Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Regents Park-Baker St) Hilton Metropole

[mcremata]

Is there an ideal strategy for this bid? How can I get the max. # of re-bids if I wish to limit my area choices to these areas? Will bid upto $180. Thanks!

[thereuare]

There are no re-bid zones at the 4* level in London... but you can bid as follows in order to maximize your bidding opportunities:

Select 4* Bloomsbury...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Regents Park...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Mayfair...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously. (really no chance but kept in for uniformity and no harm in placing the bid)

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair...

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Regents Park and Mayfair...

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Regents Park...

Bid $65, if rejected add Mayfair...

Bid $70.

NOTE: this is not the conventional way to bid this (so we don't recommend applying this same strategy to other zones), but i'm taking advantage of the fact that there is virtually no chance of success at these prices in the Mayfair-Soho zone... so although acceptable, i'm risking a $5 overbid in this zone.

I'm starting this low because there are few hotels in the Bloomsbury-Marble Arch zone which are inexpensive for your dates, and i'd like to make sure you don't overbid for this area... so if the above is rejected, DON"T get discouraged. Wins at the above levels are possible, although i'd put the chances at less than 50/50. If it is rejected we'll revise to try again in 24 hours, at which point i think your chances of success go up.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck!

[mcremata]

thanks for the strategy. i would never have come up w/ doing it that way ;-) tried as you instructed, but no luck this morning. i'll try again tomorrow. any reason why you think the chances of acceptance are greater tomorrow? should i keep the bid amounts the same?

[thereuare]

The chances will increase because you'll also increase the bid amounts:

Select 4* Bloomsbury...

Bid $75, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Regents Park...

Bid $75, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Mayfair...

Bid $75, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously. (really no chance but kept in for uniformity and no harm in placing the bid)

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Regents Park and Mayfair...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Regents Park...

Bid $85, if rejected add Mayfair...

Bid $90.

[mcremata]

Still no luck. Bid using the strategy and in fact on my last bid (Bloomsbury, Regents, Mayfair) went up from $85 to $95. Still rejected. No counters. What do you suggest my next move should be?

[WillTravel]

HOTWIRE has what is likely the Hilton Metropole for your dates for $134.

So Priceline should be somewhat cheaper - maybe in the range of $110 for the same date for Regents Park (just a guess, based on some other bids like this). It's possible something cheaper will come up, but this seems like a good bet at this point.

I would personally consider the Finsbury-Islington zone, because there have been some successful cheap bids there.

[thereuare]

I would go p to $110 at this point, after that i would stop bidding and wait a few days since rates are not that high for your dates. You can proceed as follows:

Select 4* Bloomsbury...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Regents Park...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Mayfair...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Regents Park and Mayfair...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Regents Park...

Bid $105, if rejected add Mayfair...

Bid $110.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck.

[mcremata]

thanks for all the help. continued w/ strategy and the outcome was finally hitlon metropole at $130. i guess it's the dates. many have gotten this hotel for substantially less. waiting a few more days may have resulted in lower price. apparently it was on hotwire for $134, but i was rejected at $125.

fyi, i read online on another site that someone won the cumberland hotel (bloomsbury i think) for $130 for the same dates. that bid was won on 5/4. thanks again for the help in london and for all the cities i received so much advice on. as always, savingsbarn.com was my link to PRICELINE.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Although higher than others have received, this is still $100+ less per nite than a conventional booking at this property. Thank you for sharing your win and for starting your bids with the SavingsBarn.com links.

Have a great stay (and trip!)

[eaglelip]

I don't think that waiting to bid would have helped. June is peak season for London and places are filling up.

I won a bid about a month ago for this property for this May 13th for $84. My plans have changed and I now need a room for May 11th and 12th. I've been trying for the last week and can't get anything under $95 per night.