gleemonex Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 finally firmed up my plans today, so i decided to test the waters.here's what i've done so far.bid $27 for 3* in Downtown Toronto, rejected.added Brampton as a free rebid, upped offer to $31, rejected.opened new bid, $32 for 3* in Downtown Toronto and Scarborough, rejected.opened new bid, $33 for 3* in Downtown Toronto and Toronto East, rejected.opened new bid, $34 for 3* in Downtown Toronto, Brampton and Scarborough, rejected.opened new bid, $35 for 3* in Downtown Toronto, Brampton and Toronto East, rejected.opened new bid, $36 for 3* in Downtown Toronto, Scarborough and Toronto East, rejected.all of this was bid through the barn.are there any big conventions happening during these dates in Toronto? one can usually get a hit on one of the courtyards within the offer span here. Link to comment
Travelling Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 Thereuare will help you out with the bidding aspect of your question as he's the expert in these things.I did just want to ask whether you would be happy in any of the likely 3* hotels that come up in the Downtown area of Toronto with Priceline?I say this because the Strathcona is a possibility and there have been a lot of unhappy people after a stay there. Of course, others have said it's fine but I wanted to mention this as your stay is quite a long one. This could be a reason you're not having luck - Priceline may not have inventory for your entire stay.Having said that, I haven't seen the Strathcona come up in a couple of months but that's not to say it won't come up again now. Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 for the most part, yes. i'm not that picky really. i've stayed at the downtown courtyard and found it more than adequate for my needs. i'm sure the others would suffice as well, although some have better locations than others.the strathcona is just part of the risk one takes bidding 3* in downtown toronto. but even so, the strathcona has to be better than the hostel i stayed at on my first visit to toronto (an experience i hope never to repeat).your point about the length of the stay is well taken. i might have to consider splitting it. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 Gleem,Sorry so long for me to respond.How how i would you like to go before you consider splitting the stay? Keep in mind that if there is one date during your stay with higher rates, you'll need to bid that amount for all of your nites to be successful. When splitting the stay, you could get a lower price for the part of your stay that doesn't have the inflated rates, while paying more only for the nites with the higher rates.However, right now a quick look doesn't appear that one inflated nite is holding you up. I think you're close, but coming up just shy price-wise. Let me know how high your willing to bid before splitting the bid and i'll post a recommended strategy.Thanks for placing your bids thru the 'barn. :) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
WillTravel Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 One thing to consider - I've noticed some hotels don't allow more than a 7-day stay to be booked through their web site.I think it's possible some hotels might have the same restriction with Priceline.Just a hunch. Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 i'm thinking i don't want to go much higher than say $45 right now, as it's still fairly early.also, i'm considering arriving a day earlier to catch the kraftwerk concert there.so it'd be for the dates april 22 to may 3.how does this sound for a split?april 22 - april 26april 27 - may 3 Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 One thing to consider - I've noticed some hotels don't allow more than a 7-day stay to be booked through their web site.I think it's possible some hotels might have the same restriction with Priceline.Just a hunch.ahh, thanks for the heads up on that. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Since you have 7 bid opportunities (nice work!) i would try bidding again for the entire stay but start at $35 and go up to $41.We have seen instances in the past where rates in the low $30's weren't avaialble and it has take bids between $36-$39. I'd imagine that it would be worth the extra money not to have to move during your stay?If so, try the above for the entire stay, then we can talk about strategies of how to split it up. If you'd rather go cheaper and try splitting first than say so, but i do think you'll be successful under $41. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 bid $35 for 3* in Downtown Toronto, rejected.added brampton as free rebid, bid $36, rejected.new bid $37 Downtown Toronto & Scarborough, rejected.new bid $38 Downtown Toronto & Toronto East, rejected.new bid $39 Downtown Toronto & Brampton & Scarborough, rejected.new bid $40 Downtown Toronto & Brampton & Toronto East, rejected.new bid $42 Downtown Toronto & Scarborough & Toronto East, rejected.new bid $45 Downtown Toronto & Brampton & Scarborough + Toronto East, rejected. :) Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 i'm guessing this is a question of inventory for those dates. i might have to split this up. