Priceline Hotel: Springfield, IL, November 15-16

[jbrondos]

This is my first attempt at using this service -- as recommended to me by my brother who loves it!

I will be staying in Springfield, IL on the nights of November 15-16. How can I get the best price at the best motel?

[tchrchgo]

I am certainly not an expert. What I do is:

1. first I go to priceline and see what hotels they would offer me without bidding, to see if the hotels they work with are acceptable.

2. I would do a search of the archives of this website to see what hotels people won in the area and how much they paid.

3. I would do research on the going rate for hotels in the area for the time you will be there.

4. I would go to the name your own price page and click on each individual area and see which areas offer hotels of the same star rating as your area. ones that do not have hotels of equal star ratings or higher can be used for free rebids, which means if your offer is declined and they offer you a chance to add an area and up your bid, you can add one of the free rebid areas without fear of getting a hotel outside your preferred area

5. then I would start with a lowball bid, use my free rebids to increase by a $1 each time, and every 24 hrs just keep increasing. although since your time is short, you may want to try a higher bid if you absolutely must win a hotel. it might be helpful to make a backup reservation just in case

6. if you do not want to try bidding, you can also try HOTWIRE, where they will describe a hotel and give you a lower price, but you do not find out the name of the hotel until you purchase it

[thereuare]

No need to double post in both priceline and hotwire forums... keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread. If another service is ultimatley used we'll then move the entire thread to that section of the board.

What is the minimum star rating you are seeking? What is your maximum bid?

With the above info we will be in a better position to advise you on this stay.