Priceline Hotel: Short Notice

[chellebelle]

I am new to this. This website was recommended by someone and thought I would give it a shot. I am looking for a two nite stay. Check in on 1/18/2008 and check out on 1/20/2008. I know this is a late notice. Just looking to get away for the weekend. How do I bid? What do I look for? I am wanting something nice with nice ammenities. Kitchenette, 2room maybe? Or just some pluses. If you can give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Just a hint...my friend said they have a room at the Omni for 50 a night....is this possible? That definetly sounds great!

[slruud]

Kind of depends on which city you are looking at.

[chellebelle]

Kind of depends on which city you are looking at.

I am looking in austin

[thereuare]

As far as nice, i would stick with the higher rated hotels. In regards to a kitchenette, these are usually not offered at most higher end hotels and more at the mid to lower level properties... most "high end" guests are not looking to cook on their vacation :)

I think you need to decide what is important to you... are you looking for a higher end hotel with 'nice' accomodations or looking for a pseudo-apartment for the weekend with a ktichenette and refrigerator?

Which zone(s) within Austin are you considering? What is your maximum bid?

[chellebelle]

well, the kitchenette really is not very very important...just trying to make a weekend get a away. nice accomodations are good. i am south..but willing to go north. i am willing to pay at least 60 or 70? is that too low for a nice hotel? Just a friend stayed at the omni for 50bucks! and that sounded soooo nice! but if i cant get that kinda break it is ok.

[thereuare]

Start by going to Priceline, looking at the zones they use to divide up the Austin area, and let us know which zones (by priceline name) you are willing to accept... we'll take it from there.

[chellebelle]

Do you mean (Downtown Austin - Airport Area) ?

There are a number of hotels in that area.

[mrxow]

One thing to consider is whether a nice room or a popular area is important to you. On weekends, popular areas are more expensive. But if you are looking for a nice room, business zones and airport areas can have great deals. We have had several Priceline wins in business zones and airport zones over the past 6 months where we ended up in one bedroom suites at Doubletree, Springhill or Embassy properties for 50 to 55 plus fees.

If you pick popular tourist zones, though, you will likely have to bid more and end up with a standard hotel room.

[chellebelle]

Then it would be a business zone and airport area is what I am wanting then. I heard Doubletree and Springhill are very nice :)

is there 2 bedrooms at doubletree?

[mrxow]

Getting even a one bedroom suite using Priceline is the exception, not the rule. You cannot count on it at all. The vast majority of the time, you are going to end up in a standard hotel room. If you end up in an all suite property, though, you will have a suite. This is possible and maybe even somewhat predictable in some cities and zones, but from the looks of it, Austin isn't one of them. I have never been in a 2 bedroom on a Priceline win.

Maybe I meant Springfield suites... There is one of these suites hotels listed as a 2.5 star in Austin, I think. There is a Doubletree suites downtown as a 3* that somebody got in August. Your friend probably got the Omni by the airport at the price you are talking about. There is an Omni listed downtown, but the accepted bids seem to be much higher than $50.

If you want something more nice, I think you might want to not shoot for the 2.5*. I would say go for a 3* at the airport and if you don't get it, add downtown and raise your bid price and maybe you might get the Doubletree suites. The southwest zone appears to be a free bid. Since you are trying for tonight, if you don't get your room after you try downtown, you might want to start your bidding over at this point and bid Airport and southwest 3* and raise your bid. If this fails, do Airport, Downtown and Southwest. You will have 4 tries without having to go to other zones. Maybe start at 50 and go up in increments of 5 or even 10 dollars, depending on how bad you want this room. If it is just to get away, maybe you could get away next weekend and get a better win.

Make sure to use the site links when you start your bidding.

[thereuare]

I think you should focus on an inexpensive getaway rather than everything you want the hotel to be. The deep discounts often obtained are for users that are flexible in their plans. If you need specific amenities then you should purchase direct (at much higher prices), but based upon some of the brands you mentioned above as 'nice', i suspect that you'll be happy with the majority of 3* names you'll likely get thru priceline... but it's up to you if you want to accept the conditions and flexibility needed for an opaque purchase.

Do you want to start by bidding for a hotel in the Airport zone?