in July for 20 days. I need to save all the cash I can.

Questions in general....Went to hotwire and picked the inner harbor zone in Baltimore. On tripadvisor I found that the rooms are about $169 a night on average. Found one on hotwire for $77. I took the amenities that this hotel had to offer and compared it against tripadvisor and the threads on this site and came up with 6 possibilities. Even though it is not a guarentee I would be happy with any of them. So here are the questions. I need 2 beds... so do I tell them that there are 3 people so I can get the 2 beds? I do not want to be put in a king bed with my son. Do you bid for a room on hotwire or only priceline? If I go to priceline do I use the $77 as a midpoint in my bid? Is there a unwritten rule on what % off of the posted price that a hotel will accept on priceline or hotwire? I want to do this in the 6 cities that we will be traveling to so any hints, help, advice, threads, etc. would be very helpful. Thank you in advance for your help.

[ufjoe21]

I don't think you meant to post here............thereuare will have to move this to the correct section

hotwire offers quad occupancy

priceline offers double occupancy

most hotels it's a non-issue to have more than 2 people in a room tho in general

[blindman]

Congratulations on finding the best forum for bidding advice! :o

Thereuare will point you in the right direction but I think you'll need to supply the following in a separate thread for each city.

1 Dates of travel.

2 Budget.

3 Level of star rating with which you'd be happy.

4 Areas you want to stay ( or want to avoid).

5 Backup plans if no PL or Hotwire wins.

Answers to your Q's

1

do I tell them that there are 3 people so I can get the 2 beds?

You can request two doubles on check-in at the hotel, normally not a problem.

2

Do you bid for a room on hotwire or only priceline?

Priceline room guarantees double occupancy only. There is not usually a problem on getting two doubles unless you are in New York but it is not guaranteed.

Hotwire you can bid for a room for 4 people.

3

If I go to priceline do I use the $77 as a midpoint in my bid? Is there a unwritten rule on what % off of the posted price that a hotel will accept on priceline or hotwire

This is where the advise of thereuare is invaluable. The price to bid on Pl is determined by various factors but with a keen eye on the rates during your intended stay of the 'likely hotels' that participate in PL and recent bids (and to some extent historical bids) the minimum bid can be determined.

Sometimes the PL bid is as low as 50% of the hotels rate and others it can be as high as 80%.

The same applies to Hotwire but their rates are usually higher than PL and at times even higher than the hotel!

You need to do some reading :) on this board so you are clear about

Free Rebids

Counter offers

Splitting your bid

Might also be a good idea to read the Hotel reviews for your cities and also the Hotwire hotels that have been listed

Most importantly read this page about how to help this board continue its fantastic job. :)

Enjoy

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

We've moved this thread to the Maryland section of the board and will use this for your Baltimore stay; as blindman suggests, please start NEW TOPICS (in the appropriate state category) for the other dates of your travel.

First you need to decide if you're willing to take the one bed vs. two bed risk. If so let us know the actual dates of your stay and we will suggest a bidding strategy to try on Priceline. If not, you can try selecting triple occupany on Hotwire which should ensure separate sleeping accomodations for each of you (although in a few instances this could involve a pull-out couch).

Six possibilities on Hotwire seems like too many... what is the star rating and the full list of amenities you are seeing? (and as per above, the dates too)

Let us know and we'll advise as to how to proceed.

[GM Mike]

rynodaddyo, welcome to betterbidding...

One caution I would offer is to not get caught up in a "bidding frenzy" and forget that you have other options. We just took a 7 night roadtrip out west, and only 3 of our nights were priceline nights. We booked four directly. One of those was a priceline hotel at which we decided to stay another night and neogtiated directly with them. One was because we absolutely wanted to guarantee an ocean view if it was possible in our price range -- and it was, booking directly with a hotel, but we couldn't guarantee it with priceline. The other two were because we found deals directly that priceline and hotwire couldn't beat.

It is ABSOLUTELY essential that, before you begin bidding, you know exactly what your maximum price is, and what quality level you find acceptable. Then force yourself to make a fully refundable backup reservation somewhere, so you know when to stop bidding. Also, if you can't tolerate the risk that you might get one double bed, smoking, you may not want to bid on priceline. I think most people here would agree, that's maybe a 2% risk, but if you can't tolerate that, stick with 3-person occupancy on hotwire or book direct.

