Priceline Hotel: Chicago NMA - First time Priceline

[santillan]

I have used HOTWIRE many times but this would be my very first time with PRICELINE.

I need to know how to go about it.

Dates: 07-18-08 to 07-20-08

Rooms: 1

Stars: 4

Area: North Michigan Avenue (Mag Mile Streeterville or Water Tower)

Max. Price: 120.-

I saw someone got the Conrad for 99.- around those dates.

I do not want any other areas, i.e. no Loop, etc.

How do I bid if I only want that one zone?

I have time, so it's not as if I need my bid accepted immediateley or I would panic, so I could wait to try to get a good rate (the 99.- Conrad rate would be fab).

Can you help me?

Thank you,

Santillan

[thereuare]

You do understand that you can receive any 4* hotel in this zone and not necessarily the Conrad, correct?

Please confirm and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[santillan]

Thank you, Thereuare, for your reply. Yes, I understand that it might be another 4 star hotel. But would it be another 4 star as in the the Priceline Hotel List? I have checked the whole list and if the price is attractive, then any one of those would do (except perhaps for House of Blues and Sheraton about which I've read less than glowing reports). What I would not like would be to end up 'in the sticks', as it were. I have just 2 days in Chicago and I would love to be in the thick of it.

I have checked Hotwire recently, but their prices go up and up and up...

Could you give me tips on how to proceed with Priceline?

Many thanks in advance,

Santillan

[thereuare]

But would it be another 4 star as in the the Priceline Hotel List?

Likely, but not guaranteed... see the comments at the top of the Priceline Hotel List.

What I would not like would be to end up 'in the sticks', as it were.

Your hotel can be anywhere within the shaded boundaries of the zone... which i'm assuming you don't consider "the sticks", but you should be willing/prepared to accept a hotel anywhere within the shaded region.

Before exluding the loop, i'll point out that another user recently received the Hyatt Regency Chicago (in the Loop zone) for a subset of your dates... just $59/nite!! :) This is an excellent deal for Chicago in the summer, and may be worth considering since i'm guessing to land a 4* in the NMA zone is going to push the upper range of your budget. For $59/nite, it may be worth the minor inconvenience of taking the bus up Michigan Ave or springing for a few extra cab rides.

But it's your stay, and your money, so you let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll suggest a strategy for however you'd like to play it.

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

[AaronJB]

The Sheraton's superbly located, but just a very average hotel. The HOB is now the Hotel Sax.

None of the 4* hotels in the River North/North Michigan Ave. area could be considered 'in the sticks'. There are a couple of 4*'s in the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park area that are somewhat out of the way, but they're still downtown - they're just not quite as convenient. You have to realize that Chicago is pretty compact as big cities go; none of the hotels in the two main Priceline zones could be considered 'in the sticks'.

[AaronJB]

If the original poster got the Hyatt, there'd be no need to even take the bus. Michigan Ave. shopping is only a block West and about 2-3 north.

[thereuare]

... so for $59 that would seem to be a good option!

And although no guarantees of getting the Hyatt, i would put the odds at "low" of having another hotel accept a $59 bid for this time of year.

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

[santillan]

I did see the $59.- Hyatt one and it did make me wonder. However, due to the fact that I am a woman and will be on my own, I would prefer to be in the area of the MagMile so that I feel comfortable to go out for dinner in the evening and where I can feel safe with people around (plus close to the shops -I just looooove walking into that Apple store). I love walking out of a hotel and having everything just there. I have been lucky enough to have been, via Hotwire, at the Intercontinental a couple of times and the Westin. From there it's great to walk to the Grand Lux Cafe or the Cheese Cake Factory which, to me, living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, are both great. That is the main reason why I want to be in that area.

What is your advice to bid for that area, in view of the fact that there are 2 people who got the Conrad around those dates, one for 99 and the other one for 110?

Of course I realise that it is far from certain that I would get the Conrad too, but may be another good hotel in that area??

How should I bid (also considering that I have plenty of time until my trip: 18 to 20 July)?

Thank you,

Santillan

[AaronJB]

If other people are getting the Conrad around $100ish, I'd start bidding for a 4* in the River North/NMA area for $85. If that isn't accepted, try $90 24 hours later and if that's not accepted, $95 24 hours after that, etc.

[thereuare]

The strategy by AaronJB is a good one, but i'll that if you're trying to target the Conrad i'd start at $99... the user who won at $99 had previously tried at $89 and the users who won at $110 was rejected at both $95 and $100.

If you're simply looking for the least expensive i'd start at $85 as AaronJB suggests, but if you're hoping for the Conrad (no guarantees) and willing to risk an overbid, i'd start at $99.

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

Keep us udpated as to your progress.

[santillan]

Oooooohhhhh, just tried it. I bid 99 and was rejected. Then it asked me to change something, which I didn't and just exited the page. I will try again tomorrow. Of course of course I used the PRICELINE link.

What about tomorrow? 105 or 110?

This is exciting stuff.

Santillan

[AaronJB]

I'd say $105. If you want to speed up the process, $110 doesn't seem like much of a jump up beyond $105.

