Priceline Hotel: Montreal Hotel Bidding (Questions)

[Eklipxe]

I hope some of you can help:

I will be staying in Montreal from 9/27-9/30 (3 nights). A group of my friends will be coming in a day later and they'll need 5 rooms (9/28-9/30 - 2 nights).

So far, I have unsuccessfully bid up to $105 a night for a 4-star hotel (using my 16 rebids). Checking on the hotel websites, it appears that the Sheraton is sold out that weekend, while the other 4 star hotels only have availability on one or two of those nights - none of the 4-stars show availability for all 3 nights I am staying.

First question: is it still a little early to bid for these dates?

Second question: is there any major event in Montreal that weekend? (There is a supercross motobike show that weekend and the President's cup golf tournament during that week - but I can't imagine them filling up all the rooms).

I tried splitting up my bids - 9/27-9/28 & 9/28-9/30, bidding up to $100 for each, and still no acceptances. I'm hesitant to try 3 stars because I don't want the Doubletree or the Holiday Inn Select. - although the Hyatt or Marriott would be nice.

Any advice someone can offer? or should I keep trying when it gets closer?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

If the hotels are showing sold-out for some of your nites than i doubt it's too early to bid.

When hotels are sold-out, or there is very tight demand, EasyClickTravel, GTA Hotels, and Quickbook are all often good sources (they have slightly different business models than the typical travel seller, so they often have 'regular' prices when everyone else has high prices and also frequently have inventory while others are showing sold-out.

Have you also checked HOTWIRE?

Do any of the above offer anything at an atractive price?