Should be fun to help you sort through all of this though.

[rynodaddyo]

Thank you for your website and the service you provide. I appreciate any help you can provide. We will be needing a hotel in Baltimore on the nights of July 15 and 16 before we move on to Washington DC. It may even make sense to stay in Baltimore and commute to DC the 5 days we will be there. After checking hotels out on trip advisor I realized that it would be cheaper to stay out of the inner harbor area. Hotels were listed in the inner harbor area for $169 and up...give or take. That is why I thought I would have to stay outside the area I wanted to visit. I would like to stay for under $90 (after taxes) each night for the 20 days worth of hotel rooms I would need on this trip. I think after looking at hotels a 2.5 or 3* hotel is fine. I would settle for less if I knew it was clean and safe. We will be only there to sleep. After looking at hotwire the $77 room they offered on the days we needed had listed as amenities... Resturant, pool, business center, and fitness center. I then went back to trip advisor and went through all the hotels that offered at least those amenities. They were Holiday Inn, Wyndam, Raddison, and Brookshire Suites. Then in checking your threads for 3* I came up with a couple of others I did not write down. I would like to use public transportation during this trip if at all possible. It would cost me $950 to rent a car for 18 days picking it up at BWI and dropping it off at Logan. Let me know what other information you might need me to offer. Again I appreciate any help you folks can give and thanks again. Mike

[thereuare]

The above is a match for the Wyndham and that woudl be our best guess as to the above Hotwire hotel you're seeing.

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[blindman]

Travelling tips:

Good advice from GM Mike don't get blinded by the perceived savings on PL or Hotwire, sometimes it's better to book conventionally.

Changing hotels.

I've found that on longer trips any stay less than 3 days at hotels can seriously waste time and be a hassle.

Weigh up the pros and cons for having to commute to DC against staying in a hotel for say 6 days.

(Of course you'd have to be happy with the hotel you get :o )

Cheap transport.

Have you heard of the China Bus network?

Very cheap fares ($20 singles) with loads of routes and operators.

2.5* 'upgrades'

Priceline has the annoying habit of upgrading your 2.5* hotel bid to a 3*, usually for the worst, keep this in mind when bidding.

Don't get me wrong :)

Any chance of using more than one paragraph? Makes for easier reading :)

[GM Mike]

One thing to note about the Wyndham, though, is that many reviewers report getting single queen bedded rooms. You never did answer the question of if you could deal with a situation where you can't get two beds. Note that if you search hotwire for triple occupancy, you get a rate of $98/night, outside your price range.

If and ONLY if, you can deal with the single bed situation (i.e. pay an upgrade fee if necessary, or I suppose spend a lot of time talking to a manager, or someone sleeps on the floor) my intuition is that you should be able to score a pretty good deal from priceline for your dates.

You have plenty of time to bid and lots of rebidding opportunities. Once you decide if that's a possibility thereuare can put together a great strategy for you. There is a lot of inventory open for your dates right now. That weighs heavily in your favor.

You could start with a round of 4* bids and then move to 3* if you wanted, or start with low-ball 3* bids now to scoop up a really good deal. It's entirely up to you what level of risk is acceptable. Your maximum total cost of $90/night gives a maximum bid of $76 on priceline for 2 nights in baltimore. That's within range of wins we've seen here at 4*. Also, if the Wyndham is showing on hotwire for $77, there's a good chance it will come up on priceline for less. Again, there are no guarantees in this game. You have to tell us what's acceptable risk to you.

As far as staying in Baltimore and commuting to DC, I did the reverse once, and while it was fine, I can't really imagine doing it on vacation. (Then again, unlike blindman, I am often ok with changing hotels every night.) You should be able to get some good deals in DC too, and if you're willing to commute, you could consider hotels outside of downtown and take the Metro where you want to go. If you bid smartly, you should be able to get what you want, if the inventory is there.

If you decide to stay the whole time in Baltimore, there is MARC commuter train service from the inner harbor for $7 each way to DC Union Station, last outbound around 6:30 and last return around 7:30. That's not very late, and it doesn't run weekends.