[thereuare]

Then it asked me to change something, which I didn't and just exited the page.

Are you familiar with re-bidding? (see Priceline Re-Bidding Explained, but make sure you understand and confirm your (one) re-bid zone with the board before bidding)

Thank you for using our PRICELINE link for your bidding attempt.

[santillan]

I'd say $105. If you want to speed up the process, $110 doesn't seem like much of a jump up beyond $105.

Hi again,

I just bid 105 and was rejected again. May be the 99 to 105 jump was indeed too miserly ....

One question: do I keep on going to the same bid or do I start the whole thing again? What I did this time was go to the email I received from Priceline when they rejected my 99 offer and opened it with 'check your status' and then I bid 105 on the page that opened. They requested that I either change something or bid higher. Then, I tried to bid 110,- but couldn't. I guess I need to wait 24 hours, do I? When does one (if at all), start the whole thing again? what if, say, next week I tried again with 100 or 105 or 110? Their availabilities change all the time, don't they?

Again: I've plenty of time, so I am not in a panic yet.

Thank you for your help.

Santillan

[thereuare]

go to the email I received from Priceline

Sometimes PRICELINE and HOTWIRE will send an email notifying you that you're eligible to bid again or that prices have been lowered. When you do receive such an email, please return to the board and click our links (rather than the link in the email) to ensure that we receive proper credit.

***In other words, please DON'T use the links in their meail... return to the board and click OUR PRICELINE link to begin all your bidding***

I would stop for a minute, read, understand, and ask questions regarding re-biddign (Priceline Re-Bidding Explained) so that you can bid twice every 24 hours instead of once.

[santillan]

I read the whole rebidding link and I get the stuff about checking each zone, etc. The thing is that I only want to stay in the MagMile zone so that strategy doesn't apply to me this time.

I rebid 110 and was turned down again.

To rebid I did click the link in this board. What I don't understand is this: if I click the link here, it starts a new procedure altogether it seems to me, i.e. it looks to me not as a rebid (where I would change something) but as a first time bid each time. To follow the rule about bidding every 24 hours, do I also do so by clicking the link here?

In any case, I was rejected and I wonder what to do now? Continue bidding up (which I'd rather not), or wait and see what happens, say, in a few days (or even just wait and see whether Hotwire prices change)?

[thereuare]

To follow the rule about bidding every 24 hours, do I also do so by clicking the link here?

After 24 hours please return to BetterBidding and click our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

The thing is that I only want to stay in the MagMile zone so that strategy doesn't apply to me this time

Not true... it does apply to you. So let's go thru a little exercise. Add a reply to this thread, listing each zone in Chicago and the highest star rating available in each zone. To determine the highest star rating in each zone, use the following technique from Priceline 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. (

NOTE:

for most users Priceline has updated their interface making the above process easier... simply check a zone and note the highest star rating available within each zone, UNcheck that zone and checkmark the next zone, repeating the process)

I understand your desire to stay in the NMA zone, but at nearly half the price you have already bid, does the Loop the zone become a possibility? AaronJB knows the area better than i do, and perhaps you know the area well too, but at some point i would think that staying in the Loop might become an option if you could get it for $59... that leaves over $50 for taxis, busses, trains, etc before you reach the amount you have already bid. Not pushing you in that direction, as i don't know how 'busy' vs. 'dead' the area is, but something to consider as i would think you get in a cab right outside the hotel and take you to the 'nightlife' fairly inexpensively... i think i recall from another thread that the Hyatt (assuming that's the hotel you received) is only 3 blocks or so to shopping.

If you decide to not at the Loop zone, where and how much is your back-up hotel? (if you dont' have a back-up, use our BetterChecker to research the best deal you're able to get for these dates)... this will be a deciding factor whether you should raise your limit or wait it out.

[AaronJB]

The Hyatt is just over the bridge from the start of the Michigan Ave. shopping area. Not sure why it was rejected as a possible option, as it's literally a 3-4 (5, tops) minute walk from the location of the Conrad. From the Conrad, you go 1-2 blocks South to the bridge. Go over the bridge and another block East and you're at the Hyatt.

A taxi from the Hyatt to Michigan Ave. shopping wouldn't be worth it unless the weather happened to be really bad or something along those lines.

If one were to bid $59 for the Loop on these dates, I can't see anything else accepting aside from the Hyatt, which is seemingly always trying to fill its 2,000+ rooms.

Is the Hyatt as nice as the Conrad? No, but it's not bad and if you can save $50-75 (or more), that's a lot of money you can keep that can go towards other things.

Additionally, keep in mind that hotel tax in Chicago is a whopping 15.4% - the less you can have a bid accepted for, the less you're paying in hotel tax.

[santillan]

I hadn't thought of it that way, thank you so much for the advice, especially since it will be summer, so there's more people about in the streets in the evening, which is the bit that worries me. It really makes sense if it's so close to the other side of the water. In that case I am going to go for it and offer 59 dollars. Will let you know what happens. Thank you again. By the way, what I am thinking of doing is a totally separate bit for the Loop alone for that amount. I hope I'm not messing it up now. If rejected, I will wait a few days and do the whole thing again but then just for the MagMile only.