Priceline Hotel: trying for downtown Portland 4*

[elviswife]

Traveling to Porland August with my husband and meeting my mother-in-law there. We are somewhat flexible on dates - but want to "wow" MIL with a 4* (or great 3*) for a low price. Since she is flying from PHX so she is also paying for airfare, and we are driving up from Northern Ca and on a tight budget, we are going the Priceline route.

Can you help with bidding strategy and/or tips on hotels?

4* (3* if we have to)

arrive Aug 13/14, or Aug 20/21, or Aug 27/28

check out four days later (four days, three nights)

need two rooms

max $75/night per room

want to stay downtown to take advantage of MAX and trolleys

Have seen HORRIBLE reviews for Red Lion Convention Center. Husband is afraid to bid 3* downtown because we might get this. Any thoughts on if it's really all that bad?

Looking forward to any help you can offer. I am familiar with the zone bid system, but don't usually use Priceline.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

At the 4* level in Portland you have seven re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* Downtown...

Bid $52, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $56, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75

You can try the above for the first set of dates, then repeat again for each of the other potential set of dates. (when you change the dates it's treated as as entirely new bid, so no need to wait 24 hours between bidding cycles if the first set of dates fail and you want to try again for the next set of dates)

One other option if you don't mind spending the time....

Select 4* Downtown...

Bid $52, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $56, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

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

Try the above for the first set of dates, then repeat for the other set of dates. Once you have gone thru all dates, re-access priceline and continue:

Select 4* Downtown and re-bid zone3...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone5...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone6...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone7...

Bid $75

If the above is rejected you can then cycle thru all the dates once again.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Godo Luck and let us know how it goes.

[elviswife]

Thanks - I will try right now and let you know how it goes! :)

[elviswife]

so i am in the process of trying the bidding suggestion you provided. So far no luck trying up to $60 in three zones. I will proceed to the higher priced bids in a few more tries here. Just wondering, I know I said $75 was my max - is this even remotely realistic?? :)

Thanks!

[elviswife]

okay - completed the suggested bidding scenario. Was denied all the way up to $75 in all zones for a 4*, on all dates.

Do I need to drop down to 3* now? If so, what is the suggestion for bidding prices? There are two areas that don't have three stars, so it looks like I can make my initial bid of downtown 3*, and then add two more zones before running out of chances.

Does anyone know of any 3* downtown that I want to pray I don't get?? :)

Thanks!

[Colfax]

I've stayed at the Red Lion Convention Center and while it was "okay" by my low standards I don't think it's the kind of "WOW" experience you had in mind. The rooftop bar there provides a "WOW" view of Downtown Portland but the rooms and public spaces are more "EH" than "WOW".

For this stay I don't recommend bidding for a 3* on Priceline. It's not just about the Red Lion. The 3* Doubletree and Holiday Inn have some very unspecial rooms too that they like to give to Priceline guests. (Not always, but sometimes.)

I would stick to the 4* on Priceline or buy something on HOTWIRE, which divides Priceline's Downtown zone in two. Hotwire has the "Greater Downtown zone" and "Downtown-Convention Center" zone. And all of those "EH" 3*'s are in the Conv Center zone so you can avoid them by only buying in "Greater Downtown".

On Expedia I checked 4* for the first set of dates you offered, Aug 13-16 or Aug 14-17, and found this:

Benson $179

Monaco $219

Paramount $179

Vintage Plaza $209

Maybe a shade higher than aveage but not a lot.

HOTWIRE has a 4* in Greater Downtown for $159.

Sometimes $75 is enough for a Priceline 4* Downtown and sometimes it takes a little more than that. Almost always you can get something for $90 or less.

As a first step I would check 4* rates for the other August dates you offered and see if rates are lower than what I posted above. If one week is lower than the others repeat thereuare's strategy to $75 for those dates.