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Do you want to try splitting the bids now?In the quick look i did this afternoon i didn't see prices fluctuate on any particular night of the stay, which is why i don't think there is any one nite holding you up. The 7 day max that WT pointed out may be a factor, but before i split the bid i would sooner try going up to $41 just in case that's enough to get a complete stay without the risk of changing hotels. But that's just me.If you're going to split the bid first, rather than split the bid down the middle i would try to isolate the back weekend (but don't book the back weekend until you have confirmed the longer front part of your stay). Expedia is usally NOT a good place to check rates, but if you take a look there they show a rate jump at the Courtyard by Marriott (an often received 3* hotel in the zone) for 5/1-5/3. (this very well may be what's affecting your success for this stay) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 sure. i'll give the split a try. i'll live adventurously :)i don't mind the prospect of switching hotels, since i travel very light.yeah, you're right. there is a slight jump in price for the DT courtyard in the second week of the stay. interesting. Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 tried doing a split for 4/22 - 4/28 (six nights)opening bid $33 for 3* in Downtown Toronto, rejected.added Brampton, upped to $35, rejected.new bid, Downtown Toronto + Scarborough, $37, rejected.new bid, Downtown Toronto + Toronto East, $39, rejected.new bid, Downtown Toronto + Brampton + Scarborough, $41, rejected.new bid, Downtown Toronto + Brampton + Toronto East, $43, rejected.new bid, Downtown Toronto + Scarborough + Toronto East, $46, rejected. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 With so many re-bids available by just changing each part of the stay by just one date i'd be patient with this and continue to try different combinations (assuming you have a little time on your hands).You can try a few few bidding cycles each day, using a different date combination every day. After the third day of bidding you can go back to your original dates from the first day (if you follow that, if not, post and i'll explain further) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 forgive me, but could you explain the date cycling strategy? Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 No problem, here's what i meant:Day 1:Bid 4/22-4/30 andBid 4/30-5/3Day 2:Bid 4/22-4/29Bid 4/29-5/3Day 3:Bid 4/22-5/1Bid 5/1-5/3Day 4:start over again with Day 1Day 5:start over again wtih Day 2Day 6:start over again wtih Day3so-on, so-on...My thought is that by using a combination of dates, along with re-bids, you have plenty of bidding opportunities. Trying so many combinations each day will drive you crazy while you wait for availability to open up. Following the above allows you to look everyday for the release of low-priced inventory.While researching this a bit tonite i also was reminded that the Canadian dollar has stegnthened somewhat against the US dollor, so i would epect to pay at the high end of the range rather than the low end just based upon currency fluctuation (but your current bidding amount should eventually be enough, i would think). Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 excellent. i see what you mean now.thanks, i'll give this a shot tonight. Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 bid $28 for 3* in DT Toronto, counteroffer to add $7.ignored counteroffer, added brampton, bid $31, accepted.Courtyard By Marriott Toronto DowntownDowntown Toronto475 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1X7 416-924-0611Check-In Date: Thursday, April 22, 2004 Check-Out Date: Saturday, May 1, 2004 Your Offer Price: $31.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 9 Subtotal: $279.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $34.85 (US dollars) Total Charges: $313.85 (US dollars) Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 Well that's progress!!Glad that nice long part of the stay worked out for you. That certainly has to take some of the pressure off!Good example of how quickly inventory can change, as just 5 days ago your bid for fewer days than this at $46 was rejected... bet that didn't seem like a blessing at the time!I assume you're still trying now for 5/1-5/3? Let us know if that is indeed the case, and if so, let's start a new thread for those dates and we'll add a link at the bottom of this one that will go to the new thread. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
WillTravel Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 The Add a Night feature might work here too. Glad to see I was wrong about the possible 7-day issue. Link to comment
gleemonex Posted February 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 i'm still debating whether to bid the remaining part or not. i might use the add extra nights thing. how does that work? do they just bill you at the same rate that you bid at?thanks for all the help guys! now comes flagstaff and chicago... :) Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 28, 2004 Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 The add a nite feature will look for the 2 extra nites for you, but given that you've been rejected at the same price on a separate Pricelinen bid, i'm doubtful the same rate will be available. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
WillTravel Posted February 28, 2004 Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 They might come back with a counteroffer, though.The Add a Night feature is available by searching for it in the Priceline help files - there's no direct link so far as I can see. Link to comment
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