You also haven't told us why you're taking this trip. Is it just a vacation or are there particular places in these cities you need to go?

(And thanks for that China Bus link blindman, good info.)

[rynodaddyo]

Thanks for the help. The reason we are going to Baltimore, DC, Philly, NYC, and Boston is strictly vacation. We will be doing the typical tourist things plus baseball games in each town. The schedule is wide open.

As far as my stay in Baltimore goes (I will deal with the rest... city by city) it seems like the majority of the "touristy" things are in the inner harbor area. We have no problem getting a car if need be, but alot of expense of renting the car is the fact that I am picking the car up at 1 airport and dropping it off at another 2 states away.

I have no problem with the Wyndham. In my mind I am getting for the same price an inner harbor hotel for the price I was going to spend for a place 10 miles away. Never doing this before, and learning from all of your expertise, what would you suggest? Could I get a nicer place for the same $77 by going on priceline? Could I get the Wyndham for less money? Getting a 4* hotel on priceline for the same price could only be better...right? What do you all think? I was willing to pay $90 on a Days Inn or Super 8 out of the area I wanted to stay in.

As for the bed situation.....I would prefer 2 beds. I could get by with 1, but I would be sharing it with my 17 year old son. If I was to win a bid on priceline and it comes with 1 bed couldn't I just pay extra for a roll out?

Thanks everyone for all the help. If a strategy is in order I am all ears. When it is all over and done I will have learned alot, saved some money, and will have had a much nicer vacation with my son. Mike

[GM Mike]

As for the bed situation.....I would prefer 2 beds. I could get by with 1, but I would be sharing it with my 17 year old son. If I was to win a bid on priceline and it comes with 1 bed couldn't I just pay extra for a roll out?

There is a very small but possible chance that the room you are forced to take is too small to accommodate a rollaway. Again, this is very unlikely, but always a possibility. There are a few horror stories floating around this board about it.

My take is that the absolute worst that happens is you get a cramped room and you two share a bed. I think it's highly unlikely, but I wouldn't want to suggest any strategies to you without you knowing that.

Now given that you can tolerate that risk...

As far as my stay in Baltimore goes (I will deal with the rest... city by city) it seems like the majority of the "touristy" things are in the inner harbor area. We have no problem getting a car if need be, but alot of expense of renting the car is the fact that I am picking the car up at 1 airport and dropping it off at another 2 states away.

I'd agree that the Inner Harbor is the happening part of Baltimore and personally wouldn't consider staying anywhere else in the city. There is also the possibility you could rent a car for only your days in Baltimore, at the airport, return it to the airport, then take Amtrak to DC from the BWI airport train station. But personally, I'd rather just be in the Inner Harbor and not have to deal with that.

If you look back at last summer, folks here were often getting 4* hotels in the $70-$80 bid range in the Inner Harbor/Downtown zone. That's right around your maximum, so if your priority is quality within your price range, rather than absolute lowest price, I would start by trying to bid for 4* up to your maximum, which will be around a $76 bid. Failing that, I'd go with a lower bid on 3*'s and/or taking the hotwire offer. You've got a lot of time to make this work. Just remember, if you bid on priceline or take a hotwire offer, you can NOT make changes to the dates. So don't start either until you know your plans won't change.

There are a lot of free rebidding opportunities for Baltimore. Before you do any bidding, you should make sure your plans are firm. At that point, let us know, and thereuare will prepare a strategy based on what you'd prefer. Again, I'd start with 4* bids, up to your limit of $76. Others may have a different opinion which I would welcome them to give. Make sure you also read the "Free Rebids" article cited wayyyy up above by blindman.

You seem to have the right mindset for this. You could be one of those people who ends up finding the whole process to be quite fun. :)

When you're ready to bid, please make a summary post with: Target * level, zone, maximum bid, firm dates.

[thereuare]

Once you absorb all the above :) let us know which way you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[rynodaddyo]

Dates are firm....I have bought baseball tickets for 3 of the cities, and am just waiting for the others to go on sale. SWA is only taking reservations up til June 9th and as soon as I can plane tickets will be bought.

