Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Bloomsbury-Marble Arch) The Cumberland

[trixcc]

Hello:

Could I ask for help for 4* Bloomsbury/Marble Arch London for July 5-9 (4 nights) ?

I actually tried $75 and was rejected with a counteroffer of $116. What is my strategy for tomorrow?

Thanks for your input.

[WillTravel]

Do you want only that zone, or are you willing to consider others?

How much are you willing to bid?

[trixcc]

Yes I would like only that zone.

$116 seems reasonable (I would be more than willing to bid up to that - based on looking at the prices on the dates for the hotels directly.) But I know I should be able to bid successfully for less than $116. What should my next bid be? Thanks for your help!!

[WillTravel]

I'd take a look to see if the USD has fallen or risen against the pound since your last bid.

If the rate is about the same, I think you'd have a very good chance with $110, but not 100%. You might succeed with less, of course, but you don't have any free rebid zones for 4* in London. So you could try less if you want to drag this out further.

Another possibility - if you bid $110 and are very close, Priceline might give you a counteroffer for $22 more - just because it thinks it can get away with it! :) So if that happens, I'd wait until the next day.

[thereuare]

As WillTravel points out, it's a matter of how much you want to 'drag this out'.

Based upon rates i'm seeing i think it will take closer to $100+ than it will to $75.

The three ways of playing it:

1) If you don't mind "working for it" i would increase my bid by $5 every 24 hours (of course the risk in this is that the current hotel available at $116 (or likely less) pulls their inventory while you're trying to inch your way up... increasing $10 is another option to compromise a bit)

2) For an 'inbetween' you could bid $80 and then if rejected raise to $100 after 24 hours (we see very few wins between $80-$100... it's usually sub-$80 or $100+ for this area)

3) Bid $100 on your next opportunity.

Those are my thoughts.

[trixcc]

Thank you both for your advice. You are right, it is getting late and I shouldn't drag this out!

I will try bidding $100 or more tomorrow.

[trixcc]

I tried $95 and was rejected with the add $22 offer. (I was nervous-we had changed our minds about the dates-and should've bid $100 )

My husband took over and bid on his account and bid $105 and this was accepted.

The Cumberland

July 3-6

$105 rate

$381.49 total with taxes

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your winning bid... a great rate for these dates!

Glad you got it settled and hopefully pleased with the results.

Enjoy your stay.