Priceline Hotel: Help with Hotel 3/14-3/16 Chicago Mag Mile Water Tower

[Angelnot]

I have a family event at the Park Hyatt Chicago, 800 North Michigan Avenue March 14-16, 2007. Our quoted rate including breakfast is almost $400 a night. Yikes! This may be a deal and while I would love to stay in the family's hotel, this is NOT possible on my budget. I have no back up reservation as I've not been able to find anything for less than $225 + tax a night at nearby 2 or 3 star hotels. My goal is to keep hotel costs to as close to $100-$150 a night. Is this at all possible?? Airfare is done as I was able to book at $143 each directly from Frontier.

I will use Priceline only as a last resort because I need a room that guarantees more than one bed for two adults and two kids, both under age 10-years but way beyond the family shares a bed stage. I would prefer a suite hotel like the Omni because these rooms will almost always sleep four. I also noted here that the OMNI was very flexible and accomodating to hotwire bidders. Either of the Embassy Suites would be OK but based on the map they feel far away from my target area.

I am open to considering other hotels in the area. We will not have a car and will be walking. I need to keep things close to the Park Hyatt so we can make activities that are scheduled early and in the evening. I also need to keep complaints from the grandparents and kids to a minimum (however unlikely that will be).

I've been watching hotwire for a month and have not seen any hotels with an 'S' or a coffee cup for breakfast icon. I noticed winning bids for the OMNI in October but there have been no mentions of getting the Park Hyatt off Priceline or Hotwire for a couple of years. Can anyone tell me how much before the actual trip date they were able to actually get the Omni based on "S" in the description from Hotwire? I know if a suite hotel appears in NMA - Water Tower it pretty much has to be the OMNI. Does anyone know how the Park Hyatt would be described if it were to come up. I've checked both EasyClickTravel and Savingsbarn.

Is there a 'best' time of day to check Hotwire? If all else fails I am open to a Priceline bidding strategy. Any help would be appreciated.

[versley]

Can't help you much but since you are needing such specific accomodations, you might also watch a site called Travelzoo.com. They don't have anything for your date right now but for example they have the Omni through February 4, for $129. It is not a booking site but they link to the hotels booking with a special code for the discount. Good Luck! Hopefully others will answer your questions.

TravelZoo

[Angelnot]

TravelZoo is a site I've never watched. Thanks for the tip. Is the main page updated frequently or do I have to follow links to find the deals?

[thereuare]

With rates near $400/nite you're not going to find any specials (at Tzoo or elsewhere) for these dates.

If you don't necessarily need a Suite property, you can search HOTWIRE for up to quad occupancy, and doing a search for 2adults/2children reveals some 3.5* and 4* downtown hotels in the $100-$150 per nite range.

[versley]

The main page (the page for the area you want, not just the home page) gets updated regularly, sometimes a few times a day. Thereuare is probably right about not fiinding anything if the rates are high, but it is another place to at least check.

Sounds like HOTWIRE has some good deals though that you might want to consider. Good Luck!

[AaronJB]

*The Park Hyatt does not work with Hotwire or Priceline.

* There is a HOTWIRE listing (2 adults/2 kids) for 3/14-16 for a 3* Hotel in the North Michigan Ave/Water Tower/GC area with the amenities: fitness, restaurant/business, hi-speed internet, spa, tennis nearby and golf nearby. $149. While $149 does seem a bit pricey for a 3*, this would likely (*not guaranteed*) be the Hotel Indigo, which is in the Gold Coast area. This is a very nice hotel (3.5* is more accurate than 3*) that gets solid reviews on Tripadvisor and elsewhere. That would be a short walk (10-15 minutes, tops) to the Park Hyatt. Additionally, there are two major grocery stores within a couple of blocks, so if the kids wanted snacks, that'd be easy. There's also a pizza place a few doors down and plenty of other varied restaurants in the area. Additionally, there's also a subway station a couple of blocks away. While I'm not sure how much free time you'll have, the Lincoln Park Zoo (free) is about a 15-20 minute walk North of the Indigo. Personally, I think this would be the best option in this situation.

[Angelnot]

Thanks for the information about Hotel Indigo and the surrounding neighborhood. We are looking for activities for our girls beyond the American Girl Place that I understand they will see every time they enter the Park Hyatt. If we stay at a location a bit of a distance from the Park Hyatt it looks like the 2 day CTA Visitors Travel Pass at $9 would make sense.

I will check out Hotel Indigo while continuing to watch Hotwire to see what turns up. While I can tell immediately when an airfare becomes a great value and how long to wait before purchasing, I do not have any experience watching hotel prices. I wonder if there will be more than 3 options in the NMA/Water Tower/Gold Coast on Hotwire as we get closer to the date of the trip on 3/14. I figure I can wait because trying to beat $400 seems doable. Does anyone know if the Park Hyatt works with any discounters.

I will continue to watch Hotwire and TravelZoo but I will also make a backup reservation. I do appreciate all the help and advice. Thank you.

