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Priceline Hotel: How to handle hotel in small town with limited options


rubeninfl
By rubeninfl,
in

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Okay, I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I've been trying to get a room in Albany, GA for 2/25 - 2/28. This is a Monday- Thursdy morning stay. So no PRIME DAYS. Albany, GA is a large town....small city. I've gone to priceline and Hotwire. Hotwire only shows two hotels and the prices area 46 and 35 dollars. The highest being a 2 star (so probably it's a 1). Priceline shows lots more hotels upto a 2.5*. The rate though is $119. I've bid $60...nothing. Today I bid $65 and checked both 2* and 2.5*....nothing.

So I guess I'm wondering if the bidding techniques go out the window when trying to get a room in a small town. Priceline doesn't give me different areas of Albany, GA. It's all just one area.

Can anyone offer any advice on how I might be able to avoid paying through the nose for 3 nights in the middle of the week?

Thanks!

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Just because there are a lot of hotels on Priceline's retail page does not mean they have a lot of hotels in your city participating in their bidding system. I will look at it, but if you have bid up to 65 in a 2 star and didn't get anything, there probably isn't a whole lot you can do. You said there is a 35 dollar option on Hotwire. That doesn't sound like paying through the nose...

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A lot of the hotels on the Priceline retail page are chains that participate in the bidding side as well. Maybe they don't have a lot of extra rooms and aren't making them available to the system or aren't making them available at a good price.

The hotwire option I am getting is 39 for a two star. I think you should just take that. If you have an Entertainment Book, you can get 10 bucks back on your booking through hotwire.

Maybe try priceline a little earlier next time. You won't probably save a whole lot compared to getting a 2 star for 35 or 39 though. Sometimes people pick up hotels for under 30, but not always. Low thirties is usually the best I get.

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Thanks.. It's not that I think $39 is expensive by any means. It's just that I'm not familiar with Albany, GA. I'm having to go there for some training for employer and the person in charge of the trainig told me that the area where the hotels are is kinda dumpy and suggested that I only stay at that one hotel that was 119 on priceline. I'd go for the $39 ones but fear that may be the bad ones they said to stay away from. Unfortunately there's no way to decipher which hotels they are.

I'm torn. Pay the big bucks and know I"m staying at a safe hotel or risk paying $39 and staying in a bad place.

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It is a multi day trip, so it would be unfortunate if you ended up somewhere you don't like.

My experience is mostly with Priceline. I have had only a couple of problem rooms. When I did, I complained. Priceline would not refund my money, but they would give me a $10 credit per night for a later booking. I waited and used it on a booking for 5 nights and ended up getting in savings more than what I would have received had they refunded my room! So I don't worry about it being undesireable. If it's that bad, it may end up being free.

I don't know what Hotwire does to compensate for bad experiences by its customers. Priceline generally does not want people to have complaints, so it seems they only use hotels where the chance of a complaint is low. I imagine Hotwire tries to do the same thing.

By far, we have been EXTREMELY happy with the stuff we have won, expecially when we see the 40 ot 75% discounts we get from standard pricing...

If only the one hotel is recommended by somebody who knows the area, I imagine that is probably not the one you would get, though. Some people are really uptight about where they stay. Maybe it isn't as bad as the person is indicating. And he probably doesn't care if he's not the one who has to pay for it.

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I occasionally have to travel to some small towns and I usually don't have much success with Priceline or HOTWIRE. The discount off the rack rate is usually not enough for me to make an "opaque" purchase. In your case I think the best course of action is to book one room through HOTWIRE and if its to your liking, just book the rest of your stay. You will pay about $7 more for making two reservations. I suspect that this hotel may be the Days Inn which may be had for $45 directly, so you are really not saving much. I did an Expedia search for your dates in the Albany area and its one of the only 2* properties with availability that has a pool and free breakfast. Good luck and let us know what you end up with.

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