Priceline Hotel: 3* Boston North Shore (Peabody-Wakefield) Marriott Peabody

[Daniel1978]

Hi everyone,

I recently "won" the Boston Park Plaza for the period 6/6-6/8. I now decided to stay a little bit longer in Boston, so I would need another hotel room for the adjacent period 6/8-6/10. "Extend your stay" is not really an option, since I don't know if I will like the Plaza and therefore, would rather try another hotel - at 4* level if possible.

I tried to bid for a 4* property in Downtown, Copley + Cambridge up to $120. In Downtown, I got a counteroffer at $112, $115 and $120, telling me to increase by $22. I am very confident that I can get it for around $125, since other people reported that they have won the Wyndham (soon being reflagged to Hilton) at that price for stays in July and September.

Another point - at Hotwire I saw that a 4* hotel at Logan Int'l (supposed to be the Hilton) is available as Best Value for $97, but only for one night 6/9. I thought about trying to catch this hotel for this single night over PL and then try to extend the stay. My concern is, since the rate for 6/8 is still high ($249 rack rate), that this won't work. On the other hand, I could wait a few more weeks and try to extend the stay later.

However, I tried to bid for Logan 6/8-6/10, but was not successful up to $95. Assuming that I could get 6/9 for $80, I could go up to $110 for 6/8 and still have $95 as average (not regarding PL's fee).

What would you suggest ? My absolute limit per night is $125.

Kind regards,

Daniel

[thenewbie]

Assuming that I could get 6/9 for $80, I could go up to $110 for 6/8 and still have $95 as average (not regarding PL's fee).

You may have to switch hotels again when bidding like this. You could try the 'add a night' feature, but there is no guarantee that the 2nd night would be $110.

In Downtown, I got a counteroffer at $112, $115 and $120, telling me to increase by $22

This may be your best option.

[Daniel1978]

Hi again,

as already discussed per PM with thenewbie, I wasn't successful bidding $125 for 4* level in Boston-Downtown. Since this is a big amount of money we're talking about, I decided to move to the suburbs for the last two nights and use a hotel there as a base for day-trips to other sights along the East coast.

The most interesting zone was Boston North Shore (Peabody-Wakefield), since there are well-rated 3* hotels at a very resonable price. I got inspired by TripleQ, who recently "won" a hotel in this area, and redsox2006, who wrote a nice list of all hotels in this area he has stayed at. This made me confident to get a good hotel in this area when bidding at 3* level.

There are no free rebid zones for Boston North Shore, so I had to wait 24h between my bids. First I tried $50, getting a counteroffer of $64. I then tried $55, with no success. Yesterday, I bid $59 and got the Mariott Boston Peabody. Rack rate is $114. A nice hotel, with very good ratings at Tripadvisor. I can spend the saved money on a nice rental car which I will use for getting around in this area.

Went thru Savingsbarn.com before bidding.

Thanks a lot for all your help.

Regards,

Daniel

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad you got it settled and are happy with the results. thenewbie knows this area well and has been instrumental helping many users with this area.

Thanks for using the SavingsBarn.com links for your bids.

Enjoy your stay.

[Daniel1978]

Hi everyone,

I was really looking forward to my New England trip, which will start in 2 weeks from now. But I nearly fell of my chair when I saw the extreme floodings in New England, especially in the Boston North shore area, where I am going to stay for 2 nights. Peabody, MA, where my hotel is, seems to be affected badly.

Apart from that I'm hoping that the water will recede quickly, I am wondering if such an event qualifies to cancel a Priceline hotel reservation booked via "Name your own price". I know that they say "no refunds - no cancellations", but due to German law (this is where I am living), the Terms and Conditions of a contract are being overruled if there occurs something like that (act of nature beyond control).

Does anyone of you know if American law or the Priceline Terms and Conditions handle such a case ?

Kind regards,

Daniel

[zbenye]

Contact the hotel to see if they're open for business. If they are, then it is considered by them and by the local authorities to be safe, and Priceline will not allow you to rescind your purchase. If the hotel is closed, Priceline will refund your money. They've done so when I was hurricaned out of Key West. Priceline called the hotel, and once told that the hotel was closing, they cancelled and refunded my bid with no argument at all.

[ufjoe21]

watch for an announcement on the main priceline website, e.g. they had similar refund notices on their webpage for people during the hurricane season last year

[Daniel1978]

I called the Marriott hotel in Peabody and they are not affected by the floodings and open for business. Priceline's homepage doesn't say anything either.

I'll be optimistic. It's still three weeks to go, and a lot of water can recede in that time.

Thanks a lot,

Daniel