zizou Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 Any help on what to bid for a 4* on these dates in Midtown ?Thanks, Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 Welcome to BetterBidding!Any midtown zone? MTE, MTW, UM/CPS, and MTS are all ok?It also appears that your first two nites are less expensive than your last 2 nites. Is SPLITTING THE BID an option for you?What is the maximum you would want to bid... do you have a back-up already that you're trying to beat? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 First, thanks for helping me setup.I would prefer MTW, UM/CPS and MTE in that order. I don't want MTS. No, I would not want to split the bid. I was thinking of going as high as $160. My backup is a 4.5* MTE that hotwire is offering for $182. Does that sound like a good offer to you and do you know which one it might be ? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 One more question....What is more important: zone or price? For example, the MTE zone is acceptable to you but the least favorable.... would you prefer a $150 room in UM/CPS or a $120 room in MTE?Aslo, due to the significant rate chanage i would re-consider splitting the bid, but that's just my own opinion and some (like you) may not think the savings are worth the 'hassle' of changing hotels. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 Price is more important. I am willing to compromise on the areas if I get a great deal. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 OK, here's a strategy that is a bit more involved/complex than usual, so if you have any questions please ask before bidding. You have 2 re-bid zones at the 4* level in this area, if you're unsure of what they are please feel free to confirm with the board before bidding. This is what i would do considering your price and zone preferences:Start by selecting 4* MTW...Bid $95, if rejected add MTE and...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone#1 and...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone#2 and...Bid $130If the above fails close that browser and start over again however you accessed priceline and select 4* UM/CPS and...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone#1 and...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone#2 and...Bid $130, if rejected add MTW and...Bid $140.If the above fails close that browser and start over again however you accessed priceline and select 4* UM/CPS and MTW and...Bid $145, if rejected add MTE and...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone#1 and...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone#2 and...Bid $160.If you follow the above none of the bids should be 'thrown out' as duplicate bids as they're all slightly different. It's important to follow the above in the order that it is written, so if you have an idea of switching around the order or something like that please post before bidding to avoid any mistakes.Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Bad news for my Priceline bid. I have a credit card that has a non-US billing address and the system will not accept it. Nonetheless, I checked with Hotwire and they will take international cards. Should I use the same strategy you outlined or does it change for Hotwire ? Link to comment
zizou Posted June 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 I figured out the credit card part by writing down my whole address in the City line, using New Mexico as a state and zip code 99999. Then I tried the first part of the instructions:Start by selecting 4* MTW...Bid $95, if rejected add MTE and...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone#1 and...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone#2 and...Bid $130but got no luck. I did not go into the next steps because it's not to clear to me what "if rejected add re-bid zone#1 " and "if rejected add re-bid zone#2" mean.Can you please clarify ? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 When bidding 4* In this area you have 2 re-bid zones available.Re-bid zones are explained here: RE-BIDDING EXPLAINEDTo avoid any mistakes, feel free to confirm which zones qualify as your re-bid zones if you're unsure. (we don't list them explicitly as re-bid zones can change when hotels are added/removed/upgraded/downgraded in a zone... so we don't want a future user to follow old instructions and then end up being disappointed in their results) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 When I tried to go into phase 2 of the strategy Priceline inidcates that I have requested that trip before and therefore they cannot process it. Any ideas or do I need to wait 72 hours ? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Exactly what zones have you bid already and what zones are you trying to bid now that you are being told it's a duplicate bid? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I started with MTW, added MTE, then added UM/CPS and finally added MTS.This morning I started with UM/CPS and that is when it told me I had already bid. Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I just tried also using my wife's credit card and data and, still, it told me it was the same bid. I started with UM/CPS but it would not let me. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Well that is indeed a duplicate bid :) The strategy presented above didn't involve bidding the MTS or the UM/CPS zones in the first section (ie- they're not re-bid zone#1 and re-bid zone#2).Re-bidding is adding a zone that only offers quality levels LOWER than the zone(s) you really want. Give RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED another read and pay particular attention to the pictures at the bottom which i think give a good graphical representation of the concept.Now that you've bid those four zones you won't be able to use the above strategy but we can try to work around it. Please post your bidding history... listing the zone and the amount bid, so for example:MTW $100MTE $110MTS $120would mean that you bid $100 for MTW, then added MTE and bid $110, then added MTS and bid $120, etc. This will tell me the amounts that you've already tried and i'll be able to come up with something from there.Also, please re-read the above link and post which two zones you think are your re-bid zones... as you'll certainly need to use them in any strategy that is suggested. If you still need help understanding the re-bid concept post your questions here and we'll try to explain whatever aspects don't make sense to you. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 My mistake for not asking.... How can I know which zones do not have 4* alternatives ?My bidding history is:MTW $95MTE $110UM/CPS $120MTS $130 Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 From the above link RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED:The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Thanks. Will wait on a suggested strategy. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I would now...Select 4* MTE, MTW, UM/CPS, and re-bid zone#1... bid $140.If rejected, close that browser and start over again however you accessed priceline and...Select 4* MTE, MTW, UM/CPS and re-bid zone #2... bid $150.(NOTE: in this strategy you are NOT selecting re-bid zone#1 that you used in the previous bid)If rejected, add re-bid zone#1 (from the first bid) and bid $160.Before bidding you may want to confirm which zones you think are your re-bid zones. I'm going to sleep in a few minutes but will wait to see if you reply with your re-bid zones. If it's after i log-off hopefully another board member can confirm them for you. If you're unsure of anything feel free to ask before proceeding. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Finally, I followed all the right steps but got no luck. I am $160 with no hotel. Any suggestions ? Link to comment
WillTravel Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I can't say for sure what the right step is here. But if the Hotwire hotel is still available and you're ok with the price, I'd consider taking it. Otherwise, your only options are to either bid for a lower-star hotel, or to wait another 72 hours and try again (which may or may not work and that would be your last chance), or to split your bid (which you don't want to do). Link to comment
KatiesMom Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 While doing research for my trip, I plugged your dates into Hotwire and got a 3.5* UWS for $164 a night. From the amenities listed (Restaurant, Fitness, Business) it seems to fit the description of the Hudson Hotel. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 My advice is to split the bid.Jersey City is also an option and will likely be less than half the price... but i also think that you will need to split the bid there as well because the JC Hyatt is sold out for the last nite of your stay.My advice (in order):1) split the bid for 4* NYC2) split the stay b/w Jersey City and NYC (extra $ saved in JC will allow you to pay more the NYC portion of the stay)3) lower rating to 3*Depending upon your own preferences, advice #2 and advice #3 can be switched.Let us know what route you want to take and we can advise on a suggested course of action. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I did not want to split the bid or go lower *. I had to make an $ effort and got the Intercontinental Barclay 4.5* through hotwire at $186.Thanks for your help. Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 When i looked earlier today i didn't even see it offered anymore... so i didn't think that was an option. If i had seen that it would have been easy and i would have suggested that over splitting the bid (which i knew you weren't favorable on doing)... everything i saw this afternoon was at $210+.Glad you got it settled out.Amenities still restaurant, fitness, business, and tennis? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
zizou Posted June 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Amenities still the same. Very good indicator of which hotel I was dealing with was the tennis icon since no other 4.5* hotel in the area has it.By the way, business conducted through savingsbarn. Link to comment
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