Priceline Hotel: Help for Knoxville

[nctraveler]

I need strategy help for Knoxville. Not much to go by on the board. Going for graduation at UT. Graduation is at 8:30 Friday morning, so we just need a room for Thursday night. We're coming from North Carolina so the best zones for us would be downtown or east. I know from driving through that there are LOTS of hotels right off I-40 at Strawberry Plains (bairly inside the East zone).

East only has 1 and 2 star hotels, and downtown only has 2 and 3 star hotels. I've found a Country Inns at Strawberry Plains for $71.10 and a Best Western for $79.16. Hotels downtown are naturally higher.

There are lots of hotels I would stay at that are 2* - but there are probably several 2* places I wouldn't like. Do you think it's risky to bid on a 2* in the east zone?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

If there are properties that you wouldn't want to stay at in the zone then, yes, it is risky to bid them since you may get a property you don't want.

Have you looked at Hotwire where you may be able to figure out the property beforehand (or at least identify that it's not one of the hotels you'd rather avoid)?

If you do need to book direct, please note as per our suppor page that we are affiliates of both the Country Inns and the Best Western.

[nctraveler]

Thereuare - Please read this and tell me if you've seen this sort of thing in other cities - or if you can explain this one to me.

You know I'm interested in Knoxville East - I went back to see if Priceline had anything that looked good in the "Shop and Compare" hotel listing for Knoxville. I noticed several hotels that included the word "east" in the hotel name, but in the 2nd line which shows the star level Priceline had "(Knoxville North)". This was the case for the Days Inn East and the Ramada Limited East on the 1st page of listings and for the Super 8 East and the Country Inn & Suites East on the 2nd page of listings. I checked the addresses and maps (for Name your price) and they are DEFINITELY in the Knoxville East zone and not the Knoxville North zone.

I sent customer service an email asking if this would impact the zones in the "name your price" option because it certainly appears to be an error - but they responded with standard verbage explaining the difference between "shop and compare" and "name your price." I can send you the email if you wish. I tried 2 times to explain my question, but I didn't really get an answer.

I know the same hotels don't have to participate in both options, but don't you think it's strange that these "east" hotels are listed as "Knoxville North"? And why do they even have to mention a zone if you can see the actual name and address?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

The "Shop and Compare" section of Priceline does not have a Knoxville East zone, so obviously the hotels in the Name Your Own Price East zone would have to be classified in one of the existing non-opaque zones... in your case, some of these hotels fall into the Shop and Compare "North" zone.

[Travelnow]

Hi there. I have bid the Knoxville East zone and gotten the Fairfield Inn (on Cracker Barrel Lane) in 2005. Just bid this zone again today for a 2* at $32 and was rejected without a counter. I think I got it previously for $38 in 2005. The date I am bidding for is 4/29 (a Saturday). I will post if I get a win. The Country Inn is nice and new. Haven't stayed in the Best Western. There is a Holiday Inn on Papermill (2 1/2*) that regularly comes up for $28. It is not terrible but it seems to have a problem with mold in some of the rooms, even though they appear to be newly renovated. Good Luck.

[thereuare]

Travelnow,

Please start a NEW TOPIC for your dates since they are different than the original post of this thread. If you do get a win you can then provide a link here to the thread for your own dates... this just makes it easier to manage the board than if you and the OP each win a hotel for different dates and they are both in the same thread.

Thanks!

[vcv]

I just posted on the Holiday Inn at Papermill. Although it is on the west side, it is only about 10 minutes from UT.

Our experience was perfect. Our wing was somewhat old (e.g., faded carpet) but immaculately clean and totally quiet. The staff was extremely accommodating.

The west Knoxville hotels are near a better choice of restaurants (and also the best mall) than those on the east.

[nctraveler]

have tried multiple times (over several days) - all bids rejected up through $46 for a 2* Knoxville East. With fees and taxes the $46 bid was a little over $61 - so I think I'll book direct and know what I'm getting. I'll use the support page