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Priceline Hotel: Seattle downtown bidding strategy?


Huge
By Huge,
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I must get a hotel in DOWNTOWN Seattle. Two requirements:

1.[Foremost] I hope to get a place as close to "Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers" (1400 6th Ave Seattle, WA 98101). The one I really get has to be as close as possible to this hotel. Of course, if you ask why I don't just stay at this hotel, I'll say---it's way too expensive.

2. Number of stars really doesn't matter---money matters. I go on the cheapest one. Maybe 1-2* would suffice.

Which specific hotel I should bear in mind? To get that hotel, what's my best strategy of bidding?

Thank you!

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We got a 1* hotel, Sixth Avenue Inn, that's pretty close to the Sheraton. However, you also run a good chance with a 1* bid of getting one of the Travelodges, one near the Space Needle and one sort of in the grungy area between the Space Needle and Downtown.

With a 2* bid, you might get Inn at Queen Anne, which is across from Seattle Center.

With a 2.5* bid, you might get a hotel nearby, or one in Queen Anne, or you might get upgraded to a 3* (see 3*).

With a 3* bid, you could get either a downtown hotel or one near the Space Needle or Queen Anne (Holiday Inn or the Marqueen).

With a 4* bid, you will be in downtown proper for sure, but you could be a few blocks from the Sheraton.

In short, the problem with using Priceline in downtown Seattle is that some of the hotels aren't really downtown. I have always been fine with that, since the monorail is nearby and easy to use. Obviously you really want an actual downtown location, though.

Have you looked at http://www.seattlesupersaver.com ? This could show you the cheapest conventional rates for hotels near the Sheraton.

The other option is Hotwire, which at least allows you to specify whether you want Downtown-Pike's Place or Downtown-Seattle Center.

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What are the dates of your stay? What rates are you seeing for the Sheraton (as everyone has a different idea of what 'expensive' is) and what amount are you ideally looking to spend?

Based upon your needs i would sooner go with Hotwire if a reasonable guess could be made as to the hotel's identity and its location served your proximity constraint.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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What are the dates of your stay?  What rates are you seeing for the Sheraton (as everyone has a different idea of what 'expensive' is) and what amount are you ideally looking to spend?

Check-in: Dec 12(Fri) or 13(Sat)---depending which one is more favorable

Check-out: Dec 17 (Wed)

Thank you for your two cents!

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We got a 1* hotel, Sixth Avenue Inn, that's pretty close to the Sheraton. However, you also run a good chance with a 1* bid of getting one of the Travelodges, one near the Space Needle and one sort of in the grungy area between the Space Needle and Downtown.

Is there anyway/strategy to use in the bidding to get Sixth Avenue Inn, while avoid being assigned Travelodges?

Thank you

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What appears to be the Hilton Seattle (of course, no guarantess) can be had for ~$75/nite. It looks like it's only a block away from your desired location. You didn't answer my question about cost so i don't know if this would be acceptable to you or if, as you put it, "it's way too expensive"

To see the location of all the hotels, i would recommend clicking the Expedia link above. Select HOTELS and at the bottom of the box is a link: "Book more than one room..." (i know you're not booking more than one room, but click it anyway)

On the next screen select "search for hotels by address" and you'll be able to enter the address you want. When the results are shown, you can then click "Show Results on a Map" and you'll be able to see just how far each hotel is from your desired location.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Is there anyway/strategy to use in the bidding to get Sixth Avenue Inn, while avoid being assigned Travelodges?

Thank you

Not that I know of. Priceline is very hard to manipulate that way.

I suspect (although I don't know) that the Sixth Avenue Inn appears on Hotwire as a 2* hotel in the Seattle Downtown - Pike's Place zone with the only amenity being a Restaurant.

I looked up the address again and see that Sixth Avenue Inn is actually a few blocks from the Sheraton, although it seemed like a quick walk at the time.

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What appears to be the Hilton Seattle (of course, no guarantess) can be had for ~$75/nite.

If I can get a room at about $70-90 a nite at Hilton--that's great! That's defenitely a price I can afford.

To secure the best bet, what's my strategy bidding on either Priceline or Hotwire for getting Hilton?

Thank you!

