antlori Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Going to Chicago June 26-30 and looking for a hotel downtown. Won't have a car so need to be close to shopping, theatre, restaurants, sightseeing, etc. We're thinking the Loop, North Michigan area (maybe even River North but not sure where that fits in). We'd like to get a 4* hotel for under $100 if possible. Can you suggest a bidding strategy. I don't see much on the board for June--closest to my dates is the June 18-20 Palmer House for $65. This would be acceptable and may be realistic for my dates as Hotwire has a 4* that looks like the Palmer House for $78. Can you suggest a strategy? I haven't tried yet as I'm not that familiar with Chicago and am a little intimidated. I've had a lot of experience with NY and San Francisco but this is the first time for Chicago and I'm nervous. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Personally if i were heading to Chicago i would stick with the NMA zone on priceline... or on Hotwire the MagMile/Whacker zone or the NMA/WaterTower/GoldCoast zone.On Priceline there are 4 re-bids at the 4* level giving you total of 5 bids. I would select 4* NMA and...Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone and...Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone and...Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone and...Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone and...Bid $79.Feel free to ask any questions regarding the above (or anything else for that matter). Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 Tried this strategy but no takers. Do you think it might be the Saturday night that's hindering me? I notice on the hotel websites I've checked that Saturday night seems to be higher priced than the rest of my stay. I'm thinking of trying June 27-30 and then going back and doing Saturday separately. What do you think? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 I see that now too, but when i typed the above rates were the same at the one source i looked at... although now that i look at others the rate change doesn't appear to be too great.If you don't mind changing hotels (which many people don't want to do for a 2 nite stay) then you can split the bid as you mentioned. If you'd rather not change hotels than i would just wait the 72 hours and follow the strategy above once again, but start your bidding at $75 and increase by $5 each re-bid which would bring you to your limit of $100. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 We'll be in Chicago 4 nights so moving after 1 night might not be too bad. I'll check with my husband and see what he thinks. Alternately, we could add the Loop. I know you said that NMA is better. Is there anything wrong with the Loop? Or is it just that NMA hotels are better? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 I don't know what i was looking at... for some reason something caught my eye and i thought your dates were 6/18-6/20 (no wonder rates were higher than i remember seeing the other day... i was probably currently checking different dates).Not that big of a deal anymore (IMO) of changing once during your stay.Let us know what your husband thinks and we'll go from there. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 My husband doesn't mind changing hotels so I thought I would try the same strategy as before, starting with $60, but using June 27-30. If I get something for those 3 days, then I guess I would go back to June 26 and try for that separately maybe starting a little higher and see what happens. The other thing my husband suggested is that when we find out what hotel we have for the 3 days, then we could call that hotel and book regular price for June 26 (we have AAA and AARP). Does this sound logical? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 Makes perfect sense, but i'll even take it a step further....If the 27th-30 doesn't work out for you, then try...the 26th-29th (not as likely due to the higher Saturday nite, but stranger things have happened), if that doesn't work then try...28th-30th / 26th-28thOnce a hotel is won, you can look into booking direct but my guess is that you'll have trouble paying nearly $200 for a room that you just paid sub-$100 for other nites.Another alternative, once a hotel is won, is to check Hotwire to see if the hotel you just won is believed to be offered for your other nite... likely cost a bit more than Priceine but worth a few extra dollars if you suspect that you have identified it and won't have to change hotels.Let us know if/when you win a hotel and for what dates... then we'll take it the next step to complete the stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 Thanks for the help. I tried June 27-30 and didn't get anywhere. Great suggestion about Hotwire. I never thought of that. You're right it would be hard to pay $200 for a room we just got on Priceline for a lot less. We already have a problem with the idea we might have to pay as much for a hotel in Chicago as we pay in New York! Link to comment
antlori Posted June 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 My 72 hrs were up today so I went in today and rebid NMA June 26-30 up to $85 with no takers. Then went back and bid NMA June 27-30 up to $85 and still nothing. I'm thinking of trying Boutique and 3* in the NMA area. What do you think? Would it be better to do this than to add the Loop? There's a 4* that looks like the Palmer House on Hotwire for just over $80 so I could probably get it on Priceline for a little less. If I add the Loop thought I might get something even further south than the Palmer House, which is getting a little too far away from the "action". Any suggestions? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 If you'd rather not change hotels than i would just wait the 72 hours and follow the strategy above once again, but start your bidding at $75 and increase by $5 each re-bid which would bring you to your limit of $100. Has your upper limit changed from $100? If not i would still recommend following the advice i provided above. A roundrtrip cab each day to North Michigan Ave will just about 'even' the score... so go with the convenience. (IMO)As well, there is a 4* Boutique hotel on Hotwire for $94 which i believe to be Hotel 71 as well as a 4* for $102 which seems to match the Knickerbocker... both of which get excellent reveiws.I think you'll be successful on Priceline approaching a $100 bidding limit for a 4* hotel in the NMA zone... if not the two options above seem like good alternatives (maybe even worth just buying know on Hotwire if you 'love' what you read about either).I'd be hesitant to book a Boutique on Priceline as this class of property can be almost anything.... cool and eclectic to small with no service. I'd book a Boutique on Hotwire if i though i could figure it out beforehand, but with Priceline there's just too much risk. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 Thanks for getting back to me so fast. It's been 3 days and I forgot about your earlier advice on starting at $75. I saw the Hotel 71 on Hotwire but couldn't find any feedback on it. The feedback on the Millenium Knickerbocker didn't seem that good. The Whitehall was showing up on Hotwire at $112 yesterday and it seems to have pretty good reviews. Do you have any thoughts on that property? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 Check out the reviews at TripAdvisor.com Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 I went to Hotwire today (was out of commission over the weekend as my computer was in for repair) and found what looked like the Inter-Continental for $92/night and decided to grab it as it was under my $100 criteria. But when I clicked "Purchase" it came back saying that selection was no longer available. I went back and ran my selection again and sure enough, the Inter-Continental was no longer there. I then ran the June 27-30 dates and found what looked like the Omni Ambassor East at $81. I have stayed at this hotel before and it was okay + it is a "customer favorite" so I decided to take it before it disappeared too. It was, indeed, the Omni Ambassador East. Now I just have to get a hotel for the 26th of June. I think I'll look at a map to see what other hotels are near the Omni Ambassador East. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Glad you got most of your stay taken care of. There has been discussion of 'just how long' Hotwire offerings are available and what happens if it's presented to two people at once yet only one room is available (as i suspect occurred in this instance).Can you confirm the amenities of the Omni Ambassador which can still be viewed under the MY ACCOUNT link on the top right corner of Hotwire's home page. Once you confirm the amenities of the Ambassador i'll move this post to the HOTWIRE section.For you individual nite of the 26th, please start a new thread and i'll be sure to link at the end of this post to the new thread (this will enable us to add the correct title and price to the new win).As always, thanks for sharing. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
antlori Posted June 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Omni Ambassador East - 3-1/2 *, North Michigan-Water Tower-Gold Coast areaRestaurant, Fitness, Business CenterJune 27-30, 3 nights, $81/night = $243 + taxes & fees $40.95 = $283.95 totalThis hotel seems to have pretty good reviews.Thanks for your help. Link to comment
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