Lets do it. I would like to start bidding on priceline. Here are the details.....The maximum bid I would like to spend is $80 per night in Baltimore checking in on July 15th and checking out on July 17th. The inner harbor is the only zone I would like to stay in. I will move on to DC after the bid is acceped by priceline.

Thanks everyone.

[thereuare]

When bidding 4* in Baltimore you have 11 re-bid zones available (always check them before bidding). 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* Inner Harbor...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $72, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $74, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $77, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $79, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[rynodaddyo]

Thanks for the help. Before I start bidding should I split the bid because Saturday night is more expensive than Sunday, or just take the deal regardless of the 2 rates?

[GM Mike]

Up to you. Since up to $80 is in your budget, you could go ahead and bid for both at once, and if you don't get it, then try again with splitting, since your search date would be different. If you split now, you might be able to get a lower total cost, but I don't know if it's worth moving unless you have to, since you only have two nights in Baltimore.

[rynodaddyo]

Decided to go ahead and try it. I started at $50 and rebid up to $80 adding a new zone each time. That was easy seeing that the only 4* hotels are in the inner harbor zone.. I was turned down each time. I guess I cannot blame the hotels for not wanting to give a $200 plus room for $80 in the middle of summer (July 15-17).

I guess the next move is mine. I either will have to bid in 3 days for more money (I wanted to keep each night of my trip around $80) or drop down to a 3* hotel. Is there any other options? Because the vacation is in the summer should I assume that hotels are not willing to give up rooms that much cheaper than what is listed as their retail price?

I still have the option of getting the 3* hotel with restarant, pool, fitness center, business center (your research shows the Wyndham) on Hotwire for $77.

[thereuare]

It's up to you what type of accomodations you're accustomed to vs. your budget.

However, do keep in mind that is probably not realistic to have the same limit for each town/city you visit... in some areas you'll be able to come in under your budget, in other cities (like NYC) it will likely cost you more.

[rynodaddyo]

Thanks for making me think.......prices in the pacific northwest and British Columbia are much cheaper than I am finding back east, but if I pay a little more for a hotel and save car rental I guess it is a wash. Thank you everyone for your patience during my learning experience. I have never planned anything this long and in depth before. Always just called the hotel and paid the price.

[bbbb]

Another thing to keep in mine is that you still have almost 5 months before the start of this trip. Priceline might get more access to rooms as your dates get closer. They could even cost less then you have already bid,but keep in mind the price could also go up if the hotels think they can sell them without PLs help.

Keep your eye on SWAs web site as they might extend there schedules next Thur or Fri.

[blindman]

OK, I've been doing some research on 4* and 3* bids in Baltimore Inner Harbour and this is what I've found.

4* lowest winning rates (over the last 12 months) tend to be $75-$90 to which you would need to add the taxes and PL fee ($10-15?)

Of the hotels in that group the Marriott seems to be the best.

Hotel Reviews

Tripadvisor review

Looking at the 3* options the winning bids range from $47 -$80.

The most likely hotel to be won (though this is NOT certain) is the Wyndham at the low price of $48-$50 to which you add the PL fee and taxes.

It gets some mixed reviews Hotel Reviews and on Tripadvisor, but the latest ones seem fine.

With the Hotwire rate of $77 for the possible Wyndham it would suggest that it could be available on PL (and usually) for a lower bid.

So basically if you bid on a 4* you will be paying the maximum if not slightly over your budget but with the likelyhood of three 'decent' hotels. Looking back over the year the inventory for 4* seems to be about 2-3 months before the dates though this is not a hard and fast rule.

A 3* bid would probably be successful (now) at about $60 all in and you'll probably get the Wyndham. Again that is my opinion and it's a guess really :)

You need to prioritise what you really want from the hotel (location ? price ?) and see if any of the 3\4* fits.

More importantly if any of the 3\4* is a definite NO then don't bid for that * level.

What I normally do is, after doing the above research, I like to get the bid\win under my belt early so I can concentrate on other things (like Life :o ) even though an early bid may mean not getting the absolute cheapest deal. I'd rather 'waste' $10 per night than have the uncertainty of not getting the bid and being able to get on with other stuff.

The other way is to get a cancellable backup hotel and wait patiently bidding every week or so to get the (possible) lowest rate.