[slruud]

Understand the budget situation, but HOTWIRE is showing a 3.5* in the Greater Downtown area for $95/nite for some of your dates It would probably be the Marriott, Hilton, or Vintage Plaza. Just an option to keep open.

[plantnerd]

Hopefully this will help in your quest to find a room.

I have been attempting to get a 4* room in downtown Portland for an upcoming trip the 14th-19th of August for several weeks now, hoping that inventories will free up.

Going back to the 17th of June, I bid up to $100, no luck, starting around $80 (can't remember right now, deleted emails).

Last week, bid up to $104, several bids, no luck.

7/16, Monday, bid up to $109 for 4*, no luck.

I have tried splitting up the dates, increasing free re-bid zones, seemingly everything.

If anybody has any other suggestions for either or both of us, please let us know.

Looking back one year, in August, it looks like 4* downtown Portland was going for $110, maybe a little more. Defninitely more than I want to spend.

[Colfax]

The 3.5* at $95 HOTWIRE is a good suggestion too, slruud. I only checked elviswife's first set of dates and a 3.5* wasn't offered for those dates, but it can pop up at any time.

Also thanks for your bidding history, plantnerd. The five day stay might be making your bid more difficult, especially since it combines weekdays and weekends. Good luck moving forward and please keep us posted.

To elviswife: A lot of times the 4* availability doesn't come through until nearer your travel dates. I suspect you want to settle on your dates so your mother can buy a plane ticket. If you fail at $75 for all your date options I think it's reasonably safe to purchase a ticket for the dates that work best for you and feel confident that you'll win a hotel between now and then. You might have to raise your limit higher than $75 at some point but I think you can keep lowball bidding for another couple weeks if you want to hold out for a deal.

[thereuare]

plantnerd,

For help with your own stay please start a NEW TOPIC.

Thanks.

[slruud]

Elviswife,

I'm assuming you are keeping tabs of what's available and at what rate relative to star level. I was doing some spot checking, and I think it was the middle set of dates that showed limited availability for 4* for a number of the downtown hotels. Checking the rates on the 3.5* HOTWIRE hotels for the middle set of dates, it looks like 2 of the 3 hotels have no availability. It's important to check rates for each night, because if there is no availability for one of the three nights, you can't win that hotel. Good luck.

[elviswife]

okay, i am starting to get a little confused.

I checked out a hotel site, and plugged in my dates to see which Portland downtown hotels are available all three nights for the dates I am looking for. The MOST availability is in the Aug 20-23 slot with nine 4* hotels available (although I think some of them may not be 4* on Priceline, like the Hilton and Embassy Suites). But this is also the slot that has the rooms listed at the most expensive rates overall. The prices ranged from $194 for the Hilton to $440 for River Place, with the majority listed in the mid $200's (Westin, Marriott, Monaco, Lucia).

The last sets of dates Aug 27-30 and Aug 28-31 have the same three hotels listed: Marriott - $179, Westin - $183, Paramount - $150.

On Hotwire, the first set of dates (Aug 13-16 and 14-17)gives me a boutique 4* with SPA for $163. Aug 20-23 and 21-24 gives me no 4* at all. The third set of dates (Aug 27-30) gives me a 3.5* "customer favorite" with no pool, and Aug 28-31 gives me that same 3.5* as well as the same Boutique 4* with SPA for $139 this time.

SOOOOO... where I'm confused is this - it seems that the dates with the more availability should have more listings on Hotwire (and I'm guessing Priceline). And yet those are the dates with NO availability on Hotwire. Does anyone know how close to the actual dates (in general) hotels release their stock to Priceline and Hotwire?

Colfax, yes I am trying to nail down a date so can purchase MIL her plane ticket. Should I purchase in the week where the regular hotel website is showing a lot of availability (although at higher prices) and hope they release some stock to Priceline? Or go with another date when prices are lower and so is availability?

My head is swimming. :)

[thereuare]

I checked out a hotel site...

