urso_polar Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 hellodate saturday night july 22-23I will be bidding for 2.5 * & if rejected then for 2* hotels in traverse city.since i have plenty of time, where do u suggest i start bidding for each * level ? & what is your best guestimate of what i will end up paying ? thanks mark Link to comment
urso_polar Posted April 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 From your hotel checker (Expedia section)Days Inn Traverse City Lowest avg rate $179.00 Quality Inn By The Bay Rate $134.96 Econo Lodge Traverse City Rate $121.45 no rates were available for the other hotelsthanks & waiting for your advice Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 What is your maximum bid at each star level? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
urso_polar Posted April 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 thanks for the quick response$90 for 2 *$100 for 2.5 * Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 We haven't seen many wins in this area, but i would begin as follows:Select 2.5* Traverse City...Bid $65, if rejected lower to 2*Bid $50.Increase the bid amounts by $5 every 24 hours.Good Luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
urso_polar Posted April 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 Starting from Savings Barn savingsbarn.comi bid $60 for 2.5 star -followed bybid of $50 for 2 starnot accepted & no counter offerI will continue bidding3 questionsHow can I know that priceline is getting the bids thru savings barn ? I'd like to make sure that the appropriate credit is given...I am considering bidding for 2 * Cadillac MI as another alternative.How much cheaper should I make these bids than the 2 star traverse city bids?if it's 15-20 dollars cheaper I'd be happy with cadillac.Do u want me to update this thread every time I bid? or just a resume' once I get an winning bid or give up ... ?thanks in advanceMark Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 It may be the case, but why would Cadillac necessarily be cheaper than Traverse City?If you click the PRICELINE link at SB and are taken to the priceline screen, then 'affiliate technology' should take care of the rest. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
urso_polar Posted April 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 Cadillac is cheaper because it is inland & Traverse city is on the water, on a bay of Lake Michigan. Traverse City has more summer tourism activities whereas Cadillac is popular in the winter for nearby skiing & snow mobiling. From priceline, the Traverse City Days Inn is $169 & the Cadillac Days Inn is S109 for my dates for example. regarding Savings Barn, just to be clear, once SB sends me to priceline, credit will be given even if I am making multiple bids during my priceline session ?regarding updates to this thread , did u want an update everytime I bid, or a summary once I purchase something ?thanks again Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 Yes, there should be 'persistence' when bidding multile times on the same bidding screen.There is not always a correlation between 'retail' hotel prices from zone to zone and the lowest priceline accepted price. The price is only one factor involved, but competition from other hotels (participating with priceline) can also effect prices. So for example, a hotel in one area may have retail prices of $150 and discount a priceline rate of $60, while another hotel in a nearby zone with little priceline competition may have a retail rate of $110 but only discount that rated to $80.I would follow the startegy above for Traverse City, and then once that area is completed try for Cadillac at a price of $15 less than your Traverse City bid (since this is the amount that would make it worthwile to you)You can update this thread as you wish, but at least give us an update every 2-3 bidding cycles to keep us in the loop :)Good Luck. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
urso_polar Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 MY unsuccessful bidding so far for july 29/30through SavingsBarn.com2* Cadillac $302.5* Traverse City $602* Traverse City $502* Cadillac $352.5* Traverse City $652* Traverse City $552* Cadillac $402.5* Traverse City $702* Traverse City $602* Cadillac $452.5* Traverse City $732* Traverse City $63no counter bids offered Link to comment
GM Mike Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 These dates are different than what you list at the beginning of your thread. Did I miss something? Link to comment
urso_polar Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 No, you are very observant... I am planning on visiting my nephew & niece at Interlochen. Since I started this thread, I've learned that visiting the following weekend would be better. I am also considering bidding for july 30/31 (Sunday night) since single Saturday night stays can be harder to get.thanks Link to comment
GM Mike Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Yeah, if you can swing a Sunday night stay instead, you'll generally find much cheaper rates. Link to comment
urso_polar Posted May 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 through savingsbarn.com for sunday night july 30 in Cadillac MII bid 34 for a 1* but was deniedcurious to see whether it would prompt a counter offerI bid 50 for 2* in Cadillacwe were not able to find a hotel that would accept your price for $50 per room, per night. If you are willing to raise your price by $14so I believe a 2* room can be had for a bid of $55-$60I will continue biddingDoes anyone know which hotels would be 2* in Cadillac MI thanks in advanceMark Link to comment
thereuare Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Thanks for trying with the SB links :)Amoung the 2* i would include the Holiday Inn Express and Days Inn as possibilities... but there could be others too. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
urso_polar Posted May 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 through savingsbarn.com for sunday night july 30 in Cadillac MII bid 39 for a 1* but was denieddeniedI bid 52 for 2* in Cadillacwe were not able to find a hotel that would accept your price for $52 per room, per night. If you are willing to raise your price by $15will continue bidding Link to comment
urso_polar Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 thru savingsbarn.com (plug :) )Days Inn Cadillac - acceptedCheck-In Date: Sunday, July 30, 2006 Check-Out Date: Monday, July 31, 2006 Your Offer Price: $54.00 Extend Your Stay Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $54.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.33 Total Charges: $66.33 I'll write a review afterwards Link to comment
thereuare Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Glad you finally wore them out :) Seriously, nice to see your patience and persistence pay off! I'm assuming correctly that this property is 2* rated by Priceline?Thank you for adding this property to our lists and for starting your bids with the links at SavingsBarn.comEnjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
urso_polar Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 thanks for your helpyes it is a 2 * but the topic title should be changed to 2* Cadillac Days Inn $54 Link to comment
urso_polar Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Bid Too Early ?At 7:00 AM before driving to the hotel, I called the hotel to inquire about an early arrival (11 am). I was told that they only had 7 reservations for that upcoming night. During the night (3 am) I looked out at the parking to see no more than a dozen cars. Since the hotel has 60 rooms & my rate of $54 wasn't much lower than the hotels web site's internet rate of $64, it makes me think that I booked too early (2.5 months prior to the stay) to get a significant discount. Next time, I won't be in such a rush to book.regards & thanks better bidding Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Not necessarily... some hotels are willing to participate with the opaque suppliers but don't discount very much, if it all... especially in rural and non-metropolitan areas where there is little competition from other hotels. In this instance your rate was approximately 15% off of the best non-opaque rate, which some properties consider is enough of a discount (and also explains the hotel having such low occupancy). It is possible that this property simply doesn't discount their rates too much, regardless of occupancy levels.For a more indepth discussion of "when to bid" see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.Hope you enjoyed your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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