Priceline Hotel: 4* in downtown Portland

[jeff1w]

I have been trying for a 4* in downtown Portland for dates 10/6-10/10. No luck starting at $85 up to $105. As we get closer to my travel dates, are more rooms going to open up for bidding at a lower price or do I just need to keep increasing my bid?

[tilepusher]

By Priceline bidding standards, your travel dates are a long ways off. Better deals will likely come up as you get closer to those dates. If fact, many of the best deals on PL have come from bids made within a few days of the check-in date. For now, I would suggest being patient. Don't bid more than once every three or four days until you're within a month of check-in, and don't go higher than you've already bid so far. In fact, with so many free rebid zones in Portland for 4* bids, I think I would start even lower -- I don't like winning a room on my first bid. If the idea of not having a room booked until days before check-in makes you uncomfortable, I would also suggest making a fully-cancelable reservation as a backup (actually, you should probably do this whatever your feelings, though I typically don't :) ).

[thereuare]

jeff1w,

Please follow-up your previous Hotwire Palm Springs thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay... we'll then address your questions above.

Thanks.

[thereuare]

Can you still please clarify in your Palm Springs thread if your purchase was made direcly thru the hotel or if it was thru Priceline. If thru Priceline, do you recall the winning bid amount, zone, star rating, etc (or can you view this information thru the MY TRIPS link at priceline)

In regards to your stay above, rates are a bit higher than usual, and in particular for one specific nite of your stay... is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option?

[IanYVR]

I've bid without success from $70 to $136/night for 4* in downtown Portland October 5 through 8. The Portland Marathon, with some 9,000 participants, takes place on October 7 and is likely putting a squeeze on hotel rooms. I have a standard booking at the Marriott City Centre, which is just fine and well located, and not a bad rate at $139/night.

[jeff1w]

Thanks for in info. about the marathon; I was wondering what was going on that weekend. I checked the convention center website but nothing major was listed. I also made a standard reservation at the Hotel Delux for $169 per night with free valet parking (usually $24 per day). I keep looking for a good deal in the week ahead.

[Colfax]

Are you willing to split your bid?

If so there's a good chance you could win 10/8-10/10 on Priceline for less than you've already bid, and keep your Delux reservation for the other two nights.

[jeff1w]

I now see on HOTWIRE a 4* that I believe would be the Benson Hotel for $129 per night. I'll keep an eye on the price for a few days before I decide to go for the Hotwire price instead of my standard reservation at the Hotel Delux for $169.

[tilepusher]

If the Benson is going for $129 on HOTWIRE, now might be the time to try bidding again on Priceline. There's a decent chance that you could land it, or another hotel, in the same price range that you were bidding in before ($85-105).

[jeff1w]

I just tried Priceline again starting at $90 up to $105, with no luck. I'll give it another shot in a couple of days. At least with downtown Portland its easy to rebid at the 4* level since no other zones have 4* properties. I'm really hoping to land the Hotel Monaco or the Vintage Plaza.

[jeff1w]

Just out of curiousity; when you win a bid on priceline or make a reservation on hotwire, do you have much choice in the room type or do you just get the cheapest room?

[jeff1w]

We ended up cancelling our trip due to a health related problem. We still have a credit with Alaskan Airlines that we need to use very soon.