Priceline Hotel: 3* Miami (Downtown) Radisson

[jimmythemonkey]

Hello!

First of all, I would like to thank you for providing such an infomative and valuable forum. After reading all of the great info here, I ventured over to Priceline. It was my intent to bid for a 3* Miami Downtown hotel for a 2 night pre-cruise stay on 12-31-03 and 1-1-04. After a number of attempts, I was ultimately unable to get both nights at the same hotel......perhaps New Year's Eve had something to do with it. At any rate, here are the bidding details. As a side note, I stayed at the Miami Intercontinental (Mia, Downtown 4*) pre-cruise for 2 nights last January at 140.00 per night and the Wyndham Miami Beach (Miami Beach 4*) post-cruise for 216.00 per night for 3 nights. (our travel agent booked these rooms, ouch!!). Needless to say, I am delighted that after reading this forum, I was able to use Priceline and save some $$$$.

Bidding Details for Miami Downtown 3* for 2 nights 12-31-03 and 1-1-04

11-29-03

Bid #1 - $35.00 Downtown Miami 3*, Rejected

Bid #2 - $40.00 added rebid zone Key Biscayne, Rejected

Bid #3 - $45.00 added rebid zone North Miami, Rejected

Bid #4 - $50.00 added rebid zone SW Miami, Rejected

12-1-03 (retry after 72 hours)

Bid #1 - $42.00 Downtown Miami 3*, Rejected

Bid #2 - $50.00 added rebid zone North Miami, Rejected

Bid #3 - $55.00 added rebid zone SW Miami, Rejected

Bid #4 - $60.00 added rebid zone Key Biscayne, Rejected

12-4-03 (retry after 72 hours)

Bid #1 - $52.00 Downtown Miami 3*, Rejected

Bid #2 - $62.00 added rebid zone North Miami, Rejected

Bid #3 - $65.00 added rebid zone SW Miami, Rejected

Bid #4 - $70.00 added rebid zone Key Biscayne, Rejected

After these three attempts, I decided it might be best to split up the 2 nights and cross my fingers hoping to get the same hotel for both nights. I didn't end up getting the same hotel for both nights, but I am pleased with what I was able to get under the circumstances. Here are the bidding details:

12-4-03, Bidding for 1 night 12-31-03, Miami Downtown 3*

Bid #1 - $28.00 Downtown Miami 3*, Rejected

Bid #2 - $33.00 added rebid zone North Miami, Rejected

Bid #3 - $38.00 added rebid zone SW Miami, Rejected

Bid #4 - $45.00 added rebid zone Key Biscayne, Accepted

Total for 1 night 12-31-03 Hyatt Miami Downtown 3* 45.00 (57.35 Total with fees and taxes)

12-4-03, Bidding for 1 night 1-1-04, Miami Downtown 3*

Bid #1 - $25.00 Downtown Miami 3*, Rejected

Bid #2 - $35.00 added rebid zone North Miami, Accepted

Total for 1 night 1-1-04 Radisson Miami Downtown 3* 35.00 (45.87 Total with fees and taxes)

Jimmy

EDIT (by thereuare): i put lines thru Key Biscayne because it's not a true re-bid zone (explained in next post) and i don't want to confuse other users that read this

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I'm glad we were able to help and that all your plans are now cofirmed.

FYI, Key Biscanyne is not a legitimate re-bid zone. Although this zone currently only offers Resort level bidding, your star level with Priceline is a minimum level that you are willing to accept... so your 3* bid could have been upgraded to a Resort and you would have been "stuck" with a hotel in Key Biscayne. I don't know if you knew this or not, and maybe you just figured that you weren't likely to see such a low bid accepted at a resort, but i wanted to make you aware of it for any future bids you may make. Although it seems unlikely of getting a resort accepted at such a low bid, we have indeed seen 3* hotel bids upgraded to 4* or Resort level properties.

I liked your posting style :) , but for future posts please try to only have one hotel per thread as it allows us to keep the titles uniform and makes the board a LOT neater and easier to scan.

Thanks again for posting your results and sharing your experiences with us!!

Enjoy your stay(s).

[jimmythemonkey]

Hi Thereuare,

Thank you so much for the heads up on Key Biscayne. Yes, I used it as a rebid because I figured that it would be highly unlikely that I would get that area for such a low bid as I know that the hotels in that zone, such as the Sonesta, are quite pricey, and I did realize it was a bit risky and not truly a rebid zone. Conversely, I would have been thrilled if indeed I had gotten Key Biscayne for such a bargain price!

Thank you so much for all of your help..

Jimmy