[thereuare]

I wonder if there will be more than 3 options in the NMA/Water Tower/Gold Coast on Hotwire as we get closer to the date

HOTWIRE will only shown one hotel (the lowest priced) in each zone at each star rating.

[AaronJB]

I wonder if there will be more than 3 options in the NMA/Water Tower/Gold Coast on Hotwire as we get closer to the date of the trip on 3/14.

As thereuare mentioned, there will only be 1 property at each star level in each zone shown at any time, although there may be no hotels shown at a certain rating in a zone.

Also, the Hotel Indigo would certainly be the most desirable possibility in terms of 3* North Michigan Ave/Water Tower/Gold Coast.

[Angelnot]

I made my back up, able to cancel reservation at the 3* Affinia Hotel. Based on the map it looks to be 3 blocks from our target location. The rate was $239 (AAA Rate) for a room that sleeps 4. While not a horrible price, this is still about $125 more than I want to pay. This will be a room with a bed and a sofa sleeper or 2 double beds. I requested 2 doubles. I know nothing about the hotel other than Trip Advisor ratings are 4/5 and negative rating were for lost reservations or overbookings and rooms that need to be renovated. I spoke to the hotel front desk and asked about renovations and was told they were in progress.

I am still planning to keep checking Hotwire for a suite hotel and am ready to consider Priceline after seeing rates folks are getting for travel in December and January 2007.

Although I am ready to bid now, would it be more sensible to wait until mid February or early March to start my Priceline bids? I've looked at the board from February and March 2006 and it appeared that bids in the $62 - $100 dollar range were being accepted for 4* NMA from about 1-2 weeks before the stay. I also checked and there are no large conferences scheduled for my dates. As March 14 approaches, if I have not gotten at 4* for $100 or less I will rebid on 3* hotels. While a 3* hotel in my price range seems more likely, the 3 star locations are further afield and I might end up far from my target location..

On 12/16 I bid $62 and $65 NMA 4* and was rejected. There appears to be only one rebid zone and that is Chicago Midway with no 4* hotels. Would it be better to go ahead and try my maximum bid now or should I keep trying the lower bids and wait till my travel dates get closer to bid higher?

Any strategy help would be greatly appreciated.

[thereuare]

I don't think wating for a suite hotel to appear on HOTWIRE is likely scenario and that you're taking a risk bidding on priceline for one room for quad occupapancy in Chicago.

AaronJB knows this area extremely well and (for me) i would be staying at whatever property he suggested.

[Angelnot]

AaronJB's Hotel Indigo is high on my watch list. I even tried to make my back up reservation there but their cancellable best rate was much higher than the Affinia. I do not remember what it was but sticker shock set in.

From my review of the board it looks like prices may go down closer to the date of travel. Is this a mistaken belief? As I mentioned earlier, I'm learning the ropes here and watching hotel prices is new to me. It all comes down to my timing question. ???How long should I wait before taking a chance???? $150 *not guaranteed* Hotel Indigo is scary with 3 months to go. The *not guaranteed* is scary not the Hotel Indigo part. Especially since $150 is top dollar for me. This trip is a must do but at the same time a budget buster. Hotwire's Hotel Indigo *not guaranteed* listing has been up and down from $147 - $160 since I've been watching.

I should have mentioned we now have two back up plans based on ideas gained while reading this board. If I go the Priceline route and get an inexpensive room that does not have two beds, the kids can room with their grands at the Park Hyatt. Either way breakfast will be at the Hyatt. The grands confirmed a quad room at the Park Hyatt that I assume had a senior and a group discount for around $400 a night breakfast for 4 included. While we'd rather be able to keep the kids with us and out of their grands hair, this back up plan gave me more confidence to try Priceline (using the SavingsBarn link as requested).

Another question. If 2 rooms are requested at Priceline, is hoping the rooms will be together or even ajoing a reasonable expection or a pipe dream? Reading past posts and current posts, I've seen winning bids on 3* & 4* rooms 1 month to 1 week prior to travel that were $50 to $100 less than anything Hotwire is now offering-- even when retail prices were as high as I've found. If waiting is a bad strategy, I need to hear that too.

I have to admit this new game is rather fun. I imagine this is the way big game hunters feel while tracking illusive prey. At least no blood will be let here.

[Angelnot]

When looking for Chicago hotels near the Park Hyatt I spoke to a reservation agent 2 weeks ago who told me that he would send me an email if rates went down or a package became available. To my suprise and utter amazement I got the email 40 minutes ago. We will be staying at the Four Points Sheraton Chicago at 630 Rush Street for $115 a night, 2 double beds and breakfast. There will also be special goodies for the kid's at check in.

This is $170 less than the $285 rate I was quoted 2 weeks ago. The reservation can be changed or cancelled without penalty up to 24 hours before scheduled arrival. Based on Yahoo maps, the hotel is about .21 miles from the family event hotel (the Park Hyatt) and reviews of the hotel are positive with 4 & 5 stars for service. While a better deal may show up for bid later I think I am officially done. So ends the hunt. AaronJB thanks for all your positive suggestions.