Priceline Hotel: Help finding 5/6-5/8 hotel in Chicago

[El Gabito]

Got a room at the Drake w/ the help of the board The Drake Hotel Chicago

Now I need to fill out my stay and get a room for 5/6-5/8. Obviously I would like the best hotel for as little as possible. My budget was 150/night, so since I got the Drake for $110, I'd say I could go to 190/night if necessary for the next two.

Loop or NMA is fine. I am open to Hotwire ideas as well.

I also have not tried the "extend my stay" option - should I?

[AaronJB]

You should try the extend your stay option and see if you can get another pair of days at that price. It may say no, but it's worth trying.

[El Gabito]

No dice. I even went on to fill it out at the retail front for the Drake (via priceline) - it said:

Please Note: We do not currently have availability and pricing information for the itinerary you specified at this property. Please enter new travel dates below.

So I guess I am open to strategy for 5/6-5/9. I'm not sure where to start - I'm thinking maybe as high as 140 - I don't have that many days left. $229 is the cheapest room on hotwire in these zones for these dates (of any star level).

[El Gabito]

I keep getting this:

Thank You for Naming Your Own Price – Unfortunately, we can't accept your offer. During our search, however, we did find special priceline rates available for your travel dates at the hotels shown below. To try your priceline request again, click here.

And it shows me their retail site. It's almost like they don't have anything in stock.

Here's what I did - got that message three times (second bid every time I believe):

Select 4* Loop...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* NMA...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Loop and NMA...

Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $162.

Any advice? I'm debating whether I should wait another 24 hours or go for a 3*. HOTWIRE has nothing under $200.

[thereuare]

Whether you drop down to 3* or not depends upon what type of hotels you usually stay in and how it will effect your trip... but it may take more than your budget for a 3* as well!

With no re-bid zones available at the 3* level i would try to start sooner rather than later.

[El Gabito]

Let's say I up my budget to $250 ( 4-star hotel in North Michigan Avenue - Water Tower - Gold Coast on HOTWIRE). Should I take the HOTWIRE or go for PRICELINE?

I was just rejected on 3* up to $150 for NMA and Loop.

[El Gabito]

4* NMA - Water Tower - Gold Coast

Botique

Restaurant

High-Speed Internet

Fitness

Business

Golf

$249/night for 5/6-5/8

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread. If you ultimately use HOTWIRE for this portion of your stay we'll move this entire thread to that secion of the board.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but it appears to me that you have only bid up to $162/nite for a 4* hotel thus far? If that's the case i think there is a LOT more room for bidding to try to beat the $249/nite HOTWIRE rate above and that's the approach i would be taking at this time. The 4* HOTWIRE hotel above has an excellent Tripadvisor review rating, so that has something going for it, but it's nearly $100 more per nite than you have already bid and i would first be trying to beat that deal via PRICELINE.

As well, for that kind of money, you could book a cancellable reservation with the Affinia Chicago for $259/nite which gets great reviews and is cancellable up until 24 prior to the day of arrival (which i interpret as 2 days before arrival to be on the safe side :) ). I would secure this now as it gives you an excellent back-up plan while you continue to try to beat this via PRICELINE and HOTWIRE over the next few days. Please use our Quickbook link if you go this route.

HOTWIRE also has a 3.5* in the NMA zone for $219/nite (best guess is the Radisson) which you could also consider (not as a back-up though since this is thru HOTWIRE and therefore non-refundable and you can't 'watch it' since it may disappear at any time) if you're willing to lower your star rating to save a litle money vs. the 4* prices you're seeing.

Let us know how you would like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

[El Gabito]

Thanks for the tips. I hope you make good money on this site cause you definitely help a lot of us save a lot of money.

I booked Affina as a backup using your link. Cancellation policy:

You must make any changes or cancellations with Quikbook up to two business days prior to arrival. Within two days of arrival, you must cancel with the hotel directly or be subject to a 'no-show' charge equal to the first night room rate plus tax. This hotel requires cancellation by 3:00PM, 24 hours prior to the day of arrival.