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Doing a search on Hotwire for your dates resulted in a 4* hotel with only Restaurant and Fitness icons and a customer favorite. These two icons aren't a lot to go on as they apply to many different 4* hotels, but OUR LIST indicates that these 2 icons have been associated with the Hilton Seattle in the past. In reading the Customer Comments one said it had a great view (and this hotel's website indicates that the hotel begins on the 10th floor of an office building with guest rooms begin above that) and another one commented that the hotel has its own garage. For further confirmation you may want to call the hotel and see if they indeed have thier own garage in the building. The rate i'm showing is $73/nite, but when i looked earlier today it was $78/nite, so the rate you see could be anywhere in that general area. Given your needs are so specific, if you decide to go forward and the rate is on the high end of the range, i personally wouldn't stick around waiting for a few dollars cheaper since the hotel could disappear from being shown at any time (but how you spend your money not for me to say).

There is also a 3.5* hotel that comes up which when compared to our lists seems to be the Crowne Plaza, which also looks like it is near your desired location (i belive 2 blocks away?). You can see the amnities associated with this property at the link above as well.

As you are buying an opaque product, their is some risk involved which is important to consider since you want to be in a more specific area than is indicated by Hotwire's zone, but i think you're chances at being 'ok' are pretty good. Ultimately though the decision to take this 'gamble' is yours. Make sure you double check the amenities and star ratings Hotwire shows in its results with those on our lists to make sure you see the same thing we do.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Is there anyway/strategy to use in the bidding to get Sixth Avenue Inn, while avoid being assigned Travelodges?

Thank you

I spotted a 2* at Hotwire with price $48 per night. It's under Pike Place, downtown Seattle. There is a on-site restaurant icon associated with it. Is there anyway to make sure that if it is Sixth Avenue Inn or Traveloge?

How?

Thanks!

:)

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I suspect it's the Sixth Avenue Inn, because the only real amenity it has is the restaurant and they do make a big deal about it, and it would make sense for it to have a 2* rating on Hotwire. However, we really don't have much info about 2* hotels, so it's hard to say. I doubt a Travelodge is a 2* and I don't know if it has a restaurant.

For the Sixth Avenue Inn, we had a pleasant, plain room - no complaints at all. I did see some negative reviews on TripAdvisor, though. So you might want to look it up and see if you think it would be okay for your needs.

Probably most places in Seattle-Pike Place will be fairly close to the Sheraton - what's the farthest you are willing to be?

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I suspect it's the Sixth Avenue Inn, because the only real amenity it has is the restaurant and they do make a big deal about it, and it would make sense for it to have a 2* rating on Hotwire. However, we really don't have much info about 2* hotels, so it's hard to say. I doubt a Travelodge is a 2* and I don't know if it has a restaurant.

Probably most places in Seattle-Pike Place will be fairly close to the Sheraton - what's the farthest you are willing to be?

:) So, how realistic it is to start bidding at price about 30% lower than $48

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The problem is - that this hotel is a 1* on Priceline, so by bidding 1* you run a good risk of getting the one of the Travelodges. If you bid 2*, you run the risk of getting Inn at Queen Anne (or maybe some other hotel not yet mentioned). So you can bid what you like on Priceline and run the risk of getting a hotel anywhere in the large zone they call downtown (but which really extends somewhat beyond).

Hotwire allows more geographical distinction and a better chance of determining the hotel than Priceline does, but it usually means a higher cost.

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The choice is certainly yours, but you stated that location is one of the most important aspects of this stay. If that's still the case, i wouldn't be messing around with 1* or 2* bids on Priceline as you can always run the risk of being upgrades; as well, you really have NO IDEA as to what hotel you'll get or where it will be located, whereas with Hotwire you can at least make an educated guess.

We all want to save money, but if you get an inexpensive hotel and it's not near your desired location, how happy are you going to be?

Just my .02

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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:)

Time to make decision --

Check-in: Fri, Dec 12, 2003 Check-out: Wed, Dec 17, 2003

There are two entries on hotwire--

(1)

4*, Pike Place, $73, with on-site restaurant and fitness center

(2)

3.5*, Pike Place, $73, with on-site restaurant, fitness center, High-Speed Internet Access, and business center

who are these hotels? Also, how much do I really have to pay in total--$73 is everything? Anything else I will be charged when actually buying them?

Thank you!

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  • 2 weeks later...

If the original poster is still around, the Sixth Avenue Inn is available from Expedia for $67/night on 2 nights and $49/night on other 3 nights. Combined with the extra discount provided by the Expedia bonus money as discussed in the bonus section, this might be a reasonable choice, if the poster is okay with a simple hotel and being several blocks away from the Sheraton. At least there won't be any mystery as to the identity of the hotel.

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