The only way to get a true picture of supply/demand relationship on a given nite is directly thru the hotel website (thus the reason for the BetterChecker tool :) )

I'm not sure what site you used above, but you can't use a third party site (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, EasyClickTravel, Quickbook, etc) to get a feel for demand on any give day.

[elviswife]

sorry I wasn't more specific - I used Kayak.com. It seems to be a search engine that checks the hotel's websites as well as sites like Travelocity, reserve travel, etc. I have found it to be accurate within $5 or so, and accurate for the dates I was looking for (i did cross reference to double check on a few). I tried the one you suggested, and I had a hard time navigating with all the panes open. :)

[Colfax]

Here's my opinion:

You're trying to decide between three sets of dates that are 4, 5, or 6 weeks in the future. Whichever set of dates you pick you're probably not going to get your best Priceline deal until a week or two before you travel.

Since there aren't any outstanding Hotwire deals now for ANY of the dates you're considering I would just buy a plane ticket for the dates that suit you and your MIL best and keep on bidding. I don't think you need to worry about not getting a hotel in Downtown Portland for any of your dates.

If you really prefer having your hotel locked in now before you buy a plane ticket then I think you need to raise your 4* bidding limit to something like $85 or $90, or try for the 3*.

[slruud]

If I may, checking the rates for your last set of dates, HOTWIRE is offering a 3.5* in the Greater Downtown area for 93/nite. I'm assuming you are tied into bidding on Priceline, but if you want to nail down a hotel and have it done and over with, this is a possibility. As the budget is a concern, with 5 or so weeks to go, you can start budgeting for the excess cost. Maybe eliminate a latte here or there and skip a meal out. There are always ways to make up some $$$. Good luck.

[elviswife]

thanks for thinking of me slruud. But my Mother-in-law is footing the bill for the lodging, so it's her budget we need to try and stay inside. Unfortunately, she has more of a Travel Lodge budget, which is why I thoiught I would try on Priceline. But thanks for the info, and I will keep working on it. :)

[Colfax]

A couple days ago I wrote to the effect that you shouldn't worry....you'll eventually win a 4* whichever set of dates you choose.

I want to backpedal a bit after seeing chipmeister's post, bidding for a Saturday night, tonite. Rejected to $150 for a 4* and had to bid to $95 to get a 3*. Of course your dates are different but still....those things are happening.

If you're not having luck with the 4* on Priceline, and since location is important to you, favor the HOTWIRE 3.5*, like slruud suggested, over bidding 3* on Priceline.

All the reported HOTWIRE 3.5* are really Downtown vs. some of the Priceline 3*, which are across the river near the Convention Center. The reported 3.5* are the Hilton, Marriott, and Vintage Plaza. All very good locations and I think your MIL would be happy with any of those...not that I know her.

[slruud]

One other point. I just reread your original post and noticed you will be driving. You will need to budget parking into the equation as most of the downtown hotels charge around $20/day. Something to consider. Good luck.

[slruud]

Don't know if this is still an active thread, but checking for the last set of dates on HOTWIRE, 8/27-8/30, there is a 4* offered for $99 and still the 3.5* for $95. I think this bodes well for bidding on Priceline and possibly a successful bid around $80 +/- for a 4*.

Editing to update: Just realized I only selected 2 adults on Hotwire..when I selected 3 the 4* goes away. Not sure Elviswife is looking for one or two rooms or one room with 2 beds.

[tilepusher]

My best guess is that the 4* that slruud found on Hotwire is the Benson and the 3.5* is the Hilton. If you're willing to stay in rooms with only one queen bed (which is probably why the 4* disappears when you select 3 adults), you may want to see if you can get it on Priceline for $75 or less. I was able to get the Hilton on the Labor Day weekend for $50/night on Priceline when Hotwire was showing $93, but with the Red Lion available on those dates for $120/night, I wouldn't bid for a 3* on those dates.