Either way it can be an enjoyable game :) with you as the winner because the rate you get (from this research) will be lower than a conventional booking.

BTW

Did you check out the China bus link in my first post?

(Links are underlined)

[dahammer]

Last summer I stayed at the Candlewood Suites at BWI airport, booked directly with the hotel. We went to an Orioles game and took the "Light Rail" to Camden Yards, home of the O's, round trip is $4.00. We were there during the June Red Sox series and there were many Boston fans at our hotel as well as at the Marriott where I attended a confrerence. Bosox caps and jerseys outnumbered O's attire by about 2-1 at the BWI station :) .

For your dates of travel, the following 3* hotel appears for $58 with the following amenities: Shuttle, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry. This matches the Holiday Inn BWI which has been previously reported. I stayed at the Holiday Inn about a month ago using Priceline and would stay here again, it is a nice property and features free shuttle service to the airport or to the Light Rail station. While this is not as convenient as staying in the Inner Harbor, this might be an option. It would be better if you had a car, but parking at the stadium or at the inner harbor would have to be considered for each excursion into the city and balanced against the cost of taking the Light Rail into the city. When bidding at the 2.5* level, other properties that have been reported include the Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard; all great properties. If you can bid low enough, this might save a few bucks to rent a car.

Not to be missed is a trip to Annapolis, which is about a half hour from BWI, you can tour the Naval Academy and other sights in this little Colonial town.

[rynodaddyo]

Thanks everyone.....valuable information and thanks for the time and expertise in gathering it. I have spent alot of time at trip advisor and have read hundreds of reviews. As per the earlier posts everything is leading toward the Wyndham as the 3* that is offered on Hotwire for $77. Read the reviews, and you are right they are mixed. I can live with the slow elevator, and it is only 6 blocks from where we will be spending most of our 2 days.

So let's say there is 5-3* hotels in a zone. You bid a price on priceline and it is acceptable to 2 of the hotels. Does priceline automaticly put you in the cheapest price for them if it is available? If so then can I conclude that if the Wyndham is pricelines lowest rated 3* hotel in the inner harbor, then if I bid low and rebid upward that when I do get a bid that is accepted it would be the Wyndham? In your opinion then what would be the best strategy in dropping to a 3* and placing bids? If I can get it now for $77 on hotwire I guess I stop at $77, but where do I start from?

Thanks for the heads up about the Naval Academy. It is on my list of things to possibly do in our week in the area. I had looked at China Bus on a different website when I was debating on renting a car or not. Muchcheaper than the train. I still may rent a car in each town I go to and drop it off in that town. Alot of the expenses are from picking it up at BWI and dropping it off at Logan. Something I have to take in account is parking and tolls. To park at Qwest and Safeco fields in Seattle is $25. I am sure it is at least that on the east coast. You can park in downtown Seattle all day for $10. Have no idea what bridge and turnpike tolls cost, and I have to weigh all of that out.

Thanks alot for the info about SWA extending their reservation dates. I go to their website every night, and am getting pretty tired of seeing that June 9th date. Pretty great one-way internet special and would love to latch on to it. Bidding for airlines couldn't be cheaper could it?

Thanks again....I will go to priceline via the link here, and see how many rebids I can do because the zone doesn't have a 3* hotel. I will think about bidding higher than $80 on a 4*, but I figure that this trip will cost me 15% of my gross yearly wages. Even though it is cheaper to live in Spokane, Wa. than alot of places it is still quite a chunk. Hate to see what is in store for me in NYC in the summer time. Have a great weekend and thanks for considering me a member now and not a newbie. I am somebody. Mike

[thereuare]

When bidding 3* in the Inner Harbor you have five re-bid zones available. Feel free to confirm them with the board before proceeding if you're unsure.

This is how i would bid:

Select 3*...

Bid $47, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $53, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $56, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63.

I would try lowballing as above for your first round of 3* bidding given that you have plenty of time. If the above is rejected we'll revise for another round in 72 hours.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[rynodaddyo]

I will double check, but I came up with....North-Whitemarsh, Southwest, West, Glen Burnie, Hanover-Fort Meade, and Mt. Vernon for the rebids. I appreciate the help.