Priceline Hotel: 3* LA-San Fernando Valley (Burbank-Universal City-Glendale) Hilton

[lisa in edmonton]

I tried bidding on a 3* in Santa Monica at $75, and was rejected. I am trying to do a rebid now, and I am wondering if this makes sense... I see there are no 3*s available in Lawndale. Would it be a "free rebid" if I added Lawndale to my search for a 3*? Thanks - still getting the hang of this...

[Colfax]

Yes, Lawndale, which only goes to 2*, is your only free rebid zone for 3* in LA. You can add Lawndale to your 3* Santa Monica bid without risk of winning a hotel in Lawndale.

Alternately you could wait 24 hours from your last Santa Monica bid and try again, maybe $80, and still have Lawndale available if you want to try $85.

Have you decided if there will be 2 or 3 people travelling yet? That will factor into your decision whether to go with Priceline or HOTWIRE.

[lisa in edmonton]

Colfax, thanks for continuing to follow my saga!

There will be 3 of us travelling, but we thought we would take our chances with Priceline, as it seems to have the better deals.

I did try adding Lawndale in the interim with an $80 bid with no luck. I will wait until the 24 hours is up before I try again...

[thereuare]

...we thought we would take our chances with Priceline, as it seems to have the better deals.

Priceline is usually a little cheaper than HOTWIRE, but if you save $10 and end up with a room with only one bed, is that really a better deal? :)

PS- instead of hitting the button (reply with quote), please look a little below that and use the as this will not quote the entire previous post. Thanks.

[lisa in edmonton]

After some thought and advice (thanks guys), we decided to use Priceline to book a hotel in the Universal area for 5 nights of our 7 day stay. We knew that the Glendale Hilton was available on Hotwire for $85 during those nights, but I liked the hotel choices better on Priceline, and thought we would take our chances for a better deal until we reached that $85 mark.

Started out with a $65 bid for Universal/Burbank, rejected

Added Studio City for a $70 bid. Rejected

Waited and added $75 bid for Universal/Burbank and was asked to add $22 to secure a property. I learned from my last mistake booking the Westin LAX not to give in (still kicking myself over not using those free rebid zones strategy for that purchase)

I added Studio City and increased bid to $78, and won the Glendale Hilton

I was REALLY hoping for Holiday Inn Universal Studios, so I am a bit disappointed, but it's a chance I took. At least I know that I got it cheaper than on Hotwire and had I booked somewhere else! I will call the hotel this week and try to get a room with 2 beds.

Just one more night in Santa Monica to book for our first night in California...

Thanks for your help and for the Savingsbarn.com link!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success... glad you got this stay settled and were able to save some money.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and for using the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[Colfax]

Congrats, Lisa. Good job of undercutting the counteroffer. By LA standards the drive from the Hilton to Universal isn't far at all.

If you want to continue discussing your first night in Santa Monica please start a new thread for that night with a summary of your bidding history so far.

[lisa in edmonton]

Thanks, guys. I called today to make sure we got a room with 2 beds, and it was no problem! I heart Priceline... :)