Lynde Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 I'm new to your site and name-your-own-price booking options. I've been reading various posts and found a lot of useful information on your site - thank you! Can you assist with a bidding strategy for the following trip? Destination - Downtown Philadelphia, PA (Rittenhouse Square or Old City area preferred)Hotel star rating: 4Dates: 8/30/06 - 9/1/06Price goal: I've seen some rates for the Hyatt Regency Penn's Landing hotel for about $150. The star rating is important enough that I'm willing to pay $150, but I'd really prefer to pay in the $70-$100 range / night.Any suggestions are appreciated, thank you! Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 You can't target a specific area within the zone... your hotel can be anywhere within the shaded boundaries of the zone.When bidding 4* in Philadelphia you have seven re-bid zones available. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.Select 4* Downtown...Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $90.I would begin with the above, if rejected don't get discouraged... we're lowballing since you have plenty of time. Just post back as to your success or failure and we'll revise accordingly.Any questions feel free to ask.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
Lynde Posted August 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 Tried as advised - started at $55, when declined added a zone and increased bid by $5 each time. Declined on all bids. Other ideas? Thanks for the advice. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 After 24 hours from your previously rejected bidi would try:Select 4* Downtown...Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lynde Posted August 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Okay, tried again this morning. I goofed and didn't bid $95 directly after the $80 failed.4* downtown80 - failed, rebid zone85 - failed, rebid zone90 - failed, rebid zone95 - failed, rebid zone100 - failed, rebid zone105 - failed, rebid zone115 - failed, rebid zone120 - failedShould I wait another day (or more) and try again? I'm really set on keeping the 4*.* This time I remembered to use savingsbarn.com link! :) Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Have you made a fully cancellable back-up reservation anywhere yet? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
dahammer Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 ..or would you consider a 3*? Link to comment
Lynde Posted August 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 No backup reservation yet - sounds like maybe time to do so. The Hyatt at Penn's Landing has an online rate of $169, cancellable by 3pm EST 24 Hours prior to arrival. I suppose I'm willing to pay this if it comes down to it.3*? Really would prefer 4* and only go down to 3* if absolutely necessary (ie no 4* availability, price increases too much).The full story...My boyfriend and I are flying into Philly with his son to take him to Penn State. We're flying in on Friday, August 25th to spend 3 nights in Philly, drive son to Penn State & stay for two nights, then boyfriend and I will return to Philly for 2 nights before flying home.I'm a google/research freak - always looking to find the better, cheaper, deal. I drive myself crazy sometimes :) I stumbled on to this site and really got excited. Wow - people are sharing awesome information and getting AMAZING deals out there and I was totally in the dark. Anyway, I thought I'd "test the waters" by starting with booking just the last two nights of the trip - just the boyfriend and I :) in a nice hotel.The airfare, car, and hotel in Penn State are booked (prior to discovering this site and getting ideas). Now I'm trying to get the hotel booked for downtown Philly the first three nights with the son, and the last two nights just the two of us. I think I could live with a 3* the first nights, but really want the 4* for the last nights. I like that the 4* hotels in downtown are in locations I like. The 3*, however, leaves us open to staying in a lot wider range of places. This may not be a big deal. I've never been to Philly and maybe there aren't any "bad" locations?Thanks for the tips and any more are welcome! Link to comment
dahammer Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 first of all, I want to assure you that being a Penn State fan will not affect the advice offered by thereuare :) I might book a cancellable backup and wait to see if any of the 4*'s release any inventory. PS, don't be fooled by a PSU student when asked about homework, if he replies that he's doing a "Case Study" that means that he's going to the Rathskeller along with his friends to pound a "case" of Rolling Rock ponies, $20 for the case, bottle opener not included :) Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 If you're going to book the Hyatt as a back-up please use our Hyatt link to begin your reservation.For the 3*, if location is important (and/or your trying to avoid a specific property) you can also check out HOTWIRE. They divide this zone into smaller areas and you may be able to target, indentify, or avoid certain properties.If you would like help with the other nites of your stay please start a NEW TOPIC for those dates.Thanks. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lynde Posted August 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 When I go to Hotwire - whether through the betterbidding link or directly to the site - Internet Explorer crashes. I'm searching for a hotel in Philadelphia and get to the point of selecting the areas to include in the search. Once I select the "Find hotel deals" button, I get an error "Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." Rebooting doesn't resolve the issue. I just cannot seem to get past this point. Has anyone else experience this issue and know of a fix or suggestion to try? Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Have you tried 'repairing' Internet Explorer:START>>CONTROL PANEL>>ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS>>select Internet Explorer>>REMOVE>>REPAIRIE can be quite buggy at times (i have my own problems with some sites) and i recommend having a 'back-up' browser on any system. Download a copy of Mozilla Firefox (free), don't set it as your default browser if you want to keep IE as your everyday browser, but you can lauch Firefox whenever you encounter a problem such as you are above.As they each have their own 'internals', so please make sure use our HOTWIRE link from the one you intend to use for your purchase. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lynde Posted August 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Sorry for the late posting. I resolved the Hotwire issue by installing Firefox. Link to comment
Lynde Posted August 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Bid won on 8/8/06 for stay 8/30/06-9/1/06I tried on MANY occasions to bid for this stay. I wasn't willing to change my 4* preference and I had to be downtown. I tried several times from about $75 going up in $5 increments and stuck to my max of $100. After several days of failed bids and not wanting to budge from 4*, I slowly krept my bids higher and eventually got my bid at $130. $130 x 2 nights + taxes/fees = $307.64Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing201 S Columbus Boulevard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 215-928-1234 Link to comment
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