Priceline Hotel: 4* DC (White House-Downtown) Capital Hilton

[yochach]

Hello - I am new to this website and to Priceline in general. Thanks for having such an informative forum, and I aplogize in advance for newbie questions.

I am going to a function at the Hay-Adams Hotel (16th & H Streets) on Saturday, February 9th, 2008. The wedding hotel was too expensive to stay in, so we are looking for a nearby hotel in the White House-Downtown area. I am aiming to keep the total hotel cost at $100 (with tax and fees). We would ideally like a 4* hotel, and seeing what other people have paid, I'd love to get it at $70-85. I don't know if this is a reasonable goal or if I am being incredibly cheap.

Hotwire is offering a 4* White House-Downtown hotel right now for $82. I'd take that except I am slightly wary of Hotwire star ratings based on a recent hotwire stay.

I see that my rebidding zones for a 4* are Springfield and Crystal City. I have tried rebidding by successively adding these zones, while keeping my price bid constant. So far, I have bid $68, $69, $70, $71, and $74. So basically, I started at $68, bid on White House-Downtown for 4*, got rejected, added Springfield but kept price and 4* constant, got rejected, added Crystal City but kept price and 4* constant, got rejected, waited 24 hours, repeated for each of the above prices.

My questions are:

1) Should I be changing my bidding price when I add the rebidding zones?

2) Can you suggest a better bidding strategy for me?

3) Or, should I take the Hotwire offer?

Thanks in advance for your help, I really appreciate it!

[yochach]

Okay, so I went back and read some other posts, and it looks like I am doing the rebidding wrong (so embarassing). I believe that, if initially rejected for 4* and White House-Downtown, I should first increase the bid amount while keeping the zone and 4* the same, and if rejected, add a 2nd zone at the same price, and if rejected, up the bid while keeping the 2 zones, and if rejected, add a 3rd zone at the same price, and if rejected, up the bid while keeping the 3 zones, and if that is rejected, wait 24 hours and start over again at some new price.

So, now I guess my question is:

1) What would you start your bids at given my bid history and poor prior bidding strategy?

Thanks so much!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I think you're still a little confused with regards to re-bidding.

Let's backtrack a bit...

At the 4* level you have two re-bid zones availalbe (not three).

Start with this thread: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and ask questions and/or confirm your two re-bid zones with the board. We'll then take it from there, or if you're confused, we'll break it down further.

[yochach]

Thanks for the link! I re-read that post and think I understand it more. Here will be my plan when I start again tomorrow.

Let Zone A = White House-Downtown, Zone B = Springfield, Zone C = Crystal City. X = initial bid amount, Y and Z = increments.

Select 2/9/08-2/10/08, 4* hotel, Zone A, bid amount $X.

If rejected, add Zone B and raise the price, so new bid is for 4* hotel, Zones A+B, bid amount $X+Y.

If rejected, add Zone C and raise the price, so new bid is for 4* hotel, Zones A+B+C, bid amount $X+Y+Z.

If still rejected, wait 24 hours and try again :)

Is this correct?

If so, do you have a recommendation for X and the increments I should try raising by, given my prior poor history?

Thank you again, thereuare. I really appreciate your help.

[thereuare]

Your strategy looks good, but before suggesting bid amounts, i think it would be better to see if the HOTWIRE hotel can be identified.

If it's acceptable, then you can lower your maximum bid from $100 down to $82. As well, if it were right next to or a short walk to/from the Hay-Adams Hotel, would it be worth a few extra dollars to know that you're close to the 'host' hotel? (if walkable would also save you cab fare, thus evaluating the total cost of the HOTWIRE hotel vs. the potential of ending up somewhere else in the zone).

What are the amenities associated with the HOTWIRE hotel you're being offered?

[yochach]

Hi again!

I know your hotel lists aren't guaranteed, but I believe the Hotwire room is the Grand Hyatt Washington DC because of its "Customer Favorite" red thumb up designation. If that is the true hotel, I'd be only 6 streets from the Hay Adams (both are on H street, Hay is at 10th, Grand Hyatt is at 16th); Mapquest says it is 0.57mi between them, which is great. Amenities listed for the Grand Hyatt on Hotwire say: fitness center, business center, spa, internet, and restaurants; I guess amenities aren't that important to us since we'd just like a nice place to stay after a night of partying at the Hay that is close to some attractions that we can hit up on Sunday.

Hmmm. That Hotwire purchase is starting to look really good. Do you agree? If so, I think I'll just try and do the Hotwire purchase.

Thank you again for all of your help. This website is great.

[thereuare]

The "Customer Favorite" designations come and go... it's the hotel amenities that you want to use as the 'first line' in identifying hotels.

The amenities above match those of the Hilton Capital Hill (aka- Capital Hilton) so that would be our best guess.

Please use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchases you make.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[yochach]

Excellent. Bidding all done.

I went the HOTWIRE route. When I revisited the Hotwire offer page as you advised, the price had fallen to $79 (from $82) with all the same amenities and the same "Customer Favorite" designation, so I believed it was still the Capitol Hilton as you had identified earlier. This hotel is only 0.17 away from the Hay-Adams so is even closer than I would have been happy with! Before I placed my order, I called the hotel, who said that parking is $35 (valet-only but with in-and-out privileges), if we are looking for "total cost" calculations.

Anyways, final damage:

$79 on Hotwire + $18.52 (taxes recovery charges and fees) = $97.52, just under my $100 goal. The $35 parking fee is sort of made up for the fact that we most likely won't have to take a cab to and from the Hay-Adams and will be able to walk to sightseeing on Sunday.

Thank you, thereuare, for all of your great help. I am a very satisfied newbie!!!!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear that you received the hotel you were hoping for and that it works well with your plans... we were happy to help.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and for using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

On a side note, i would try to look for alternate parking around the hotel (not necessarily in the hotel itself). I don't know this area too well, but given that this stay is on a weekend, you may be able find cheaper parking in the immediate area.

Enjoy your stay and have fun at the wedding.