Priceline Hotel: Need help bidding Scottsdale 2.5* 21-24 Sep 06

[WashDC-MKE-SFBay-guy]

I've never been to Scottsdale, need help with bids & zones. I bid 37/39/40/42 for 2.5*, adding ApacheJ, PHX-North, PHX-West to get free rebids bid. Rejected. I began about 4 days ago, raising each day's series of bids a dollar or so. I want to be near my reunion site, Chaparral Suites Resort [scottsdale Rd & Chaparral Rd], but can't afford reunion rate of $119. [it is not a Priceline hotel.] What are reasonable bids, or am I in ballpark & then should I keep raising a little each day? [i notice Priceline's advertised lowest rates for 1 and 2* in Scottsdale increased in the last two days from $45 to 64. Their touted 3* rate has remained at $129, I recall.]

Or are there non-Scottsdales zones that are quite close to the target hotel? Tempe? Mesa? [i will have an airport rental car, but want don't want to waste a lot of time in traffic daily.]

After being rejected, I tried to rebid at 2*, in only Scottsdale, but I couldn't remove the 3 zones I'd added to get the free rebids at 2.5*. Is there a way to do this w/o waiting another day? I'd like to bid first at 2.5*, then fall back to bid 2*, not begin at 2* and raise to 2.5*. I am a little scared of 2*--I notice this includes a gaggle of Ramadas in Scottsdale; am I right to avoid them?

Sorry for the multiple questions. Thanks for the handholding; I'm fairly new to this. Appreciate your thoughts.

[headtrip]

Phoenix metro area is pretty large, so if you don't want a 30 minute commute in traffic (during rush hour) each day, I'd say to stay in Scottsdale and enjoy your reunion more. Looking at previous wins, I think you would have a reasonable chance of getting the 3* Scottsdale Doubletree if you are bidding over $50 and remember you can be upgraded even if you are only bidding for 2.5*, but there haven't been any recent wins reported at a 2.5* star level.

Good luck.

[WashDC-MKE-SFBay-guy]

Thank you--I will stick to Scottsdale.

[thereuare]

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