I'd say I'll stick w/ 4* I guess - see if we can beat it. I've already gotten approval for $250/night for two nights if necessary, so I'll use the Affina rather than HOTWIRE if I don't get a good deal on PRICELINE. Let me know what you think for the next several days to try.

[thereuare]

Assuming that the Loop and the NMA-River North zone are both acceptable, and your previous rejected bid at the 4* level was $162, i'd try as follows:

Select 4* Loop...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $180, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* NMA...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $180, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Loop and NMA...

Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $200.

I'm guessing the above may still come up just a bit shy, but with a few days to go i would start with the above and we can still get up to the $250 area within the timeframe to cancel the Affinia if necessary.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

PS- since you have already bid for 3* today, if you bid both the Loop and NMA zones then the 4* bids above will be rejected as duplicates :) At which point i would only be able to do the following:

Select 4* Loop and re-bid zone...

Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* NMA and re-bid zone...

Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Loop and NMA and re-bid zone...

Bid $180.

[El Gabito]

Denied. Reservation is at Affina for $259 - so I'd say I don't want to go all the way up to $250 since the Affina looks very nice. Maybe $230 max?

[thereuare]

24 hours after your last rejected bid you can try again:

Select 4* Loop...

Bid $200, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $210, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* NMA...

Bid $200, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $210, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Loop and NMA...

Bid $215, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $220.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good luck and thank you in advance for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links.

[El Gabito]

I ended at $200 last time - should I start there again?

[thereuare]

You could raise each bid by $5 or $10 if you'd like to get to $230 quicker... but you'll get there tomorrow regardless.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[El Gabito]

Select 4* Loop...

Bid $205, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $215, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* NMA...

Bid $205, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $215, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Loop and NMA...

Bid $225, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $235.

I did the above and it was a no go. Affina at $24 more per night - I am thinking it is worth it to stick with it (the affina that is)?

Since I did my reservation on Quikbook - will Affina have it in their system? I like to call and confirm before I leave.

[thereuare]

Three days before your stay they probably have it in their system.

Call them and ask, but if it's not there, don't panic... tell them that you made a reservation thru Quickbook for arrival on 5/6 for a two nite stay and ask when they would typically get notification of that reservation.

Always travel with a printout confirmation of your reservations... if there is a problem, it's usually much easier to resolve when you have all the information with you and handy.

[El Gabito]

Thanks for your help. Found out there is a Nurse's convention in town (wasn't listed anywhere I saw) which could be the reason for lack of rooms and high prices (everything seems to be booked at this point).

One question - on Quikbook, can I typically have the room charged to the card it was reserved w/? It is a company card and I won't have it on me. I can use my own - but our expense reimbursement process is not the quickest.

[AaronJB]

For 5/6-8, I'm now seeing a 3.5* boutique in the WT/GC/NMA area on HOTWIRE for $229. It looks like it may actually be the Affinia. Boutique, Pool, Fitnes, Spa, Business, Restaurant, high speed 'net, restaurant.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE link to start your purchase if you decide to book.

[El Gabito]

Not showing up for me! When I checked Affinia's site it has none available so i'd be surprised if they had a surplus... But you never know. Nevertheless it's not currently showing up for me.

[thereuare]

One question - on Quikbook, can I typically have the room charged to the card it was reserved w/? It is a company card and I won't have it on me. I can use my own - but our expense reimbursement process is not the quickest.

Tough to say and probably depends upon the policy of each hotel, but i'd guess it will be harder to do than not... it would be the equivalent of walking into a hotel (or any establishment) with a credit card number written on a piece of paper, and asking to charge something without physically presenting the card. Probably wouldn't be well received at most establishments.

[El Gabito]

Ended up staying at Affinia via the quikbook link provied.

Very nice hotel!!! Nicest I've stayed in.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up!

Please remember to 'conclude' your threads with the results and you make your purchases so that the information can best help others in a timely manner.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Thanks.